A man in Santa Cruz, Bolivia once told me that the administerative capital La Paz, was like a dog he used to own! Oh how's that I asked? "Well it was so ugly that it was beautiful, he said." Now city rivalries apart, you can kind of see what he means.
La Paz is certainly a city of contrasts, as it clings precariously to the sides of the Andes Mountains. The highest capital city in the world, it ranges in hight from 3000 meters at its well-to-do suburbs in the central bowl to 4000 meters at it's highest El Alto, a kind of suburb come sub-city close to the airport.
LA PAZ
Views looking towards the Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley), La Paz.
A local bus passes through the Mercado de Hechiceria (witches market), La Paz.
Downtown La Paz.
Downtown La Paz, Bolivia.
Traditions die hard in La Paz, here local Aymara women known as cholas or cholitas, wear a bowler hat slanted on the head and a long decorative skirt called a pollera or often 2, 3 or more of them! The bowler hats (Bombín in Spanish were introduced by British railway workers in the 1920's.
Altiplano and Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca
Local hand weaving, Lake Titicaca
Quinoa harvest on the Altiplano.
Lama herding on the high plateau, Comunidad Achachicala Centro, Bolivia.
Uyuni Salt Flats
A local bus speeds it's way across the Uyuni Salt Flats, Bolivia
Salt works at sunset, Uyuni Salt Lake.
Quinoa, Chantiani Villiage, Uyuni Salt Lake.
A breathtaking view of Uyuni Salt Flats from the air, Bolivia.
