Travel Adventures with Manin.
Bolivia.
2005: Sat. Dec. 31st.
Bill’s birthday and New Year’s Eve.
Flying into La Paz, we had an excellent view of the Andes. The clouds shaped the wings of a condor in the rising sun. This is home to my ancestors. They have called me home. Discovering the purpose is the adventure. There is no specific itinerary. We're winging in. This is the first time Doc has traveled with me. He's a little concerned. He'll learn.
At 7 am we arrived in La Paz, after a long flight. La Paz is an hour ahead of EST.
The city is in a very high altitude and there’s less oxygen available to the body. You can really tell when you get off the plane.
Even walking a short distance can take the wind right out of you. Doc Dave Ahrend said he felt his heart pounding heavily in his chest. We both wheezed after some minor exertions getting our bags thru customs and such.
The beautiful mountain Illimani overlooks La Paz. The views are breathtaking.
I know this land. I am filled with elation.
La Paz is a busy city – definitely in a basin. We drove down thru the main road to the center of town, where the hotel is. There is constant traffic and tooting of horns.
The taxi driver who picked us up is named Rogelio; he recommended El Presidente hotel. It is downtown, has nice rooms and good food. Sounds like a winner to me.
We checked in and walked up towards the Basilica of San Francisco, which I could see from the hotel window.
Got my fortune told by an Aymara Indian who was using a lead-mercury-silver alloy that he heated and then asked me to dump into cold water. The resulting glob of metal shows one’s fortune. He said I have a prosperous future, will successfully complete my many projects. He blessed my love life and said I will enjoy good health.
I visited some shops. Bought volcanic clay figurines from some of the street vendors. Purchased saltenos for 2 shoeshine boys. The kids wear ski masks to hide their faces because people make fun of the shoeshine boys.
The alpaca wool is soft and comforting,warm and cozy. It is LUXURIOUS.
I love the bowler hats. Story goes that a large shipment of bowlers came in from England in the 1920's. They were too small for most mens heads, but they fit the women. And so it became enmeshed in the culture. Nice article at
http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/10/09/the-bowler-hat-born-in-britain-perfected-by-bolivia/7686/
Wandered uphill (wheeze, wheeze) to a travel tour office to investigate going to Copacabana. Wandered over to an Aymara woman selling herbs. She said if we wanted to take her picture, it would cost 5 Bolivianos. She recommended chewing on coca leaves for shortness of breath, so we bought a big bag that lasted us the whole week. I spit the leaves out after a few minutes because it had a slightly bitter taste. But it did help with the shortness of breath. My lower lip also went slightly numb.
Doc wandered around town.
I went back to the hotel to take a nap and read the energy of the city.
In my meditation, I had a visit from lizard, then turtle. A Spirit Guide with black hair cut in bowl style with big feather earrings, hanging down like sideburns, came to visit me and stroked my cheeks lovingly, welcoming me home. I was filled with such love. Then I was awakened by the church bells ringing at 6:30 pm, that New Year's evening.
At midnight, I awakened Doc to see the entire surrounding hillsides lit up with firecrackers and fireworks. Then there were kids on the street below with what appeared to be blow guns. They would blow firecrackers at each other while running and dodging each other up and down the street. We watched the celebrations from the 11th floor windows.
