Day 3 - 25 Sep Exploring La Paz, Bolivia, the highest capital in the world

Photo above - highest road in the highest city, La Paz.

Setting off to explore La Paz

Today was spent exploring the crazy capital city that is La Paz. A lovely sunny day and 20C I set off after breakfast in a t-shirt with all the locals in coats and hats and several layers. I set off to walk to a station where I could catch the local cable car, but on the way I made a couple of stops.

The first was the Plaza Mayor de San Francisco square, which was a bit of a disappointment as it was essentially just the Basilica of San Francisco, with an empty concrete area and steps in front of it, where school kids were congregating. And it is right next to the noisy major city artery, the Ave Perez Valasco.

Relaxing in Plaza Murillo

Next I wound my way through some small streets to come out in Plaza Murillo, another square, but this one was much more appealing. There was a statue in the middle, some nice buildings in different styles dotted around, a quiet road around the square, a few police, and someone who looked like a member of the city council being interviewed. Lots of park benches, so I made use of one to sit in the sun, and to plan my next destination route. I had to fight off people wanting to give me a shoe shine, which is big here.

Hard to describe La Paz

This is unlike any city centre I have seen before. You feel like maybe you are on the outskirts of a major city, not in the centre. The pavements are cracked and sometimes non existent. The traffic is squeezing down tiny roads, trying to avoid pedestrians. There are markets set up on roundabouts and road junctions. Vehicles just stop in the road to chat. Everything is independent, there are no major stores. I have yet to see a supermarket. There may be a shop where you can buy paint, or a dustbin though. There must be an area with government buildings or embassies but I have not seen it. There is an energy to the place, everyone trying to get somewhere, sell something, buy something. Add in the very steep streets and the lack of oxygen, and this is a unique place.

Cable car transit system

I worked out how I could thread my way through to Estacion Central which is the central station where I can pick up a red line cable car. This is a fully fledged public transit system. Mi Telferico has 26 stations and 10 different coloured lines. It was built because the traffic in the city was getting so bad. The volume and the low average speed due to thin steep streets, meant an alternative was required to be able to move people around the city much more efficiently. It is great. The cable cars are just like those you would use to go up a mountain elsewhere in the world, with the cars continually moving. You just buy a ticket, each of the three I bought cost 30p, and then hop in the next car as it passes through.

El Alto

Of course, I wanted to go up to the highest area, which is up near the airport. El Alto is over 4000m high, and is an area that used to be a separate city, but as the city expanded, it has become a region of La Paz. This is a poor area, and there has been some civil unrest developing in this area recently. It definitely has a different feeling. Part of it feels very neglected, but there is a busy road junction that passes through the area, and people gather to get taxis, sell goods, meet up etc, and this part has a really nice but frantic vibe about it.

Witches market

I stayed a while up in El Alto, but eventually headed back down into the centre, using the cable car of course. I then headed back towards my hotel via the nearby Mercado de la Brujas or Witches market. This is effectively an artisan area where local traders sell Bolivian made products to tourists, but again there is a friendly jovial vibe there, and it leads to the area where I found some interesting places to eat last night.

Stolen money

Back at the hotel, I chilled out with a beer that I bought in a local stall, but not before the lady who served me refused to accept my 10 Bolivianos note, stating it was part of a batch that had been lost in a recent plane crash! Apparently any with serial numbers ending B are suspect, but actually they also have to start with a specific number, but retailers are taking the easy way out and just not accepting any with a B at the end.

Tomorrow, I will do some more exploring, before readying myself for another travel day the following day.