I didn’t really have much time here (1 day coming and 1 day going), but it is worthy to post. Picture the highest mountains that you can (up to 21,000 feet), take a giant ice cream scoop right out of the middle, and insert 2.5 million people living in little brown houses clinging to the steep hillsides….. That’s La Paz.
This is the cheapest country in South America, and I realized it when I was arguing with a cab driver about the extra $0.50 he wanted to charge me to get to the airport from my $10/night hotel.
It’s all about huffing and puffing up the steep, high altitude hills through through the markets here (especially the mercado negro, “black market”), which are really just make shift umbrellas over tables where they literally sell anything. I mean there was a table of just cheese graters. Another table of hats. Another table of cell phone chargers. Another table with just breakfast cereal. You get the idea.
The most important thing I learned is just how much awesome stuff there is to do in Bolivia. I really want to come back sometime.
Off to Cusco for the last week.
There are a few pictures, but you should really look up some aerial photos of La Paz to see this amazing city tucked in the valley. It literally prompted a “whoa” when I first saw it.
Low Waving Through South America 