7/21-22/15: Rest and Travel

I woke up rather late today with a phone that was dead, and chargers that no longer worked. I don’t know why this has been such a big problem, but my phone is so crucial to my travels – it’s my entertainment, my clock, my camera, my communication device, my map, my GPS, my note-taking device, everything. I might be able to live without it but life with it is so, so much easier. Hopefully this is a temporary problem that I can solve soon.

I wandered out into the city for a bit, but I realized that without knowing the time, it was hard for me to ensure that I would have enough time to see things, since most attractions are closed between noon and 2 for a siesta. I ended up walking to the public library and then going to sit at the main plaza because I was suddenly exhausted. Since I wasn’t able to get any sleep, I headed back to the hostel earlier than I expected to take a nap on the couch before heading to the bus terminal. For some reason, the terminal in Sucre is very different from that of other cities, and it was a challenge to find a bus company that had tickets to Cochabamba still available for tonight. Eventually, I found one (for rather expensive in Bolivian terms) but it was quite comfortable.

I arrived at 5 am in Cochabamba but was able to wait in the bus terminal for Daniel at 9, when we had agreed to leave. We spent the day in Oruro – a nice but empty city when Carnival is not happening – and went to a “café” at the top of a hotel in the center of the city to work during the rest of the day. We had to pay for wifi, and only had access to it for an hour, but I guess it’s better than nothing. I was able to buy an iPhone charger for about $40 from a store that looked to be certified Apple – they had Apple products, laptops, chargers, headphones – but I’m still having trouble with my phone battery. I don’t know if the problem is with my phone itself or with the cords that I’ve been using to charge it. I really hope this will not be a problem going forward – it’s so important to me to have my phone! – but I guess it will be a lesson for me if I have to learn to live without it. At least I still have my laptop, otherwise I would go insane.