Thoughts of a Flowertot…Bolivia – La Paz (with Compact Camera Snaps)
(Part of a series of articles by Fi trawling the archives for photos taken on the tiny compact camera way back when).
We left Uyuni by nightbus. This was to be our bumpiest journey yet, it was dark so we couldn’t see for sure but it felt as though we were on dirt tracks, the kind of bumpiness where the vibrations affect your speech. We eventually managed to fall asleep, only to be woken abruptly in the middle of nowhere by uniformed men demanding to see our passports. Night buses are just the best.
We arrived in La Paz at 7am, far from sprightly and had a chilled and very normal day out visiting the shopping centre and going to the Cinema. The simplest stuff can feel a treat at times on the road. Still, we managed to fit in a bit of culture too, visiting the Coca museum and the witches market. ‘Unofficial’ tours of San Pedro prison had apparently been stopped – worth googling as the concept is fascinating – so we had a walk around the prison walls and then moved on to snaffle more empanadas and fresh orange juice. I was glad that we had chosen Sucre over La Paz as a place to stop. La Paz is a real juxtaposition of modern and traditional. Nestled within the hills, with many traditionally dressed indigenous occupants but also high rises, freeways and shopping centres.
Here’s a few pictures from around the city and onward to Copacabana via a coach/ boat crossing: