Bolívia – metropolis La Paz
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The city looks like it lays in a crater. Brick houses are built on slopes. It seems organized. Once you get closer, it is chaos of streets and houses-in-progress. There are high-rise buildings among historical structures down in downtown. It is quite an interesting mix. People travel by cable cars which simulate rapid-train system or subway. It is the fastest way how to get form one edge of the city to another.
La Paz ("Peace") is not the capital of Bolivia as you often can see it, which is false. Yet there is the seat of the government and national treasury. However, the real capital is Sucre which is sitauted in centra Bolivia. We leave Coroico for La Paz. We look for the cheapest hotel at the terminal. It is often so in Bolivia that hotels are cheaper especially those which have "alojamiento" next to their name.
It is only six blocks from downtown so we wait no more and go there. What surprised us were heavily armed policemen, dozens of them, in the streets because they are guarding the order. There is a even a police car with a water cannon on Plaza Murillo. It seems as it was on stand by all the time. There is a group of policemen making a barrier with their shields to prevent any movement from a part of Junin street. Behind the shields, there are groups of people and dozens of tents for Bolivians love to strike often and especially in La Paz. It is quiet on both sides of the barricade. Despite it we just pass by the policemen and barricades not spending there a while longer than necessary.
Plaza Murillo is the main square in El Prado borrough. Its main landmark is La Catedral Metropolitana Nuestra Seňora de La Paz, a stone cathedral which is even more interesting when you look at it from the side. It stands on a slope in Junin street. Its cellar slopes down which makes the cathedral seem larger. The presidential palace stands right next to the cathedral. Another impressive building is the seat of the government. The first thing you notice about it is its upside down clock dial. Calle Comercio is a pedestrian area going from the cathedral. There are butiques which are rather more expensive of the sort. The houses have optimistic colors in this street. There are also flags above this boulevard. You can erach Plaza Alonzo de Mendoza from there. It is a place where locals go to sunbath. They enjoy some jello in a cup, a popular treat in Bolivia.
Next day morning we start by a walk to Killi Killi mirador (a vantage point). It was built not long ago. There are even guards and it is closed for the night. The vista over La Paz is amazing. Snow-caped Illimani mountain (6438 m) is visible in the background. We leave Killi Killi vantage point and go around the city center to Plaza San Francisco square. There is a church and museum of the same name. Famous Sagárnaga street goes along San Francisco church. The number of foreign tourists rises steeply there. It is in this place where you can find souvenir markets selling Bolivian-themed stuff such as colorful ponchos made of lama wool, bracelets, pipes, and many other things with “BOLIVIA” on them. Many things have the Bolivian flag colors on them. One can even stumble upon a shaman nook. The stands there sell healing products such as ointments, teas, drops etc. Dried alpaca embrios or small dried lamas hanging at the stands.
We took Calle Jaén street on our way back to hotel. There are several museums which make the street quite well-known (the museum of precious metals; musical instruments, etc.). We encountered a small diner. Locals eat there their delicious, greasy mastné buňuelos (a fried flat cake). We want to buy only to flat cakes to go. But everybody is looking so nicely at us. The lady with a frying pan gives us api (a red beverage from corn) to get a taste. After we tasted it, we sit on a wooden bench with others and eat our dinner there. We also try tojori (thick white beverage made from corn). Also, they serve here fried empanadas with cheese. Dough has bit of sweet taste and cheese is salty. One miss at the table puts some honey on empanada to make it perfect for her. The dinner costs about 1 euro. Yet it feels quite heavy on stomach.
There is much more in La Paz. Unfortunately, we can't stay a week at one place to perfectly enjoy it. There is still a long journey ahead of us. And we have grown tired of a large city after three days. Which means we are about to go in the nature for couple of days. Toroto is our next stop. It is known for traces left by the dinosaurs. Thanks to the location of the country, it is warm in La Paz, which is situated at high altitude, even in the winter months. Well, when the sun shines. However, when it gets dark, the warmth is through quickly and it is quite cold at night. Once you find yourselves waiting at La Paz terminal, a huge windy building, make sure to put some extra layer of clothes.
GPS: 16°29'48.0"S 68°07'43.6"W
Text and photos: Tomáš Novák
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