Smoggy La Paz for New Year
December 31, 2007
I had heard quite a lot about La Paz before actually arriving, mostly bad things about notorious scams and crime. I often find it strange how people form strong opinions about a place after only staying for a day or two. It is easy to get off on a bad foot taking this approach and I often find myself becoming fond of the less talked about cities that I have visited by spending more time there (Santiago in Chile was also a place I grew to like.). La Paz seemed to fit this rule.
La Paz´s sky high altitude often takes your breath away (3660metres) and it takes some time to get used to. Simple tasks such as climbing some stairs leave you out of breath. I tested this out myself carrying my back pack up the stairs of the Ammex, Adventure Brew Hostel´s second building. From the outside the hostel didn´t look great but on the inside the owners had practically thought of everything, it is a great hostel.
La Paz´s roads are crazy, so much so even the locals are unsure of how to actually cross them. The fumes from buses, mini buses and cars is intense and extremely hard to avoid. Walking the streets there are many varying smells. Smells of cooking street food, fish, fumes and some smells that I´d rather not try and pin point. Many woman walk the streets in traditional dress often carrying babies on their backs and occasionally you will spot a old man carrying a huge bag twice the size of him up a steep hill.
The buildings in La Paz sit in a huge canyon and are an impressive site from up on the side of the mountain. On clear days Mount Illamani is present as a amazing snowy backdrop to the city. In some of the poor suburbs are half finished looking red brick buildings that seem to be made just how ever the owner wants with a random brick extention here or there.
For New Year we spent the evening in Adventure Brew´s Ammex where there was a party up on the garden terrace. The terrace has a great view over looking La Paz. This proved a great place to watch fireworks burst in the sky across La Paz.
La Paz´s sky high altitude often takes your breath away (3660metres) and it takes some time to get used to. Simple tasks such as climbing some stairs leave you out of breath. I tested this out myself carrying my back pack up the stairs of the Ammex, Adventure Brew Hostel´s second building. From the outside the hostel didn´t look great but on the inside the owners had practically thought of everything, it is a great hostel.
La Paz´s roads are crazy, so much so even the locals are unsure of how to actually cross them. The fumes from buses, mini buses and cars is intense and extremely hard to avoid. Walking the streets there are many varying smells. Smells of cooking street food, fish, fumes and some smells that I´d rather not try and pin point. Many woman walk the streets in traditional dress often carrying babies on their backs and occasionally you will spot a old man carrying a huge bag twice the size of him up a steep hill.
The buildings in La Paz sit in a huge canyon and are an impressive site from up on the side of the mountain. On clear days Mount Illamani is present as a amazing snowy backdrop to the city. In some of the poor suburbs are half finished looking red brick buildings that seem to be made just how ever the owner wants with a random brick extention here or there.
For New Year we spent the evening in Adventure Brew´s Ammex where there was a party up on the garden terrace. The terrace has a great view over looking La Paz. This proved a great place to watch fireworks burst in the sky across La Paz.
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