La Paz - Bolivia

Danielle:

La Paz was spectacular as we flew over snow topped volcanoes and the barren hectares of the Altiplano which stands at 4000m. La Paz itself is at 3600m.  The first time we arrived was on a stop over flying to Ecuador from Buenos Aires.  The night we stayed in town I was incredibly sick from the altitude with severe head aches, nausea and the vomiting.  We met a lot of couples and it was always the woman that suffered most from Altitude - why I don’t know.   

La Paz was an interesting and scenic city.  It sits in a valley below the altiplano.  The city is built up on the sides of the valley and at night there are spectacular views of the city.  The indigenous people here dress differently.  The ladies wore multi layers of skirts which make them look large and heavy.  They wore also bowler hats, colourful and glittery shawls.  The hats are amazing and vary depending on what region of the continent you are travelling.  The angle  of the hat can represent marital status and social status.  The men too wear hats but in the cities they tend to dress in western clothes. 

David:

By the time we flew out we were glad to be beginning the independent part of our trip.  The only trouble we ever had with the bikes was the extra baggage we had to pay whenever we flew out of Bs As.  Not that they weren't trouble every where else.  You couldn't help looking jealously as backpackers are off while you try to manage with 8 panniers (usually strapped together in pairs) a back pack, a day pack and two oversized boxes containing disassembled bikes. 

After emptying half the plane at Santa Cruz, we flew into La Paz, Bolivia.  The real advantage of having the extra room was not so much been able to spread out, but that we could shuffle from side to side as we approached, and then circled around La Paz.   

What we say, was almost unbelievable, certainly with the restricted experience of our eyes.  First were the enormous snow capped mountains.  Then the incredible rock pinnacles of Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon).  And then La Paz itself.  The city that slid like a giant pancake into a valley.

The airport and the poorer part of town are located right on the edge of the altiplano (the high plain).  This edge of the 'pancake' remains on the plate, but the rest of the city looks like it has slid into a 400m deep valley and then with the momentum up the other side.

The view when the Taxi goes over the edge is genuinely breathtaking.  A person we met travelling said that there are some cities that really grab you visually.  He mentioned San Francisco, Sydney and Hong Kong.  We agreed La Paz was one of them also.