La Paz, Bolivia | Part 1

Thursday, May 21, 2015

From Peru, we crossed the eastern border into Bolivia. First stop: La Paz, the highest capitol city in the world (elevation 11,975 ft / 3,650 m).

We had a heck of a time getting into the country. Once already traveling on the bus headed from Peru to Bolivia, we pulled out our Bolivia guide book (a little too late), and read something about American citizens needing a visa, which we didn't know about and didn't have. Luckily it could be purchased at the border, but the border crossing was in the boonies, and we had no cash to pay for the $140 (per person) visa. We had to catch a taxi into the nearest town, where all the banks were closed, and the ATMs were not working. Finally we struck gold with an ATM, but it wouldn't give us American dollars, which were required for the visa. Cash in hand, we raced back to the border, praying our bus was still there waiting for us, exchanged our money into American dollars, then headed to customs. One of the twenty dollar bills had the tiniest tear and they wouldn't accept it, even though they had just handed that torn bill to us at their currency exchange. Long story short, we made it in, but not without a lot of hassle, adrenaline, and with $280 less in the bank. Apparently Bolivia requires a travel visa for Americans only because America does the same for Bolivians. Maybe we should do more research before visiting a new country, instead of figuring it out on the fly. But where's the fun in that, right?

La Paz was a nice surprise. Driving into the city was amazing. It's an enormous city built into the mountains, with peaks surrounding the city. Some have said La Paz is like one big market. Anywhere you go, there are stands and shops and things for sale. Even though its a huge capitol city, many of the locals wear colorful traditional clothing (unlike Lima in Peru). Women wear pollera (long, full skirts), bombĂ­n (bowler hats), and colorful shawls that double as packs for carrying stuff. It was the best place to people watch. Many of the women did not like to have their photo taken, so I had to be sneaky, and used my smaller camera (Fuji X100s) to appear less threatening and often shot at waist level. 

At the end of our trip, our camera was stolen, and along with it, a memory card full of photos of our entire time in Bolivia (the Peru part was on a different memory card). So, all we have left are some photos from the smaller camera, which we used just a little bit in La Paz, and mostly photos from our iPhones. More on that story later, but I just wanted to let you know that the next few posts won't be as full as usual and are mostly iPhone images. 

Isn't La Paz enchanting? I'm glad it was the first city we came to, because we immediately thought, okay, paying for that visa was worth it.

- Julia



Our pastries filled with sweet cheese getting deep fried.
One thing that was constant about Peru and Bolivia... we ate a lot of soup.
Fried fish with rice.
At the Witches' Market, you can buy charms, potions, and dehydrated llama fetuses, which are buried in the foundation of homes for good luck.
Our tour guide assured us that llamas are not killed for the purpose of harvesting llama fetuses, but seeing dozens of them at every stall made us wonder.
Julia in souvenir heaven.
Zhanna getting talked into buying this gorgeous rug. Except she didn't buy it.
Going up the mountain on a fancy new cable car to get a better view of the city (though locals use it as vital transportation to get to and from the city).
La Paz from the cable car.

22 comments :

  1. When you are traveling in unknown countries, do you try to appear and act less "American?" I have travelled mostly in Europe with locals, but always wonder how others travel solo. Do you feel safer standing out, or is it better to blend in more to draw less attention to yourself? For example, when in Holland, the locals say that they can spot an American easily just by the way they walk, but especially in how they dress. Any time I've gone I have been conscious about what clothing I bring and how I carry myself there in order to look more Dutch (minus the puffer jacket), mostly for safety reasons.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah I know what you mean. We do try to blend in more and not look like tourists, but more so to avoid getting ripped off than because of safety concerns. Even if they can tell we're not from there (pretty obvious in South America), I'd rather people think we are expats living there or at least long-term traveling, so they don't think we're clueless. Our first day in Cuba, we mentioned to someone that it was our first day there, and got taken advantage of.

      Delete
  2. Oh wow, the llama fetuses are a sad part of this story! I'm also fearful that your guide was lying, something they probably do often with tourists over this issue. And so sorry that your camera was stolen. That is one of my worst fears when I'm traveling. I think I would mourn the loss of photos than I would the actual equipment. I'm glad you had this backup, though! These photos are gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Emily - Yeah sad for us, but who are we to judge another culture's customs? I don't think they are doing it out of cruelty. We probably do things that other cultures would think is sad. And we were definitely mourning the loss of the photos, not the equipment, which was easily replaced as soon as we got home. It was bound to happen at some point! We'll be more careful in the future. Thanks for your comment!

      Delete
  3. So sorry about your camera, but as usually amazing pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wauw! Wat een prachtige foto's!

    ReplyDelete
  5. The pictures are amazing, as always. Great work!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Such a rare location and a wonderful read! This is the first blog post I've read about anyone visiting Bolivia, and I'm so happy you guys had the experience. Sure was a crazy beginning, and sorry to hear about your camera. I'm happy that you guys were still able to capture imagines and have a smaller camera for photo taking. Can't wait to read what else is to come.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cool! I hadn't heard of anyone traveling to Bolivia either, but once we got there, there were definitely a lot of tourists. It's one of the cheapest countries in South America to travel in, so I'm surprised we don't hear about it more often.

      Delete
  7. Wow, I loved this post and especially the photos (the quality is excellent seeing they were taken with an iPhone!)! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Sarah! Most of these were taken with a Fuji x100s, but a few are iphone images.

      Delete
  8. Omg, too bad the camera is stolen. :(
    I believe the photos in the stolen camera is much more enchanting.

    Best, Albert | Palming Pebbles

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Albert! I hope they liked our photos. :)

      Delete
  9. Well even with just an iPhone, your photos are still wonderful!

    Yasmine
    http://peekingduck.co

    ReplyDelete
  10. I enjoy your blog, and you take beautiful photographs.

    In your post you said that many of the women did not want to be photographed, and that you attempted to be less threatening. Was this so that they would let you take their picture? At first, I got the feeling from this that you were not honoring their wishes, and it made me uncomfortable. I hope I misunderstood.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Reve, thanks for your comment and your concern. Sometimes we interact with locals and hold up the camera and smile, to ask if we can take the photo. If they said no at that point, we definitely wouldn't take it against their wishes. I was trying to say that a smaller camera in your face is less intimidating.

      Delete
  11. So sorry to hear about your camera, that has to be the worst thing ever to lose all those memories! :( However, great photos – no thief could take away that talent.

    www.coquettishmish.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Michelle! It was really rough at first, but we got over it. We still got to experience it together, and that's something nobody can take away from us.

      Delete
  12. Ahhh those rugs! I'd want one in each color! Such a bummer about losing your camera...it's extra sad when you're traveling and it's full of amazing memories. But your photos are still awesome! Every time we travel I learn a bit about how much our government charges other countries to visit America. I remember going through the Tanzania boarder and as Americans we paid at least double what everyone else had to pay to get visas. It can feel frustrating as a traveler who is there to enjoy their beautiful country.

    ReplyDelete