Day 19 of South American holiday

I´m sitting in the Internet booth of the Hotel Fuentes in La Paz. Steve and I are suffering from altitude listlessness. The national elections are on tomorrow. No alcohol has been served in the country since last Friday. We listened to a Dutch woman aruging with staff about this yesterday. She felt she should be an exception to the national rule because she was not, herself, voting. Travel is a great study in national characteristics, as revealed through the world´s tourists. Today, I´m anti-tourism. There are dozens of arguments against wandering stupidly over other people´s countries. (Yesterday, I was all for it.)

http://manicnotes.blogspot.com/2005/11/against-tourism.html

From “Notes” notebook:

• Tricia Fong’s birthday
• Dangerous (traffic) walk after breakfast up to the museum area around Calle Jaén. Popped in to the precious metals museum and the one with all the dioramas.
• REALLY REALLY NOT FEELING LIKE IT TODAY
• Thank God for backpacker refuge, Sol y Luna! Nice clean baño and now for lunch – starving!
• Both had long nap in the arvo – not feeling the best.
• In the evening, a trek to the more expensive part of La Paz, found a reassuringly western supermercado & bought ham and cheese for tomorrow [national elections mean restaurants and hotels will be shut]. Bought rolls from a trad. Bolivian woman selling on the street.
• Cheeseburger and chips from Danny’s Diner.
• Long walk home.
• Staying at the Hotel Fuentes.