Advertisement
The highest capital in the world, at around 3650 metres, La Paz kept me breathless, and I'm not just talking the gorgeous views! We could appreciate these almost immediately, as our driveer stopped at a viewpoint looking over the city as we left the airport where we got the most spectacular views over the city. The city is built in a valley, with red brick houses clinging to the hillsides all around us. We liked it almost immediately.
Our hotel was located right in the centre of the city, next to San Francisco church. We couldn't have hoped for a better base, as we were able to wander around the city and explore the local markets and the nooks and crannies in the the old city.
After our trip down Death Road, we booked ourselves in for a walking tour of La Paz. This was fantastic, as on top of the usual touristic sights, our trip took us to El Alto, the city next door to La Paz which is home to most of the indigenous population. Even higher, at around 4000 metres, we meandered slowly through the markets. I couldn't help but admire the local indigenous ladies' clothes-
layers upon layers of skirts to make their hips look wider, and an English style bowler hat which is purely a symbol of wealth as there is absolutely no practical use for it. Our guide, Sergio, told us that a real bowler hat can cost up to $US300, which is a lot of money in anyone's language if you ask me.
We wandered through the biggest fruit and vegetable market in South America. We tried
pacay, a fruit which looks like large bean pods. The shell is very hard and inside are large black seeds covered with a thick white fruit that is almost pith-like but quite delicious. They are naturally in sections, so you pop one into your mouth and suck off the fruit spitting out the seed. We also ate
tumbo. When you break into it, this looks exactly like passionfruit but it was much tarter. We also tried the juice which must've been sweetened - it was absolutely delicious. We sampled coca leaves, chewing them and collecting wads in our cheeks, hoping that it would hep alleviate symptoms from the altitude.
In El Alto we wandered in the huge Mercado de Hecherceria, or Witches' Market.
You could buy almost anything there, including bull penis and bull testicles which goes into a local soup delicacy, Caldo de Cardan. It was absolutely fascinating, as we also learned about some of the indigenous beliefs. There was a massive section filled with witch doctors. You take to them our offerings which you've bought in the market - a surprising mix of candy, llama fetuses, tinsel paper - and whether it's money, love, health or work, the witch doctor reads your fortune and then your offerings are burned.
In La Paz we also stopped for a snack at one of the many Saltena shops. Saltenas are like small empanadas, or a small cornish pasty, filled with a variety of fillings - mixed meat, vegetarian, chicken. It was absolutely delicious. More surprising was how delicious the
limon con leche (lemon with milk) drink was. It didn't sound that appetising to be honest and I don't even like milk, but this was really yummy.
I also discovered that when La Paz was first settled there was an indigenous village and a Spanish village. In typical invading European fashion the indigenous were not able to leave their village, however the Spanish
could go anywhere they like. The San Francisco church, just near our hotel, was in the indigenous village and you can see in the carvings references to local indigenous culture, including Pachamama (Mother Nature). Crossing over the road, which was once a river, the houses in the Spanish side are much more European in style, and although in quite a state of disrepair with peeling paint and a birds nest of electrical and telephone wires clustered outside, the houses are still quite beautiful. The most famous street is Calle Jaen, a cobbled ankle-breaker street now filled with museums and upmarket galleries.
We went by the famous San Pedro prison. Many years ago I read the book, Marching Powder, about one of the inmates which gives a fascinating insight into how this particular prison operates. It runs like its own little village, completely outside of the law, where inmates buy their own cells, and there's a rich section, a poor section. Until a few years ago there were even tours for travellers by the inmates! This has all been stopped now and I was surprised to learn that the book itself is banned in Bolivia. Our guide had however tracked
down a copy online and was recommending it to us very enthusiastically. The Bolivian officials also don't like tourists to take photos, so I have one very surreptitious photo taken from a distance.
On our last day we were happy to meander up and down the streets, soaking up the atmosphere. We walked back to the Calle Jaen in the Spanish side of the city and visited some of the museums. We then spent some time in Plaza Murillo doing some people watching. This square borders the Parliament buildings and the Presidential Palace, and there must've been something interesting happening in the Parliament as there was a bit of media scrum outside and multiple interviews taking place which we observed with interest. As we sat waiting I got my boots polished from one of the many shoe polishers that wander around the city. He was so sweet I paid him double the 40 cents he asked for, he looked really chuffed! Not long after this there was a scurry of activity at the Presidential Palace and a few minutes later some official police motorcycles with lights flashing pulled up followed by a sleek black Lexus. The security guards stood
to attention and who should bound out of the car and into the Palace but Evo Morales himself. A good bit of people watching indeed!
We managed to cover a vast amount of the city by taking the
telefericos or cable cars, which are a relatively new part of the public transport system. We traversed the entire yellow and green cable car lines which took us to the poorest parts of the city as well as some of the richest, and admired the views from above. Then we caught a chicken bus back to the Plaza de San Francisco, the 30 minute ride through the crowded rush-hour city costing us around 20 cents and rewarding us with more people watching opportunities, including at one point when we had to bunch up when some local ladies with their huge skirts squished in next to us.
We arrived back to our hotel just as the heavens opened and the rain came down. Tomorrow we're off to Cusco, so looks like perfect timing.
Now blogging at
www.beautycharmadventureonline.com - check it out!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.521s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 42; qc: 156; dbt: 0.3487s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.5mb
Tom T
non-member comment
Certainly looks very different Rachael You didn't tell us what witch doctor had to say Can't believe how high up you are Surely must be light headed Tom