The Condor Has Landed; Thursday, 2/16/06
Greetings all from the high peaks and valleys of the Andes.
Jojo and I touched down early Thursday morning in the pure light of the mountain morning. My disorientation of the early morning, the long flight (a red eye from Miami after a day's crossing the states), and the thin air seems like a dream of ages ago. There are enough signs of western culture in the airport and enough of the strange and new that it is not easy to understand completely what I had just done.
But as soon as we stepped outside into that fresh morning, and the air and sky met my face for the first time i began to understand just where I was (but not when, jet lag had turned my clock upside down and backwards, but we located ourselves temporally after a first and much needed nap). The airport that serves La Paz is actually in another town, above the bowl within which La Paz encrusts. El Alto is the name of this high spare airport and indeed, landing here requires a special speed and skill that only certain adventurous pilots would desire. This leads to the first hurdle we encountered and I am sure not the last. Our checked baggage was left behind in Miami due to weight restrictions on the airplanes that land at this altitude (La Paz is at 12,000 feet and El Alto even higher). The people working the service counter seemed to be well adjusted to this sort of problem and assured us bilingually that our luggage would be delivered when it arrived on the next flight, the next day. So off we were, in a Taxi, to 1921 General Lanza, the apartment that Lauren and Maren have rented with a room for Jojo and a crash pad for Eli.
Our taxi driver was very knowledgeable and knew right where to go. The driving in this area is not something to be taken lightly. It's about as ordered as an ant colony (which is to say very ordered while seeming completely chaotic). Upon first inspection the regolith of La Paz is mostly small stones and soil. This makes the buildings that cling, burrow, and perch on it's convoluted contours seem tenuous and indeed dangerous. The buildings... i must save that for later because they are of particular construction and uncertain permanence but hold a beauty i cannot seem to verbalize. The apartment (within which I am now writing this post) is quite nice and reminds me of something you could find in southern Spain or Mexico. There is a front gate and a courtyard with whitewashed walls. The front door opens off this court which serves double as a driveway. Like almost all doors that I have passed through, they are double, and most often only one side is used. Here is where I have discovered a sense of where and when I am. I am too big to fit through the one side without turning my shoulders. In fact my head and shoulders seem to stick out wherever I go. Not so much as they may in other parts of the world, but I am definitely taller and broader than most, and (as my feet are sticking out off the end of Jojo's bed where i write) in some ways I just don't fit.
So let me sum up this first day. We arrived early, made it to the apartment, and met Lauren. Maren had just left for work. We relaxed and slept, and got some food (where Maren and Juan-Manuel met us, and I met them) and slept more and then went to see the Capoeira class that Jojo first ginga'd in. It is a great class in a small space with two very dangerous columns. I even played one game with Juan-Manuel before I had to stop and let my heart rest, but don't worry friends, I didn't push it at all. We walked home from there with Maren, Lauren, and Juan-Manuel. Maren left and Jojo and I went to sleep. It's not easy sleeping at 12,000 feet, but when you're tired from all we'd experienced this first day, sleep comes quickly and gratefully.
Peace and love from La Paz.
Eli
Jojo and I touched down early Thursday morning in the pure light of the mountain morning. My disorientation of the early morning, the long flight (a red eye from Miami after a day's crossing the states), and the thin air seems like a dream of ages ago. There are enough signs of western culture in the airport and enough of the strange and new that it is not easy to understand completely what I had just done.
But as soon as we stepped outside into that fresh morning, and the air and sky met my face for the first time i began to understand just where I was (but not when, jet lag had turned my clock upside down and backwards, but we located ourselves temporally after a first and much needed nap). The airport that serves La Paz is actually in another town, above the bowl within which La Paz encrusts. El Alto is the name of this high spare airport and indeed, landing here requires a special speed and skill that only certain adventurous pilots would desire. This leads to the first hurdle we encountered and I am sure not the last. Our checked baggage was left behind in Miami due to weight restrictions on the airplanes that land at this altitude (La Paz is at 12,000 feet and El Alto even higher). The people working the service counter seemed to be well adjusted to this sort of problem and assured us bilingually that our luggage would be delivered when it arrived on the next flight, the next day. So off we were, in a Taxi, to 1921 General Lanza, the apartment that Lauren and Maren have rented with a room for Jojo and a crash pad for Eli.
Our taxi driver was very knowledgeable and knew right where to go. The driving in this area is not something to be taken lightly. It's about as ordered as an ant colony (which is to say very ordered while seeming completely chaotic). Upon first inspection the regolith of La Paz is mostly small stones and soil. This makes the buildings that cling, burrow, and perch on it's convoluted contours seem tenuous and indeed dangerous. The buildings... i must save that for later because they are of particular construction and uncertain permanence but hold a beauty i cannot seem to verbalize. The apartment (within which I am now writing this post) is quite nice and reminds me of something you could find in southern Spain or Mexico. There is a front gate and a courtyard with whitewashed walls. The front door opens off this court which serves double as a driveway. Like almost all doors that I have passed through, they are double, and most often only one side is used. Here is where I have discovered a sense of where and when I am. I am too big to fit through the one side without turning my shoulders. In fact my head and shoulders seem to stick out wherever I go. Not so much as they may in other parts of the world, but I am definitely taller and broader than most, and (as my feet are sticking out off the end of Jojo's bed where i write) in some ways I just don't fit.
So let me sum up this first day. We arrived early, made it to the apartment, and met Lauren. Maren had just left for work. We relaxed and slept, and got some food (where Maren and Juan-Manuel met us, and I met them) and slept more and then went to see the Capoeira class that Jojo first ginga'd in. It is a great class in a small space with two very dangerous columns. I even played one game with Juan-Manuel before I had to stop and let my heart rest, but don't worry friends, I didn't push it at all. We walked home from there with Maren, Lauren, and Juan-Manuel. Maren left and Jojo and I went to sleep. It's not easy sleeping at 12,000 feet, but when you're tired from all we'd experienced this first day, sleep comes quickly and gratefully.
Peace and love from La Paz.
Eli
posted by Greenstigator at 1:08 PM
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