La Paz

Next up was La Paz, the capital of Bolivia. La Paz is located in a canyon 3600 - 4100 meters up. When navigating the steep streets I quickly learnt to take it slow like the locals do! La Paz was founded by the Spanish in 1548 so it has the usual collection of impressive colonial architecture including a metropolitan cathedral, churches, and plazas. But much more fascinating was the local indigenous culture which is still very strong in the area. It didn't take long for me to stumble across the witches market, where witch doctors sell various herbs and amulets as well as llama foetuses of various sizes for use in protection spells. This was a facinating place to explore, and nearby was one of the main tourist streets that was full of beautiful alpaca wool products that I unfortunately just didn't have the room for! Maybe next time...

Exploring more of La Paz I visited the
Museo Nacional de Etnografía y Folklore (Ethnography Museum). Bolivia is a very varied country in geography, climate, and culture, which the museum have an good overview on with their extensive collection of ritual masks. Some were pretty freaky! Next I headed to Calle Jaen, or Jaen Street, which is a very well preserved colonial street from the 18th century. I also visited the huge cemetery, where people rent plots in the walls for loved ones coffins to be stored in, with well kept murals to honour them. The cemetery was beautiful set amongst the towering hills of the city and teleféricos hovering overhead. There were dozens of murals covering the unused walls which just added to the beauty of the area.

As La Paz is so steep, the best way to get around is by the network of cablecars, the teleféricos. There is quite a strong socioeconomic divide between the more affluent central La Paz and the heights of El Alto at the top of the canyon. The teleférico has reduced the commute from El Alto to central La Paz from 1 hour to 10 minutes, which has benefited the residents of El Alto and reduced pollution in the city. The pollution was still pretty bad so I can only imagine what it was like before!

I took a teleférico up to El Alto to check out the huge market up there. The market had everything you could imagine, including another extensive witches market with even more crazy produce! While there I had my fortune told using coca leaves. It cost about 10 bolivianos, which is about £1. I sat in a little shed while this witch doctor threw coca leaved around and interpreted my future from them. He didn't really say anything interesting, but for £1 I wasn't really expecting much!Baca lagi