La Paz

Well this is my third time back in La Paz. It is a very hard city to describe. It is a city where you definately you feel you have to be on your guard, but despite its reputation I have not felt unsafe.

First time here I arrived on a bus which was boarded by the tourist police who took our taxi numbers down and the hostel we are going to. Two months ago two tourists from Austria went missing presumed to be kidnapped from an illegal taxi.

















But it is a city of two sides, almost verging on being cosmopolitan but always maintaining these traditional signs everywhere. The city is nestled in between mountains, however unconventionally the cheap properties are high up on the hills and the more expensive in the valley (it is too cold high up). There are big skyscrapers, cosmopolitan cafes and restaurants. There is also burger king but at lunchtime many woman set up shop on the street corner with a big pot of soup and people come with bowls to get lunch.

The streets are full of vendors and shoe shine boys who look quite scarey. It is a social stigma to be a shoe shine boy and to avoid embrassing themselves and their families they hide there face. This usually means wearing a balaclava or a baseball cap and scalf over most of there face. They do look scarey but all they are doing is trying to earn a living. At times it can get just a little annoying because they will try to shine your thongs/flip flops. I got the one female shoe shine lady (who had no mask) to clean my suede hiking boots for me and they came up super spiffy.

I have seen punks here, hip hop boys, and yet the old men still dress spiffy and the woman mostly all in traditional outfits: long hair in two plats, bowler hats, full skirts and scalves (see picture of May day march).

There are shops on the streets but no one ever seems to go in them. I have not seen a supermarket. Instead pretty much everything is sold on the streets; stationary, clothes, food, toiletries, they have no milk bars just people on the streets with little stalls.

I have done some interesting things here, visited the coca museum, which documents the history of the leaf and its uses over time. Also the politics associated with it, did you know many countries are allowed to legally grow Coca, for example the US? But no South American country where it is used traditionally is able to.

I have eaten at some great restaurants here, and suprisingly have not been sick. I went to a family fun park (not for the rides) but because it has great city views. But the city has a great family vibe with lots of people taking the kids to parks and for icecream where there is always some giant animal jumping around in the street.

Best of all here is the shopping, I went nuts. You can buy hats for $1.5 US, scalves, jumpers and traditional weavings. They are all so beautiful and cheap!

















Difficult to describe but a really fascinating city. I was here for May day which I thought may get a little rough but the marches were quite mellow just people with banners and the odd firecracker.