La Paz, Bolivia

From Potosi it was about a 10 hour bus ride to La Paz. Although La Paz isn’t the official capital of Bolivia it is home to all the government offices and it is the largest city in the country. I’m pretty sure it is about 3500 meters above sea level and home between one and one and a half million people. The city is basically built into a canyon of sorts. The downtown is at the bottom and the city goes up in all directions becoming more residential and more impoverished (like in Sucre). I climbed up to a look out point one day and it was quite beautiful (and quite hard with the altitude).

I stayed at the Wild Rover hostel which is known for being busy and a pretty big party place. Had some interesting experiences in the hostel, saw some new things and its pretty clear that most people come to La Paz to party. In general I didn’t like La Paz that much (maybe because it reminded me of BsAs but not nearly as nice). One thing I did love tho was the people. Downtown La Paz is like any big city, busy streets, tall metal buildings and lots of people hurrying on their way. What was distinct about La Paz though was seeing these official looking men in their power suits and carrying their briefcases walking alongside indigenously dressed women in bright colors carrying babies on their backs and bread in their arms. I loved the contrast.

The other thing I liked about La Paz was the witch market. Basically it was a couple streets maybe 5 blocks from downtown full of people selling things. Each street was like a huge mess of color, bright colors. The booths were full of fabrics, clothes, jewellery, bowls, pipes, art, coasters, bottles, statues, wall decor, incense and weirdest of all llama foetuses. The place was full of interesting smells and full of the sound of people talking over one another and making deals. Definitely the best place in La Paz, for me at least.

I ended up spending only two days and one night in La Paz and then I headed off to Copacabana on Lake Titicaca.

PS
Here is a link to an album with a few photos.