La Paz

I want to circle back to where I left off before I wrote about the hike on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.  That last post was about Salar de Uyuni, the Salt Flats of Bolivia.  After being up on the high-plateau of the Andes for a few days, we are ready to get down to slightly lower elevation in La Paz.

The same tour company picked us up from our hotel in the morning and drove us to the Uyuni airport.  As expected it is a very small airport.  The flight to La Paz took less than an hour.  A van picked us up at the airport but not all of us were able to fit in the van.  So some of us took a couple of taxis and drove about an hour to the Hotel Sagarnaca in central La Paz.  The main highway had some traffic disruption so our taxi took some winding side streets down to the valley where La Paz is located.  As La Paz came into view you see a city well spread out over the valley.  The hotel is around the corner from the Witches Market and the local market.

Although most Bolivians are Catholics, traditional religious beliefs and superstitions are still widely practiced here.  It is blended in into the Catholic religion and I assume the Catholic church tolerates that.  You can see some of the practices in what they sell in the Witches Market.  Many of them don't make sense to us but they are used in the local religious ceremonies.

Boarding the flight in Uyuni

Hotel Sagarnaga

A couple of dried llamas used for local religious ceremonies

More religious stuff

More

Incense?

The nearby local market sells all kinds of food stuff, from fruits to vegetables.  It is basically a street market running several blocks.  I like the looks of the Bolivian women with their English bowler's hat.  However, they don't like to be photographed, whether it's cultural or superstitious reasons.  I tried to bribe one woman with 5 Bolivars to have her picture take but she angrily gave it back to me when she realized I only want to take her photograph and not buy from her.

Local women selling produce on the streets of La Paz

This woman was cussing me when she realized I took a photograph of her

A flower seller with her cute bowler's hat

Abundant fruits

More fruits

We took a walking tour of the city with a company called Red Hat Walking Tours.  It's like Free Walking Tours in other cities but they said they were having legal issues with the latter that they stopped using the name Free Walking Tours.  They charge a basic 20 Bolivars and if you are happy with the tour, you are encouraged to tip some more.  The tour stops at many of the city's historical locations and the two guides take turns explaining the history and significance of each landmark.  They also walked through the Witches and local markets.  The tour lasted about 2 hours.

Our Walking Tour Guide

From the looks of the city and the people, La Paz appears to be a poor city.  Things are quite cheap here.  It has some old buildings with beautiful architecture.

An old street near the hotel

A couple of beautiful buildings

Graffiti on some of the buildings

More graffiti

We spent 2 days here.  There is not much to do although several in the group went on a bike ride down a mountain called Death Road.  As the name implies it was a dangerous ride down a mountain road.  I am glad no one got hurt.  After the walking tour, I took some time walking the streets and observing the locals at street markets.

Cathedral in front of the Square

Some of the streets are hilly

Vendors around the Square

Bolivia has a nice cable-car system

View of the city from top of the mountain

Typical Bolivia woman attire, with bowler hat

Although it's a fascinating city for a first visit, I am not sure I will come back here.  There is not a lot else to do.