El Prada and Plaza San Francisco

La Paz, or, shiny shoe town

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February 3rd 2008
Ahh, La Paz. This is now my fourth time arriving in this fair city so I figured it deserved mention. There are give or take a million people who claim residency in La Paz and its uphill counterpart, El Alto. Not including El Alto, most of these people are stuffed into a valley with steep walls and a mix of colonial cobble and indigenous resourcefulness. I have spent altogether a couple weeks i ... read more

South America » Bolivia » La Paz Department » La Paz

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Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and counter-coups. Comparatively democratic civilian rule was established in 1... ... read more