Bolivia's capital, La Paz has been a good place to spend a week. We found a hotel with wifi and a good breakfast buffet and settled in to catch up with people and with a blog backlog. It is a good job we were already acclimatised because not only is La Paz centre at nearly 4000m altitude but it is also completely lacking in level ground. Steep hills abound and as we are fond of exploring entire cities by foot this has meant serious exercise.
The Bolivian flag flies outside a nice colonial building in the old centre.
There are some nice places to visit like this art gallery.
La Paz is surrounded by hills and mountains, which is pleasant.
Some parts of the city are very modern and developed.
Other parts are rather poorer and under-developed.
Every inch alongside every road is used for selling things and these are curiously clumped into areas- one road for plastic, one for paints, another for plumbing. Near to our hotel is a huge area for many people selling children's party accessories and the road right outside is the fabric area. The shop pictured (taken from our balcony) is a very popular place for buying fabric, causing locals to squash outside in great numbers and stampede in when the doors are opened. Must be really cheap- the Bolivian Dunelm.
Bolivia is a politically charged place and La Paz has its fair share of street art like this one for the party of president Evo Morales- the first indigenous South American leader in modern history: a hugely important step for a country of 80% indigenous population. Of course the poor indiginous mosty idolise him while the oil rich whities mostly want rid of him.
This moving memorial is in a park in the south center. The image can only be half seen in a mirrored surface. He was one of many people who dared to commit their lives to left leaning liberal political views during the 1970's dictatorship and who 'disappeared' as a result. He was 22 years old and in a public prison at the time of his disappearance. His mother, to whom a poem on the memorial is addressed, has been fighting for 30 years to bring his case to court.
We have enjoyed the vibrancy and contrasting sides of La Paz. Alongside a new feeling of pride within the majority indigenous population there is also lots of work going on to try and open the city up with central parks, plazas and even a big walkway up above the central valley, so it looks like things are only going to get better.
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