Blogs from La Paz, La Paz Department, Bolivia, South America - page 2

Since Thanksgiving is obviously not celebrated in Bolivia I looked for the other fun ways to spend the day. In the morning I had meetings at the center, but I left after lunch to go to the biggest open air market in South America: Mercado 16 de Julio. It is in El Alto so only a few minute from the Center. It is over 5 square kilometers and sells just about anything you can think of: clothes, tires, furniture, make up, DVDs, custom suits. After that I went to Cholita Wrestling. First a little background on these women. The word cholla was a derogatory term for someone of mixed race: Spanish and indigenous. Adding ‘ita’ in this case was to make it smaller. But the term ‘cholita’ has been reclaimed by these indigenous women. Most cholitas ... read more

On my last day off I decided to hike the second highest peak of the Condoriri Range of Mountains about three hours north of La Paz. While this was not the longest hike I have done it was certainly the hardest. The hike began at about 4600 meters (15,000 feet) and finished at over 5500 meters (18,000 feet). When we were nearing the top I had to stop every 10 steps just to catch my breath. I saw several other hikers turn back, but I think the time I have spent at altitude helped me cope with the lack of oxygen. I was very proud to have reached the top and the views did not disappoint. We were above most of the other mountains so we could look down on them. We could also see Lake ... read more

Prepare to be amazed if you take Reman’s tour on the cable car ride over La Paz. http://www.heygo.com With 10 lines: Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Orange, White, Sky Blue, Purple, Brown, and Silver - We took 3 journeys on the Red, Silver & Purple lines. The views were stunning at the highest altitude of 3,600 meters above sea level. The average speed of the gondolas is 11mph. What a wonderful experience to be able to take this tour. Rising more than 300 metres from La Paz – the world’s highest altitude administrative capital at almost 3,700m – up to the predominantly Aymara communities of El Alto on the plateau, the Mi Teleférico (My Cable Car) system links neighbouring cities that were long seen as social worlds apart. For decades the main route between the two was ... read more

29th December 2020 La Plaz - Bolivia I probably over-dosed on tours yesterday, note to self organise your trips better 2nd tour was to La Plaz in Bolivia with our tour guide David. The Plaza Murillo is the central square of the city of and the open space most connected to the political life of Bolivia. The most prominent buildings on the square include the Presidential Palace, the Government Building and the Cathedral of La Paz. An interesting sight is the clock in the spire of the Government Building, the clock runs anti clockwise but we weren’t able to get a close enough photo. There is a major problem with pigeons in the square, it reminded me of all those years that pigeons were a tourist attraction in Trafalgar square almost as much as the surrounding ... read more

Our last day in La Paz so we start with some culture; the Calle Jean museums; one ticket gives you access to 3 museums on an old colonial street. Google Maps says it’s an 11 minute ‘mostly flat’ walk from the hotel. Google maps doesn’t mention the flights of stairs. I’d challenge anyone from Google Maps to walk 0.6 miles, including 100 stairs at 4000m altitude in 11 minutes. We reach our first museum and they ask for ID. Someone is going to have to walk back to the hotel and get our passports. I’m not sure who. Neither of us can breath. We convince them to accept a photo from my phone, which is a relief. We visit the Museo Costumbrista which tells the history of La Paz in costumes and dioramas. It’s actually really ... read more