August 26, 2007

Hello again,

We have had a great day acclimatizing and getting to know the fascinating city of La Paz. There were actually a few clouds in the sky this morning and some late winter breezes blowing today, but it has returned to beautiful clear skies this evening.

We started out the day getting oriented to the city with a walk-through of the witches' market and the textile, leather, and jewelry markets. We then checked out the "Touching the Sky" bus tour of La Paz. The bus is a big red double decker London-style bus that just barely makes it underneath some of the electrical wires running above the city streets. It is a great way to see the city as you ride on top of the bus! We did a tour of south La Paz and Valle de la Luna, a area of exceptional, eroded features. The tour is packed with lots of information about the city, the economic and political situation in Bolivia, and historical anecdotes.

After that we had a relaxing lunch, then some of us returned to the bus to tour the central part of the city, while others did some exploring on their own and took care of last minute details. It was a great day, but I think everyone is looking forward to getting out into the countryside and getting some exercise tomorrow.

Hasta mañana,

Mark