La Paz

Being spoilt by relatively cheap flights and after the long minivan trip from Torotoro I flew from Cochabamba to La Paz, well technically it is the city right next to La Paz- El Alto. The airport is at over 4,000m elevation.

This wasn’t a city that I particularly looked forward to visiting due to its sheer size, traffic and noise! South American drivers need to hoot/blow their horn every 2 seconds, with La Paz being no exception! So it is ironic that I spent nearly a week there- mainly because Coroico –the place I was going to visit- had forecast a great deal of rain- so I stayed in the city.

On my first day I did a walking tour. However; due to Bolivian law, where nothing can be free, the tours are paid plus a tip is expected. The tour was pretty interesting. We started in front of the prison- which is in the centre of the city! San Pedro Prison is unlike all I have heard of- as a matter of fact tourists were allowed to visit up until approx. a decade ago!! Prisoners live inside with their families; they pay rent for their cells based on what they can afford. The innocent children and wives can come and go. The kids go to school just on the other side of the square. The rich have near apartments, while the poor have shared cells with many mates. There are drug factories inside. The maximum sentence in Bolivia is 30 years with no death sentence. Judges send murders and people who commit heinous crimes into this jail for the perpetrators to “disappear” and inflict their own justice. There are only 10 guards working here, and only guarding the doors not interfering with ‘the running of the prison’; that is done democratically. Now, this is all info from the walking tour guide… but is pretty eye opening!

Another interesting explanation was regarding the witches market. Bolivians regularly set up offerings when asking for money, success in business, love, more clients, sickness cures. The picture shows a typical example of such an offering. The baby llamas are a must. Candies- a gift to Pachamama (Mother Earth) –due to her liking sweets. The rectangular sugar blocks have drawings of what it is you are asking for. Further; once you have a Shaman bless this offering, then you also ask your priest for a blessing. The Catholic beliefs and indigenous beliefs are all intertwined here.

An interesting fact is that over 80% of Bolivians are employed in the informal sector. You can buy nearly anything off the street and there are few actual supermarkets.

Something else that you may not consider, is that due to the altitude, water boils at 86°C here. This makes the brewing of coffee and entirely different ball game.

The sheer number of people who live here and the traffic is overwhelming! There are 1,000s of minivans and small buses. The whole metropolitan area has a population of over 2.5 million. So it is a really convenient public transport option to take the Teleferico (cableway) and travel over all the hustle and bustle!! A trip between stations costs a tiny 3 Bolivianos. It is also excellent way of seeing the expanse of the cities through the whole valley! There are 10 lines operating now. I think this is by far my favourite part of the city! I must add that a fear of heights is not conducive to this mode of transport! The quality of the photos is not great through the windows, but it gives good perspective of the sheer size of the metro area.