To Bolivia and Beyond!: Cochabamba

The Visa Story

I had to apply for a special visa since I will be staying until March. Usually US citizens can only stay a total of 90 days. So I sent my application to the consulate in NY because it was closer to Maine. They say to send it between 2 weeks and 1 month before your trip, so I sent it 2 weeks. A week later I get a call saying they need the hard copy of my letter of invitation...which could take 3 weeks, if at all, to arrive from Bolivia. So the organization I'm working for said, "Oh, you should have sent it to DC, so have them send it back and send it to DC." So I did. On Monday the 9th I overnighted it to DC with a return envelope pre-paid to overnight back (picture above). Needless to say...after much hassle.. I did not get my visa until 12:45 pm Tuesday the 17th. My flight to Miami from Boston was at 3:20pm in Boston, by the way. It takes at least 3 hours to get to Boston from my house in Greene, Maine. So I intercepted this "urgent" package in Auburn on the way to the airport. Meanwhile I called the airport saying that I wasn't going to make the 3:20 flight and did they have anything that would still allow me to catch the 10:35 flight leaving Miami to La Paz...they did at 5:45-- only 1 first class seat....costing me $880!!! I got to the airport just at 3 o'clock...my dad's wonderful at driving for punctuality.. We spewed my story to the lady at the American Airlines desk and she said it wasn't so that the 1st class was the only seat...So they changed it and I only got a $380 VOUCHER back... Let me be clear: I don't have an extra thousand dollars...i'm borrowing all of this money through school loans, since this is a school related trip. I was furious. $900 is 3 trips back and forth to Argentina, or a million trips around Bolivia. Anyway. That's that. I never thought I'd get here.

View from La Paz Airport