Bolivia
La Paz
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| Plaza Murillo |
The "Dizzying" sky high capital of Bolivia with an altitude of 3660m . The first glimpse of the sprawling city from El Alto was breath taking. We have arrived in the city in the chilly early evening of 21st of September. A late dinner at a Turkish kebab joint within the busy alleys of the city after settling in our hotel was our first acquaintance with La Paz.
We explored the city on foot the next day. The streets are interesting to peruse, lots of slopes and cobblestone paths lined with Spanish colonial houses. We followed the Lonely Planet guided tour. It started at Plaza San Francisco all the way to Witches' Market.
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| Plaza San Francisco |
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| Mercado de Hicheria (Witches' Market) |
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| Calle Linares |
We walked all the way to Mercado Negro and Parque Nationale. In between, we went to a chicken fastfood called Chiky Pollo and had lunch at the roof top while we watched a protest rally in the street. Next thing we knew, I was coughing a lot and realized that was my first taste of tear gas.
To our delight, once we reached Plaza Murillo, a traditional festival was taking place and we watched these men and women perform in their colorful costumes. Women twirled continuously like there's no such thing as dizziness and altitude sickness.
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| Plaza de Armas |
La Paz got me mesmerized. We left to catch a bus to get to Uyuni that evening at 8:30PM.
All these memories make me want to pack my bags and go back to South America again.
XOXO,
Arni
6 comments
These pictures of La Paz are really quite dizzying with all the colour and scenery. You're right, it does have a very Spanish feel but with a twist
ReplyDeleteExactly the way I felt. :) There was so much going on, the colors, the scent,the sounds, the altitude..and the dancers twirling.
DeleteI love those pictures - especially the ones of the people in their native costumes!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sherry, I was surprised to see a lot of older generation women in those small black hats and dresses walking around with long braided black hair going about their day. They seem to have preserved their traditional costumes and still use them today as daily clothes.
DeleteBolivia! It's on top of my list. Amazing. Disappointed that I didn't manage to visit it. Tear gas? That must be quite an experience. Just read your old post on Uyuni. Absolutely gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteI had no expectations when I went to Bolivia but it blew me away. Our original plan was to go directly to La Paz but was changed at the last minute because all the Bolivia flights from U.S. were temporarily blocked during our trip due to some minor unrest so we had to go through Peru and cross the border by land. I guess that's where the tear gas comes in. The people are really nice and it was peaceful. It's great you're taking Spanish. I had to rely on my husband's Spanish during the trip.
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