Day 80 - La Paz

Saturday, 1 November 2014

Today I explored the city of La Paz. Bolivia is a country with about 11 million people, and there are about 1 million people living in La Paz. It is a hilly city with an altitude of about 3,800 metres above sea level. Luckily my hostel is quite close to the town centre, but I still couldn't avoid walking up steep hilly paths. 

First, I went to a tour agency to sort out my tours for the next days. The must see for me are Tiwanaku (sometimes spelled Tihuanaco) and Salar de Uyuni. The usual itinerary for Salar is 3 days 2 nights, but the second day is just visiting the Red Lagoon and the third day is really travelling back to the town of Uyuni so I decided to do just one day at the Salar. My tours sorted, I was free to walk around La Paz.

First I went to the Witches' Market. It is called as such because they sell an assortment of potions, traditional cures, and stuff for rituals, ceremonies and offerings. For example, I saw them selling llama foetuses and dead baby llamas; these are supposed to be offerings to Pacha Mama for better agriculture, etc. This was where a lot of souvenirs were also sold, so I bought a few cute llama key chains and magnets as souvenirs. Apart from that, I don't know what other souvenirs to buy because the souvenirs here look very similar to the ones in Peru; apparently Bolivia and Peru share similar cultures, tradition and beliefs. The people also look the same but I think the people in Peru are friendlier.

After this I walked to the San Francisco Church, this is a big and old church which was founded in 1548 and rebuilt in 1784. Unfortunately it was closed so I couldn't see the inside. Then I walked to the main square which is also known as Murillo Square (Murillo is an important independence leader in Bolivia, his statue is found in the middle of the square). Here there was the Metropolitan Cathedral which was built in 1835. Right next to the Metropolitan Cathedral is the Presidential Palace, also known as the 'Burned Palace' because it was burned down once and had to be rebuilt. Next to the Presidential Palace is the Palace of Justice, a big, majestic looking building.

Then I walked along the 16th of July Avenue, the most important avenue in La Paz. And then it was about 4 pm so I had an early dinner in a local restaurant; trout fried in egg and flour with salad and the ubiquitous French fries. I seriously don't understand the combination of rice and French fries. Talk about carb overload! And the other problem I find with Andean cuisine is the lack of sauce for the rice. They are perfectly fine eating fried chicken or fish with rice; I find it too dry, I need either curry or soup or sambal or something to make it easier on the palate.

Anyway, the fish was delicious and I finished everything, and then I headed back to the hostel to rest and sleep.