Bolivia and La Paz

We haven't written anything about the size of Lake Titicaca yet. It is huge: 3 times the size of the Saarland, 16 times the size of Lake Constance. On our way to La Paz, we drove for hours along the lake. And the journey would have been much longer if we hadn't been able to cross the lake with the bus. Seagulls accompanied the motorboat.

After 5 hours, we arrived in La Paz. What a pity that we can't stay here longer (the Uyuni Desert is calling). La Paz is great. Surrounded by partly snow-covered mountains, it 'grows' from the valley up the slopes. So the lowest part of La Paz is at 3100m, the highest at 4100m. Temperature differences of up to 10°C are possible. The wealthy residents live downstairs (warmer and less atmospheric pressure). The first cable car was opened in 2014, and now there are 6 cable cars connecting the districts.

On the outskirts of the city lies the Moon Valley, a bizarre rock landscape reminiscent of Hollywood sets.

In the city, there is a closed-off quarter - the prison. Here, the inmates live on their own, without any state support. According to a description by a former (German) inmate, it is one of the most famous prisons in the world.

La Paz is a huge city with 6 million peaceful citizens. However, one must know: the Bolivians frequently go on strike and demonstrate. Currently, the students/professors are striking for more teaching materials, the miners for more money, and a delegation of women is demanding the release of their incarcerated husbands. The confrontations with the police can be quite rough - 2 streets away, everything is calm and business as usual.

Tonight we will fly to Uyuni, tomorrow our salt flats tour begins.