northampton, ma

Different people have different ideas of what travelling should be. But one rule I believe remains constant: the more travelling you have done, the more relaxed you are about the "meaning" of travelling. I remember my first solo adventure in Mediterranean Europe, when for about 6 weeks straight I was constantly going going going and seeing everything listed in my guidebook and making sure I "saw" the city (I eventually burned out and spent the next 6 weeks doing little but sitting on a beach). The meaning of travel then was one of constant activity, and getting the "most" out of my time. I, like most firsttimers, had forgot that vacations also mean relaxation.

Now - well now things are different. For example, yesterday I got up at around 1030, yawned, then went to the internet cafe. There I listened to some music, caught up on emails, and wrote here. Then I went downtown and got a pizza, and afterwards went to a cafe and had a smoothie and read the local newspaper. At 330 I caught the movie Batman Begins (quite good), then afterwards went back to my hotel and took a nap. At about 830 I got up again, went down to the English pub for a few hours and then hopped over to a club. So whereas two years ago my day would have read: cathedral, museum, monument; now it reads: music, pizza, internet, movie.

Both to me are proper travelling - after you do this backpacking thing a few times you learn that days spent doing nothing are just as worthwhile and enjoyable as days filled with activity. Especially 6 weeks into your trip, with 8 left to go. La Paz is a great destination for those looking to do absolutely nothing but vegetate and enjoy themselves: English movie theatres, varied food (I've had everything from muffins to shish kebabs, pizza to charquekan, smoothies to coca tea - and all well done), good nightlife, internet everywhere, nice cafes, etc. It's a dangerous place for a person with no plan, like myself, in the sense that you can get trapped into its cosmopolitan urbanity and forget that there actually are other places and things to see in the country. The lure of waking up and getting a bagel and cappucino, lounging about during the day, and then going out at night has kept me here a week now; who knows when it will end.