Day 2 in La Paz Friday, 2/17/06
Today we awoke late, and not from the best sleep. Jojo has a tiny bed and a thin mattress. I woke up earlier than she and decided to let her sleep in as long as possible. I tried to sleep for a bit, but instead read and got curious, and hence, the walk.
The apartment we have landed in has three bedrooms and many other rooms and is pretty big. the light comes in from two sides and relegates electric lighting unnecesary during the day. The entrance courtyard had a gate and the front window looks out into this narrow court. The main door to the apartment is on the side and is equiped with a standard Bolivian lock that closes tight and strong as soon as the door is shut. The front gate has a similar lock. These locks have a small lever on them that you slide to retract the wedge, and both have a dead bolt that can be operated only with a key.
So my walk begins without keys. I couldn't find them without waking the sleeping Jojo (something I have learned to avoid) so i decided i would just let the front door close behind me and explore the area until i thought it was safe to wake Jojo from her slumber. As the front door shut behind me, the sun warmed my face and the air sparkled with the rarity of high altitude. It's clean and pure, and the only emmisions i breath are from the busses or taxi's that careen past and speeds that would shock most americans. If you've never been to a place like this (Mexico qualifies, as do parts of Spain, and Asia, at least the part's i've glimpsed) you can't imagine it, if you have, then you know, and dodgin traffic becomes a necessity and not a jay-walker's risk. I digress, and i usually do. So out i come into this beautiful morning, Bolivianos (that's the currency, and the people, but here I mean the currency) jingling in my pocket, and I arrive at the front gate. Locked. And I mean bolted.
I was faced with a dilemma. In this courtard are three doors. The door to our apartment, the door to the apartment above and a door to a small seperate building that is an office for the landlords that live above. I had not yet met these Bolivians, and I felt that introducing myself in this sticky situation was not how I wanted to start a new friendship. I went back to the door. No luck, locked as it should be. i went over to Jojo's window. Knocking could not rouse this sleeping beauty, and as I said above, would not be the best nor kindest way to start her day. So I went back to teh gate. Most walls in La Paz that adjoin public ways have shards of glass mortared into the top of them so jumping or climbing is out of the question, luckily for me, this was not one such wall and I contemplated my options. Do I sit in this courtyard and wait for Jojo or someone to come and open the lock (and get that uncomfortable feeling I get whenever I folloow the footsteps of a resident into a building that's supposed to be secure) or do i jump. My first morning in La Paz and I'm either slumming in a courtyard in which no one knows I belong, or breaking rules that I don't even know how to say. So of course I jump.
It was a good landing and with all the casualness I can summon I start off in the direction most obvious, downhill. You see, everywhere in La Paz has two directions. Up or Down. This being my first full day, I chose down.
One of the greatest things I have discovered about La Paz is that wherever you are, whatever you need is nearby. This is an amazingly lassiz faire economy and the people here are amazing capitalists. Within view of our front gate is a Paperelia (I think that means they sell supplies for school and other aspects of life and work), a butcher shop, an internet and phone cafe and a corner store that sells every food and drink product you might need. Convenience is paramount, it's a buyers market. So i walked around. I went around the block and up the street and down. I saw more crazy auto maneuvers in that kilometer of wandering than I see in an entire year in the states, but no one flinches. I saw things I cannot even describe or understand. Shops and workspaces, food and drink, doors and windows that defy my mind in construction and use. I am being vague because my memory mirrors this image. It is a whir, and with 10.000 feet of adjusting still to do, I excuse myself for now.
There are many vistas in this city and I will try to post some pictures soon, but if you can find a street that runs STRAIGHT down or even across there is a vista, and one unlike any you have ever seen because as far as I have experienced, La Paz is unique. The locas call it a hoya, which means bowl or crater or cauldron. The buildings are like encrustrations on a tidal hole. It's as organic a city as I have ever seen and no one here cares about right angles. Shoot, may as well call them wrong here because they wouldn't be right, nothing here is perpendicular or parallel. There are edges though, and everywhere. Some sharp, some blunt, but edges exist in a tangled maiasma or human growth and crystalization. I enjoyed a few of these amazing vistas through the utterly clear air. Clouds on the artificial horizon (created by the bowl I am in) mask the soaring peaks that I know surround this rare place. I return towards our apartment ready for a break. The gate is still locked. This was unforseen, and I have no excuse other than stupidity or light headedness. I wait for a moment pondering the three doorbells on the gate. I have no idea which one summons the slumbering dragon, or the as of yet unmet spanish speaking landlord. Neither sound attractive so off I head. Again.
