W czwartek rano wybralismy sie do La Paz – najwyzej polozonej stolicy swiata, zas w piatek wieczorem bylismy z powrotem w Santa Cruz. Dlaczego? Czesciowa odpowiedz na to pytanie zawarta jest w pierwszym zdaniu.
Ekscytujacy przylot na najwyzej polozone lotnisko swiata ‘El Alto’oraz niezwykle przezycia estetyczne w drodze do hotelu, zapowiadaly emocjonujacy dlugi weekend. Jednakze wysokosc 3.650 m.n.p.m dala o sobie znac juz w hotelu, gdzie bol i zawroty glowy postanowilam zlagodzic krotka drzemka (w koncu wstalismy o 6 rano) oraz herbatka z lisci koki.
Przyznam, troche to pomoglo i reszte dnia spedzilismy na zwiedzaniu. Niestety, w nocy, do ogolnego zmeczenia doszly palpitacje serca, ktore skutecznie uniemiozliwily mi spanie. Nad ranem zas moje serducho zaczelo pobolewac – coz, mialo do tego prawo, w koncu pracowalo na pelnych obrotach przez cala noc! Tak sie sklada, ze mam dosyc ‘bogata’ historie medyczna, wiec postanowilismy jechac do szpitala, tak na wszelki wypadek. Nasz hotel polecil prywatna klinike ‘Alemana’, w ktorej zaopiekowano sie mna niemal od razu, a nawet wezwano kardiologa, ktory zrobil mi EKG (dodam tylko, ze Wieki Piatek jest w Boliwii dniem wolnym od pracy).
Na szczescie okazalo sie, ze serce mam jak dzwon, ale na nasze nieszczescie, zalecono mi jak najszybsze opuszczenie La Paz!
Na sobote mielismy zaplanowana wizyte w Copacabanie, jednak z powodu blokady drogi, podroz w strone Jeziora Titicaca byla niemozliwa, a zabukowanie hotelu w tropikalnych Yungas graniczylo z cudem. Coz wiec nam zostalo? Szybkie przebukowanie biletu i powrot do ‘domu’.
Tak oto rozpoczela sie i zakonczyla nasza przygoda z La Paz – ‘najpiekniejszym miastem na swiecie’. O tym zas, co zdarzylo sie pomiedzy, napisze wkrotce.
Na pocieszenie, ostatniego wieczoru ukazala sie naszym oczom gora Illimani, ktora udalo mi sie sfotografowac w drodze na lotnisko – widok ten jest jednym z powodow, dla ktorych warto bylo cierpiec!
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On Thursday morning we went to La Paz – the highest capital of the world and on Friday night we were back in Santa Cruz. Why? The first sentence contains partial answer to this question.
Exciting arrival on the world’s highest situated airport ‘El Alto’ and the very beautiful way to the hotel, heralded a steamy long weekend. However, the height of 3,650 meters above sea level reminded about itself in the hotel with headache and dizziness. I decided to have a short nap (in the end we got up at 6 am) and a coca leaves tea.
I must admit it helped a little so we spent the rest of the day sightseeing. Unfortunately, that night a general fatigue and tiredness was joined by heart palpitations, which effectively prevent me from falling asleep. And in the morning my heart started to ache – well, no wonder, it was working at full speed all night!
It happens that I have a rather ‘rich’ medical history, so we decided to go to the hospital, just in case. Our hotel recommended a private ‘Clinica Alemana’ where they took care of me almost immediately (mind, it was a Good Friday bank holiday), and even called a cardiologist.
Fortunately, it turned out that my heart is like a bell, but unfortunately, it was recommended to us to leave La Paz as soon as possible!
On Saturday we had planned a visit to Copacabana, but due to the road blockade a journey toward Lake Titicaca was impossible as to book a hotel in the tropical Yungas. So what did we do? W manage to re-book our plane tickets and go ‘home’.
Thus began and ended our adventure in La Paz – ‘the most beautiful city in the world’. I will tell you soon about what happened in between.
And for now, I am living you with a picture of the great Mount Illimani,that presented itself to us on that very last evening and which I managed to ‘snap’ on the way to the airport. This view is ‘to die for’, as they say – for me though, one of the reasons worth all that suffering.