Photo: Military band
Friday, June 6, 1997 I had been told by AeroPeru to be at the airport by 6:00 AM for the flight to La Paz. Mary, Josh and I took the first of two taxis. On the way, the driver stopped at a service station, and asked for the fare (8 soles or $3). He used the fare to buy enough gas for the rest of the ride to the airport.
At the airport we were told that the La Paz airport was closed for political reasons. Now we were not sure we wanted to fly to La Paz, but to fly through Lima would require buying additional tickets. We went to the Lloyd Aereo Boliviano office to find out what our options were. The office did not open until 9:00 AM.
While waiting outside, a military unit and band arrived for a display. We were there for at least two hours doing nothing except wait.
Photo: Rick getting shoeshine
The Lloyd Aereo Boliviano representative told us that a nationwide strike was on in La Paz, but that it would be over at midnight. Bolivians were protesting the return of Banzer, a former dictator, to power. He had just formed a coalition of top vote getters from the presidential election of only a few days before.
A young Australian couple were also at the office. They had been teaching English in La Paz for the last year and were also returning to La Paz tomorrow. The couple had hiked the Inca Trail at the same time we did. We had referred to the woman as the "hat lady" because she wore a large hat to cover her bald head. They were concerned about the strike, but thought that it was strictly non-violent and not likely to continue beyond the midnight deadline.
We returned to the Imperial Hotel, then went to the Cafe Haylliy for a chocolate cake breakfast. It was a slow day. More Corpus Christ celebrations were going on, including some fireworks. That night the lasagna at Mia Pizza was really great. The others had pizza, except for Mary who was still sick.
Map of Peru/Bolivia trip
