La Paz

Monday 18th October

Took 10 o'clock bus from Arica to La Paz. On the way out of town the bus stopped for "cash" customers. The money was shared equally between the conductor and driver. We were on the Bolivian Nordic bus and got front seats.  We had to pay CLP200 to leave the bus station. Apparently this is common practice in Bolivia and Peru but it was a first for us. Bolivian time 1 hour behind Chile. The speedometer on the bus does not work! Going up, up, up. Parque Lorca absolutely stunning . Camera battery ran out! We were at Tungua at 4500 metres with snow capped volcanoes and lakes. A queue of 5 kilometres of trucks was waiting to cross from Bolivia into Chile!!!  How long??? Crossed into Bolivia at 4660 metres.

At 14.00 the bus stopped when 30 minutes into Bolivia. Over heating big time. No mobile signal for the driver!!! Being stuck is one thing, at 4500 metres is another! Driver says a relief bus will be with us in 2-3 hours. How he knows this is not understandable. This place we stopped is in the middle of nowhere and suddenly a minibus appears and 9 of us load into it to go to La Paz. This recommended by a lady with joint Bolivian/Chilean nationality who speaks English! The journey is not good. Cramped. Maybe 200-300 km, who knows. The fare is BOBS 25 (or GBP 2.40) . No that is not a mistake!

Many, many llamas in the green valleys. They are a bloody nuisance because they have no road sense and cross right in front of the minibus. Approaching La Paz snow covered mountains and subsistence agriculture.
The people look as poor as church mice and there are ladies in bowler hats and full regalia ploughing the fields with cows. Nearly all buildings adobe. God alone knows about sanitation. The road in leads to El Alto, which is the indigenous capital of Bolivia and looks it! Having negotiated a fee of 25 per person the driver plans to drop us in Al Alto (makes a ghetto look like a Sunday School Outing) so the passengers revolt and a new fee of 40 BOBS or under GBP 4 is negotiated to take us the 10 km up then down the hill to the bus station. La Paz has seriously steep roads everywhere. All of the mini bus passengers (we go with the flow) now go to the Nordic Bus counter at the terminal and scream and shout for half an hour to get the 40 BOBS back. We were totally knackered but had to support our new found friends. Eventually they all got 40 BOBS discount on the return fare. No use to us because we were not going back.

Our new Chilean/Bolivian friend also told us that there was no way we could stay at the hostel we had booked because the area was far too dodgy! So 3 couples, us included piled into 2 taxis to the Hotel Saranaga which is 100 metres off the main drag "El Prado" and got a double, ensuite for GBP10 including breakfast. We asked for a local restaurant and were guided to one nearby. Food perfectly fine and inexpensive. Crawled into bed altitude sick and exhausted at 21.30. What a day! Now we really are having "adventures"

Tuesday 19th October

Bread for breakfast was better than anything in Chile.  ATM just outside hotel so got some BOBS (Bolivanos or Pesos). Walked down to San Francisco church, (no cactus involved) and millions of people and women in Bowler Hats and big skirts everywhere. Found the tourist office and it had closed ten minutes before. Sat down and people watched then went down "El Prado" to a "South American Cultural Promotion" on Plaza Estudiantes right by the University. Saw some children doing local dances. Had another coffee stop with Te Coca for Mummy. A new feature never seen before is the "tout" who leans out of the collectivo minibus shouting out where the bus is going. There are a lot of "Jeepnies" like Manilla. Multicoloured minibuses. Went on the cheapest City Bus Tour of all time BOBS50. Very good and very good value. "The North Face" has a shop in La Paz.

To celebrate 200 yeas of La Paz there was a spectacular with loads of indiginous dancing, singing etc. We watched maybe 8 performances and then got a bit cold so we went back to nearby the hotel for some dinner.

Summary of day 1 in La Paz. Polluted beyond belief with traffic fumes, millions of cars, minibuses, coaches and people. That alone makes the breathing difficult never mind the altitude, just under 4000 metres. Having a good time though.

Wednesday 20th October

Booked to go to Lake Titicaca tomorrow on a proper coach. The price difference between that and a possibly very dodgy "collectivo" is GBP2, not worth the risk. Wandered down "El Prado" and calculated how many BOBS we would need for the next few days, Copacabana has no ATM! Posted some postcards to Spain and Denmark. Wonder how long they will take? Lady in post office assured us that all mail outside Bolivia goes by air. Got presents for Hanne, Coby and Spanish chicas but not going to tell you what they are, except Lise and Chad might not be too pleased with 1 present for Coby, jejejejeje!

Tried the Bolivian Sauvignon Blanc. Yes there is such a thing and sorry Tito Michael, the Letchworth Barolo does not get near this splendid wine! Have to get up at 06.30 tomorrow.  All Bolivian restaurants are dimly lit but the food is fine and typically pastas, chips, burgers, salads, lomitos etc and always nicely cooked. Sprinkling of rain, first on tour. Millions of school children wandering up and down "El Prado".