The corner store looks like a good option and my now rumbling belly speeds me in this direction. Now, I am not a spanish speaker, but I do know enough to get buy and this paltry ability rewards me with two pieces of bread and two pastries. I wander back by a different route to the same locked gate. This time I have hope! there is a gentleman standing in the door to the upstairs apartment (this door faces the gate) and through some luck and imagination I am able to persuade him my girlfriend is asleep in the apartment and my friends Maren and Lauren have not given me keys. He lets me in and this time i make sure to keep the deadbolt unsprung. Jojo is still asleep, and although I had left the window open for air, I do not dare use that portal to yet wake such sleeping grace as I know Jojo maintains. This was the opportunity I needed to introduce myeslf to the landlords and their dogs (Tuto and something else my mind refuses to remember... pele, or pepe, or polo, something...).
So off again I go. Again. This time it's up. The shops get a bit rougher as i ascend and at some point I decided that I had gone high enough. the erosion of the sidewalks, the increasing bizzreness and diversity of things for sale, and the more unusual glances I get the slower my step until I find the only direction I can go now is across the street and back down the very same road. Near the bottom of this stretech, and back at the intersection of General Lanza (the street we live on) a woman sells fruit. I can only name a few and Platanos and Mango become the cacrifice with which I shall console the ruefully awakened dreaming Jojo. No luck. Not even a flutter of an eyelash. She's about as asleep as I have ever seen her, and rightfully so. Our first day and our flight were exhausting. So i leave my offerings on the window sill outside of her room, and, you guessed it, off again.
This time I just go enjoy the views. I even sit down for a minute and soak in the sun, but there really aren't many places to sit on these streets. Some streets are all seats (or rather stairs, but they are used equally as both), and some squares have benches, but overall, there aren't too many places to stop and sit. I was walking very slowly though and around the block I went, as slowly as my comfort level of the overly curious seeming security guard would allow. When i returned this time I was determined. I rang the bell right outside our door and lo and behold, Jojo arose to the occasion and let me in with the promise of a fresh fruit breakfast with warm pan and pastries. The day had begun and my curiosity about La Paz had begun.
Shortly after breakfast we tried to call the number give to us by American Airlines to receive our bags, but no one would answer. After a few tries I noticed on the receipt they gave us that the office closes at 9 am. The only flight in gets in at 6 am, when we got in the previous day. So oh well, one more day without bags is not that bad.
We prepared ourselves for our first full day in Bolivia and donned our walking shoes (meaning the shoes we wore on the plane) and headed out. Jojo led me on a slow (lentamente! thank you Vince!) walk down and around from the apartment. We walked through a market that was mostly food stuffs, and I say stuffs because I do not have a name for most of what I saw. This is a truly foreign land, with equally foreign foods. There are more different fruits and vegetables that I think i will learn in our 6 month stay. From the market we walked futher down to Plaza San Pedro, where Jojo directed us to a very unassuming door with a buzzer high up on the frame. Once rung a woman answered the door and Jojo asked if Miguel was in. To her delight and my introduciton he was. Miguel had been in contact with Jojo for some time before our departure about certain aspects of what we might need when we arrived. Miguel is a friend of Jojo's from her previous trip to La Paz, and has remained a dear friend. Indeed he is an amazing person to know here in La Paz and hooked me up with a sweet hotel (more on that later) and an place where i can get one on one spanish classes! I'm signed up for Monday and tuesday of next week for 2 hours each. Should be very educational.
After Miguel left us to see his friend we headed back up the hill to the apartment and prepared to relax. We did as such and must have eaten dinner or something but the next thing I remember is going to a bar owned by a friend of the ladies. It was a very cool, small, double story bar with great music. The beers are very good and big here and I enjoyed a couple of them. I also enjoyed the company of many Bolivians and a couple of Chileans who invited Jojo and I to stay with them when we travel through Santiago to Pureto Montt. From that bar we went to Toteco's, which is a below ground mine themed bar/club. It was great and we danced and danced, and i talked to more bolivians, and just had an all around great time. At one point I got a little frustrated by the machismo and the tough beats that I have no idea how to dance to, but other than that it was amazing. One bolivian even gave me his bracelet (like the LIVE STRONG one's) with his futobl club name instead of a slogan. At the end of the nigh I took a taxi home with Jojo and made sure she got in safe, then went down to my hotel and crashed... hard. It was an awesome introduction night for La Paz nightlife and a good time overall.
