Dia del turismo

Today was a big day. I went to visit the markets on Sagarnaga Street, which is in central La Paz, an area referred to as El Prado. It's the main shopping area in La Paz for artesania. It rained a little bit in the morning, but not for very long. In general the weather has been GREAT here. I was under the impression that it would be really rainy, but it has been warm (relatively speaking, since it's probably about the same temperature as DC is now) and dry. The church in the picture is Iglesia de San Francisco. It's pretty run down but looks like it's being renovated.

After doing some shopping (I may have mentioned this, but because I get home the weekend before Christmas, I feel like I should take advantage of the time and do my shopping here) at the market with my colleague, Elsa, we went to meet a friend of her's and her son, Alejandro, for lunch. I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but it was not a place where a vegetarian would be comfortable (as most of you know, I am not a vegetarian). The food was traditional food from Chuquisaca, which is south of here, just north of Tarija. Recommendations were made for food that wouldn't be too spicy. The plate that came was filled with more meat than I have probably ever eaten at one sitting. There was chicken, pork, sausage, two large potatoes, and tripe. Yes, tripe. Being the trooper that I am, I tried it. I did not like it. I ate what I thought was a significant part of what was on my plate, but my lunchmates were unimpressed. But Elsa's dog is going to eat well tonight as a result. I tried, I really did, but I guess I'm just not used to that much meat. Still, I feel that I made an honorable attempt.

Luckily after lunch, we got some walking in. Elsa and Alejandro walked me close enough to where I'm staying that they could point me in an easy direction home. I didn't stay in for long. I backtracked to where we had been, in an area called Miraflores. There's a big park on top of a hill that overlooks the city. Great for pictures as well as people watching. Miraflores Park seems to be a very popular place on weekends, especially for families with kids. So I hung out in the park for a while and then came home. Exhausted.

Tomorrow's plans are up in the air. If the weather is nice, I'm going to Lake Titicaca with our receptionist and here family. If it rains, we'll have lunch here, and maybe I'll hit the Witches Market. I had hoped to do that today, but I ran out of time.

Good grief. It's 9:30pm, and I'm still feeling full from lunch. I guess the diet gurus aren't kidding when they say protein fills you up!

Oh, and tomorrow night I'll post my first week's worth of photos. Stay tuned...