The Best Day of Tim's Life (a.k.a High Altitude Golf in La Paz)

Our first stop on the Bolivian leg of our journey was supposed to be a small town just to the northeast of Lake Titicaca called Sorata. The big pull for us going there was that a small tour operator there offered a 5 day mountain bike and riverboat trip to the amazon jungle near Rurrenabaque. It sounded like loads of fun so we showed up at the tour place on Saturday afternoon in preparation for the trip to leave the following Monday... no one there. Well, it is South America after all so we weren't too concerned. Next day... still no one there. Finally at about 9pm the lights go on and we wander over and chat with a guy there who knows the actual guy who runs the trip... but he's not there. He shows up about an hour later and tells us that the trip that was supposed to leave the next day was in fact not going to go until the following Thursday. That was the end of Sorata... the next morning we were on a bus to La Paz.

Arriving in La Paz is really a breathtaking sight. The city practically clings to the walls of a canyon surrounded by snowcapped peaks. We planned to stay for a couple of days so that we could wander around and see the sights... and of course, so Tim could check off number one on his list of things to do in South America - play golf at high altitude. The first test would be to actually find the golf course... after a bus ride, a missed stop, and a cab ride later we were there. The course was beautiful with panaromic views everywhere, making my job as assistant caddy (Tim & a mate Mario had to each hire one separately) that much better. Getting used to hitting at altitude didn't seem to take much time as both of the boys got off to a good start. After the first nine holes and only a few missing balls it was time for a quick cold drink before heading out to finish the last nine. Considering the language barrier between the players and the caddies... I think they did rather well at taking instructions and doing their best to avoid the water hazards. And I'm sure Tim would like me to mention here too just how well he did actually play... riiiight. Seriously though, I don't think I've seen someone so happy to smash a little white ball around for a few hours... the beaming smile wouldn't leave his face for the rest of the day!