Timeline of His Holiness Jayapataka Swami's Life - 2011-2020
2012 December 20 - Secretary Diary. 20121220 Cochabamba. Cochabamba, Bolivia
Yesterday GM flew from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Cochabamba, Bolivia. This is his first visit to Bolivia ever since he had the health issue in the year of 2008. Prior to his health crisis,he generaly visits La Paz (capital city) more than Cochabamba but this time we chose Cochabamba because La Paz is located roughly 3,650 m (11,975 ft) (the city is built on steep hills) above sea level, making it the world's highest de facto capital city. Hmmmm..struggling to breath?....Yes...as soon as one lands in this city one may find difficult to breath due high altitude. Altitude sickness, level of oxygen diminishes.The city sits in a "bowl" surrounded by the high mountains of the Altiplano. As it grows, the city of La Paz climbs the hills, resulting in varying elevations from 3,000 to 4,100 m (9,800 to 13,500 ft).
So considering GM's condition we decided to skip La paz and instead landed in Cochabamba which is just 2825 metres above sea level. After landing in Cochabamba, GM and me were denied our entry into the country with reason we have to obtain our visas prior to our arrival in this country. Well....we did our home work very well prior to our travel. We checked the Bolivian Embassy website and we also found out from the Bolivian Immigration office in Cochabamba and all they said was Indian & Malaysian passport holders would get visa on arrival under group 2 countries. But after landing the officers told us that we have to obtain our visa at any Bolivian Consulate since the rule just changed two weeks ago. But the website is not been updated yet. ANyway the officers were kind enough to allow Mathuresh Prabhu (local TP) and Ekanath Prabhu to discuss with them and they provided all our documents. After 1.5 hours of discussion finally they granted entry for us into Bolivia...'Bienvenido'..'Welcome'
GM will be here in Cochabamba for 4 days giving seminars and classes in spanish language. Beside Bolivia there are also devotees from other parts of South America like Ecuador, Peru & Argentina.
- Maha Varaha D
