Loving La Paz

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The first thing anyone says about La Paz is that its the ´highest capital in the world´the next thing people usually say is that they don´t really know anything else about the place. I did not and neither did any of the people we were traveling with. We came with no preconceptions.

For me La Paz is the classic Latin American city. The center lies at the bottom of the huge natural bowl, to the slopes of which cling the precarious suburbs and shanty towns. Unlike Lima, where the power and the money has long evacuated the center, downtown La Paz still has a feel of a lively high rise metropolis complete with glass and steel towers, broad tree lined thoroughfares, teeming markets and dark back streets.

The west of the city centre is the poorer end with the sprawling market districts, the commercial heartland of Aymara (indigenous) Bolivia. Everything you can possibly imagine can be found here, from knock off jeans to digital cameras and dried cat corpses. Its very crowded and very confusing when you first arrive. This is where most of the backpacker hostels can be found along with the tour agenices and hawkers of tourist-tat. This is especially true along what is fondly (I´m sure) dubbed ´Gringo Alley´.

The Prado, a four lane thoroughfare that runs through the heart of the city has recently been the scene of noisey protests. We think some have been to do with the recent calls for the seat of government to be moved to Sucre but others seem to be labour movement and social movement based. Just off the Prado is Bolivia´s main financial centre with numerous banks and other national coporate HQs. There are a lot of suits and a lot of armed police in this area.

Plaza Murrillio, home to the legislature, the Cathaderal and the presedential palace is a suprisingly small and quiet place with more a feel of a back water town square about it than the political centre of a country. There are a lot of birds here, its a bit like Trafalgur Square and Downing Street in one.

We´ve had some good nights out in La Paz. The best spots are definately in Sopacachi (although this is the posh end of town). Tuesday nights in Mongos is particualy busy, noisey and drunken but really worth it. We´ve also found an english run pub called Olivers Travels which is good for its familiarity although at the time of writing it seems to have been closed down by the authorities.

There are plenty of steep climbs, crazy bus and taxi drivers, persistant shoe shiners and travel worn backpackers to keep us entertained. This place is buzzing but its not a victim of its size like Lima, nor has it quite been assimilated by globalisation just yet. La Paz has its own rythms and conventions that seem to be all its own. For now anyway.

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La Paz
Glad you are enjoying La Paz and exploring the city.Brilliant descriptions!