Oct. 16,  2016. La Casona Hostal, Potosi, Bolivia.

• Bus day.  First about five hours to Oruro, then another five to Potosi, arriving around 8.  Not too bad, actually, and fairly scenic, at least the second half, bare mountains, villages of mud and thatch, lots of llamas (alpacas? - one big flat clearing had at at least a thousand).  

• Checked into the hostel, booked my mine tour for tomorrow, looked around the almost empty main plaza, found an open restaurant and pigged out on cheese & ham crepe, quinoa soup, fries & llama steaks, and banana bread for postre: 5 bucks. Stuffed and relaxed, cough mostly under control, it is bed-bye time at ten (about as late as I've gone to bed in a long time).  And the altitude? Potosi is one of the highest cities in the world at 13,420 ft.