Saturday, April 27, 2019
Headed off the grid
This afternoon starts our official Habitat build, which means my phone transitions to airplane mode. Look out for more trip details in May!
Gusto
What happens when one of the founders of internationally recognized restaurant Noma in Denmark opens a restaurant in Bolivia dedicated to indigenous ingredients? An extraordinary food experience. We did lunch, a little more restrained than the 16 course dinner menu. Brilliant presentation, ingredients I’ve never encountered. Totally blown away by Bolivian gastronomy!
Friday, April 26, 2019
The best vegan food of my life
Ali Pacha was a revelation. Extraordinarily prepared vegan food with amazing Bolivian wine pairings. Sourdough bread with coconut butter, cheese made from yucca, powdered sweet potato skins, cacao, and so much more. A culinary highlight for me. A country re-engaging with its incredible culinary heritage and exploring the potential of its wine.
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Views from the world’s highest cable cars
La Paz has the best public transportation system. It isfast, quiet, and links many of the major areas of the city. It also provides brilliant views of the city and surroundings and is only slightly fear-of-heights inducing...
Artisan market
My hotel is a stone’s throw from an amazing artisan market, where La Paz has gathered hundreds of vendors selling alpaca and so much more. Did all my gift shopping here!
Technical difficulties?
I’ve heard from a few that my photos are appearing upside down...unfortunately in 2019 it is still difficult to find an app that will allow you to post to your blogger blog with your phone. Thought I found one last summer, but now it is crashing when I add photos, so this isa new app, and it seems like it may be failing...This is likely paired by the really challenging WiFi here. WiFi is a precious resource, guarded by all businesses. Patrons must ask for access, and are provided with a tiny slip of paper with an absurd combination of letters and numbers whicjh they apparently change daily. Andmost of the time, the signal is pretty weak. Found a great one currently at Alexander’s Coffee. Very excited.
Food and drink tour of La Paz
Last night I joined a red hat tour of key foodie spots, food, and drink in the city. We started at the market with api (a thick, sweet, warm drink made with two types of corn) and pastel (a deep fried pastry filled with cheese), moved on to local beer, fava beans, fried cheese and gigantic corn (my tour mates had pork), then singari (the Bolivian version of pisco) sours with peanutsoup and pique macho (a Bolivian version of poutine),followed by Bolivian red wine and a quinoa brownie!
Thursday, April 25, 2019
The zebras!!!
Bolivia’s crossing guards wear amazing zebra outfits. Look up the Jon Oliver segment on this awesomeness!
I got a Bolivian visa!
If I’ve talked to you over the past few months, I’ve likely mentioned the ridiculous Bolivian visa requirements(bank statement that demonstrates proof of financial liquidity, full itinerary, invitation letter, and most notably $160 in crisp, US currency). Well, despite talking about this incessantly over the past couple of months, I waited until the last day possible, on Easter Sunday, the day before my trip, to get my cash. And the ATM spit out a variety of worn bills, which in turn required me to do some cash trades with family and friends and another trip to the ATM. Turns out, Bolivian visa dude was disappointed that I wasn’t going to use a credit card. He carefully examined each of my bills, less for crispness and more for integrity of the edges. He rejected three of my twenties, but thankfully I had stocked up on dollars in Cusco and was able to provide some suitable alternatives. He did not seem amused when Igleefully said, “yeah!” After each bill passed and got moved to the acceptance pile. But my visa is in hand,and I’m now enjoying La Paz!
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Altitude sickness or caffeine withdrawal?
I met a lovely person from Australia this afternoon on the bus from Machu Picchu to Aqua Caliente. We both were speculating whether our slight headaches were induced by altitude sickness or caffeine withdrawal.We are both major coffee consumers and it has been hard to keep up our normal consumption in Peru. After two cappuccinos in Aqua Caliente, I’m feeling amazing and thinking was definitely the caffeine withdrawal.
More llamas
There are approximately 20 of them on the Machu Picchu site. We saw one steal a banana from a tourist. It was awesome. Llamas love bananas.
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