After Copacabana we need to bash tarmac to reach more interesting places. The ferry and sweeping roads near lake Titicaca give way to long monotonous straights towards La Paz. Once again the city appears in the distance as a pixelated vista. Still a beautiful sight, it's not until you get much closer does reality kck in.
Unfortunately La Paz is a key hub in Bolivia and it's difficult to avoid riding through it. Although it may be interesting place, the traffic and more importantly the traffic fumes make progress in that city extremely unpleasant.
Entering the city and we are fighting our way through those thick clouds of diesel fumes, ducking and diving between traffic and avoiding wandering pedestrians and chasing dogs.
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| Bolivian women in La Paz - traditional and modern |
The hotel is the Oberland on the other side of the city, owned by a Swiss man called Walter, and it's a stopover for many a trekker and campervan; in the hotel car park I spy vans from Switzerland, the Netherlands and California. It has a real chalet feel and has a sauna and hot tub. Steve's happy because there's wifi available and we all spend time uploading pictures and catching up with email, work and personal.
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| Rock formation in the Valle de la Luna |
We spend the next morning looking around the Valle de la Luna park. This a very curious set of rock/mud formations resulting from rain erosion of the local rock. If you imagine the stalagmites inside a cave this will give you an idea of what they look like. A path of walkways and bridges has been constructed through the structures to let you see them up close. At the exit we get an impromptu show from a vendor selling carved flutes. Steve, an accomplished penny whistler, impresses the man by knocking out a tune on a flute and the seller then plays and sings his own composition to an audience of potential customers. Steve is about to buy a flute for 80Bs (£8) when Danny negotiates a deal for two; Steve ends up paying 200Bs!
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| Steve auditions for a new day job |
The following day, after another blast along tarmac, and negotiating a detour through back gardens to avoid a random protest roadblock, we arrive in Oruro. This is a boom town and immediately we see this is a place with character.
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well thumbed from my BlackBerry
1 comment:
Interesting rock formation!
You are indeed a pretty good writer. Your description of things and places are quite interesting and note-worthy.
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