October 7th 2015
La Paz, Bolivia’s hectic yet charming capital city, is the worlds highest capital, (well half capital) in all the world at 3600 meters. The scary thing its located in a huge bowl like valley surrounded by snow capped mountains, and it’s sister city on the plateau above, El Alto, is at a dizzying 4000 meters. Walking anywhere in La Paz is a work out, but the hectic city is worth at least a few days, with a little something for everyone.
Sara and I arrive at the main bus terminal, which has a facade designed by Gustave Eiffel, the man who designed the eiffel tower, but it’s too early for us to care about such thing, the sun only just starting to rise. The cama bus from Uyuni was surprisingly comfortable and luckily enough we’re somewhat rested. We negotiate a taxi to 15 bolivianos (you can probably do better) to take us into the heart of the Witches market, very near the centre of the city, and he drops us off outside hostel cactus. We have no reservation though and since it’s still before 6 am the hostel is closed up tight and no one answers the bell. Eventually we wander around the corner to a nicer looking hotel (name hopefully added Later) and pay a little extra, 75 bolivianos each (14 CAD) for a twin room with private bathroom and good wifi. There we crash for a few hours and spend the morning doing next to nothing.
We get it together by lunch time though and decide to take advantage of some of the international cuisine options available in this huge city, but not before first taking a walk through the witches market, where all manner of medicinal cures are on offer, mixed with some crafts for the tourists. The Llama fetuses hanging in every shop window are the most shocking part, though I’m told they all come from miscarriages and are not killed prior to birth for their medicinal values.
From the witches market we head down for a brief stop at San Fransisco church, an impressively huge European style church, with beautiful insides that I sadly cannot show you due to photo restrictions.
From the church we head up one of the main streets to get to El Sabor Cubano, a little piece of Havana paradise high in the andes mountains. Looking for a good and decently affordable lunch special, or super tasty and only slightly more expensive sandwiches, then you should be sure to stop by. The atmosphere is great too. On the way to lunch we get a great glimpse of the insanity that is La Paz’s electrical system.
After Lunch we decide to take a taxi to one of the three cable car lines which now serve as a public transport connection to el Alto for all those locals who live in one city but work in the other. They seem utterly out of place in La Paz, a very old and poor city. These new telefericos though are ultra modern and also very cheap to ride at (3 bs) each way. Oh and they provide amazing views of the city too. We rode the yellow line, simply as it was closest to our hotel (though still a 15 boliviano taxi ride away), but I’m sure all the lines are impressive and I certainly plan to visit others when I come back to La Paz.
We board the little pod alongside several locals and ascend up out of the city, me like a 5 year old child amazed by the views much to the amusement of the locals, and embarrassment of Sara. It’s a shame it’s not a clearer day as we cannot even see the snow capped peaks that surround the city. Still the colours and glimpses of local life from above are fascinating and well worth the price of admission.
Reaching El Alto we decide to take a little walk along some of the narrow abandoned streets for still more dizzying views of La Paz below, not to mention lots and lots of friendly, and some not quite so friendly, street dogs. It’s also nice to see a much less touristy side to the city.
This done we head back down to the station and grab a taxi back to our hotel, appreciating some of La Paz’s amazing street art, though sadly our cameras our buried in our bags.
We relax for a while before heading out to the posh zone of this city, a strange counterpart to the historical centre, and quite a taxi ride (or bus ride away). Instead of old buildings and mazes of electrical wires, we’re welcomed by sky scrapers and western style business’ and signs all around us. Zona Sur seems more or less the exact opposite of the rest of La Paz.
We’re here for a very specific reason though, and one those who now me won’t be surprised by what it is: Indian food. The Taj Mahal Indian Restaurant is well reviewed and more than lives up to my expectations providing delicious curries (I order two) and proper Naan bread, which serves as our breakfast/lunch the next day before we head back to the bus terminal and board a bus to Copacabana, Bolivian’s side of Lake Titicaca for a few days.
Honestly I leave surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed La Paz and I’m eager to visit again in about a month, on my way back through Bolivia after saying goodbye to Sara.
