La Paz

We arrived in La Paz by bus, at the top of the canyon giving us a panoramic view of the city. The Spanish had took over La Paz from the Incas and completely built over the river that ran through the cayon. La Paz is hilly and at a higher altitude than anywhere we've been so far. Although we already had a week of high altitude living, we seemed to be slightly affected by La Paz's altitude. We were both more tired than usual and no appetite. After settling in our hostel, we walked to a large park, often used by locals for jogging or hanging out. The park zig zagged its way up the side of the canyon and at the top there was a lookout with a playground. It had amazing views of the city and we marveled at how the river is built over. Surprisingly, we had a hard time finding dinner in the area, it seems like the city residents don't eat out much. We ended up having pizza and pasta that night.

The next day we did the suggested walking tour in our guide book through numerous street markets, each alleyway had a different theme, from apparel, school supplies, hardware, sewing (and beads!) and lastly, the witches market. The witches market had stalls of herbs and dried leaves, cacti, and dried skeletons of baby lamb. We later learned that the skeletons of baby lamb are used to bury in the ground in front of your first home. It's supposed to bring good luck.

The following day, Jon went on a mountain bike riding tour down the "world's most dangerous road" and Ching Jen went out on her own for a walk to various plazas and parks and a lookout. Overall, we have been less impressed with La Paz than expected, but we look forward to our trip to the salt flats tomorrow.


(read next entry for Jon's bike ride).