Zona

Yellow schools of taxi fishes
Jonah in a ticking whale


Taxis rule in La Paz. If I lived there I would never buy a car. Too much hassle in too much traffic. You pick up the phone and a taxi is at your door in 5 minutes. There are dispatchers and taxi companies all over the city. I would also learn the taxi fare manual. From the house to downtown should be 6 Bolivianos max. But I was charged, or asked for, everything fron 3 to 10. So I took on a simple philosophy. I paid 10 to all the taxi drivers. If they asked for 10 I knew I was paying extra to a thief. If they asked for 6 I was tipping an honest man. One wasted the extra on silliness and the other used the extra to put food on the table. I was certain it happened that way because I have such faith in karma.

After making the round trip downtown for saltenas I discovered that the saltena place delivered! Right to the front door of the house! Pizza too! You paid for the food and 4 Bolivianos for the taxi that delivered the goodies. FOUR BOLIVIANOS. Maybe I should have worn a pizza box.

Outrageousness? Not when you consider that 10 Bolivianos is about $1.30. It cost me 45 Bolivianos to get from the house to the airport in La Paz. It cost me $35 to get from the airport to the house in Vancouver. You figure it out. My math sucks.

(lyrics by Joni Mitchell. Harry's House/Centerpiece. From "The Hissing of Summer Lawns")