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Published: April 8th 2015
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Sarah: Today is the last of our 3 full days in La Paz. I could hear very heavy rain coming down all night long last night and it hasn't let up this morning. I don't think they'll be much padding around going on today!
On our first full day we realised we were very lucky to only have very minor symptoms of altitude sickness. A bit tired, a bit out of breath and the occasional headache. However, it's hard to know how many of these symptoms we would be exhibiting anyway without being 3500 m above sea level (said the biostatistician). I think we've become more acclimatised in the last few days and a few mugs of coca tea don't seem to have done any harm and may have helped give little energy boosts here and there.
We started with practicalities on Monday morning and headed out to get our bus tickets for Uyuni to see the Salt Flats. Two overnight bus tickets duly purchased, we were ready to start exploring La Paz. We went around on foot passing through some of the sights such as the old colonial street 'Calle Jaen' and heading to La Paz's answer to
Trafalgar Square in terms of pigeon population, 'Plaza Murrillo'. There are several ladies selling seed with which to feed the pigeons. We saw one man who had bought some seed; he was surrounded by pigeons that looked like an infestation of silverfish around his ankles and they were also standing (sometimes one on top of the other) on any available part of his body. Grim and not for me!
All of La Paz is pretty hectic, but we managed to weave our way through the crazy traffic (both pedestrian and motorised) to do a good lap of the sights. Being set in a valley everywhere you go in La Paz is either up or down, and what goes down, must go back up again. Nick also took a trip down barber street and got his 'todo numero uno' (number one all over). A bit of a change for the barber as most Bolivian men (and South America in general) are less follicularly challenged than our Nick! The barber offered a number two trim of the beard but after the effort of growing it, this offer was refused!
In the afternoon we headed to the witches market where they
sell lotions, potions and dried llama foetuses, which are supposed to bring good luck... Apparently llama reproduction is a tricky affair and the foetuses all come from failed pregnancies. It's amazing how big and hairy they are! Alongside the witches market stalls are an array of llama wool related goods; ponchos, jumpers, gloves, hats, bags. I'm angling after a llama jumper (in terms of material and pattern) but it may be a cliche purchase too far... We had a little pit stop in a cafe above another square, 'Plaza San Francisco' where we could watch the world go by from above. My main point of interest was the abundance of minivans that make up the majority of the traffic. People (locals) cram themselves in to these part-bus-part-taxis. I don't know how the people in the back seats get off when they need to, but I haven't seen anyone having any difficulty. They are full of business men, young people, women in bowler hats and big skirts and highlight the diversity between the modern and the traditional when you see the tin cans rattle past full of passengers.
In the evening we found a Mexican restaurant which eventually provided us
with some tasty grub (service is not high on the Bolivian agenda we have discovered). However, for a few quid each for a big feed, one can't complain.
The next morning we had set our sights on 'Moon Valley', a 'moon-like' landscape about half an hour outside of the city. We had arranged for a taxi driver to take us there and back, and wait while we spent the 45 mins or so pottering around. While we had our reservations as to whether this was truly what the moon landscape was like, it was spectacular. The rocks looked like melted candle wax and there were good views all around (clouds permitting). We even spotted what I have now discovered to be a 'viscacha' which looks just like a rabbit with a long tail (member of the chinchillidae family). There were lots of cacti, birds and a Peruvian that was apparently a big fan of my butterfly top!
We were back a little while before lunch and so there was time for laundry, coca tea and planning for the afternoon. We headed out for a vegetarian restaurant for lunch for a change from the empanadas from the previous day.
I had the set menu which consisted of a carrot salad, spinach soup and a bean thing, including a yummy smoothie for dessert! Nick went for pad thai, which was very rich but delicious, and a smoothie on the side. Again, all for the grand total of less than a tenner. It's a shame that our hostel here doesn't have cooking facilities as walking through the markets there were the most enormous and delicious looking fruit and veg, particularly tomatoes and avocados. However, since eating out is so cheap and hostels with kitchens in facilities are few and far between, we've missed out in some ways but gained in others.
Yesterday evening we found a restaurant with Dutch owners. There were a variety of options both Bolivian and Dutch, but we went for the sharing platter of bitterballen, meatballs, cheese, pickles and eggs. It was really good (Nick's personal favourite after the meat and cheese platter in Patagonia - methinks the man likes his meat and cheese!). With everything being so cheap and tasty, we treated ourselves to a shared chocolate mousse and icecream pud! Indulgent but lovely evening!
It's now Wednesday, midday. We're all checked out of
our hostel and now just need to kill time before our night bus to Uyuni, firstly by catching up on blogs with a cup of coca tea! Possibly followed by some llama-based goods shopping! Thankfully the persistent rain has also now decided to take a break!
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Dad
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Keep 'em coming
Hi Nick and Sarah, Wow, what a trip, and loving the Blog. Keep it coming! I am really envious and my forays to Brussels etc are so very tame by comparison. I have a few days in Madrid coming up soon so I will be wishing that I had your newly acquired linguistic skills! Stay well and keep having fun. Lots of love, Dad.