The apartment we have landed in has three bedrooms and many other rooms and is pretty big. the light comes in from two sides and relegates electric lighting unnecesary during the day. The entrance courtyard had a gate and the front window looks out into this narrow court. The main door to the apartment is on the side and is equiped with a standard Bolivian lock that closes tight and strong as soon as the door is shut. The front gate has a similar lock. These locks have a small lever on them that you slide to retract the wedge, and both have a dead bolt that can be operated only with a key.
So my walk begins without keys. I couldn't find them without waking the sleeping Jojo (something I have learned to avoid) so i decided i would just let the front door close behind me and explore the area until i thought it was safe to wake Jojo from her slumber. As the front door shut behind me, the sun warmed my face and the air sparkled with the rarity of high altitude. It's clean and pure, and the only emmisions i breath are from the busses or taxi's that careen past and speeds that would shock most americans. If you've never been to a place like this (Mexico qualifies, as do parts of Spain, and Asia, at least the part's i've glimpsed) you can't imagine it, if you have, then you know, and dodgin traffic becomes a necessity and not a jay-walker's risk. I digress, and i usually do. So out i come into this beautiful morning, Bolivianos (that's the currency, and the people, but here I mean the currency) jingling in my pocket, and I arrive at the front gate. Locked. And I mean bolted.
I was faced with a dilemma. In this courtard are three doors. The door to our apartment, the door to the apartment above and a door to a small seperate building that is an office for the landlords that live above. I had not yet met these Bolivians, and I felt that introducing myself in this sticky situation was not how I wanted to start a new friendship. I went back to the door. No luck, locked as it should be. i went over to Jojo's window. Knocking could not rouse this sleeping beauty, and as I said above, would not be the best nor kindest way to start her day. So I went back to teh gate. Most walls in La Paz that adjoin public ways have shards of glass mortared into the top of them so jumping or climbing is out of the question, luckily for me, this was not one such wall and I contemplated my options. Do I sit in this courtyard and wait for Jojo or someone to come and open the lock (and get that uncomfortable feeling I get whenever I folloow the footsteps of a resident into a building that's supposed to be secure) or do i jump. My first morning in La Paz and I'm either slumming in a courtyard in which no one knows I belong, or breaking rules that I don't even know how to say. So of course I jump.
It was a good landing and with all the casualness I can summon I start off in the direction most obvious, downhill. You see, everywhere in La Paz has two directions. Up or Down. This being my first full day, I chose down.
One of the greatest things I have discovered about La Paz is that wherever you are, whatever you need is nearby. This is an amazingly lassiz faire economy and the people here are amazing capitalists. Within view of our front gate is a Paperelia (I think that means they sell supplies for school and other aspects of life and work), a butcher shop, an internet and phone cafe and a corner store that sells every food and drink product you might need. Convenience is paramount, it's a buyers market. So i walked around. I went around the block and up the street and down. I saw more crazy auto maneuvers in that kilometer of wandering than I see in an entire year in the states, but no one flinches. I saw things I cannot even describe or understand. Shops and workspaces, food and drink, doors and windows that defy my mind in construction and use. I am being vague because my memory mirrors this image. It is a whir, and with 10.000 feet of adjusting still to do, I excuse myself for now.
There are many vistas in this city and I will try to post some pictures soon, but if you can find a street that runs STRAIGHT down or even across there is a vista, and one unlike any you have ever seen because as far as I have experienced, La Paz is unique. The locas call it a hoya, which means bowl or crater or cauldron. The buildings are like encrustrations on a tidal hole. It's as organic a city as I have ever seen and no one here cares about right angles. Shoot, may as well call them wrong here because they wouldn't be right, nothing here is perpendicular or parallel. There are edges though, and everywhere. Some sharp, some blunt, but edges exist in a tangled maiasma or human growth and crystalization. I enjoyed a few of these amazing vistas through the utterly clear air. Clouds on the artificial horizon (created by the bowl I am in) mask the soaring peaks that I know surround this rare place. I return towards our apartment ready for a break. The gate is still locked. This was unforseen, and I have no excuse other than stupidity or light headedness. I wait for a moment pondering the three doorbells on the gate. I have no idea which one summons the slumbering dragon, or the as of yet unmet spanish speaking landlord. Neither sound attractive so off I head. Again.
