 La Paz: In a word, CRAZINESS! |
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La Paz: In a word, CRAZINESS!
South America » Bolivia » La Paz Department » La Paz
June 14th 2009 by Travel Guy
Why spoil a good rest from a five star hotel in Sucre with at least a 15 hour bus ride to La Paz. So we did the smart thing and flew for $88 CND. It was the most pleasant flight I have ever been on. We got on the plane. It took off immediately, flew for 40 minutes, landed immediately. I walked from the plane straight to the baggage claim (3 minutes) my bag was already there, the girls bags followed 2 minutes later. Grabbed a taxi and HELLO LA PAZ!
La Paz is a crazy place. To begin, it is built in a canyon that keeps going and going and going. The buildings are built along the slope. Walking around is a challenge due to the elevation of over 4000 meters, going up and down, up and down, the rate of our pulse seemed as though we were running a constant marathon.... OH ALTITUDE! The streets are full of people, food stands, cars who like to pay chicken with each other, it´s just NUTS... It is constant hustle and bustle. Gali likes to describe it as ¨3rd World¨ New York.
Some other noteworthy things:
Careful where you step, kids seem to just pee in the streets.
The streets are full of ¨van taxis¨ a.k.a. ¨mini buses¨. These seem to be run by 2 people, 1 driver and 1 person very quickly screaming out the door where the van is heading. People jump in and out.
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On our first day, we relaxed in the morning and then went for a yummy lunch. After, we walked aimlessly around the city including the business area, university area, embassies, downtown, and some residential parts. That night we went to see Angels and Demons! GOOD MOVIE! (side note from Gali... Seth loves EVERY movie... it was ok.)
On our second day, I hung behind while the girls headed to the witches market. They bought really cool llama sweaters. The stalls have ¨weird¨ things in them like llama fetuses and you can pay to put a curse on people. There are also really touristy shops where we got lots of souvenirs and presents.
Dani wasn't feeling great today so Gali and I went exploring. I.e. Gali got to go back to the witches market. We had a relaxed day, lots of shopping then pampering at a hair salon. I got a coupe and Gali got a manicure, after she carefully instructed them to sanitize their tools again. (Kris-Well, Calle Ballivian 1440, 2204413, kris-well@hotmail.com)
On Friday night, Gali and I went to the Chabbad. Got there a few minutes before Kabbalat Shabbat and then we had dindin, which consisted of hummus, red salad of sort, chickpeas, eggplant and guacamole. Then they brought out potatoes, rice and what we thought was chicken, Gali was jumping for joy, at that point it was 5 weeks since her last carnivorous meal, BUT lo and behold it was Moroccan fish. We met a cool couple, from New jersey, who came and met us Saturday at the bar in our hostel.
For our last day in La Paz, we wanted to explore more of the city so we went to South La Paz. A.k.a. The ¨Hollywood¨ part of town. We came around a corner and all of a sudden there is an avenue with palm trees along it. Quite a stark difference! We had lunch at a nice cafe and window shopped.
Restaurants in La Paz
Thai Old Town: (Close to Iglesia San Francisco, 2310334)
Good Indian food
View of La Paz from Plane
If you look carefully, you can see where the canyon starts. This is also where La Paz starts.
Sol & Luna: (Calle Murillo, Casilla 6007, 2115323)
Our best meal in La Paz (we went twice). The soy dish with peanut sauce and rice was delicious, bread and hummus was pretty good too. English speaking waiter.
Maphrao On: (Calle Hermanos Manchego 2586, 2434682)
This place has a nicer decor then the other restaurants we visited in La Paz, a little pricier too. The food was good and so was the service. The only negative is the neighborhood is not next to all the hostels so it is a taxi ride (or long walk) there and back.
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July 1st 2009 - Ivan Nault: Gali Kills me!
I love the image of her instructing people on her presumably rigid hygiene standards! Hilarious.
It was, especially with the language barrier.
July 1st 2009 - Tina Abbey: Can just picure it!
Hope the sanitizing lesson was done before the mani - Seth what would Gino think of the cut? As always great to hear from you xoxo
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3 Comments - Add Public Comment or Send Private Message
July 1st 2009 - Ivan Nault: Gali Kills me!
I love the image of her instructing people on her presumably rigid hygiene standards! Hilarious.
It was, especially with the language barrier.
July 1st 2009 - Tina Abbey: Can just picure it!
Hope the sanitizing lesson was done before the mani - Seth what would Gino think of the cut? As always great to hear from you xoxo
All Comments
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