So, we're sitting in an airport in the middle of Columbia because one of the engines on our plane went out. We we're in the air for about four hours with about two and a half hours to go. We've already been here for about three hours and the word is that they are flying a plane in from Miami to "rescue" us. Should be out of here in a couple hours. Definitely missing our connection to Chicago but ... it could be worse.
We had an awesome time in Cochabamba with Martha. She is the BEST hostess. Such a beautiful person. We saw some local sites, did a little shopping, learned a few new card games and relaxed in her gorgeous home. Since I was having problems with the altitude (mainly headaches and nose bleeds) she decided that we should not go back to La Paz. This decision was coupled with the fact that she wanted us to spend a day in Santa Cruz, a beautiful city about a 35 minute flight away, but that wasn't on our itinerary. Changing flights without medical necessity would cost money so, she made a call and got her pediatrician friend to get me an appointment with his cardiologist friend (because it's all about who you know) and the change to our flights began. The process however took an entire day between going to the doctor, going to the medical college to purchase the official document paper, going back to the doctor to have the paper filled out and signed, going to a street-side photo copy store to make copies of the official paper, then going to the Aero Sur and American Airlines offices to prove medical necessity for flight changes without fees. My blood pressure was 140 over 88 at the morning doctors appointment which is extremely high for me, but I'm sure by the end of the day it climbed even higher. All-in-all it was worth the effort because our time in Santa Cruz was great.
Tonchi, Martha's nephew, owns a restaurant/day resort about six miles outside the city limits of Santa Cruz that is absolutely awesome. By trade, Tonchi is a master landscaper and the six-acre property might just be his crowning glory. It has a small lake filled with at least a thousand Koi, a series of swimming pools, an aquarium with fish from the Amazon, a go cart track with manually-operated go carts, a playground with hand-crafted concrete animals that served as slides, teeter-tauters, etc. Check it out at www.bellabolivia.com/la-riconada.HTML. At the bottom of the website article, you'll see that Tonchi grew a world-record-sized Victoria water lily. Fascinating!
Until the next blog ... Take care.
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