La Paz is a breathtaking city, both figuratively and literally. The drive into town from the airport is amazing. The autopista winds down the hillside from El Alto to La Paz. There are houses built into hillsides so steep that you wouldn’t even think weeds could grow there. But slums do. Sprawling slums of tiny red roofed houses stuffed to the ceilings with big Bolivian families.The autopisa quickly ends at the edge of the city, and traffic slows to a creep along narrow, one-way cobblestone streets, honking all the way. The city has such a quirky beauty. The steps of beautiful colonial churches and regal plazas and parks overflow with markets and street stalls, children selling chicle and shoeshine boys jostling with well-heeled business people. It is an absolute sensory assault of sights, smells and sounds.
The city is nestled in a valley which centers on the Rio Choqueyapu. More aptly called the Rio Choke, it apparently receives 132,000 gallons of urine, 200,000 tons of excretement and millions of tons of garbage each year. Fortunately, the river runs underground for most of the length of the city. Above the river is an avenue called the Prado. The Prado divides the city into two. To the north is the traditional Aymara area, which centers on the Plaza and Cathedral San Francisco. To the south is the colonial and criollo city. The Prado also connects the autopista to El Alto, the central city, and the wealthier Sopocachi and Zona Sur neighborhoods. El Alto and Zona Sur also represent extreme opposites. El Alto is a sprawling Aymara slum, situated over 1000m over Zona Sur, a well manicured suburb. The only link between the two is that every day thousands of domestic workers descend from El Alto to work in Zona Sur.
The city is nestled in a valley which centers on the Rio Choqueyapu. More aptly called the Rio Choke, it apparently receives 132,000 gallons of urine, 200,000 tons of excretement and millions of tons of garbage each year. Fortunately, the river runs underground for most of the length of the city. Above the river is an avenue called the Prado. The Prado divides the city into two. To the north is the traditional Aymara area, which centers on the Plaza and Cathedral San Francisco. To the south is the colonial and criollo city. The Prado also connects the autopista to El Alto, the central city, and the wealthier Sopocachi and Zona Sur neighborhoods. El Alto and Zona Sur also represent extreme opposites. El Alto is a sprawling Aymara slum, situated over 1000m over Zona Sur, a well manicured suburb. The only link between the two is that every day thousands of domestic workers descend from El Alto to work in Zona Sur.
The weather is also quirky. During the day it either drizzles or it's blindingly sunny. I swear that since we're closer to the sky, it's a brighter blue. Still, it's smoggy all of the time, indoors and out, with tons of diesel exhaust trapped in the valley and cigarette smoke trapped in the cafes. At night it's always freezing cold.
At 3660m La Paz is also really intense oxygen wise. I've actually been in bed the last two days with soroche, or altitude sickness. Its only today that I’ve been up and exploring the city. I'm finally starting to acclimate, with the help of some mate de coca. I found a Spanish school, El Instituto Exclusivo. I also bought a Bolivian cellphone. My number is 591-7-658-1636. (I think. If not, say hi to some random Bolivian for me.) Plus, I climbed up to the roof of the cathedral.
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