La Paz ... simply manic
Trip Start
Jan 04, 2008
1
91
122
Trip End
Dec 17, 2008
La Paz,
Bolivia
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
La Paz 1
. very nice to see them again , have some dinner , a couple of beers and catch up ... they had been up to Rurrenbaque and onwards to a "Pampas" tour , which is something I have heard good things about now from a few people (you see lots of wildlife) and so Iīm considering somehow trying to factor it in to my schedule. Alas when I look at the time I have left this year and all the things I want to do / places I want to go it simply doesnīt fit ... so Iīm having to increasingly look hard at the plans and think how I can prioritise to get the best experience from my remaining time. On the next morning I took a proper walk around La Paz , which is quite possibly the most manic , bustling and mad city Iīve been to on my trip ... itīs a hive of activity everywhere - with people walking , jostling , selling , shouting and a constant stream of different sized buses blasting their horns and constantly nearly running you over if you try to cross the road. Bolivia is in the news at the moment for a number of anti-government/president demonstrations that have been most violent in the east , especially Santa Cruz , and parts of the south . Apparently people are protesting at the president Evo Morales who has plans to reallocate revenues from Boliviaīs lucrative natural gas reserves to poor indigenous groups in other parts of the country. On the first days I came across a large but peaceful demo in one of the streets I was walking down with quite a large number of people walking along chanting and shouting with various banners
La Paz 2
. Later when I was in "Plaza Murillo" there was a small but loud and angry group of people protesting outside the presidentīs palace ... TV crews were there and several men were getting very worked up ranting and raving in front of the cameras. On Wednesday afternoon I had a taste of Little Britain in Bolivia as I headed to a travellers pub which has English style food (I enjoyed bangers and mash) and was showing the England-Croatia World Cup Qualifier on the big screen . A quite astonishing performance from England the likes of which we really havent seen since the Germany 5-1 game back in 2001 as we hammered Croatia 4-1. Croatia had never lost a competitive game at home since they became an independent nation in 1992 so this was quite a result. Sitting in the pub , which was full of Brits , I could have easily been somewhere back home ... until you look out the window to the streets of La Paz and remember where exactly you are ! On Wednesday night I went with Rob and Saskia to see some live music ... La Paz has a jazz festival during the whole of September and there are a series of events in different venues around the city. We went to the "Etno Cafe" , a small but very nice venue , to see a guy called Sergio Arezenota (or something like that) ... there seemed to be a lot of his family & friends in the audience , a couple of whom were invited up to join Sergio in some of the songs , but he was actually pretty good and it was a good night. I enjoyed spending a few days wandering around La Paz ..
La Paz 3
. it doesnīt really have lots of attractive colonial architecture like many other cities in Latin America which I have visited on my trip but it has a compelling excitement & appeal to itīs sights, sounds & general bustle. The heart of the city is the attractive Plaza Murillo which has the cathedral , the presidential palace & the national congress building .... this square has been a focal point at times in Boliviaīs turbulent history (one former president was hanged here by a mad mob in 1946) and itīs a place where people come to hang out , gossip , protest , sell stuff to tourists or seemingly just to feed & play with the enormous number of pigeons. There are loads of shoe-shine stands and also shoe-shine boys wandering around touting for business ... these roaming shoe-shine boys wear balaclavas over their faces (apparently because itīs seen as a shameful job) which makes them look a bit dodgy to me . I finally succumbed to the pressure and agreed to a "shoe-shine" at a stand (where I could see the guyīs face) ... he did a decent job cleaning off all the filth and dust from my trainers so no complaints it was worth a few Bolivars. I visited the main La Paz market area which is really quite enormous and where , either in the market itself or the many surrounding streets , you can purchase just about anything and everything you could possibly think of at very low prices. On the way to the main market I visited the area , not too far from the hostel , which is known as the "Mercado de Hechiceria" (Witches Market) ..
La Paz 4
. this is a quite extraordinary set of shops and stalls which sell an array of potions , herbs , charms , substances , creatures and other items and which are supposed to cure illnesses , bring good luck and so on. The toads and llama foetuses were the most amazing things on offer ... quite what you are supposed to do with a very large llama foetus I dont know but an Aussie guy I was talking to had mischievously decided to buy one so he could put it inside his mateīs sleeping bag. I also wanted to go to the Museo de Coca , which tells the history of the coca plant , but when I arrived at the place there was a big sign on the door saying it was shut because of tax evasion ! On the Friday I mountain-biked down "The Worldīs Most Dangerous Road" (will write this as a separate blog entry ... it was so great !). After the mountain bike ride quite a few of us from the biking group went for a curry at La Pazīs "British Indian" restaurant called The Star of India ... Iīve been missing a good curry whilst Iīve been travelling . I had been told whilst I was in Peru that there was a curry house in La Paz so this chicken madras was much anticipated ... and turned out to be pretty good ! After the curry we hit some of La Pazīs nightspots ... I havenīt had a big party night out for quite a few weeks , not since before I was sick back in Arequipa , so it was really good to have a few drinks too many , let off some steam and enjoy a fun night out with a good crowd .... such a good night in fact that largely the same group of people repeated it all again the following (Saturday) night , allbeit in different venues ! When you put English , Irish and Aussies together thereīs usually more than a little alcohol on a night out
La Paz 5
. Needless to say Sunday I was feeling a little delicate ... will be taking things easy on the partying front now until I get to Argentina in about a week or so. On Saturday during the day I went down to "Sopocachi" , the area with lots of bars , restaurants and clubs (where we had been the night before). Itīs a wealthier area of La Paz with nicer houses , apartments and cars parked outside (BMWīs and even a Hummer of all things) ... I came down here to visit a little park called "El Monticulo" which is high up a hill with super views over La Paz. Thereīs a little church at the top which seemed to be hosting not just one but a whole series of Saturday weddings. There was one wedding couple dancing near the bandstand , surrounded by a little band playing (dressed in traditional Bolivian gear) ... I stood at the back behind the family & friends and tried to get some photos without appearing too much of a wedding crasher. Then when I walked around towards the front of the church I passed another bride & groom ... and then coming out of the church door was another wedding couple ... obviously they do them en masse here , maybe its cheaper to get the church by the hour ! Later I visited San Francisco church and monastery , which is nearby the hostel in the "Plaza San Francisco" which was very interesting - you visit the (closed) church including areas like the choir , the crypt , the roof , the bell-tower, and the cloistered monastery where some Franciscan monks still live
La Paz 6
. La Paz has a pretty dreadful reputation as being an unsafe city with lots of crime such as ATM scams and/or robberies involving dodgy taxis and fake policeman (my German friend Ulli was approached by a fake policeman when he was in La Paz) ... this naturally puts you on your guard and more than a little paranoid at times , but personally I didnt have any problems and to be honest didnt feel any less safe in La Paz than other big cities on my trip. Unfortunately one thing I do have to note is that so far I have felt Bolivian people have somehow lacked the warmth and friendliness I have experienced in many other countries on my trip ... maybe I need to give it more time to get to know the people a little more but thatīs my impression from La Paz. On Sunday I decided it was high time I should leave La Paz , having been there six days , so I packed up the rucksack once again and caught the night bus for the 13 hour trip to Sucre. 
