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Published: September 20th 2008
Ross:
After chilling for a couple of nights in Santiago following our tough week on the slopes we headed to the airport early on the morning of 1st September for our LAN flight to La Paz. The flight stopped in Iquique which appeared to be a fairly arid, mountainous place compared to the relative greenery of Santiago.
La Paz airport is actually situated much higher than the city itself in El Alto on the Altiplano at some 4061m above sea level. The lack of oxygen really is quite noticeable especially when trying to carry both rucksacks up a single flight of stairs to Burger King (yes, there's a Burger King at La Paz airport, and yes, we ate there...)
After haggling for a taxi ride we headed down into the canyon in which the city is located. At first glance, the whole place looks much the same as the favela in Rio de Janeiro. The rich live at the bottom of the valley where the main street, or´Prado' follows the route of the old Choqueyapu River, with the poor occupying the surrounding areas on the hillside.
Bolivia is by far the least developed country that we've visited
so far on our travels and this is reflected quite evidently by La Paz. In my personal opinion, La Paz is a congested dump! The traffic situation in the centre of the city is an unorganised mess of micros and taxis all hustling for right-of-way with often less than an inch between vehicles. The place is teeming with people all jostling for what little air there is to breathe.
We had read in the Lonely Planet about a hostel (The Adventure Brew Hostel) with it's own micro-brewery so we headed there and ended up staying for a couple of nights. After dumping our bags we headed down the Prado to check out the city centre. It's easy to walk downhill but any uphill exertion is best dealt with by hopping on a micro. We had a stroll amongst the crowds and a bite to eat near the Witch's Market before heading back to the hostel.
You can buy some weird stuff in La Paz. Llama foetuses seem to be a popular favourite, not for consumption but as an amulet to improve fertility!? Coca leaves are available everywhere to help deal with the altitude. You will regularly see locals
with golf ball-sized chunks of the stuff sticking out of their cheeks. We tried it and to be honest it tastes like crap and didn't seem to have much effect. Coca tea is a more palatable option. Chemists also sell a lot of stuff over the counter that you'd usually need a presription for in the UK. There were all sorts of weird and wonderful concoctions available at the street stalls but we opted to stick to the bottled water and beer. That said, even some of the bottled water is salty!
Bolivia is also very cheap - a good dinner (when you can find one) with drinks costing about 3 quid per head. A bed for the night will set you back about the same or a basic double with private bathroom will cost about a tenner in the city centre. Prices drop off quite drastically in the sticks.
The first evening we swiftly put away our one free beer (included in the hostel rate) before venturing out with a small crew (Scottish, Dutch, Kiwi) for dinner at Sol y Luna, then on to the Wild Rover hostel bar for a few more and a couple of
Mate de coca
...or coca leaf teagames of killer pool. The rest of the night is a bit of a blur...
The next day, after a very lazy start we mostly relaxed at the hostel as neither of us were overenamoured by the city. Day three saw us duly hopping on a bus from near the cemetary bound for Copacabana on the banks of Lake Titicaca. We'd had enough of La Paz for the time being...
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