I know there has been a lot in the news about Bolivia, but rest assured that it isn´t as dangerous as it sounds. I don´t think there will be a civil war here. It´s really political and there isn´t any resulting street violence in La Paz. There was a bit of difficulty in an area called Sucre which is eight hours away by bus, but that was only in the lead up to the referendum on the new constitution. I´m happy to report that Stewart and I have both safely arrived in La Paz this new year. We arrived on the 2nd of Jan.–last Wed. and all has been well since then.
I took a day and a half off to re-adjust to the altitude. Following the work week, we spent the weekend touring around and acquainting ourselves with the surroundings. I actually hadn´t done a lot of wandering about in 2007. We did a walking tour of one of the market areas on Saturday and a hike on Sunday to three look-out points. That was a trek, all on foot! So far and so high.
The pictures on this post are of our big Sunday hike and our walkabout on Saturday which helped teach us more about day-to-day life in La Paz.
Quoting Stewart, ¨The streets in these areas are crammed with market stalls, people, taxis, and minibuses. You can buy almost anything — from fresh fruit, to VERY competitively priced dvds (less than a dollar for a ‘new’ dvd), to watches, to
blankets and scarves, to pottery, to toilets, to llama fetuses (yes,
llama fetuses). All in all slightly scary, but very interesting.¨
Things here are great and we are planning a trip to Coroico (known for having the world´s most dangerous road up until recently when the IDB built a new one) as soon as the rain lets up a bit. I just checked the forecast and they are calling for rain, rain and more rain, and even thunder and lightening in that area for this weekend. That may foil our plans to go tomorrow tonight. All will be well though, we are invited out with some Bolivian friends to spend a day at the sauna and to relax in an area called San Miguel. It is a richer suburb area where there are tonnes of restaurants and nice shops to peruse. Will prob. grab some food there too. The area is lower down in altitude, so the oxygen is richer and it´s warmer too.
Hope everyone enjoyed a lovely New Year´s and all the best for 2008! We were told that this was the BEST view of La Paz…I think that is a true statement.
