When the Cars Disappear… Protest!
The airplane ride from Sucre to La Paz was the first one I had since arriving in Cordoba, Argentina weeks ago. I was tired of the roads and to fly over the Andes for $69 seemed like a deal. I would say it was the best $69 ever spent because it was the most beautiful flight I have ever been on. The forty-five minute flight followed the Cordillera Real north to La Paz. The mountains are up to 6500 meters high so even at 9000 meters, the plane did not seem high at all. The jagged peaks contain glaciers and beautiful alpine lakes some of which were bright green and tan colored. There were a few clouds that drifted close to the mountains from the Amazon side and they were well below the peaks. The people I bought my ticket from in Potosi placed me on the right side for best viewing and they were right. As we approached the city the mountain peaks were almost even with the plane’s altitude. We flew over La Paz which is at about 3600 meters (highest capital in the world… make that second capital) and over the airport which I think is the highest at over 4000 meters on the altiplano. The area where the airport is located is flat as a table which is quite strange given the mountains that are around the city. I could see Lake Titicaca to the north right before we made a crazy right turn at a steep angle and cork-screwed quickly to a nice landing. The area around the airport is full of neighborhoods with each one having a wooden church some of which looked kind of New England-ish although quite a few styles exist. I did not notice any horrible slums such as in Lima. I landed at 11:40 AM, got my bag in record time, caught a fast cab and was in my hotel room in the center of the city at 12:00. Name another large capital with that kind of efficiency.
La Paz is a pretty crazy place, but I have not seen all the danger people talk about. It is not very apparent in the daytime at least and walking at night seems relatively safe in my area near Plaza San Francisco because so many people are out. The police force is very apparent especially the guys on the streets around the government center since they are all wearing full riot gear and many cannisters of tear gas all day and all night. They stand near barricades that can be put in place very quickly. It is quite obvious this is a place where things can happen quickly. The architecture is OK, the setting with the city in a bowl or canyon is quite nice and the museums and other activities are OK, but the highlight is just kicking back watching all of the people. This busy city is full of indigenous folks all dressed up in their indigenous clothes. As noted in Peru, it is usually just the women who are in their bright native clothes while the men are in modern work apparel. The two museums that do stand out are the art museum and the coca museum. The art museum has some good contemporary art as well as 16th and 17th paintings from Cusco, Potosi and other schools. Of course, their theme is limited to one subject so the appeal may be limited. The coca museum is small, but it covers everything about coca including history, cultivation, world laws, Coca Cola (they buy leaves from Bolivia and Peru preferring the small tender leaf type from Trujillo, Peru – I bet Jorge Bush has a coke once in a while), cocaine, drug abuse, anesthesia and most importantly what coca leaves do for the indigenous people of the Andes. It took many shots at the War on Drugs and the hypocrisy about America given that it consumes over 50% of the coca leaves harvested.
So, three time in two days I have wondered about where all the cars disappeared. Walking down a street and I suddenly notice no cars which is just not normal in this car and bus infested city. It’s a nice change because they belch out so much pollution, but a little disconcerting. All three times the answer has been that the street has been closed because we’re having an organized protest. Yes, in two days I have witnessed three demostrations. Yesterday was students, but I do not know what they were protesting about. Today, it was teachers wanting more money (probably with good reason) and the textile workers were protesting to keep jobs in Bolivia. I suspect they are losing apparel jobs to China and Vietnam like the rest of the world. Even Bolivians who make almost nothing must make more than Chinese or at least the cost of doing business in Bolivia is more than found in China. I liked the textile protest because it was full of indigenous people and therefore made for great photos and video. Like Cusco, La Paz is a place never to be without camera at the ready. Today’s teacher and textile protests actually ran into each other making one very large mass of people which was certainly into the tens of thousands of people. That makes me a little nervous to be in the middle, but they were all very well-behaved.
Tomorrow I am finally going into the Amazon. Six months and I will finally get to see it. I am going into the jungle and pampas areas of Madidi National Park which National Geographic says is the most bio-diverse place on the planet. I would really like to see a jaguar or another type of cat, but I will be happy seeing butterflies, birds and other mammals. I started taking malarone for malaria and I look forward to some wild dreams popping up. I have had a lot of dreams on this trip without it probably due to so many strange beds, but malarone should really make them interesting.
Tags: bolivia, south america, Travel
vagabondrick
What a fantastic flight over the Andes for you. The dynamics of being ready for anything anytime must seem like the city is on edge. Best of times in the Amazon All my love Kathy