The corner store looks like a good option and my now rumbling belly speeds me in this direction. Now, I am not a spanish speaker, but I do know enough to get buy and this paltry ability rewards me with two pieces of bread and two pastries. I wander back by a different route to the same locked gate. This time I have hope! there is a gentleman standing in the door to the upstairs apartment (this door faces the gate) and through some luck and imagination I am able to persuade him my girlfriend is asleep in the apartment and my friends Maren and Lauren have not given me keys. He lets me in and this time i make sure to keep the deadbolt unsprung. Jojo is still asleep, and although I had left the window open for air, I do not dare use that portal to yet wake such sleeping grace as I know Jojo maintains. This was the opportunity I needed to introduce myeslf to the landlords and their dogs (Tuto and something else my mind refuses to remember... pele, or pepe, or polo, something...).
So off again I go. Again. This time it's up. The shops get a bit rougher as i ascend and at some point I decided that I had gone high enough. the erosion of the sidewalks, the increasing bizzreness and diversity of things for sale, and the more unusual glances I get the slower my step until I find the only direction I can go now is across the street and back down the very same road. Near the bottom of this stretech, and back at the intersection of General Lanza (the street we live on) a woman sells fruit. I can only name a few and Platanos and Mango become the cacrifice with which I shall console the ruefully awakened dreaming Jojo. No luck. Not even a flutter of an eyelash. She's about as asleep as I have ever seen her, and rightfully so. Our first day and our flight were exhausting. So i leave my offerings on the window sill outside of her room, and, you guessed it, off again.
This time I just go enjoy the views. I even sit down for a minute and soak in the sun, but there really aren't many places to sit on these streets. Some streets are all seats (or rather stairs, but they are used equally as both), and some squares have benches, but overall, there aren't too many places to stop and sit. I was walking very slowly though and around the block I went, as slowly as my comfort level of the overly curious seeming security guard would allow. When i returned this time I was determined. I rang the bell right outside our door and lo and behold, Jojo arose to the occasion and let me in with the promise of a fresh fruit breakfast with warm pan and pastries. The day had begun and my curiosity about La Paz had begun.
Shortly after breakfast we tried to call the number give to us by American Airlines to receive our bags, but no one would answer. After a few tries I noticed on the receipt they gave us that the office closes at 9 am. The only flight in gets in at 6 am, when we got in the previous day. So oh well, one more day without bags is not that bad.
We prepared ourselves for our first full day in Bolivia and donned our walking shoes (meaning the shoes we wore on the plane) and headed out. Jojo led me on a slow (lentamente! thank you Vince!) walk down and around from the apartment. We walked through a market that was mostly food stuffs, and I say stuffs because I do not have a name for most of what I saw. This is a truly foreign land, with equally foreign foods. There are more different fruits and vegetables that I think i will learn in our 6 month stay. From the market we walked futher down to Plaza San Pedro, where Jojo directed us to a very unassuming door with a buzzer high up on the frame. Once rung a woman answered the door and Jojo asked if Miguel was in. To her delight and my introduciton he was. Miguel had been in contact with Jojo for some time before our departure about certain aspects of what we might need when we arrived. Miguel is a friend of Jojo's from her previous trip to La Paz, and has remained a dear friend. Indeed he is an amazing person to know here in La Paz and hooked me up with a sweet hotel (more on that later) and an place where i can get one on one spanish classes! I'm signed up for Monday and tuesday of next week for 2 hours each. Should be very educational.
After Miguel left us to see his friend we headed back up the hill to the apartment and prepared to relax. We did as such and must have eaten dinner or something but the next thing I remember is going to a bar owned by a friend of the ladies. It was a very cool, small, double story bar with great music. The beers are very good and big here and I enjoyed a couple of them. I also enjoyed the company of many Bolivians and a couple of Chileans who invited Jojo and I to stay with them when we travel through Santiago to Pureto Montt. From that bar we went to Toteco's, which is a below ground mine themed bar/club. It was great and we danced and danced, and i talked to more bolivians, and just had an all around great time. At one point I got a little frustrated by the machismo and the tough beats that I have no idea how to dance to, but other than that it was amazing. One bolivian even gave me his bracelet (like the LIVE STRONG one's) with his futobl club name instead of a slogan. At the end of the nigh I took a taxi home with Jojo and made sure she got in safe, then went down to my hotel and crashed... hard. It was an awesome introduction night for La Paz nightlife and a good time overall.
posted by Greenstigator at 1:49 PM
