La Paz

We don't have too much to report from Bolivia's capital, as we only stayed there for a night either side of our trip to the Amazon (yeah baby!).

It is probably more notable to talk about what we missed in La Paz, due to unfortunate bus times and a miscalculation on my part of when our flight actually leaves Santiago (we have two days less than I originally thought. Whoops...). Firstly, we had to turn down the opportunity to cycle the Death Road, an experience that has been recommended to us our entire trip (even before we left), and one that Aisling was particularly excited about. Taking three to four hours from top to bottom, the Death Road (named because it used to be the most dangerous road in the world, until they built a newer, slightly safer version. Google image it...) starts high in the Andes at an elevation of over 4000 metres and ends on the jungle floor. That's a whole lotta downhill, and the scenery is meant to be breathtaking, along with the rush you must get from cycling down a road that's only three metres wide and with 400 metre sheer cliffs to one side. We are very sad to have missed out.'Fools' I hear you cry, apart from the odd person who is probably saying, 'most sensible...'

The other thing we missed (by about 20 minutes) is the famous wrestling Cholitas held every Sunday in a suburb of La Paz. Cholitas are traditional Bolivian women, complete with long plaits, bowler hats and local attire. Who wrestle. Each other. WWF style. As you can imagine it's meant to be quite the spectacle, and we were gutted to not see this 'sport' in action.   

But, back to what we did see. We have discovered we're not really fans of the big cities in South America. Apart from Cartagena they all kind of merge into one sprawling hectic mass that never quite lives up to the expectations described in LP. But, I have to say we really liked La Paz for the short time we were there. Yes, it was big and gritty, and smelly and busy, but it had a certain charm to it that we didn't feel in say, Bogota. There was nothing in particular to see, other than a small cathedral in the town square and the famous Witches'Market where lama fetuses are sold by the dozen, which apparently ward off evil spirits, and maybe this was why we liked it - not the lama fetuses, you understand, that would be weird, but the fact that you could just wander without feeling obligated to do and see anything. 

There was a parade happening when we were there, but we dont know why they were parading about...

On the downside the hostels were terrible, the food was, well, Bolivian, and hot water was not guaranteed, but this made it even more quintessentially Bolivian and added to the overall experience. It also didn't matter too much as the next day we were getting on a ridiculously small plane and flying down to the jungle where it would be hot, and sunny. Hurrah!