September 21-October 4, 2003 Missing college football is tough, but this is worth it We made it to La Paz without any problems. La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, also happens to be the highest city in the world. Elevation is a mere 3,650 meters! Sam and I could definitely feel the reduced amount of oxygen climbing stairs, hiking the hills of the city, and doing our pushups at night. (Thats right Uncle Scott, we’re doing our push ups. Haven’t been to good about the squat kicks though). Anyway, La Paz is also very poor and inexpensive. I think the average annual income in Bolivia is about $3,000. Right now, the city’s name is more of a misnomer. Upon arrival the taxi driver informs us that there had been a lot of problems that day. Strikes, road blocks, angry locals with rocks, etc. He said not to worry though, they were finished for the day. (Yeah, sure, no worries here). Anyway, we made it to the hotel no problem. The large mobs of people, innocently leaving the end of a futbol game, were still a little unnerving. The next day we got up and checked out the main cathedral Iglesia de San Francisco and then headed to the mercado de brujas (witches market). Here we found and bought your typical L.A. handicrafts but saw some more interesting stuff as well. For instance, did you know that burning llama fetuses in the mountains brings you good luck? Sam and I thought about buying one but decided against it because we didn’t have anywhere to burn it, and because if smelling those things before being set a flame was any precursor as to what to expect, I wanted nothing to do with ’em! We also went to the museo de coca to learn all about coca leaves. The museum confirmed the rumors that Coca Cola used and in some cases continues to flavor their drink with coca leaves but does not actually put cocaine in the drink. Sam and I both tried munching on the leaves. They taste and smell bad but definitely numb your mouth and give you a buzz. However, we don't think we'll take it up as a pastime. So, burdened with another bag full of 10 kilos of handicrafts we checked out of the hotel and were on our way to Copacabana on Lago Titicaca. However, there seemed to be a problem on the road between to La Paz and Copacabana. We made some calls and were told that we might still be able to make it out of the city if we go to a different bus terminal (not the main one). We had a cab to take us. The 15-minute cab ride, which cost less than a dollar, was interesting because the clutch was going out. That meant we stalled going up every hill (there are a lot of hills in La Paz). We finally get to the second bus place and are informed that those buses as well are not willing to try and get past the various road blocks set by angry locals. We make a gametime decision and decide to head to Puno (which is Peru’s main port for Lake Titicaca). We decide to do the two-day/one-night tour of the islands near Puno. We set out on our painfully slow boat and our accompanied by some very loud Columbians and Brazilians. They were fun for the first hour, interesting for the following hour, but for the remaining 26 hours they were simply annoying. The first stop is at the handmade islands of Uros. These islands are literally handmade from the reeds found in the shallow areas of the lake. These are the same people that demonstrated their boat-making abilities 50 years ago when they constructed a reed boat to cross the Pacific. This explains why mummies and such in the eastern part of the world have traces of coca even though they died much before Columbus discovered America or Pizarro conquered South America. We then went to another island Amantani (made by nature) and stayed the night with local families. We eat the typical food of the community (boiled potatoes, sweet potatoes, potato soup, fried potatoes … catching a theme here?). We had a dance that night. Locals and Gringos running around in circles hand in hand. Men had ponchos on, and women wore several layers of colorful stitching. It was interesting to say the least. We ended the night looking up at a night’s sky full of the biggest, brightest, and most plentiful stars any of us had ever seen. The next morning we went to our last island Taquile. These aren’t small tropical islands. It took us over an hour to hike from one end to the other over hills, stone steps and dirt. Sam and I both passed on lunch because we were, and still are, both battling Pizarro’s curse. I guess that just comes with the territory. Yesterday, about every hour or so, Sam or I would look at our watches and let out a little whimper. Inevitably it would be the exact time during ESPN College Game Day when Lee Corso was due to say something stupid, or maybe it was time for the early games to start, prime time, etc. We both miss college football but agree that we definitely wouldn’t trade these trips and experiences for anything. We are having a blast. Next stop, two-day rafting trip down the icy waters near Cuzco, Peru. Hasta, T.J. ’03 and Fred P.S. — There is a good article about Dead Fred in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Go to the Centre Web site and check it out at www.centre.edu. NEXT | BACK