La Paz - a capital nestling in a valley

---

Sunday 9th December:
I have a good room in this hostel with its own balcony overlooking the main thoroughfare of downtown La Paz. It is like a peaceful oasis here, it is so quiet. This is an exception as most other things here in Bolivia are basic. The streets outside are bustling with throngs of people and the cacophony of voices of the boys in the minibuses shouting out their destinations, mixed with the variety of different vehicle horns. Traffic seems relentlessly heavy, often looking like a crawling traffic jam. No notice is taken of any pedestrian crossings, they just blow their horns as they approach you and carry on at the same speed! When I freshened up after my early arrival, I headed downtown to get some breakfast and have a look around. I found a lovely cafe which was part of one of the city´s museums and had some pancakes and coffee.
The main part of the city lies in a valley at a high altitude; the rest of the city spreads up the mountains on either side. Street markets, where they sell everything abound in many of the side-streets off the centre. There is even a witches' market where a lot of very strange potions, animal body parts in jars and a variety of voodoo artefacts are on display. I took one of the numerous minibuses to half way up one of the city´s hills and climbed the rest of the way. I wanted to get a good view of the whole city. I had to take many rests on the way - shortness of breath at this altitude makes anything physical difficult. I expected the peak to be a tourist attraction and a "mirador" (viewpoint). However as I got closer to the top the path got very narrow with only a few feet wide and a sheer drop on one side. I passed by an army installation and at the top there was a military look-out post. When I reached there a soldier came out, stood in front of me and said nothing. I just greeted him and turned to go back down again. I waited until I was far enough away from him before I took some photos. I had a feeling I shouldn´t have been there. When I eventualLy reached the cobble-stoned road, I got a minibus back down to the centre.
The city´s main plaza looks a little like Trafalgar Square, especially with the numerous pigeons there. I sat for a while there in the middle of the watching the shoe-shine boys do their trade, the people in national costume just chatting away, and the children feeding the pigeons. Next to me was a Bolivian pensioner who turned out to be a retired teacher. He lives just north of La Paz and was in the city visiting his daughter and grand-children. We talked a little about education and he was keen to let me know that teachers´salaries here are very low, as is the pension of a teacher.
I browsed around the street stalls for a while and got a bite to eat. It is just as cheap to eat out here as to cook for oneself; a good three course meal with wine costs the equivalent of about £3.

Yesterday I was caught out in a couple of showers and last night we had a heavy thunderstorm. The good thing is that it quickly dries up with the strong sun - it is strong! I neglected to put some cream on part of one of my ears and found it blistered with sunburn.
I looked into the best means of transport to Cuzco (Peru); I would have preferred to fly but the difference between that and coach travel was over £200, so, knowing it was going to be a bumpy ride ahead, I booked the coach.
Lots of people out on the streets today (in their Sunday best) and the street markets doing a roaring trade. It´s odd seeing Christmas decorations up with the weather so warm. After a walk around, 'found a great restaurant where they make an incredible variety of natural juices and had a meal there. Very heavy rain again, I just made it back to the hostel in time where I had a siesta. Tomorrow will be an early start as the coach leaves at 8:00am and we should arrive in Cuzco about 7:00 in the evening.

---

Photos

Bolivian Traditional Costume
Though many of the younger people have changed over to european style dress, a lot of the older generation (particularly female) retain the traditional dress.

View of Downtown La Paz
My bedroom had a balcony from where I had a great view of the main thoroughfare.

Street Markets Galore
In some of the plazas, off the main streets and in many of the side-streets market stalls abound, selling everything from Chritmas decorations to toothpaste.

Sellers and Buyers
Two Bolivian ladies in traditional dress bargaining the price of a comodity.

Shoeshine Boys
They´re everywhere wanting to shine your shoes. Altough they do a good job they do it relunctantly to supplement their family's income. They cover their faces with baraclavas so they won´t be recognised by their friends.

Comments

[turvyc]

Great photos!!! What were the attitudes towards taking pictures in the city? obviously the soldier wasn't so keen :) . . . but how did peopel respond to you taking pictures?

[SSA]

Photos
Regarding the various photos of the indigenous people in their traditional attire, there were so many other people around they didn´t notice that I was taking photos. I think they would have been embarassed if I had asked their permission, and if they did accept, it would have been difficult to get a natural pose.