La Paz - the highest seat of government in the world

In the morning, we scraped together our remaining Soles for a taxi that took us to the airport. We then flew for just 45 minutes in a small plane to El Alto/La Paz in Bolivia. Flo then tried to withdraw Bolivian money from 7 different ATMs at the airport. It worked on the last one, yippee!

The city, or rather the two cities, are impressive. La Paz is located in a canyon that is approximately 400 meters deep, while El Alto is located on the plateau at about 3,600 meters above sea level. The lowest point is at 3,100 and the highest at 4,100 meters above sea level. Since the airport is located on the high plain of El Alto and our hotel is in the valley of La Paz, we were treated to a spectacular view during the taxi ride.

The hotel where we unfortunately only stayed for one night was the most beautiful of the entire trip!

The next morning, we raided the huge breakfast buffet at the hotel and then took a taxi to the city center from where we continued to explore the city. We did some shopping at the Witch Market (Mercado de Las Brujas), took a guided tour of the Franciscan Church, and took a ride on the Teleférico.

This cable car is still under construction and will connect the lower parts of La Paz with El Alto. Upon completion, it will be the largest urban cable car network in the world.

In a few hours, we will be taking an overnight bus to Uyuni. Until then, we are sitting in a nice little café/bar in a small alley with artist shops and small museums.