Bolivia - La Paz

The overnight bus to La Paz was a comfortable trip - it was a cama bus with seats that went all the way back and we got blankets as well !! Before getting on the bus we couldnt just put the backpacks in the boot of the bus.... Oh No..... we had to lug them upstairs for them to be weighed by a lady then lowered by rope out a window down to the bus again !!! I wouldnt mind but they were putting big sacks of rice, potatoes, vegetables, mattresses etc onto the bus for the locals and there was no Q of their stuff being weighed. Anyway we were entertained by a local boy singing his heart out (badly) before the bus took off then we had a Steven Seagal and Kirk Russell movie in Spanish to pass the time.

We arrived in La Paz central bus station at 5.30am and got two taxis to the hostel, both car boots open with backpacks hanging out for any little scally to rob so we were watching them the whole time.

La Paz is a city of hills with millions of little streets and alleyways but it is still easy to orient yourself. It is the worlds highest capital at 3660 metres !!

That day we were very cultured and decided to visit 5 museums called the Calle Jaen museums. We bumped into a few local ladies nearby who thought we should hook up with the current president of Bolivia "Evo" who is single !!

We saw the army practising their maneouvers on the main square protected by the riot squad. There is a serious amount of cops on the streets of La Paz from bog standard cops, tourist police, urban police, SWOT team fully kitted out in riot gear, oozies and tear gas !! We figured out after half a day that we were being stalked by some of them but apparently its for our own protection... they "mind" the tourists ! All banks and ATMS are gaurded by a serious looking dudes with oozies !!

We had the "opportunity" to see the riot police in action one evening when they stopped a protest of approx 40 people after 5 minutes... the boys were not having any of it and took out the tear gas. This demonstration took place outside the presidential palace that already has bullet ridden walls !! nice..

Between us all, we dropped the GDP of a small country in the markets of La Paz. We spent two hours in the post office trying to sent the stuff home..... the formalities were unreal, 2 copies of a passport, customs forms etc and they are not the most efficient staff in the world either. We boxed our stuff then they bag it and stitch the bag up...the mind boggles ! The main bolivian dish that we came across was fried chicken with either rice and /or chips !! So we found a few dutch run cafes and restaurants and ate very well and very cheaply.

From La Paz we took a day trip to Tiwanaku - Bolivia´s most significant archeological site 72kms outside of town. It was designed as a ceremonial centre on the southern shores of Lake Titicaca. Some of the features are being restored like the Sungate and there are many megaliths to be seen. "Evo"the president was visiting the site that day and we unfortunately missed him.

Sunset over La Paz