Storyline: Buenos Aires to Lima Nov 2017
As I am transcribing my notes from two years ago thousands attend the funeral procession in La Paz for those killed in clashes earlier this week. Today the trip described in the post would not be possible. But there is always tomorrow.
What a crazy, impossible city! Surreal, chaotic and charming. Built on the steep walls of a bowl formed by the high Andes (a canyon actually), with the majestic and always visible snow-capped mount Illimani (6,465m or 21,211ft) in the distance, this city again was evocative of life on another planet. Changing altitude of about 1,000m (3,280 feet) within an hour, driving along winding and extremely narrow streets with steep inclines, the city is full of surprises. There are two adjacent cities actually, with no visible boundaries between them, other than topography. El Alto, with average elevation of 4,150 m (13,615 ft) is where one would arrive if flying into La Paz, which we did. La Paz is below the rim of the bowl, with its lowest point at 3,200m above sea level, with the city centre where we stayed at around 3,600m.
There is no way that anyone would design a city this size in this place; it’s just grown seemingly haphazardly from the Spanish colonial town of the mid-16th century, built in a valley with spectacular views from every point. Its official name is Nuestra Señora de La Paz – Our Lady of Peace. Although the capital of Bolivia is Sucre, La Paz has become the administrative and financial capital of this beautiful country.
We arrived at El Alto International airport (4,062 m altitude), about 15 km from La Paz centre, at night. By now we were all well acclimatized to high altitude. We were driven down through steep narrow streets to hotel Europa in the centre of La Paz with a stop on the slopes for a few quick night snapshots. The city looked amazing from above.
Next day we’d visit the eerie Valle de la Luna (the Moon Valley). Its name tells it all. Just about 10 km from the hectic city centre, it felt like yet another planet. Its clay pinnacles rising up from erosion-destroyed mountains form spectacular sculptures and a dramatic terrain. One would notice the occasional flora and fauna and the serene landscape of a place not yet overrun by tourists. We were told that the valley got its current name when astronaut Neil Armstrong visited, and exclaimed that the place “looked just like the moon”. This story may or may not be true, but it certainly resonates.
Back to town we’d visit the “Witches market”, a place where the locals will buy baskets of items such as soapstone figures, herbs, folk remedies, dried turtles and yes, dried llama fetuses, the most famous item sold there. We were told that the fist time a llama gives a birth it is to a stillborn fetus. These are dried and sold on the market. They are said to bring good luck and prosperity. People buy baskets filled with such items as gifts for different occasions.
But if you have to do one thing only in La Paz, take the cable car! The city and its life are best viewed from above. I mentioned this innovative way of public transportation in my recent rants on the subject. The ride on Mi Teleférico was probably the most memorable experience for us.
La Paz and its companion city El Alto are well into the process of implementing a network of cable cars to carry people across this huge metropolis – it’s like a subway/metro in the sky, or shall we call it surway, with the main difference being that one can see the city as one travels…monuments, traffic, markets, traffic, protests, traffic, laundry, backyards (rare), stadiums, cemeteries, surrounding mountains (no traffic) etc., for 3 bolivianos (about US 50¢) per ride.
There is no other publicly funded transportation. One uses taxis and designated-route private vans. And on foot of course. In the previous post I mentioned the Bolivian communal economy. The vans “colectivos” are another example of such. One has to be part of a union to own and drive such a van.
We walked through the streets of the old city up to Kili-Kili Mirador (view point), and watched people feeding thousands of pigeons at Murillo square in front of the Palacio Quemado (the palace of government), which was the official residence of the president until Morales built Casa Grande del Pueblo (The great house of the people) containing a luxury suite, the new presidential residence. The old one with beautiful colonial architecture and the new skyscraper behind. Armoured police vehicles were parked around the square.
We had lunch in a restaurant overlooking the Plaza San Francisco, a popular meeting point. While enjoying our meals we noticed young people wearing strange costumes going up the stairs. Later we’d learn that this building hosted the “Urban Rush”, a crazy experience that sees the young and brave rappel/abseil down the face of the 17-story hotel. We were neither that brave, nor that young, but were allowed to see the place and were even given a demo to photograph. A sign above the desk informed us: “Tips are welcome. Remember your life is in our hands.”
As everywhere in Bolivia the food was amazing. Our guide was very proud to tell us of their locally-sourced fruits and vegetables. Really fresh. I’ve always said that I’d go back to Bolivia for their food. We were told there were thousands of potato varieties. Some say over 4,000. One site we found claimed 10,000. Oh, and the giant corn kernels!
We were told that the rich live at the lowest part of the city, and the higher we go the poorer the population is. This, like many things in La Paz, seems to be the opposite of what we have come to expect. And there’s a reason. Altitude. The rich can enjoy the thicker atmosphere a kilometre lower than the altiplano.
However, there is one recent phenomenon in El Alto: the rapid growth of its population has provided new wealth for many families. To show their wealth they live in futuristic colourful multi-storey “mansions” on the roofs of which are built structures called cholets. Cholet is a new word, a pun, combining cholo (women are called cholitas), meaning indigenous person, with chalet, reminiscent of those on the Swiss Alps. These are designed by the Aymara architect Freddy Mamani Silvestre. When you travel on the cable cars, the entire life of the city is below you. We were above the colourful tarpaulins of Fiera 16 de Julio, one of the world’s largest markets, we observed people playing soccer, we observed traffic and celebration ceremonies… and the vibrant cholets. It is a fascinating city!
Oh and since I am transcribing this two years later, during times of big turmoil in the country, it is worth mentioning the difference between how people liked or disliked the indigenous, socialist president Evo Morales. No doubt he has done a lot for the county’s economic development and its people. And people in Uyuni and the Salt Flats area all had good things to say about him. Not so in La Paz, though. The locals pointed to the big palace he had built and his monument as a waste of money and sign of grandeur. They disapproved of him. Urban vs. rural polarity. Sounds familiar?
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