La Paz: Illimani's Amphitheatre

Despite belonging to the same Catholic order, the San Franciscan churches in Salta and La Paz could hardly be different. In Salta even the architects were imported from Europe, while in Bolivia the temple was built with the forced work of the indigenous people.

History

The convent of Nuestra Señora de los Angeles was founded in 1549, one year after the City of La Paz foundation, on a terrain occupying two blocks across the Choqueyapu River from the Spaniards’ city. The priests built the first bridge over the river, which nowadays is completely covered by the city’s main avenue. The original church collapsed in 1610 under the weight of a heavy snowfall; the actual basilica was built between 1744 and 1784.

Style

"Barroco Mestizo" is called the colorful façade style prepared by indigenous slaves. The rich, carved ornaments include traditional masks, flora and tropical fauna tropical; on the sidewalls adobe and stones create an attractive puzzle-like wall. The heavy wooden doors - with a peculiarly rounded topside - are decorated with massive metallic nails.

Interior

The church interior is typical of Catholic basilicas and displays mainly neoclassical influences, with an immense central nave sustained by high stone arches and richly decorated walls. A typical syncretistic approach can be appreciated, with local motifs appearing almost on every statue. The altar is almost hidden by a massive back-wall covered with golden ornaments, bringing visitors to the verge of forgetting the building’s purpose.

Security

As of early 2008, the nearby Lanza Market is being re-constructed; ugly market stalls were placed in front of the church entrance.

The whole area is extremely crowded – day and night – and imposes serious security problems. It is better visiting the area with friends to watch over each other; standing idle in the area is not recommended.

Museum

Opposite the basilica – but within the same structure – is the Museo San Francisco. Faithful to the original forced work spirit, nowadays there is discrimination at the museum entrance. Bolivian elders and students pay 5BOB, Bolivian citizens 10BOB, foreign students and elders 15BOB, and foreigners 20BOB (about $2.5). "This is not discrimination between people," a museum worker standing at the entrance told me several times.

Cafeteria

Next to the museum, the "Profumo di Caffe" shop seemed as the perfect place for meditating on this profound statement – especially on why did it sound intrinsically wrong to me. The place was quite attractive, though a substantial level of street noise filtered in. The cafeteria’s name however was misleading and the coffee served was quite mediocre.

Surroundings

In front of the church is the main city’s plaza – though "crossroads" would be a better definition. Despite a pedestrian’s bridge recently inaugurated, moving through the area – and especially crossing the now covered river to the main area of downtown – is complicated.

On the southern flank of the church is Sagarnaga Street, where most of the travel agencies and souvenirs’ shops in town are.

Shops

Between the basilica and the museum there are various shops selling souvenirs and alpaca’s wool clothes. The most attractive items are the Oruro’s Carnival masks; actually this is one of the most accessible places in the county for purchasing them.

Concept

Colonial cities of Spanish heritage are built around a central plaza; surrounding it are the main administrative building and churches in the city. That’s the case with Salta and also with La Paz, where Plaza Murillo fills that role.

City

Since Bolivian independence, the city of La Paz changed character, from a departmental capital to the de facto national one. Following Bolivia’s defeat on the Pacific War (1879-84), the political capital was moved from Sucre to La Paz in 1898; the change caused an upgrade in the Plaza Murillo status.

Name

The plaza was named in 1900 Plaza Murillo after Pedro Domingo Murillo, who was the 1809 rebels’ leader; he was caught and executed by the Spaniards.

Access

During colonial times the plaza was the Spaniards’ town center; the indigenous people living in the area were limited to the opposite side of the Choqueyapu River. Eventually, until the 1940’s the access of indigenous population to the plaza was restricted.

Plaza

Most of the rectangular plaza is paved; very little shade-giving greenery exists and that only along its sides. Despite that, walking through it is difficult due to the fearless – and endless - doves, which would gladly climb upon a human hand if there are a few bread crumbs on it.

At the plaza’s center is a small obelisk with an archetypal Spaniard settler on it, which is dedicated to nine victims of the independence struggle; the list reads as a map of modern street names in La Paz. Next to the obelisk is a open book made of stone and showing one of the rebels’ texts from 1812.

Cathedral

On the northern corner of the plaza with Comercio Street is the Metropolitan Cathedral, built in neoclassical style between 1835 and 1987. This immense construction span is typical of churches upon the Andean Plateau. It was finished by adding the twin towers as a preparation for the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1989. The cathedral can be visited during the week between 3:30pm and 7pm; during the weekends it is open in the mornings.

