1st Day in La Paz

We've made it to La Paz - just in time for the sunrise over the city, which turned the brown hills of the canyons a curious red for awhile. My first impressions THIS time have far exceeded anything I could have imagined and I am grateful that my host family didn't assume for a moment that I might need some rest. I can't imagine missing even one minute of the day!

First we were collected from the airport and I went with Jose' Luis. We wound our way down from the airport in El Alto, and then across the quiet city (6 a.m.!) to his neighborhood. After stopping to pick up some breakfast for the family (including Api, a drink made from sweet purple corn, lemon, cinnamon, and an amazing amount of sugar!).

Today's activities:

1) amazing breakfast of Api, Bunuelos, and sugared cheesy empanadas

2) nap

3) Sebastian's birthday part (Jose' Luis's son who turned 2 today), delicious saltenas

4) driving up a battered old road to see El valley de los Animos

5) taking way more photos of la montana Illimani (6439 m) than I thought possible

6) got stuck in church traffic but also got to watch lots of mini-parade celebrations

7) a drive to the opposite side of La Paz to Jose's club, where we had great views of the city

8) an evening trip to el Megacenter - a big shopping mall where we got dinner