Arriving: La Paz, Bolivia. 8th Nov 2012

First impressions:

Arriving at 2.30am in a foreign city, in a foreign country, on a foreign continent, we were glad of our pre-arranged taxi to take us to our pre-arranged 'homestay'. Georges the taxi driver managed to cram our bikes and bags into his taxi, before carefully spreading a blanket over each of or laps. A welcome gesture, even though, inspite of wearing shorts, it was not cold at all.

The airport is at over 4,000mts. That is high. La Paz itself drops to a more reasonable 3,610mts down a deserted multi-lane highway. A slight mist hangs in the air, outlining occasional almost mythical characters seemingly sweeping the streets. They are clad in garish clothes including a balaclava of some sort and appear to be 4' tall, like an extra on a Star Wars movie. Given the scale of the roads and the traditional brush their task is clearly impossible. I would have taken a photograph were it not for the sudden swerves Georges had to take to avoid the large potholes - sporadic, but way too large to ignore.

My first thought was of India, but without the masses. The crumbling buildings, extrovert wiring tangled at all heights like so many Gordian Knots, and the generally 'worn out and knackered' air was India all over. I immediately had a crush on La Paz.

Georges drove down through the city center, much more dilapidated than I expected before landing. Then we there, our host Pamela waiting at the kerbside to welcome us and get us settled. After three international flights, 24hours of travelling, and fears our bikes would not travel with us, we had arrived.

La Paz, Bolivia. Welcome to South America!



 

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