On the open niche bordering with the Government Palace, is the tomb of the Mariscal de Santa Cruz, a military figure who fought against the Spaniards; soldiers dressed out in red uniforms (were they designed for fighting in a red-bananas plantation?) keep the tomb.

Government Palace

Near the cathedral is the Palacio Quemado (Burned Palace), which in the past hosted the municipality. When La Paz became the country’s capital, the city hall was moved a couple of blocks away and the Bolivian president occupied the building.

It was nickname the Burned Palace, since it was burned during eight different revolutions; one president was even hanged next to it. Touring parts of it is possible on Thursdays at 9am.

Congress

On the next square axis is the Congress, which occupied various civil functions (including as a jail) before becoming the residence of the legislative power in 1904.

Cinema

On the following axis is the Grand Hotel Paris, the first cinema in Bolivia, constructed in 1911.

Grid

Despite being built on an irregular terrain, the square and the adjacent streets follow the classical rectangular grid of Spaniard colonial towns. However, soon after that the design falls prey to the Andean High Plateau topography and becomes highly irregular.

The Chacaltaya Mountain and the Moon Valley are both nearby downtown La Paz and are offered as a single combined day tour by all the travel agents in town. The visits’ order is set according on the season and weather. A combined tour costs around 50BOB (slightly above $6.5) per person; usually there are daily departures from Sagarnaga Street near the San Francisco Church.

Chacaltaya

The similarities between Kathmandu and La Paz are often striking; however, when I was in Nepal, reaching Kalla Pattar - just above the Everest Base Camp at around 5600 meters - took me almost three weeks, most of them walking, while La Paz offers a half a day tour up to the Chacaltaya at 5395 meters, with most of the way made by car.

Ski and Global Warming

The Chacaltaya was until a few years ago the highest developed ski area in the world, but the global warming has left only a few patches of an unfed glacier without any snow. Nowadays, the most of the year brown mountain is dwarfed among tallest, snowed peaks.

Climbing

The tourists’ minivan reaches an Alpine hut at 5300 meters and from there, the visitors walk to the summit the remaining ninety-five meters. The event looks insignificant, but most visitors arrive without a proper acclimatization and should thus take care.

The Alpine Hut

The hut was the ski service centre in the past but nowadays it just charges the entry fee (10BOB, $1.25) and offers hot drinks at a quasi-improvised cafeteria. From the hut a nearby summit with a cable tow is clearly seen; this is the false summit at 5375m. Behind it and out of sight is the real summit at 5395m; for reaching the real one, the false summit must be reached and from there the left side of the fork in the path must be taken take.

Timing

If visiting during the rainy summer, the best is timing the visit after a rain, so that the mountain would be white with snow.

Altitude

It is better to attempt the task after acclimatizing a bit to La Paz altitude, but due to the short distance climbed, it is doable without that as well. The statistics favor the last option: one of the members in our car felt bad and vomited, but all the others felt great. While climbing avoid running; there is no way the scarce oxygen would allow such a feat.

Surroundings

The beautiful Huayna Potosi, 6088m, is close enough for touching; the visit is a good opportunity for inspecting the eastern path leading to its top. Treks of three days leading to its summit are easily available from La Paz. The Illimani and the Mururata mountains can be seen in a clear day, the last one revealing its duo of peaks, which are only hinted from the city. Beyond the Huayna the impressive Condoriri and Illampu mountains can be seen in humble side views.

Security

Approaching the Chacaltaya by foot or rented car is tempting due to its closeness to El Alto. However, gangs occupy the nearby areas and the experience is not recommended; apparently part of the experience relatively steep fee goes as protection money.

Cafeteria

The cafeteria at the Alpine Hut is rather basic, neither the hot chocolate nor the coffee there are worth mentioning. Despite that, a hot drink before and after the climbing is almost imperative; thus, my best recommendation is to bring a thermos – a cup of coffee at the summit itself is quite cool.

Moon Valley

Every self-respecting country has a Moon Valley. China has it in Guilin; Thailand has it in northern Isaan, not far from Lom Sak and Bolivia has it in La Paz, ten kilometers from the city centre down the canyon of the Choqueyapu River.

Alternative Transport

To get there, catch Bus 11 from El Prado, downtown’s main avenue built over the Choqueyapu River, and ask to be shown the entrance to the "Valle de la Luna."

Mallasa

The Moon Valley is located in the Mallasa borough of La Paz. That’s the city lowest part, well below the staggering 4019m above the sea level where it touches El Alto, but still 3100m. Being in the southernmost part of the city, it hosts some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in town as well as the highest golf club in the world.

