La Paz, notoriously known for being one of South America's wildest cities. As Bolivia's governmental capital, at a dizzying height of 3660m above sea level, La Paz is full of quirky beauty and a vivacious atmosphere.
From speaking to travellers passing in the opposite direction, we heard that La Paz can be overwhelming at times, not just because of the acclimatising to the altitude, but also because of the dangers of a touristy capital city. The streets of La Paz are never quiet, and this was a tiny bit daunting at first, but with time, we were charmed by the bustling population of the city.
Despite us being aware that La Paz was sky-high in the mountains, we were still amazed about its hilly layout. At such high altitude, and with the sun shining strongly every day, walking around the steep city roads could be quite a challenge. Even at a snails pace, we were panting heavily up the market streets, with older men carrying planks of wood, overtaking us with ease! It was our first chaotic Bolivian city, and we loved it from the first morning.
We stayed at the infamous Wild Rover Backpackers hostel, which partied every night. It was a great base for our La Paz experience, as we trully got a taste of the wild La Paz nightlife (but with the little perks of comfy beds and hot power showers!). Here, we were reunited with our Bolivian family, Agus, Allen and Julie, in time to accompany Agus in cheering on Barcelona in the Champions League Final (Yes, many of the English residents of Wild Rover were appauled at our allegiance with Barca, but as a Spurs fan, I felt I was within my rights!).
Tash and I ventured out with a couple of the Wild Rover crowd, to a disappointly gringo dominated nightclub. We still had fun, but the night lacked a bit of La Paz authenticity, which we vowed to rectify the next day.
Our days were filled with wanders around the city. We explored the artesan markets, full of every type of alapaca garment you could wish for, outstandingly cheap silver jewellry, and all other tourist wares. Here we shopped like crazy, letting out all our pent up frustration. La Paz is famously cheap for shopping, and even now I still think I should have bought more. We also ventured through the witches market, with all sorts of herbal remedies, and questionable witchcraft items; such as llama foetuses, dead birds and other strange bottled creatures.
We visited the Coca museum, where we all learnt more about the wonders of the coca leaf. It was shockingly our first trip to a museum so far (poor effort) but it was really worthwhile to learn more about something that is so important in Bolivian culture. Having said that, I feel that you can learn more about native cultures, by eating in a local restaurant or just talking with people in the markets. One of the reasons why La Paz was so quirky for me, was because of the amount of traditional clothing that is still worn by the cholitas. The stocky Bolivian woman, dressed in their long skirts, thick jumpers, and with small bowler hats on their braided long hair still dominate the population of La Paz, despite seeing more and more modern dress. The cholitas will stride up the steep hills with children tied to their backs, and carrying huge heavy bags of goods. Bolivian women are strong, and never fail to amaze.
Now, many adrenaline seekers head to La Paz in order to the infamous downhill bicycle tour of the world's most dangerous road (aka. "Death Road"). The Yungas Road covering the 61 kilometers between La Paz and Coroico, was closed down and a new road rebuilt, after 200-300 people per year would die driving along the downhill gravel road. Nowadays, the road attracts many thrillseekers to moutain bike the way down the hill, with lots of La Paz tour operators running a show. I have to admit, I was curious as soon as I heard about it, but still took some persuading. Eventually we caved in, and decided to join Agus and Julie on their Death Road tour, as long as we could go as slow as we wanted, and we were only going with a decent company!
That morning, I had butterflies in my stomach. The night before we had heard that, tragically a girl had died doing the tour. There had been complications with her brakes, and she was unable to make a corner. It was awful, yet there were questions about the quality of the tour company used, and we still went ahead with it. I was relieved to find that our tour guide was really informative and helpful in giving advice on how to control the bikes. The bikes too were all in good shape, and we were decked out in all the necessary padding (not that it would help if you were to go off a cliff, but it was better than nothing!).
We started off on the tarmac before the entrance to the original Death Road, so that we could get used to controlling the bikes. Up high in the mountains, the views were stunning, as at times we were above the white fluffy clouds. Tash had a little accident on this part, as the wind blew into her eyes and shifted her contacts, but you wouldn't even have known, as she was right back on that bike! From then on she was referred to as "la chica fuerte" (the strong girl). Yes, it was scary when we got up to the initial start of the Death Road, where the smooth tarmac disappeared, and was replaced with a narrow, dusty and uneven surface. I began at a snail's pace, I wasn't taking any chances. Plus, there was no pressure to go fast, as we stopped for photo ops of the valleys and mountains.
The width of the road was unbelievable. No wonder there had been so many accidents, when public traffic was permitted on the road, when the width would only really allow enough room for one large car. At one point, the drop from off the side of the road was as high as 400 meters. This was terrifying, as the road was so narrow, that on some corners, you could picture how easy it was for cars to lose control off the edge. Despite all these thoughts flowing through my mind, I managed to stay focussed on the terrain in front of me. My eyes actually hurt from the concentration. We stopped for a number of photo ops, as the views from the road were stunning. Everything was lush and green, around the ominous moutains, and the sun shone brightly making it quite warm.
It was a long and hard downhill experience. The constant bumping over the rough terrain was tiring, even though we didn't really have to peddle much until the end! Still, we survived Death Road, and have the t-shirt to prove it. Sorry mother, but sometimes, danger is a lot of fun.
After that exciting experience, La Paz drew to an end. Wild nights out, steep but beautiful hills, stunning sprawling views of the city from the mirador, eating fish in the cheap mercado, and conquering the World's Most Dangerous Road...nos gustamos La Paz mucho!
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