This is more like it...

Trip Start Oct 09, 2008
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Trip End Ongoing


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Flag of Bolivia  ,
Sunday, October 12, 2008

At 12,000 feet La Paz is the world's highest-elevated capital. The city is in a spectacular location: a bowl-shaped valley with clay-colored houses built all the way up to the rim, and with jagged, snow-covered mountains visible in the distance. The streets are chaotic; jam-packed with buses (read: vans), packs of dogs and an endless flow of pedestrians, many wearing colorful traditional outfits. The indigenous women wear dresses and bowler hats and they are built like tanks; they are short, stocky, and are often carrying tremendous weight on their backs. Since there are no supermarkets or convenience stores, the streets of La Paz are like one giant market where one can buy just about anything (food, clothes, toiletries, hardware, electronics). And in pleasant contrast to Santiago - where I was practically assaulted everywhere I went - the people here have a warmer vibe and the sellers aren't pushy. There is, however, a big military presence on the streets. Bank doors are protected by guards with shotguns. There is political unrest in the countryside I didn't take this photo
I didn't take this photo
 . This place is not to be taken lightly.

Altitude sickness is common upon arrival in La Paz. I took precautions: drank lots of water and coca tea (a homeopathic remedy that the locals swear by) and made sure to avoid physical exertion and alcohol. It seems to have worked. I felt very lethargic all day and got a bit of a headache, but that was the extent of it.

The prices here are incredibly low, so I could afford to spring for a solo room at the hostel. It's a nice and quiet place with a helpful staff right in the center of town. In the afternoon I took a walk around, stopping at a travel agency to arrange my trip to Uyuni in a few days. Nice to have 75-degrees and sunshine after two gloomy days in Chile. Because the city is so full of steep hills, a new arrival like me has to walk uphill in slow motion to avoid hyperventilating. I got a few nice photos at the vibrant Plaza Murillo, then walked through the famous Mercado de las Brujas (Witches' Market) on Calle Linares where all kinds of occult items are sold (toad talismans, owl feathers, boa constrictor heads, llama fetuses). In addition to the witches, the street is also full of self-proclaimed medicine women, folk doctors, astrologers, fortunetellers, and sorcerers.

I'll be back here in a few days to continue exploring.

Reading: Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
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