It must have been noticeable in that I put in my notebook that the road was sealed. As well there were plenty of llamas to be seen and many abandoned villages. After four hours of travelling there was green grass, market gardens to be seen, a sign of some irrigation, new villages and new buildings. The amount of rubbish at the side of the road, near and in the villages did not reduce though, something common to all the countries travelled through so far. There were also numerous police checks on the road during the day and plenty of speed bumps, even on the highways.
VIEWS ON THE WAY TO LA PAZ
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| A mountain village |
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| Deserted house |
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| A deserted village |
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| Women about town |
We arrived in La Paz at 1900 hours to stay in the Hotel Andina for three nights where I had asked for a room to myself for which I paid the extra cost.
The following morning there were coca leaves for breakfast if anyone wanted to make a tea out of them. They are a help for altitude sickness, not that I needed any. Walking around I was kind of dragged into a barbers shop by an elderly barber who had decided that it was time I had a haircut. I did, but as most of the barbers were young and most men Ii saw had a fashion haircut no way was I going to let my beard be cut by just anyone. The old barber did a good job and I did look more respectable afterwards.
Many of the others on the truck went out early to cycle the ‘Death Road,’ some returning with cuts and bruises having fallen off their bikes It begins at 15,400 feet and goes for 40 miles, mostly downhill.
The Death Road (photos from the internet)
We all went on a walking tour of La Paz taking four hours and when finished knowing that the city has more steep streets as flat ones. Starting high up over the city, (having been driven there thank goodness), we saw the huts used by different sharmans for their ‘religious’ purposes, each sharman being capable of working different magic to suit the client requirements.
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| Local gods, with offerings. |
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| Shamans Huts |
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| Catholic Church opposite the huts |
From nearby we went on the cable ca down into the city. There were two different lines available and more lines in the process of being built. Considering the traffic problems in the city the cable car system will be a big improvement when travelling round the city.
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| Cable car over the city |
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| The cemetery seen from the cable car |
The walk continued round the streets to local street markets, the witches market and ending at the cathedral.
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| A witch's shop |
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| Shops at the witches market |
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| Inside the witches shop |
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| Inside the witches shop |
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| Potents ready for a spell to be performed |
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| An old tram |
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| Normal means of transport |
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| A busy street, and like this almost all day. |
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| A shopping street |
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| Blown corn |
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| Various coloured pasta |
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| Coloured something to add to gifts when going to the sharman |
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| Note the pleats on the skirt |
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| Note the swing on the skirt |
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| An old colonial building |
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| An old colonial building |
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| Guarding the ex-Presidents coffin |
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| Guarding the Presidents office |
I had been to the cathedral previously which was just as well as it was closed today.
Views of the Cathedral
Once again street art was in evidence and to my surprise people stopped walking past without my asking when they saw me taking photos.
This time the art was supplemented by the paintings on the walls of the hotel I was staying in, something I have never seen before.
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| My bedroom |
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| Sitting area |
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| Doors into two separate rooms |
Each evening in the square by the cathedral some kind of ‘show’ was put on by local people. This evening it was a mummers play and easy to follow with the crowd laughing with what was going on.
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