I’ve always had a preference for less developed (less touristy) countries or areas. Within a few hours of arriving in Bolivia, the differences in YHIS Latin American country were very apparent in comparison to some of its neighbors like Peru, Columbia, Chile, etc. It’s VERY obvious they are not used to tourists. Not many folks speak English here…even the guides and clerks in the hotels. They are definitely not organized to handle any size of a crowd. They like to fly in the wee hours of the morning (when we would normally sleep) so we were half asleep when we arrived at 2am, and the process to get thru the airport on arrival was “wicked” and extremely frustrating…if you answered a question once, you answered it at least 5 times throughout your multitude of “inspection” stations. You had to sign an oath you would quarantine for 10 days in your hotel… well hell, we were scheduled to be in 5 hotels in 8 days. I guess they’ll track us down. The other issue, when they make an announcement, it’s ONLY in Spanish, so those of us who only speak English are totally lost as to what’s happening half the time…. Which can be used to your advantage if you go to the front of the line to ask a question and they don’t wanna deal with you, so they wave you on through.

So before I finish venting, I will add that the van ride to the hotel was TERRIBLE. Obviously, no shocks and horrible roads didn’t sit well with either of us as we were struggling with no sleep and the challenge of arriving in a city at 11,000 feet of altitude.

La Paz is a city of about 1-1/2 million people. After sleeping in, the afternoon was spent exploring this large city. Our first stop was Moon Valley, actually located on the outskirts of the city. This is a mountain, composed, mainly of clay… As opposed to rock… Which has eroded in a unique way, leaving a cascade of spires stretching across the valley. Very unique formations thought to look like the craters and valleys on the moon. Since I’ve yet to visit the moon, not sure I would agree.

Next step was to the cable car. Thanks to the vision of Bolivian President Evo Morales Ayma, in 2014, the world’s largest and highest aerial cable car urban transit system became operational. It crisscrosses downtown and provides a great aerial view of the entire area, including the mountains. We ended up getting off in the OLD CITY at an art gallery containing local artwork.

We finished our day at the Mercado De Hechiceria… known by most as the Witchcraft market. Quite a fascinating place to visit. The colorful
stalls are full of magical stones, mysterious powders, a multitude of medicinal plants and herbs, dried frogs and toucan beaks and other objects useful to cure, calm pains, practice magic rituals and connect with spirits of the Aymara’s world…Or to make offerings to Pachamama (Mother Earth). The belief is BEFORE you do anything important in your life…like build a house or buy a car, it is necessary to make an offering to the Pachamama. EVEN WHEN YOU DRINK A GLASS OF WINE…which would be really hard for me. 😜Everything that you need for the offering basket can be found in the witches’ market…but I think the most surprising thing for Connie and I was that they sell “dried llama fetuses”…Yelp you read that right….and they are hanging everywhere. They use these in their offering basket preparation. UGH!!!

We move on tomorrow to Sucre, the actual Capital of Bolivia. This requires a 3:30 AM wake up call so we can once again take one of these “crack of dawn” flights. 🥴 So be it for the weary traveler. 😜