Bolivia - La Paz

Our bus to La Paz crossed Lake Titicaca on a ferry. All passengers got off the bus and took a smaller boat across, meeting up with the bus on the other side of the lake:

In La Paz, we are staying in Hotel Europa, a top-end hotel. I knew it was time for a splurge when Bill, suffering from yet another stomache trouble, suggested Orlando, Florida as our next destination. Ah, the luxury:

Bolivia is a good place for a splurge, as even nice hotels and their services are pretty reasonable. No need for the drink-soda-out-of-the-mini-bar-at-night-and-replace-it-in-the-morning-before-the-cleaning-lady-comes here. (Does anyone else do this or am I the only one that is this cheap?)

La Paz, at 3600m above sea level, is the highest big city in the world. (Our hotel provides oxygen tanks upon request.) And the shoe shine boys here all wear ski masks and baseball hats, only their eyes visible. According to the Lonely Planet, this is because they are mostly students, ashamed of having to shine shoes for a living. Good thing we read about that before we got here - otherwise, we would have thrown them our wallets and ran for our lives:

Lunch! I was waiting for a nice restaurant to order ceviche, as it is raw fish like sushi, and finally ordered it in Bolivia, a LAND-LOCKED country:

Salteñas (filled with meat, vegetables and boiled egg - juicy!), empanadas, tamales (the ones wrapped in corn leaves) and other baked goods: