La Paz - The Pearl of Bolivia

30.11.2018

After enjoying a small but delicious breakfast, we embark on our first journey with the Teleferico. This network of cable cars stretches across the entire city with currently 8 different lines. It's an absolutely ingenious solution, considering that it not only covers long distances but also incredible altitude differences of almost 900m. And the best part is, it's incredibly cheap.

Our destination is the Plaza de San Pedro. A prison in the city center that is completely overcrowded with over 3000 inmates and is still in operation. Inmates here have to pay a high price for their stay and therefore often have to work in the prison. Whether as a drug cook or dealer, restaurant owner (yes, they have their own restaurants inside!), barber, or living taxi, transporting inmates and visitors safely from cell to cell. However, most of the people here cannot even be called visitors anymore. Many inmates have brought their entire families here. In San Pedro, anything is possible as long as enough money changes hands.

The daily visitors of San Pedro Prison. The police officer is the only hint that it is a prison. One would think it's just a very big house.

Here begins our Red-Cap Tour, similar to a free walking tour, where we learn interesting and astonishing details and get an intimate insight into the city and its inhabitants. One of them greets the group directly with 'Gringo go home!' (Gringos, which includes us, go back home).

Passing the numerous market streets, where, by the way, you can buy 10 mangoes for 10 Bolivianos (about 1.30 Euro) (10!!!! - Annika always gets excited about that), we head to the local market for lunch. The menu includes deep-fried mashed potatoes stuffed with cheese and meat, carnivorous-filled pastries (Empanadas, which are called Saltenas here), or donuts, without meat. Bon appétit.

Immediately afterwards, we visit the famous Mercado de Hechicería, the witch market. Here, mummified baby alpacas or their embryos, various herbs, and other ritual utensils are sold. Beautifully displayed on white or black paper - depending on which magic you want to invoke - the female sellers put together sets for self-invocation. With these, you can express a wish, for example, for wealth, luck, or a new car, or you can curse another person. Just pour alcohol on everything, set it on fire, and bury the remains for Pachamama (Mother Earth).

At the Plaza de Murillo, the political events are explained to us in hushed tones. Basically, it's quite simple: kind presidents are hung on lamp posts and corrupt ones are re-elected, only to disappear to America with a lot of money in a helicopter. Sounds familiar from Ecuador. Bullet holes serve as reminders of a bloody police uprising, found in churches, street lamps, and houses. Even under the leadership of the escaping leader. The current president, Evo Morales, built the cable cars, but like his American counterpart at the moment, he has a quick tongue and a penchant for premature conclusions. According to him, chicken makes you gay and Coca-Cola causes baldness - all scientifically proven, of course.

Following our free Singani - the national drink that tastes like Vodka-O - we visit the Museo Instrumentos Musicales de Bolivia. Here, cultural sound machines from around the world and various time periods are displayed and even partly available for playing. We like it. Small but nice. By the way, you can also admire the world's smallest guitar here.

We want to go hiking. To sleep outside without having to 'go home'. After visiting several tourist agencies, we are faced with a 2-day trip to a lagoon with a summit ascent of 5,400m and a 3-day adventure with glacier crevasses and a night ascent to over 6,000m. The advantages and disadvantages are clear. The latter choice offers more adventure and is not much more expensive. The altitude and the need to conquer thick glacial areas with ice picks and crampons demand a lot. For Carsten, the decision is clear. Annika prefers to sleep on it for one night.

01.12.2018

We plan our next weeks, some things have to go so that others have more time. Especially the lack of desire for long bus rides is decisive after the last experience. At 12 o'clock, we head back into the city to book our trip. We will decide which one to choose when we return.

Just kidding. Of course, we choose the super dangerous 6000m-ice pick-glacier crevasses-below-zero-weather-thick-wool-socks-night-hike trip. Annika, with a little persuasion, is excited about it. So we quickly lose some money. But after some tough negotiations, we also get some warm equipment. In addition, we get a 'special price' for tomorrow's wrestling show.

The rest of the day, we spend wandering around the beautiful city of La Paz, which captivates us with its charm and magic despite its lack of comfort, noise, smog, but also its high quality of life, its people, its kitsch, its panorama, and its absolute uniqueness.

02.12.2018

We set off early for a hike to the Valle de las Animas. Yesterday, we gathered information about the directions. The public transportation networks on the ground are much less developed and very confusing. There are no bus stops. Usually, you just wave to a minivan with a sign in the front windshield and hope they let you off where you want to go. So, as we have done many times before, we try that today as well.

The Valle de las Animas is simply impressive. Deep ravines are interspersed with eroded sandstone towers, creating this rugged landscape. A 2-hour hike allows us to collect many beautiful impressions.

We have a late lunch at the Mexian restaurant. Very, very good enchiladas and chili sin carne. Yum... Right after, we take the bus to the Cholita Wrestling. The Sunday attraction for tourists and locals. The Cholitas are traditionally dressed women who wear up to 5 layered skirts to emphasize their figure. Two braided hair with alpaca hair extensions and a much too small hat are also part of the everyday outfit. But today, they are wrestling. The antique-looking ring is put to the test for almost 2 hours, as men and especially women 'fight' their hearts out in the square. Tempers are flaring, with the use of chairs, glass bottles, and steel doors. The referee is WWE-like and sometimes intervenes in the action. It can happen that the performers fly into the audience. We really enjoy the completely exaggerated kitschy wrestling. Oh, by the way: Eilish and Owen, our dear Brits, are also joining us and are just as enthusiastic as we are.

Owen spontaneously joins us tomorrow on our great adventure to the 6000m peak.