High and On-Line
This blog entry about the events of Monday, January 19, 2004 was originally posted on January 20, 2004.
DAY 93: I woke up on a cold, southern hemisphere summer day in my Potosi hostel. Being in the highest city in the world at 13,353 ft. ASL, mornings are cold year round. With no real agenda for the day but to chill out, I just stayed under my three llama wool blankets in my room.
I HAD BEEN TRAVELING IN GROUPS of people for about the past two weeks, without much time to spend with my real traveling companion: my journal, personified by the name “Blog.” I powered up my iBook — with too many new desktop wallpapers to choose from — and spent the entire morning typing away, sorting through over 400 photos, editing and re-editing. I finished six entries in a row and copied the files to my Memory Stick, before heading out into the city.
I had arrived in Potosi in the middle of the night via a cargo truck, without any decent first impressions of the city. One step out of the hostel, I walked into a sunny day in what I soon discovered was a cool little city way in the mountains. What Potosi lacked in oxygen it made up for in beautiful colonial architecture, like its main Plaza 10 de Noviembre and its cathedral and the nearby Plaza 6 de Agosto. It took twice and many breaths to walk around the city streets and pedestrian malls. A storm came through and I found shelter in yet another Chinese restaurant named after Jackie Chan, where a TV played obscure cartoons in Chinese.
I spent most of the rest of the day at Tuko’s Cafe (picture above), the “World’s highest Cybercafe,” where I uploaded all the photos and stories I prepped up that morning to the BootsnAll servers. I chatted on-line, answered e-mails and even accepted some freelance design work from a previously-existing client of mine.
THE STORM WENT AWAY and I walked passed the kids playing soccer in front of the Iglesia de San Bernardo to the markets where I looked for supplies, including a new notebook with a different looking cover from my old one that people told me made me look like a pedophile. The new notebook had animals on it — did that mean I’m into bestiality?
For dinner I had some salchipapas (sliced fried hot dogs over fries) from a street food vendor and then called my folks to wish them a happy anniversary. I went back to my room to chill out with the VCDs I had bought in La Paz that I never got a chance to see. Stifler and The Rock gave me a preview of the Brazilian wilderness in The Rundown until I fell asleep.
Next entry: Erik Trinidad and The Bolivian Temple of Doom
Previous entry: Hard to Get High
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Comments for “High and On-Line”
Sorry this one isn’t as exciting… Don’t worry, the next entry involves NITROGLYCERIN!
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/20 at 08:11 PM
no plaza das armas? what’s up with the day and month street names?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/20 at 08:11 PM
Hey E. Is Spanish spoken in Brazil or Porteguese? .. they’re similiar right?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/20 at 08:14 PM
is it too late to look for plaza 17 de septiembre?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/20 at 08:27 PM
how bout look for plaza 9 de junio??
SIM: portuguese is spoken in brazil….but many can speak/understand spanish…portuguese though similar to spanish if you read it…it sounds totally different…(i would have to say much sexier sounding than spanish too)
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/20 at 08:40 PM
Thanks markyt ... thats right I could’nt make out what those rebels was saying when they were beating up on the ROCK ..
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/20 at 09:01 PM
it’s crazy to think that the city is at 13,353 ( I was just thinking of this NOW)! i mean i want to climb a 14er this year and you’re drinking a frappachino at the same elevation!... all i can see (in my head) is a bugs bunny cartoon where daffy duck is struggling to get to the top and bugs, just chillin’!
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/20 at 09:25 PM
NIKKIJ: 14K? Feh…
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/21 at 12:25 AM
Pretty dang phat that you’re at such a “high” level…does it lead to a “higher” plane of thought?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/21 at 01:03 AM
MARKYT: Let me know when you’ve uploaded the explosion video for the next entry…
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/21 at 01:06 AM
MOMAN: A lack of oxygen always leads to a higher plane of thought!
CONGRATS on your upcoming Time Out NY story!
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/21 at 01:27 AM
Thanks for the Titicaca (snicker…giggle…snort) postcard!
SIM and MARKYT: everything is sexier in portuguese!!
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/21 at 01:47 AM
Dtella is right.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/21 at 02:21 AM
Erik missed a blog because he got HIGH, because he got HIGH because he got HIG-H, da da da , da da da da ...
Posted by sim on 01/21 at 12:48 PM
Dtella is always right….
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/21 at 01:22 PM
YEAR OF THE MONKEY! - Celebrate!
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/21 at 01:27 PM
SIM: Ha, I was hoping someone would bring that song up… I was trying to figure a way to work it into the entry, but figured it wasn’t mainstream enough for everyone to understand. Glad you’re on the same wavelength though!
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/21 at 02:16 PM
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This blog post is one of over 500 travel dispatches from the trip blog, "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World (Or Until Money Runs Out, Whichever Comes First)," originally hosted by BootsnAll.com. It chronicled a trip around the world from October 2003 to March 2005, which encompassed travel through thirty-seven countries in North America, South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. It was this blog that "started it all," where Erik evolved and honed his style of travel blogging — it starts to come into focus around the time he arrives in Africa.
Praised and recommended by USA Today, RickSteves.com, and readers of BootsnAll and Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree, The Global Trip blog was selected by the editors of PC Magazine for the "Top 100 Sites You Didn't Know You Couldn't Live Without" (in the travel category) in 2005.
Next entry:
Erik Trinidad and The Bolivian Temple of Doom
Previous entry:
Hard to Get High
THE GLOBAL TRIP GLOSSARY
Confused at some of the jargon that's developed with this blog and its readers over the years? Here's what they mean:
BFFN: acronym for "Best Friend For Now"; a friend made on the road, who will share travel experiences for the time being, only to part ways and lose touch withThe Big Trip: the original sixteen month around-the-world trip that started it all, spanning 37 countries in 5 continents over 503 days (October 2003–March 2005)
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Stupid o'clock: any time of the early morning that you have to wake up to catch a train, bus, plane, or tour. Usually any time before 6 a.m. is automatically “stupid o’clock.”
The Trinidad Show: a nickname of The Global Trip blog, used particularly by travelers that have been written about, who are self-aware that they have become "characters" in a long-running story — like characters in the Jim Carrey movie, The Truman Show.
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1981ers: people born after 1981. Originally, this was to designate groups of young backpackers fresh out of school, many of which were loud, boorish and/or annoying. However, time has passed and 1981ers have matured and have been quite pleasant to travel with. The term still refers to young annoying backpackers, regardless of year — I guess you could call them "1991ers" in 2013 — young, entitled millennials on the road these days, essentially.
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