The Park

The park charges a 15BOB (roughly $2) fee and is divided in two areas: an open to all one and a fenced one enclosing the best views.

Several paths lead the visitor among wonderful limestone creations; sometimes the path – including its classy stairways - had been carved just in them. On one spot – an almost vertical column which seems impossible to climb – stands a local man dressed up in traditional Aymara clothes while playing the flute. Showing the flying capacity of a condor, he re-appears next to the end of the path asking for donations.

I thought about writing this entry for a long time. However, every time I sat down with the intention of doing that, I faced the same problem. All of La Paz streets double as markets. Locals use different names for its various parts but it is technically impossible to say where one market begins and the next one ends.

Moreover, many of the stalls and ambulant sellers wouldn’t be considered as such by Westerners. Many hawkers operate in ways I have spotted only in Bolivia – at least in such extent. For example, many live in Bolivia by buying a bag of candies and selling a couple of sweets for a nickel; earning in such a way about a penny per each one sold.

The result is confusing. In a country roughly two times the size of Thailand, there are less than ten million denizens, while Thailand is rapidly approaching seventy. In Bangkok – a metropolis with more than ten million people – I could walk comfortably and safely everywhere at all times, while in La Paz it is difficult to advance ten meters without somebody bumping – forcibly and con gusto – into you. Improvised stalls occupy most of the sidewalks in the commercial areas and the crowds must fight for a space between the stalls and the myriad of minivans hawking for passengers.

Labeling this as a shopping or a pleasant experience would be hard; however, it certainly is an intriguing view into an inexplicable human phenomenon. Before taking a look at the scene, two issues should be considered:

Security

The markets are a haven and heaven for thieves. I have been attacked and robbed in an organized fashion about a dozen times. Surrounding bystanders and even policemen would be useless. Don’t bring anything of value and avoid recurring patterns while walking within a market; leave a market from a different point than the used for its entry.

Honest Bolivians are shy and well behaved; anybody assertively engaging in conversation with a foreigner should be suspected. The best approach is ignoring such approaches altogether.

Bolivians have a rather violent, intimidating way of walking around. They just don’t foresee the results of their sudden and often direction changes and do not care about bumping into people. Walk slowly and be prepared for anything.

A lot of varied and intriguing looking dishes are served all along the markets. However, the risk of contracting infections – like salmonella – is real and thus the experience is not recommended.

Merchandise

All the merchandise in the markets is of low quality and is not worth any price. Even relatively upmarket items do not meet decent standards. For example: in an attempt to save cloth, local sewn shirts always have short sleeves. Electronic and electric items should be carefully tested and would invariably be expensive and of old models since they are all imported from far away.

Even if deciding to buy a little souvenir – like a traditional awayo cloth – which is relatively free of risks, there are problems related to the local culture. Most sellers seem to have a reluctant attitude toward the process. They won’t neither smile nor help; often they would just ignore an inquirer and continue chatting with their neighbor or eating their meal. They dislike bargaining and customers touching their merchandise.

Terms as copyright and trademark are unknown in Bolivia, asking about authenticity is useless. The side shops at the lower part of the Graneros Market sell cloth tags of any imaginable brand.

Having said that, I must add that most Bolivian markets are extraordinarily colorful and worth a visit, though bringing a camera into them is inviting troubles.

Markets

The markets names usually refer to the main street crossing them, thus I avoided giving directions, unless the name gives no hint to the location. All of the markets described here are within walking distance from El Prado, La Paz main avenue. There is nothing in La Paz comparing to the El Alto Feria as a single organized market; however, the markets total size is significantly larger and more varied than in the Altiplano’s neighbor.

Brujas or Pachamama

The Witches Market is on Santa Cruz corner Illampu, in front of El Lobo, the Israeli backpackers favorite place in town. It occupies the surrounding alleys as well and specializes on items related to the Pachamama worship; it reminds very much of Kathmandu’s markets.

Behind the smoke created by the incense sticks in a futile attempt to purify the urine fouled air, are llama fetuses, different herbs, alcohol and miniatures items used as "wishful thinking" offerings. "Challa" is the name of the offerings given directly to the ground below the worshippers feet.

Mercado Lanza

This market specializes on food and household items. It is superbly located next to the San Francisco Church. The food here is safe though not especially healthy. The juice fruits are excellent and many tropical fruits are featured there; the most expensive ones contain milk and cost around sixty cents of a dollar.

