On the Road

Two weekends ago, Dave and I took a 20 minute trufi ride to the nearby town of Tiquipaya. A suburb of Cochabamba, Tiquipaya has a relaxed feel and is known for it's weekend markets. We shopped for produce at the market, enjoyed the views of the snow-capped mountains, had some lunch, relaxed in the plaza and then headed back to Cocha; a great Sunday afternoon!

This past weekend we had a bit longer ride to La Paz (8 hours overnight via bus.) While Sucre is the judicial capital of Bolivia, La Paz is Bolivia's largest city and legislative capital. La Paz is situated at a staggering 3660 meters (12,000 feet above sea level). After spending almost two months in Cochabamba at 2558 m (8,400 feet), it was still an adjustment for me. This is a photo of the looming Mount Illimani of 6402 m (21,000 feet!!) seen from La Paz.

Arriving in La Paz at 6:00 AM, we were startled by the cold winter morning temperature (around 35 degrees F), and quickly tracked down our hostel. We hurriedly put our bags down and brushed our teeth, and were off in search of breakfast and coffee. By 7:00 AM we were in the center of La Paz at Iglesia San Francisco, eating warm llauchas – a empanada filled with a gooey cheese sauce (see one of Dave's earlier posts on his experience with this tasty street food.  http://curiousgringo.blogspot.com/2010/03/street-food-heaven.html)


That afternoon we visited the Southern region of La Paz, called San Miguel- an affluent and trendy neighborhood filled with shops and cafes. We also spent time in two great museums, and tried out a few other street food treats that La Paz has to offer, including some amazing tucumanas, which are fried empanada like pastries filled with meat, eggs, potatoes and other flavors. We also took a stroll through the famous Mercado de Herchicería (the Witches' Market) where you can find any herbal or folk remedy, including dried coca leaves to cure your altitude sickness or llama fetuses for good luck. 

Day 2 in La Paz started off with an all you can eat pancake breakfast (both this and a free beer from their microbrew were included in the price of our hostel, The Adventure Brew Hostel.) With full stomachs and a sense of nostalgia for home, we headed to the El Alto Sunday market. El Alto is the city above La Paz and is the Aymará capital of the world. The Aymará are an indigenous people of Bolivia whose women are known for wearing black bowler hats accompanied by the traditional long pleated skirts. (The two large groups of indigenous people are the Quechua, of the valleys, and the Aymará of the Antiplano/high regions of the country.

We caught word that there was a soccer game in La Paz Sunday afternoon between one of La Paz's teams, The Strongest, and Aurora, from Cochabamba. So, we bought some paper visor hats from a vendor and some popcorn, and settled in to a half empty stadium to watch Cochabamba's Aurora lose to The Strongest. Regardless of the outcome, like every live sporting event, we had a great time! After the game we stumbled upon this (above) parade, we aren't sure of the occasion, but it was a bonus. My friend, Shahib, who we volunteered with in Quito, a British Indian, recommended an Indian restaurant in La Paz, The Star of India, that we had been looking forward to all weekend. And we were not let down; we both enjoyed some amazing vegetarian curries. We then headed to the bus terminal for our overnight bus home. Overall, a very FULfilling weekend in La Paz! I can't wait to go back.

PS- Speaking of the road, this week I experienced my first South American bloqueo. The road blockade appeared on my way to work on Wednesday morning. Our trufi approached the bloqueo and the passengers quickly noticed why we had stopped, and everyone started to pile out of the mini bus. Bewildered, I followed suit and tried to follow a man from my trufi through the maze of police, tires, flags, rocks, buses and masses of people that were acting as the blockade. I made it through the obstruction, trying to wrap my head around what was going on, and why, while trying to determine where I was and how I would get to work. I found a taxi on the other side, who took me to the clinic and told me, along with everyone else who I asked, that he had no idea why there was a blockade, and that they happen all the time. Hmmm... let's hope not.