La Paz, Bolivia

  With my arrival to bolivia begins a new leg of my journey.  I am planning to spend somewhere around 40 days in Bolivia, studying spanish in La Paz, enjoying a few days of Carnival in Oruro, and volunteering in an animal refuge in Villa Tunari.  My first impressions of La Paz were similar to that of most of the large cities I have encountered.  There is a ton of traffic, large amounts of poverty, and in general, a higher sense of chaos than found in smaller cities.  I have heard many warnings about the city not being safe, but after a few days of exploring and chatting with the locals, I have found that like any place, there are certain places you should not go, and things you should not do after dark.  All in all, the people are friendly and helpful, there is a lot of cheer on the streets, most likely due to the near approaching Carnival celebration, and the other travelers I have met are quick to make friends.  The city is a beautiful place, with steep mountains as the city boundaries, and is mostly up and down, there are few streets that maintain level ground for long.  This makes for an amazing night time view, with the lights of the city flickering on the mountainside, just below the silhouettes of the rugged mountain boundaries.  The lights on the hillside remind me of some of the forest fires I have seen, with the glowing light covering every contour of the land.  The surrounding forests are incredibly wild, with many opportunities to go mountain biking, climbing on glaciers, trekking through the jungle while battling crocs and mosquitoes, and really anything that your thirst for adventure could desire.  I am predicting that the highlight of my stay in Bolivia will be volunteering at the animal refuge, walking and running Pumas through the cloud forest, but it will be stiff competition with all the other adventures to be had.