La Paz, Bolivia

Photo Friday—La Paz

We caught our first glimpse of the sprawling city of La Paz as we descended from the heights of El Alto, colourful buildings as far as the eye can see. Over the next few days we explored the huge city. We wandered through the witches market, then wove our way through fruit stalls, winding alleyways and roundabouts choked with traffic. We barely had time to scratch the surface of what La Paz had to offer.

The markets sold everything from coca leaves to dried llama foetuses. We enjoyed plenty of coca leaf tea, but I can’t say we ever found the need to purchase a dried llama foetus—apparently it is good luck to bury one under the foundations when building a house.

We went for a ride down ‘El Camino de la muerte’, Bolivia’s death road. The bike ride itself is a breeze, a gently roll downhill—although missing a corner could be very hazardous. Even if you aren’t keen on mountain biking it is worth it for the scenery alone. Of course, after seeing some of the driving in town you start to see the real reason why the road has been so dangerous.