La Paz

La Paz is not huge, around 700k inhabitants, but it is very high for a capital and spans a wide altitude range (3600 to 4000m). It appears as reddish colored hills, decorated with a high density of varied brick buildings. Above it is the flat twin town of El Alto and then spectacular mountains; below are dramatic gorges.

Our key mission here is to find bicycle boxes and pack the bikes for the return flight (success). Our pleasure... is to take a last breath of Andean culture before returning home. The hotel is in the old town, so we enjoy shopping around for some little llamas -- sooo cute — and incredibly soft Alpaca wool artefacts: scarves, hats, gloves.

Bolivia became landlocked in 1884, when it lost the harbour of Antofagasta on the Pacific ocean to its neighbour Chile. This loss continues to impact Bolivian economics and politics, and is a long lasting wound that has not healed. At the top of a narrow cobbled street, climbing between peeling colored whitewashed walls, La Paz features a map museum "Museo del Litoral Boliviano" dedicated to this issue...

La Paz, fortunately, has a more joyful face to offer. Lively merchant streets, the Museo de Metales Preciosos Precolombinos, with inca gold decorative wear and pre inca gold artefacts, and a bright national art museum, among others, are limited but very nice, reflections of older and current indigenous taste and traditions.

To finish in style we treat ourselves to a gastronomic tasting menu of 14 (tiny) courses of andean dishes. Miammm!Read more