After a relatively smooth trip from the sunny Copacabana we arrived at the dizzying heights of La Paz. A short walk to the hostel we'd booked had us greeted with 'I'm sorry, I know we confirmed your reservation but we have no rooms for you' en Espanol of course. Just when you think your down... 'however we have a double room with ensuite and all at the hotel next door, where you are welcome to stay for your entire trip at the same price'... cha-ching!
So all good, am feeling pretty chuffed with ourselves, until you get to the reception desk of the hotel open your bag and find... no passports. BUGGER!
After an hour or so of realising there's not much we can do about it that evening, what better way to relieve your stress than with food. A walk down to the Star Of India, home of the world's hottest curry (Polly, Robyn I'm sure I remember you guys talking about it, and I think Joe got the tshirt?).
The following morning and the stark reality that we really do need our passports, so where are they? A good racking of the brain reveals that we left them in the Tour Peru office at Copacabana, probably, well most likely, quite possibly, hopefully!
Trying to track down Tour Peru in Copacabana is about as easy as finding that proverbial needle in a haystack. From experience there, the agency is more or less a square booth in the wall. It's open from 9am-9pm but is unmanned for 11 and half of those hours. For the half hour they're open every day is bring your kids and pets to work day! However with a lot of support and muchos gracias from our hotel they managed to contact Tour Peru in Copacabana for us....
.... '$100 USD for safe return of the passports'. The corrupt and thieving gentleman at Tour Peru said 'they need to pay me because they need their passports'. Kind of true but not exactly keen to part with our hard earned cash to re-purchase our own passports. After several 'discussions' between our hotel and the corrupt gentleman in Copacabana (he spoke no English), the story changed to 'a fisherman found the passports under a boat and it's him that wants the money as a reward'... Lying, thieving, corrupt bastard.
Time to kick some ass.... 7.30am the next morning and the first bus back to Copacabana please. Four hours later and many a raised voice the passports come out of the draw.... 'Yoink' straight out of their hand and into the bag. And the matter of the compensation for the fisherman... 'What fisherman? You lying, thieving corrupt BASTARD!'
Four hours later and back in La Paz with passports in tow! And so a nervy couple of days in La Paz had us looking at where the British/French Embassies were, the possibility of emergency travel documents, and 'did we actually leave the passports in Copacabana?!'
However all's well that ends well. A note on La Paz, a cool city to behold, the buildings appear to cling to the side of the mountains and the omminously tall 'Illimani' snowcapped mountain (6450m) looms ever-present on the horizon.
A city of ups and downs? Yes, it's a rarity to find a street or 'calle' that doesn't have you tackling a sharp incline or decline. A fun city however that offers good food (big sandwiches), good variety and great value for money. Streetside markets are omnipresent up and down the roads and contribute a lot of colour and noise to an already vibrant city.
Ciao for now
A&G
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