3620m
This morning started calmly with breakfast being held on the roof of the hotel before our guide and driver arrived and we descended into the chaotic hell that is La Paz streets!
Our first port of call is in lower La Paz, 300m lower in altitude than where we are currently. We went to see our second Moon Valley, although this one has a better story. La Paz holds claim to the highest golf course in the world and the story goes that Neil Armstrong was playing here and commented that this area looked like the moon surface. There you have it. We walked around Moon Valley for around 20 minutes, and if you shaded it slightly more brown you would think you were in Bryce Canyon. Pleasant enough, and you are over a ridge from La Paz so you can’t see the chaos and can breathe easily; no mini buses. Ok, let me fill you in on the minibus situation of La Paz. These are your common type of minibus, except they are driven by a lunatic with no sense of preservation; their only goal is to get as many passengers on board as possible and get them from A to B as quickly as possible do you can repeat the process. Now, add to this that there are no registered stops, like any normal bus. These guys stop wherever the passenger wants to get off on their route, which could be blocking a single lane road going up a steep hill or in the middle of a dual carriageway with cars passing all around. They just simply stop. Then you have to consider that they are all innumerate and colour blind. One lane road? Make it two. Two lane road? I’m sure we can fit four of us in all competing for the two lanes. Merging? Makes Perth drivers look the most saintly considerate drivers in the world. These guys are just insane.
However, we make it to Kili Kili Viewpoint, so named for the sound of the birds that are there. From here you can peer down at what would stun the Minotaur into a catatonic state. It is astounding. How you fit 1-2 million people into a basin shaped valley and try to get around is … well I would say madness, but that comes next. Most civilised beings have 2 rush hours everyday. La Paz of course has 4! You have the start of day; rush kids to school, get to work. Then you have rush to pick up kids from school and gave your lunch and siesta because everything shuts from 12-2. Then you have the rush hour to get the kids back to school and yourself back to work and finally we have the 4th rush hour when you go home. Except you don’t. You rush to pick your kids up, fight with the minibuses, squeeze into parking spaces that don’t fit so your car sticks out (but it’s ok because you leave your hazard lights on) and then create it’s own rush hour on the pavements as you rush off to meet wife/hubby/kids for dinner!
Ok. Now you are starting to get an idea of La Paz.
From the viewpoint we drove to look at an original Spanish street, still with the cobblestones and wooden balconies, except this one was full of museums. But (because this IS South America and nothing goes completely to plan), virtually all of the museums are shut on Mondays. All except the museum of music. This was more interesting than it sounds and we got to see and hear s number of the local instruments.
Our second last stop was the main square where old meets new. The new president’s palace (don’t forget that Sucre is supposed to be the capital) is located right behind the old president’s palace, except more garish. The same can be said of the new parliament building superimposed over the old one. To complete the triumvirate, the official Bolivian bank is located next to the other two. The benefit of all three high rise buildings? It at least gives you a directional focal point.
Our last stop was the Witches Market, complete with all of the herbs, coca and llama fetus you could wish for! Or, come to think of it, a lot more than that. There are herbal remedies for sexual health, diabetes, sexual health, marriage problems, sexual health, oh, and sexual health. Not quite what we were expecting.
After lunch we went to find one of the cable car terminuses which connect a large amount of the city and even El Alto. You’d think that you would just look up and follow, but no. Again, not what you are expecting. As we were walking along I noticed an armoured car next to a bank with a well armed and armoured security officer with a sub-machine gun. Fran hadn’t quite seen it so I grabbed her arm and stopped her. A local girl walked on to be met by one of the menacing guards who…. insisted that she stay back. The other guard was carrying a shotgun and both looked quite prepared to use them. We waited. We finally found the terminus, worked out the lines that we were going to use tomorrow and headed back to the hotel.
Dinner was at The Steakhouse where we were served 300g steaks, marinated with Jack Daniel’s, with a side order and salad, and a bottle of Merlot for $104 which included the mandatory 10% tip.