The Eagle has landed

Hola and buenos dias to all our friends and followers!!

We made it here to La Paz last night (VERY late), and are having a rest day. What an adventure it was! We got up at 2:45 am in Columbus, OH, gathered our things and drove the 2 minutes to the airport (it was nice to be so close), then unloaded our bags so I could return the rental car. Once I returned to the ticketing desk, after wandering the deserted parking garage for 10 minutes trying to find my way back, we discovered that our desk didn't open until 4:30. We were told to check in 2 hours prior to our 6:10 flight, thus why we were early. We used our extra time to re-weigh all of our checked suitcases (we ended up with 5) to make sure they met the 50-lb requirement. Of course we had to re-arrange things a little bit, so it was a very good thing that we had the extra time to do that. We got all checked in, then moved on to the security checkpoint. We've all seen what happens on TV when someone gets pulled out of the line. This time, it was me!! Apparently some of the beads on my dress were metallic enough to set off the scanner (who knew? I would have sworn they were all plastic), so I got the wand, the pat-down AND the chemical wand for explosives. THAT was certainly interesting, but I didn't mind it.

Our flight was delayed coming into Chicago, and our 35-minute layover to change planes was cut to 20 minutes. We had to run across 3 concourses, only to find that our flight had left and we were re-booked on the next flight out, leaving in 90 minutes. So, we walked back to the concourse we had just run thru (by this time we were all ready for a rest and a treat!), picked up a McDonald's shake and waited.

This is the point at which weather became a problem. Yes, Iowans, weather delaying flights is not just a winter phenomenon!! Our flight was delayed multiple times before it left Chicago due to re-routing around storm fronts, then we were re-routed three more times in the air!! A 2.5 hour flight turned into more than three and our 3.5 hours to rest and eat in Miami was mostly gone. We landed with about an hour between flights, and then the flight to Bolivia was delayed!! And we moved gates. And it was delayed again. And we finally left Miami at 4:30, about two hours late. The good news is that they were able to make up a bunch of time in the air, so we arrived only 1.25 hours late in La Paz, at 10:15pm.

By this time, we were all exhausted, plus we immediately began feeling the altitude before we even left the plane. Fortunately, Customs was a breeze, a taxi driver spotted our big load and came right over to help us get all our bags collected and out to his cab -- and it was big enough for all of us and our stuff!! After a somewhat wild ride (those traffic laws are more like "guidelines" than actual rules), we arrived at our hostel. The door was locked, but they were waiting for us and came right out to help move everything in, knowing who we were, making us feel both expected and welcome. It was so nice to be treated like friends!

So, right now I am sitting in our little room using the free wi-fi, having been awakened by a call letting us know that the free breakfast was ending in 45 minutes so we could eat (yes, the front desk actually called to make sure we knew there was free breakfast!), with a full stomach, a pocket of coca leaves to chew for altitude sickness, and a comfy bed. The only assignment today is to change some money, since we got to the airport so late last night that the office there was closed.

We will try to get some pictures posted later, although we are taking it VERY easy today so we don't get sick.

Love to you all, and thanks again for your thoughts and prayers as we begin our journey in Bolivia.

Abrazos!!
Susan