Ciao!

The first weekend

09.15.2003

I finally got a chance to sit down and write about this long, hectic weekend. I don´t have any pictures yet, since I can´t charge my digital camera. Apparently, I was misinformed, La Paz uses 220 volts, not 110. I just bought a transformer, so I´ll start taking/posting pics soon enough.

Needless to say: the view from my apartment is beautiful. I´ll write more about it later, once I explore the neighborhood a bit. But I´m in the Edificio Junin near the Plaza del Estudiante, across the street from the Museum of Contemporary Art, a bloc away from a 24hr coffee house (Café Ciudad), and about three blocks away from the Plaza Murillo (the capitol).

But here´s what I´ve been up to:

Friday. My flight into La Paz was detoured directly to Santa Cruz due to snow. It rarely snows in La Paz, so this was a big deal, especially falling at the tail end of winter. I was a bit worried about how to let my family know, or who to contact. I didn´t even have the phone numbers of any of my relatives in Santa Cruz, in case I had to spend the night there. On the plus side, I got to see the patchwork greens of the countryside around Samaipata and the snaking Piraí River as we broke through the endless clouds.

We sat in the plane for some time, before leaving again for La Paz. Luckily, the embassy driver had waited for me, even though I arrived five hours late. It was great to have an official chauffeur w/ a sign waiting for me as I walked through the aiport terminal corridor. It also got me through customs w/o so much as an "excuse me, sir."

Driving down from El Alto into the city of La Paz was an instant immersion in the noise, traffic, and colors of the city. We drove through the center of town, past familiar landmarks. By the time I arrived in San Miguel, at the house of my tía Theresa, I was relieved. Sabina, the family maid, greeted me, and offered me a much needed mate de coca (coca tea).

About an hour later, my relatives arrived. They´d driven up to the airport to meet me, worried about my delayed flight. Tía Theresa & tío Eduardo are very on-the-go people and offered me little respite. Off we went to the market for groceries, then a quick lunch, then up to my new apartment, then back down for dinner in San Miguel. At 10pm, I finally went to bed. Waiting to wake up early for an excursion to Oruro.

Saturday. We left La Paz at 7:30am. We drove up to the Altiplano and on towards the city of Oruro (pop 300,000). The Altiplano is beautiful and sad. It´s flat pampas w/ distant mountains across every horizon. The sparse vegetation gives the land a dull golden hue in the sun, broken by the ocassional herd of sheep or wandering campesino.

We´d gone to Oruro looking for a large (essentially) black market w/ prices much lower than in La Paz. Tío Juan (my father´s uncle, tía Theresa´s dad) grew up in Oruro, and went as our guide. It seems the "zona franca" is a myth, a clever rouse designed to draw tourists. The markets were no bigger than anything La Paz, the prices not much different.

Ate lunch at the most recommended restaurant in the city, Nayjama. From there, we went to El Socabon, a 17th century cathedral built alongside a 16th century silver mine. The church was beautifully restored and included an entry into the Oruro Mining Museum. We all went inside and travelled the 400-year-old shafts, now lined w/ artifacts and relics.

We drove back the three hours to La Paz, took a long shortcut through El Alto down to San Miguel. Saturday night and I still hadn´t emailed or phoned a single soul. Sometimes I wonder if tía Teresa is kidnapping me.

Sunday. Finally slept in! Went up to tío Juan´s in Alto Irpavi for lunch. Spent the afternoon talking/talking and finally too my first chance to check my email, stopping at a small public internet spot.

All in all, the most laid back day to date. Tomorrow, I hope to start setting up my apartment, visit the US embassy, and start making contacts at research institutes. My cousin Martín is tagging along on my various errands.

Posted by Miguel at 12:29 PM

Comments

Posted by: sam at September 15, 2003 03:24 PM

Posted by: beth at September 15, 2003 07:41 PM

Posted by: Josh at September 16, 2003 01:36 AM