We made it - first day in La Paz

So after an entire day of flying, we finally arrived at La Paz, Bolivia´s humble little airport around 6:30 am. Both of us were exhausted; the flight from Miami to La Paz was long and uncomfortable. After we got our bags we caught a taxi into the center of La Paz and sought out a hostal to recharge in for a few hours before we went exploring. The first 3 hostals we went to were full so we had to settle on a more expensive place called "Hotel Maya." Great atmosphere, complete with some computers to access the internet and a few shops right outside its doors selling alpaca garmets and offering tours. Our room has a tiny balcony that opens up to the street, complete with a great view of Iglesia San Francisco.

...multiple hours later, after a tremendously satisfying nap, we decided to explore the immediate area around us. Complete with our water bottle, Spanish dictionary, and our eagerness to see what La Paz has to offer, we headed for the enormous Franciscan church right down the street from our room. Eventually we will post some pictures to Flickr so you all can see.

Following our awesome solo tour of Iglesia San Francisco, we thought it´d be a good idea to find a cheaper hostal to stay in... 110 Bolivianos per night (around $13.5) was a little too expensive for our blood. During our search we stumbled upon another plaza where many people were hanging out, talking, eating ice cream, and feeding the loads of pigeons that would eating seed right out of your hand. We met two wonderful people, one girl born in Syracuse and a priest who was here to learn Spanish so he could go on to do missionary work in Argentina. Upon our recommendation, they headed across the street to check out Iglesia San Francisco. Jessie and I went and sat on a set of stairs surrounding this pigeon-laden plaza and watched a young boy chase the pigeons around. He eventually returned gripping one between his small hands and gave it to a traditionally dressed woman sitting next to us. This gave Jessie an idea, so we bought some seed and fed the birds ourselves. But before she could even open the bag containing the seeds, the pigeons flocked to her arm and hand, pecking at the bag. We had some fun with this, allowing the birds to land all over our bodies while we held the food in our hands... it was AWESOME!

Afterwards, we entered an enormous church across the street (not Iglesia San Francisco, another one). It was magnificent! We didn´t get any pictures of the inside, but the outside attests to its size and splendor.

At the moment we are hanging out in an internet cafe down the street from where we are staying. We plan to grab some food soon and possibly head back to our room and call it a day. Tomorrow I think we are going to head to Tihuanaco and see the archaeological remains. On Wednesday I think we might wave goodbye to La Paz and head to Copacabana on Lake Titicaca. We hope everyone is doing great back home and abroad! We are having a wonderful time, and it´s only the first day!

At the moment, Jessie is working on uploading some pictures so you all can see what our first day in La Paz was like.

We´ll post again soon!