jeep safari

we just got back from the jeep safari throughout the bolivian desert and salt plains. i actually didnt like it as much as i thought i would. the scenery never really changed and the we were offroading the entire time so it was very uncomfortable. some of the sites were cool. by far the coolest site was the lake with the thousands of flamingos. why would there be flamingos in a desert....i know not. and i dont know how to write questions marks on this computer lol. the salt plains were also pretty spectacular. theres nothing but white for miles. and if you taste the ground....pure salt. we took some crazy pics using small toys and us in the background. it looks so cool. the people who live out there are crazy. these tiny towns, one only consisted of three families, live out there and make their living from these tourist attractions. to me it didnt seem like any kind of life and they seemed pretty bored themelves. so im kind of happy its over. i felt like i was on a ski trip the whole time. it was wierd. it was so windy and cold and i was wearing so many layers that it just felt like i was on top of mammoth about to ski down daves run. the people here are so nice. everyone is polite and friendly if you talk to them. i was exchanging money at a bank in la paz and this cholita, a well respected old woman, turned around and just started a conversation with me. she wanted to know where i was from and if i liked bolivia and she talked about how much she lved bolivia. she definitely kept me on my toes with the spanish. tongiht were taking an overnight bus to cochabamba for our first host family stay. im pretty excited. o and i bought my first item for myself haha. its a really cool blue and purle hat. totally something a hippy would wear lol. but its very warm. it so hard not to buy everything i see because all the alpaka is so pretty and the jewelry and armbands....ah man. but im doin good. im holding out. the nights were the best on the jeep safari. we would all just get into the same room and talk and give each other massages....good bonding stuff lol. o ya and there was a hotel made out of salt in the salt plains!! people cant stay in it...but it was very cool. they make a big profit out there by digging out the salt and exporting it. well thats all i have for now!!

la paz

Hola! I have traveled for 24 hours straight, am exhausted, and now in a pretty nice hostel in the city of la paz in bolivia. it is 9 35 at the moment. we arrived at 5 50 after taking a red eye from miami to la paz. my first impression...it´s a city in the clouds. literally. the elevation is about 14000 feet. so in the alto region you are level if not above big puffy white clouds. other impressions...la paz is a pretty poor city. and very bare, since it´s so high. they don´t clean the streets, huge buses crawl through tiny streets, and people are going about their normal day. o and its pretty chilly. there are so many houses fitted into this bowl shaped town, and many of them are rundown buildings. the roofs are all covered in tin shingles. but the culture is great. the best thing ive seen so far are the cholitas. they are these old women who wear colorful shawls and bright full flowy skirts. but the best artical of clothing is the bowler hats they all wear. they are tall wide hats that are placed delicately on their heads. this wardrobe just speaks culture. it´s a symbol of their status here. apparently the french brought these hats over back in the day and it carried on here. they are pretty expensive, so you know if these ladies are wearing them they are pretty well off. i´m exhausted though, and i´m going to try to get some sleep before we go explore the witch markets where they sell llama fetuses and such. i just wanted to get everybody started on some reading. ill write again soon! especially because the internet here is free.