Eloy Salmon

This is the main electronic items market and significantly cheaper than shops in downtown; however, unless in a hurry or in need of replacement parts (memory cards, batteries, cables) the market offers no attractions. The expected pirated disks’ market is all around this area.

Rodriguez

This market is rather small during the week, but in weekends is transformed into a huge complex, the biggest food market in downtown La Paz. It is an excellent place for sampling seasonal tropic fruits and looking at the local food.

General Cemetery

Beyond being one of the main travel hubs in town, the General Cemetery is surrounded by stalls selling mainly food and items for travelers.

Tumusla – Buenos Aires – Max Paredes

This open triangle is extremely active everyday at all hours and reaches Illampu Street, the backpackers’ area of La Paz; within it is Graneros Street, which is the main clothes market in town. These clothes are of low quality, but it does make sense buying them for a single trek in the mountains.

Sagarnaga Street

This street hosts shops aimed exclusively for tourists, and offers mainly souvenirs and travel agencies. At the adjacent San Francisco church is a shop specializing on Oruro Carnival’s masks.

On the western part of central South America a plateau rises up to four thousands meters connecting the Royal and Western Ranges of the Andean Mountains; where the plateau breaks towards the Amazonian Basin, in a most dramatic landscape, a city was created a few centuries ago; surprisingly it survived.

La Paz is one of the few cities in the world you won't forget your first view of it; like Rio de Janeiro, Venice and Hong Kong, it was built on a unique environment. This effect is especially true if you will arrive to the city by bus from the south; then, after passing its twin city, El Alto, which sits flat on the plateau, the land breaks down and you will see a city occupying a crater-like space. That combined with the lack of oxygen at that extreme altitude, you would experience a perfect illusion of having landed on another planet. After recovering your breath you will take a second look and discover that the crater is open in one side and just there, filling the whole of that opening is the Illimani Mountain. You will fail not to fall in love with it at first sight; its snow-covered trinity of peaks is the permanent stage of that huge amphitheatre called La Paz. Dusk or dawn, rain, sun or clouds, the mountain always provides an ever-changing focal point of beauty.

The city’s last sight – if departing by air - is not less dramatic. El Alto International Airport is on the plateau’s edge; thus, seconds after the take off, the ground drops below the airplane and La Paz appears on the tortuous slopes. The view is especially beautiful if leaving at night.

Altitude

Mallasa – the lowest borough is 3100 meters above the sea level, while the upper part of the city touches the plateau at 4020m. downtown La Paz is around 3600m. The altitude span is immense and unmatched by any other city on the globe. Kathmandu - at the Everest feet - is much lower, and Lhasa on the Tibetan plateau is about the height of downtown La Paz but below its upper neighborhoods. Care should be taken until the body acclimatizes. Walking slowly at the same altitude and drinking plenty of water is recommended during the first days at the place.

Travelling Around

Travelling inside the city is a nightmare since there isn't a mass transport system and the place is very congested; moreover since the city is divided into many tiny neighborhoods – and seven boroughs - due to its topographical characteristics, finding the right bus demands a considerable effort. The tourists' trips arranged from Sagarnaga Street by the central Franciscan Church provide a good solution for touring the main sights around the city. From the bus terminal you can easily buy bus tickets to most of the Bolivian territory, but there are not good paved roads in the country, and that is critical toward the northern areas. Buses for certain areas leaves from improvised terminals in various neighborhoods, information is available at the main terminal. Inland flights are possible to the main cities at fair fares.

Radiation

Beware of the strong radiation: wear a hat and sunglasses at all times, even if it is clouded.

Safety

The city is not safe. Walking at night around the transport hubs (San Francisco Church, Bus Terminus, General Cemetery, Plaza Eguino, and the unused Railway Terminus) and within the neighborhoods is not recommended. The main avenue – El Prado – is a popular spot for thieves working in organized teams among the crowds. Thus keeping a safe distance from groups of people is wise. Honest Bolivians are polite and rather shy, they would never approach a foreigner on the street; thus any such an event is suspicious.

Pricing

Bolivians tend to raise prices for foreigners, especially at kiosks and other places selling low-priced items. Asking at several places for an item’s price – until the regular prices are learned – is a good way to avoid overpricing. Pay attention at the similarly sized 1 and 2BOB coins while getting change.

Ambience

The bare red bricks and the beautifully slanted eyes over high cheekbones of the inhabitants are very different from other main South American cities I visited; to find a similar city for comparison I would need to mention another special city: Kathmandu.