Monday, February 29th - La Paz, Bolivia

We were up early this morning as Gillian was going biking on Death Road and had to be ready by 7:00.  I thought I might go back to sleep but instead I unpacked, sorted and repacked my suitcase yet again trying to sort out what I might need for tonight's all night bus trip and for the following two days on the salt flats.  It was a daunting task and I'm not sure I did a very good job but I did finish in time to have some breakfast and checkout when required.

Some of the others went on a walking tour with our group leader.  I had errands to run so went off on my own.  First I went down the street about five blocks to the plaza and turned right to find an optometrist who could fix Gillian's glasses.  I found one easily and it cost all of 2 Bolivianos or about 40 cents Canadian.  Then I went off in search of batteries for my head lamp.  I really wasn't' sure if it was a battery issue or whether the connection was broken.  I vaguely remember it falling or getting stepped on or something else happening to it but I'm not quite sure what.  When I was trying to get it open to check the battery I kind of decided it was the unit that was malfunctioning not the batteries so I edited to buy a whole new unit.  I also tried to find a waterproof cover for my backpack but soon gave up on that search as they were way too expensive.

The last thing I had to buy was snacks for the bus trip and for our two days on the salt flats.  That search proved to be a bit more difficult.  I wanted things like cheese and crackers and cookies and nuts but there is no real grocery store and teh markets are so confusing that I'm not sure what would be safe for us to eat.  I finally settled on some boxed items that could be cookies or crackers.  I wasn't really sure.  Then I bought some quinoa energy bars and the old familiar Pringles and Chips Ahoy cookies that I found back more in the touristy area.  It's not much but it will have to do.  I just hope they taste all right and are safe for us to eat.

After the shopping I went back to the hotel and went up to the fifth floor breakfast area to do some internet work but, alas, the Internet wasn't working.  I did some blogging and sorting things out but that's about it.  It was hotter than expected up there so I didn't stay too long before moving to the lobby to see if the temperature and Internet were any better there.  It was definitely cooler but I decided I'd go grab some lunch and see if the Internet worked better in other places.  Well, lunch was great but the internet wasn't any better so I didn't get any pictures posted or uploaded.

From the cafe I went to the Coca Museum, which was just around the corner.  It was quite a small place but covered a lot of material.   It started with the earliest record of coca and then covered all the major events right up to almost present day and the history was really interesting.  Mummies from ancient days were found with coca leaves in their tombs so they knew the product had special meaning even then.  The locals had been using it for years before the Spaniards and other whites arrived in the area.  The pope and many Europeans banned the product and tried to destroy all the crops.  The Spanish soon found out that productivity in the mines dropped if the workers didn't have their coca leaves to chew on so the pope and the Spanish government changed the ruling as productivity was more important.  The anaesthesia-related properties obtained from the coca plant were known so for a while Europeans used the product for medical surgeries.   

Then of course modifying the coca to make cocaine changed the whole picture.  Seigmund Freud was supposedly the first reported cocaine user and I think he died from nasal cancer of the throat or nose so snorting cocaine didn't work out too good for him.  The Americans were the ones that really tried to crack down on the cocaine production.  With comprising only 5% of the world's population they used over 50% of the world's cocaine and it was creating many problems.  Instead of trying to stop their users they went after the producers of course and created all kinds of problems for the local populations who simply chewed the coca leaves or drank the coca tea, and didn't actually use the modified cocaine product.  The museum included a number of medical studies that proved that coca leaves did enhance breathing at higher altitudes and increased productivity, but had very few side affects and was deemed safe.  Today coca leaves are everywhere on the streets and people chew them regularly.  I know we tried when in Peru in 2011 but they are rather bitter so even if they assisted with breathing I still wasn't very interested in them.  The coca tea tastes good.  I think the research reports actually proved that the tea had very little effect at all but as long as I think it's helping that's all that matters.

At the end of the museum visit I went to the museum coffee shop for a coca mate and a coca chocolate cake, which really wasn't very chocolaty at all but it was tasty.  I then wandered the streets back to the hotel where I changed into my travle closet her's and repacked my suitcase and backpack in preparation for our bus ride.  Then I sat and did some computer work while I waited for everyone else to appear for our 8:00 pickup.  When it arrived we all piled in with our luggage and went to the tour company's office near the bus station.  We signed in and got our seat assignments and then boarded the bus just before 9:00 for departure.  The bus was very comfortable with seats that reclined but I had to keep mine upright all night just to avoid motion sickness.  I took a gravol though and kind of hoped I'd sleep but that didn't happen.

We had dinner on the bus, sort of like a prepared airline meal, and it was quite good.  Then they started a movie, "The Martian" so I watched that.  I couldn't always hear what was being said but the story line was pretty easy to follow and I enjoyed it.  A lot of people were asleep shortly after we left and others shortly after the movie ended but I continued to stay awake.   Well, I'm sure I dozed off a few times but it seemed like I was awake all night.  I know it was interesting trying to figure out what was outside the window.  Once we got out of the city an hour or so the landscape was flat and it stayed that way most of the trip.  The starts were bright and the Milky Way was visible as there were no other lights around.  Occasionally we'd pass a small village or a train stop so there would be a few buildings and lights but nothing large - just a rest stop.

We had a rest stop at one point so we could use the facilities.  This was in a slightly larger town with wide streets and low buildings.  I don't know where it was or what the main industry or draw was but it seemed like a prosperous town.  Of course in the middle of the night it was pretty deserted except for the stray dogs roaming the streets.  After that we drove on again for many hours, about eleven in total, and there really isn't much to report.  The bus was very quiet and relaxing - not even any loud snorers to disturb the silence.  Even though I didn't actually sleep I did relax throughout the trip so that was good.