Crazy Town South America- La Paz, Bolivia

After our long relaxing stay in Sucre we said goodbye to our Spanish teacher and guesthouse hosts and took the bus to the capital of Bolivia, La Paz.  We reserved our tickets early so we got the front seats on the second floor of the bus.  Unfortunately the movie (which we could not see) was extremely loud and could not even be drowned out with earplugs or Ipods. The trip was pretty annoying to say the least.  We also encountered our first locked bus bathroom and random people sleeping in the aisle and on the stairs. At the rest stop we ended up peeing on the side of the road after making the decision that it was probably safer (health wise) than the “bathroom.”   

When we finally made it into town at about 6:30am, we checked into the Cruz de los Andes hostel in the Rosario neighborhood (which is pretty much backpacker central). The famous Witches Market was right down the street, where we saw lots of dried llama fetus and trinkets.  

The first full day we just relaxed, walked the Brado (main street) and Dan ate the “World’s Hottest Vinadaloo” at the Star of India restaurant. It was pretty spicy but they really get you with the portion. Dan was full up and sweaty for the rest of the night.  The free tee shirt was basically about 90 bolivianos because that’s what we had to spend on beer for Dan to get that curry down.

The next day we took a tour to Tiwanaku, a pre-Incan ruin on the altiplano two hours outside of La Paz. Our tour included the cutest, happiest baby ever (escorted by a young Argentinian couple), an older German guy who knew way too many languages, a Mexican man who drew lots of sketches, a Brazilian women and another Argentinian couple.  Our tour guide was very well informed and explained everything in Spanish even we could understand (and then in English too!).

It was really interesting to see the ancient monoliths (statues) and half excavated pyramid. The people of Tiwanaku (year 100- 1300 AD we think) were pretty fucking smart. They built their temple according to the sun’s cycles, so they knew what day of the year it was. They also carved a hole in one wall that closely resembles a human ear. When someone speaks into it, their voice is magnified and could be heard across the temple (which our tour guide demonstrated). Conversely, if you put your ear next to the hole you could hear someone whispering from meters away.  When the Spanish conquistadors came, most of their civilization already gone, but that didn’t stop the Catholics from attempting to behead and bury their monoliths and use their stones to build churches in La Paz (still there today).

After a long day of learning we headed to the expat pub, Oliver’s Travels.  It was slow night but that didn’t stop the English bartender from enticing us into a game of trivia with a newlywed couple on their honeymoon.  This strange game of trivia involved listing actors who had been in every movie of two separate trilogies. Basically we just yelled out actors we thought of until we got one, and then we had to figure out which trilogies they were in.  In the end we got free shots and had a great time. Dan also wrote the fifty states and their capitals faster than the barman had ever seen. His list is now proudly displayed behind the bar.

The next day we attempted to walk down past the seat of government (hoping to catch a glimpse of Evo Morales) to the ritzy Sopacachi neighborhood. It took us forever mostly due to the lack of oxygen at 11,160 feet. Plus all the stairs and exhaust, it was pretty rough. We did see the famous San Pedro prison, but we weren’t invited in and that’s cool with us.

La Paz is an amazing city that was built in a crevasse. I don’t think anyone ever expected it to get as big as it is now, the poor Bolivians living on the mountainsides are constantly trying to wedge themselves downward, while the rich simply build up to the sky. We thought it was a mind blowing place to visit. Next on to Copacabana!