A Piece of La Paz

Bolivia's other capital, La Paz, is situated in a canyon, surrounded by the Altiplano of El Alto, which also melds with Viacha to form a metropolis of about 2.3 million people. Flying Bolivana de Aviacion, we arrived to 10 degrees, after coming from 30 degrees in Santa Cruz. The difference in altitude also hit us hard. We had spent a week at a much lower altitude and we were no longer acclimatised to 3689m. After getting a bite to eat and obtaining our supplies for the next four days, we almost died climbing one the hills on our way to our accommodation. Even at a snail's pace, we needed to take several pit-stops to recuperate, although our destination was only a hundred metres away. Would we be able to overcome this mountain? Channelling Sir Edmund Hilary, we made it to the top (and still alive). Over the next four days, we would track this hill at least once, if not more, a day.

Another staple in our La Paz diet was the Witches' Market, el mercado de brujas, where traditional medicine women still practise their ancient art. A sight we had seen in Santa Cruz and now in La Paz was dried-up llama foetuses (and baby llamas) hanging from the shop ceilings. We are not sure if it was the smell of the llamas or the smell from some of the other herbs and potions in the shop, but there was a distinctive aroma in the air that is still hard to get out of sensory memory. The llama foetuses, and baby llamas, are placed underneath new houses and buildings to appease Mother Earth. Rumours have it that larger buildings, such as apartment blocks or the new Telefério cable cars, that a sacrifice much greater is required and this is normally in the form of a homeless person. The rumours go even further by claiming that gringos (foreigners) are worth twice the amount of a local homeless person. Whether it is true or not, the acts would be considered illegal. But it does make for a great tale on the free walking tour of La Paz.

One of the best ways to get an eagle's-eye view of the city is to take the recently built (and still expanding) cable car system, which is already the highest and longest cable car system in the world. On our third day, we set out to traverse three out of the five lines that take you across the majority of La Paz and up to El Alto. El Alto has a slighter larger population to La Paz and is situated at a much higher altitude (4150 metres). El Alto sits at the top of a cliff that seems to drop into the depths of hell. Along the top runs a road without any barriers and below it the remnants of cars that have misjudged the corner and ended up wedged in the cliff. As we walked around El Alto, we noticed very long queues of people holding folders and paperwork of some sought. We figured it couldn't have been to see a doctor because they are still on strike. It worked out to be the Bolivian equivalent of births, deaths and marriages/divorces.

On our final day in La Paz, we ended up in the centre of the city, walking via the Penal de San Pedro, the famous Bolivian prison that is notorious for producing large amounts of cocaine. The prison is unique in many ways, not least that the prisoners have to pay for their cell and work jobs (to pay for their accommodation) and family also can live with the prisoners. The prison was made even more famous by an Australian author, Rusty Young, in his book ‘Marching Powder’. We arrived just as visiting hours were about to commence. Walking past the entrance, Jason decided to take a photo at the same moment that one of the visitors to the prison pointed out to Jason that photos are not permitted. Like Bonnie and Clyde (or is that Thelma and Louise), we thought we should make a quick getaway before Ricky is also waiting in line at visiting hours.

We quickly moved onto the Plaza del Obelisco, where we were confronted with a mob of protestors walking down the main street of La Paz, chanting slogans about the proposed penal code. Another quick exit was required but this was difficult considering the altitude and the hill that we needed to traverse. Hobbling along as if we were senior citizens prior to a hip replacement, we made it to Plaza Murillo, the place where one of the revolutionaries, Pedro Murillo, was executed. Here, we stumbled upon television crews swarming all over the plaza. Surrounding the plaza are governmental buildings, including the residence of the Bolivian President, Evo Morales. Politicians were being interviewed, presumably about the protest and the penal code. If we had waited around, we would have seen the President address the media, but we thought we better keep moving.

Next stop: Copacabana, Bolivia (Lake Titicaca).Read more