El Alto

I'm still in Bolivia and am back in La Paz in the Radisson hotel. It's the biggest hotel I've been in on this trip. I should have slept well last night, but drank coca tea yesterday afternoon and it kept me awake.

I may nave mentioned that the president President here, Evo Morales, is the first native American president. The large indiginess population is, of course, proud and have high expectations. Monied intersts here, some associated with U.S., have been adding to his problems by supporting movements toward greater autonomy. Greater autonomy for the verious states is not all bad, but is a very difficult to work out. A significant portion of the Indian population take the movement as an unjust opposistion to self rule by native Americans.

Spellcheck is still in spanish.

El Alto is a large city on the plains just above La Paz. In fact it was once call El Alto de La Paz, but is now an independent 'municipio.' It is also Evo's greatest support center. As a step toward heading home I plan to take a room at hotel Alexander in the center of El Alto today.

Took an interesting and informative guided tour of Tijuanaco yesterday.

It's cold, clear, and beautiful here.

Larrea Tridentata

Some asked about ¨Larrea.` This blogger program ´asked´ me for a name and told me that Richard was taken. I was looking out the window at a greasewood/creasote bush and it came to me that its scientific´name was larrea tridentata. The full name seemed a bit long so I offered the program Larraea and it was accepted.

Google Earth

This trip seems to be winding down for me. I´m beginning to think of home a bit more this days.

Still I get interesting mail from Chaing Mai and have thought of visits Norway, Scottland, Irland, Poland, Germany.

But I am also recognizing that it is getting difficult for me to travel alone.

Rex, reminds me that Goolgle Earth not only provides maps, of the places to which we travel, intend to travel or are curious about, but also a lot of great photos and other information.

Titikaka is really two very great lakes of deep, Tahoe clear, lakes. Traveling around the lake causes one to immagine that one is traveling around a very interesting ocean shoreline. Made even more interesting by the great, snow covered Andean peaks in the not so distant background.

Change Sweet Change

I´m back in La Paz after a very pleasant 3 days in Copacabana. Saw dancing Pacenos there and visited the Island of the Sun. Tomorrow I intend to visit Tijuanaco tomorrow. Tijuanaco is a set of ruins of the seat of important Incan and preIncan civilizations, Aymara and earlier. Pacenos, by the way, are city people from La Paz. They were celebrating a kind of religious ´madi gra.´
The present federal government here is the first to be run by Native Americas since the Conquest. They are experiencing a lot of national and internation resistance. They also have a lot to learn about their new position.