Joan had to work so I got up at 6:00 still slightly jet-lagged from the Iceland trip. After breakfast, I checked my email and learned that plans for our return trip had changed by about 12 hours.

I packed and then, after lunch, Stephanie and I took the Miata to the Bradshaw Body Shop to have the door repaired. It had been raining hard and much of the parking lot was flooded. We then went to the airport and said good-bye. It took more than half an hour to straighten my ticket changes out but the Delta agent knew what she was doing.

The flight to Atlanta went quickly. I bought Grisham's The Pelican Brief , at GSP and started reading it. After a fish and chips lunch I returned to the packed waiting area and soon saw Marydale. She had a great summer in Wyoming working with paleontologists. Marydale and I sat across the aisle from each other and chatted or read all the way to Miami .

At the Lloyd Aero Boliviano desk we met Jessica and the Montreat students, Chris, Anne, and Keri. Strom showed up a little late and we all went to the gate. Soon afterward, Todd Fredrickson came up and introduced himself and the two Ferrum students: Shawn and Matt. Charlie Jones and the two Union students, Amy and Rion soon arrived. Callie was the only one missing. Marydale and I were bumped up to first class, so I kept an eye on the door for Callie, but she never arrived. The door closed and soon we were airborne.

Bolivian first class is not like American, Argentine, or Brazilian first class. Service is less attentive, there are only stewards, and the beverage options were sparse. At least the seat was comfortable and there was plenty of leg room. I read for awhile, had a so-so chicken dinner, read some more, and fell asleep.

We were awakened about 3 hours later at 4:30 for a good breakfast. We learned that our flight, which was originally destined for Santa Cruz would land in Cochabamba instead. No reason was given. In fact, the crew acted as if that were the plan all along. We were clueless as we entered the Cochabamba airport and passed through Migraciones into Bolivia .