Lloyd Aero Boliviano (LAB) was very accommodating to us. They told us to leave our bags with them. We were taken on a bus to the 4-star Ambassador Hotel in the downtown area. Charlie and I shared a room. I fell asleep for an hour while we awaited word on our flight. Todd asked if I wanted to go change some money. I did; so he, Matt, and I walked down to the square and changed with two women money changers sitting at the corner. For $1=$7.91 Bolivianos. We then went to an internet café that was run by a 10-year old kid. We each paid $1B for 20 minutes of access. I emailed Joan and Todd learned that Callie's RDH-MIA flight had been late departing and then was held on the MIA tarmac waiting for a gate. She missed us by just a few minutes and should arrive in Santa Cruz tomorrow at 6:35 am. We stopped for a beer on the way back to the hotel. At the hotel, the group gathered for a large buffet lunch which was very good.

Around 3:30 we were loaded into a fleet of taxis and driven to the airport. We boarded the plane and then experienced several false starts followed by frustrating delays as the final labor negotiations sputtered toward closure. Aggravation was high as we sat on the tarmac.

At about 5:00 we finally took off with a cheering cabin. The half hour flight presented little to see on the cloud-covered landscape. I sat with Jessica and gave her a quick-and-dirty Spanish lesson which seemed to immediately improve her communication ability.

Upon landing, we gathered our luggage, which, miraculously, had all arrived and loaded onto a bus which took us to the Residencial Boliviano downtown. The residencial is a typical court-yarded Latin American hospedaje. They had two toucans and several parrots to keep us amused. The numerous hammocks were quickly occupied by the students.

Adam took us all down to the Irish pub for a beer and then we returned to the bus and rode to a very nice restaurant. The Casa De Camba where we ate and excellent meal along with Todd's Bolivian and Dutch colleagues from the forestry project. I sat with one of the Dutch guys and talked about a wide variety of topics. We also met Mariellos Peña Claros, a Bolivian forester who got her Ph. D. at Utrecht , as did her Dutch husband, Lorentz. She will be our guide for the next few days.

Green bags of coca leaves started appearing. It was obvious that the students had discovered the local custom quickly. Todd and I demonstrated the proper techniques.

After dinner, most of us went out to a local salsa club. Most of our guys didn't dance but I danced with all of our women who were present. I'm sure my clumsy, limpng attempts were a source of humor for the locals. We stayed until midnight and then went back to the hotel. I roomed with Strom in a tiny room.

Last updated
May 7, 2007