Riding along the shoreline of Lake Titicaca this morning, I could see I was in for an extreme weather day. Bright bolts of lightning danced on the horizon and ominous clouds loomed overhead. I stopped to pull on my puffy jacket. Over that, I zipped up my riding jacket and fastened the collar preparing for the inevitable soaking that was ahead. All day long I was in and out of thunder showers. Horizon to horizon, the broad open plain was an ever-changing kaleidoscope of menace and captivation. Fortunately the showers were intense but short lived. Lasting ten minutes at most and followed by brief appearances of blue sky.

The border crossing into Bolivia was pretty straightforward though I somehow missed the fact that US citizens needed a special visa. The border agent was very helpful and explained what I needed (twice... because my Spanish is not so good). I left my bike at the border and took a tuk tuk back into town to find a shop with a printer. I had to plead with a neighboring shop owner to please let me use their wifi connection. I got online and found the appropriate application which I filled out and printed. I also had to make copies of my passport, current bank statement, vaccine record and hotel reservation in La Paz. Additionally I had to type up an itinerary for my stay in Bolivia (I just made a guess as I have no definite plans). Returning to the border, the agent checked my paperwork, charged me the $160USD fee and issued the visa.

I headed to the Aduana (customs office) to deal with the importation of my motorcycle. Unlike any border I have encountered so far, here the Peru and Bolivia Aduana agents sat right next to each other. As the Peru officer canceled my import permit, he handed all of my documents directly to the Bolivian agent. She asked me a few questions and inspected my bike. Boom! I was out of there. Even with the unexpected trip back into town to deal with the visa, the border only took 2 hours. I jumped on the bike and crossed into Bolivia.

The ride into La Paz was stunning. A long line of snow capped peaks framed the eastern horizon as I could see the edges of the city in the distance. My GPS said I was 39 minutes from my hotel. Boy was it wrong.

As I rolled into the outskirts I could tell I was going to need to stay sharp. The traffic thickened up and then came to a standstill. I had to be very assertive as the other drivers offered me no quarter. I had to ride within inches and wedge my front tire into small gaps between vehicles. If I was too polite, I would get forced out of my lane. I wish I would have had my video camera mounted and rolling as the traffic scene in a city like this is really hard to describe. The vehicles are crammed in so tightly that pedestrians have to squeeze their bodies against the vehicles to cross the streets. The roads are narrow and crazy steep. The road surface is broken, potholed and often cobbled. There are open markets lining both sides of the street which extend to the very edge of the vehicles. There are dogs, children and elderly people that randomly stray into traffic. Small motorbikes force themselves through impossibly small spaces. Often they take to a sidewalk or drainage ditch to muscle their way through the stagnant tangle.

It took me over two hours of clutch abusing hills and traffic to reach my hotel. I was so happy to tuck Tiggrr into the parking garage and get off the streets.

Tomorrow I'll see what kind of exploring I can do around here.