It´s certainly ´rainy season´ here at the moment and the frequent thunderstorms and heavy rain have meant that I have rarely had a view of the snow capped peaks that are featured on all the postcards. The sun is extremely hot and strong when it´s out but the minute clouds appear, it feels really cold. One needs several layers of clothing and an umbrella at all times.
Originally named Nuestra Señora de la Paz, the city was founded at the end of one of many wars -- so many that I forget which. The Spanish city sits in a deep valley surrounded by mountains and has spread outwards and upwards in a haphazard sprawl around various oddly shaped rock formations. The outward spread has lead to a number of very different districts from the quaint colonial to the brash modern and from Indian markets to very up-market boutiques. High above La Paz is the Indian city of El Alto another huge and ever growing sprawl that sits on the edge of the heights peering down on the other city below. There seem to be no Health & Safety regulations and some buildings perch perilously with random overhanging balconies and additional stories. Lack of space has lead to some very weird and wonderful upwards extensions to houses.
I have yet to visit El Alto but La Paz is a very big and very busy city. Someone described it to me as ¨One big market¨and you can find everything, including the kitchen sink (really) for sale out on the streets. Right now it is the run up to Carnival so there are extra stalls selling costumes, masks and various streamers or decorations. Wares are spread over pavements and on little stalls on the road itself so that people and traffic compete for space to pass by. Traffic is a major problem and private cars are banned from the centre on certain days according to license plates.
Public transport is cheap and widespread -- there are radio taxis (safest) ordinary taxis, set route taxis (designated by green flags on the bonnet) minibuses and wonderful old Dodge or Ford buses. These old buses are works of art with painted slogans and insignia on the bonnet -- silver swans, horses, or rockets. From the street where my hotel is situated -- Calle Llampu -- I can look down a very steep cobbled street towards San Francisco church and plaza and see the lines of traffic criss cross at intersections. The vehicles are so old and beat up it´s a marvel that the brakes hold, but they do! People dodge between the vehicles, traffic police wave orange cards and blow whistles with very little effect.
Luckily my hotel is an old colonial style building so although it is on a very busy street, the rooms are mostly at the back and set around little courtyards. My room is off one of the larger courtyards with a central fountain and pots of bright geraniums and creepers. There is solar heated hot water at all times -- bliss! Also free Internet, so though the connections are slow and the keyboards decidedly odd, it seems churlish to complain, especially as Freddy (who runs the bar/internet cafe) is such a whizz and can cope with most queries with a smile and enormous patience.
My own patience gets sorely tried. ´Peruvian time´ became a bit of a joke, but Bolivian time is something else! No-one is precise unless for a bus, train or plane and 15 minutes late is considered ´on time´. For most appointments I have been waiting at least half an hour and often longer and it adds to a certain level of tiredness at the end of the day. So far, my project with the deaf children has been very slow to get off the ground. There is no designated place to work, so I have seem one or two people in my hotel room and then visited families after school (which finishes at 6pm) or over the weekend. There are so many people wanting help that it´s hard to say no and although I originally came for two weeks it looks as if I will have to stretch my time here for a few days more -- especially if I want to do any sightseeing! At the moment I am considering taking a bus, a short distance (only 3 hours) to one of the biggest Carnivals in the country. It will be a long day and a very jam packed one and I´m not sure I can deal with the crowds, noise and the dangers of theft/mugging. Still a few days in which to make up my mind.
Originally named Nuestra Señora de la Paz, the city was founded at the end of one of many wars -- so many that I forget which. The Spanish city sits in a deep valley surrounded by mountains and has spread outwards and upwards in a haphazard sprawl around various oddly shaped rock formations. The outward spread has lead to a number of very different districts from the quaint colonial to the brash modern and from Indian markets to very up-market boutiques. High above La Paz is the Indian city of El Alto another huge and ever growing sprawl that sits on the edge of the heights peering down on the other city below. There seem to be no Health & Safety regulations and some buildings perch perilously with random overhanging balconies and additional stories. Lack of space has lead to some very weird and wonderful upwards extensions to houses.
I have yet to visit El Alto but La Paz is a very big and very busy city. Someone described it to me as ¨One big market¨and you can find everything, including the kitchen sink (really) for sale out on the streets. Right now it is the run up to Carnival so there are extra stalls selling costumes, masks and various streamers or decorations. Wares are spread over pavements and on little stalls on the road itself so that people and traffic compete for space to pass by. Traffic is a major problem and private cars are banned from the centre on certain days according to license plates.
Public transport is cheap and widespread -- there are radio taxis (safest) ordinary taxis, set route taxis (designated by green flags on the bonnet) minibuses and wonderful old Dodge or Ford buses. These old buses are works of art with painted slogans and insignia on the bonnet -- silver swans, horses, or rockets. From the street where my hotel is situated -- Calle Llampu -- I can look down a very steep cobbled street towards San Francisco church and plaza and see the lines of traffic criss cross at intersections. The vehicles are so old and beat up it´s a marvel that the brakes hold, but they do! People dodge between the vehicles, traffic police wave orange cards and blow whistles with very little effect.
Luckily my hotel is an old colonial style building so although it is on a very busy street, the rooms are mostly at the back and set around little courtyards. My room is off one of the larger courtyards with a central fountain and pots of bright geraniums and creepers. There is solar heated hot water at all times -- bliss! Also free Internet, so though the connections are slow and the keyboards decidedly odd, it seems churlish to complain, especially as Freddy (who runs the bar/internet cafe) is such a whizz and can cope with most queries with a smile and enormous patience.
My own patience gets sorely tried. ´Peruvian time´ became a bit of a joke, but Bolivian time is something else! No-one is precise unless for a bus, train or plane and 15 minutes late is considered ´on time´. For most appointments I have been waiting at least half an hour and often longer and it adds to a certain level of tiredness at the end of the day. So far, my project with the deaf children has been very slow to get off the ground. There is no designated place to work, so I have seem one or two people in my hotel room and then visited families after school (which finishes at 6pm) or over the weekend. There are so many people wanting help that it´s hard to say no and although I originally came for two weeks it looks as if I will have to stretch my time here for a few days more -- especially if I want to do any sightseeing! At the moment I am considering taking a bus, a short distance (only 3 hours) to one of the biggest Carnivals in the country. It will be a long day and a very jam packed one and I´m not sure I can deal with the crowds, noise and the dangers of theft/mugging. Still a few days in which to make up my mind.
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