Southern Peru-Bolivia Day 20

Day 20 - Friday, November 14, 2014 - Flight from La Paz, Bolivia to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to Miami, FL to Denver, CO

The wake up call came at 5:00 AM and the hotel provided a light breakfast snack for us before we left for the airport. Another OAT tour director accompanied us to the El Alto, La Paz airport as Pepé left to go back to his home in Cusco on an earlier flight.

We left the hotel at 6:00, by the time we had checked our bags, cleared immigration and security, and settled at Gate #2, we had almost two and a half hours to wait to board the flight.

Our flight had a stop in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. We were able to get out and stretch our legs and then after about an hour and a half, we were able to get back on the aircraft. Part of the heightened security; we were rechecked again before our flight into the USA.

Vic talked to the pilot and found that this new crew flew in yesterday, had a day in Santa Cruz and then they shuttle back to Miami. He gave us the weather report from Miami, clear skies and smooth flying ahead.

This plane was much newer than the one we flew from Miami to Lima. The seats were comfortable and the cabin crew took good care of us on our 5.5-hour flight.

A new experience for us - we had a diplomatic courier on our flight from La Paz to Miami. We had noticed a young woman rushing on and off of the plane on the two hops of the trip. The purser explained that the courier had to be the last on and the first off and that she was probably carrying government documents and lots of cash.

We landed in Miami about twenty minutes late and because there was an aircraft still at our assigned gate, we had to go to another. As it turned out, that plane had mechanical problems so we spent another 30 minutes sitting on the tarmac.

Many people were nervous about missing connecting flights. On top of that several full international flights came in all at once and the lines through passport control and then customs were exceptionally long.

We had a decent layover so we had time to go to the Admiral’s Lounge to check our mail and relax a bit. At 8:30 we went to our gate for the last leg home to Denver. The flight came in to DIA early but it was awhile before our luggage came off the carousel.

When we hit the cold air as we walked out to catch the shuttle at 12:30 AM, it was breath taking! At 10 degrees with a light wind, we knew we were almost home. The little C-RV started on the first turn, not bad for sitting out in the wind and below zero temperatures for 22 days!

It was 2:00 AM by the time we arrived home. The wind was blowing and it had started to snow again. Buddha was very happy to see us, Tim had plowed the driveway, and the house was warm and cozy. All was well with the world.

This adventure to Southern Peru and to Bolivia was definitely a learning experience. Now we will take time to reflect on the places we visited, the people we met, and the cultures we got to know, both ancient and modern.

Thank you all who followed our journey and commented on our experiences.

Meals: B and Flight

To receive $50 per person off your first reservation with OAT, mention the following information when reserving your Overseas Adventure Travel Trip: Mr. Victor Garcia Customer #673062

Glad you are home, warm and I know Buddha cherishes your return each time. Take care we will talk later.

Welcome home Looking forward to seeing your pictures.

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Day 13 - Saturday, April 22, 2022 - Depart for U.S.

The hotel prepared a box breakfast for us as we had to be in the lobby way before the breakfast room was open.

Last night we found out that our departure flight back to...

Continue Reading Day 13