La Paz

Bolivia: the poorest country in South America with a population of 55% indigenous Amerindian, 30% mestizo and 15% white.

La Paz: the administrative capital and second largest city of Bolivia.

Our first impression of La Paz as we made our way into the valley was a whirl of automobiles driving in all directions, no traffic lights, just a multitude of female traffic wardens uselessly directing traffic and a constant echo of car horns and young boys commandeering people into their (min-van) collectivos*.

Then the altitude sickness kicked in. At 4,100m above sea level, La Paz leaves those unaccustomed to the altitude with a constant feeling of nausea or an irritating pain in the back of the head, not unlike a hangover. For this reason, the locals consume a lot of coca, a plant that has and still plays a significant role in Andean culture. Chewing the leaves or boiling them in water as mate (herbal tea) is not only effective against altitude sickness but also acts as a stimulant to overcome fatigue, hunger and thirst. It is also the coca in Coca Cola. We stuck to drinking mate de coca every morning though as the raw leaves are incredibly bitter and leave a flavour in your mouth that is definitely not for the faint at heart.

To make matters more difficult, the valley part of the city is composed of a cluster of hills so no matter where you wonder off to, there is always an uphill to breathlessly defeat. Yet, its intriguing indigenous culture makes La Paz highly appealing to the western adventurer, not to mention the fact that everything seems ridiculously cheap.

Door to door travel agencies and souvenir shops morph into the witch's market, packed with llama fetus' and voodoo-like statues of Pachamama (mother earth) or idols for love, work and luck. The witches will tell you that before constructing a new house, one should bury a llama fetus so it will remain underneath the house and continue to give it good luck. Here we had our fortunes told by a suspiciously-fraud one-eyed man reading from his tarot cards in the street for a few pennies.

Across the prada (main road) and through the plazas filled with colonial mansions now accommodating government institutions, and hidden amongst the slim alleyways lies Calle Jaen, an old colonial street that houses many old buildings from that era; all beautifully painted in soft pastels and all in amazing condition, a stark contrast to the crumbling, neglected and poor other side of town. Here, we found local designers exhibiting their skills and a cute cafe Café Etnö, where we stayed for mojitos de coca. Of course we became painfully bloated from the ice in the cocktail but it was a fun night nonetheless.

The real La Paz, understandably, is located up on the flatlands above the valley, where more than half the population of the city lives. This is where the indigenous way of the city life comes into its full glory. Here the main drag is filled with street vendors, selling fruit and puffed wheat amongst other things as well as herds of collectivos waiting impatiently to be fill to the brim before setting off.

Other interesting insights to note include the shoe cleaners who wear black balaclavas to hide their identities so as not to be recognised elsewhere as having the lowest of the low job, and the pedestrian helpers who dress in animal costumes to distinguish themselves from the rest of the crowd.

*Collectivos: public people movers, similar to buses in that they follow a designated route but often come in the form of a car or mini-van.