Bolívia: Sky is the Limit
March 2016, Bolívia
Visiting Bolivia - one of the most isolated and the same time interesting country in South America.
The western part of the country is covered by the Andes Mountains, bordering with the wetlands in the Amazon on the east. La Paz, the de facto capital of Bolivia, stands high in the mountains and its metropolitan area with El Alto has an elevation of more than 4000 m above sea level. I was always wondering what does the life looks like there, so finally I got an opportunity to visit Bolivia.
The western part of the country is covered by the Andes Mountains, bordering with the wetlands in the Amazon on the east. La Paz, the de facto capital of Bolivia, stands high in the mountains and its metropolitan area with El Alto has an elevation of more than 4000 m above sea level. I was always wondering what does the life looks like there, so finally I got an opportunity to visit Bolivia.
Getting here
There are daily flights from Madrid to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the biggest city in Bolivia. It is the most developed city and the business center of Bolivia. The city is located on the eastern slopes of the Andes, at the Madeira Basin, which is one of the biggest tributaries of the Amazon. However, many tourists enter Bolivia from the neighboring Peru, where more than 1.5 million people per year are visiting Machu Picchu, some 500 km to the border. I entered to Bolivia by bus through Kasani border at Titicaca lake, located between Puno (Peru) and La Paz. This entry point requires to make a stop at Titicaca lake and change the bus, so it is a great option to explore the world’s highest commercially navigable lake. Coming by plane from Peru is easy from Lima or Cusco, arriving at El Alto International Airport, which is, not surprisingly, the highest international airport in the world. The entry process itself could be tricky, especially if you need a visa. Citizens of some four EU countries (Cyprus, Malta, Bulgaria and Romania) still need to obtain visa prior to arrival, so I had to prepare many documents in advance. The most important is International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP) for yellow fever, as other kind of proofs for vaccination are not accepted. The vaccination is valid for 15 years and should be done at least 10 days prior to arrival. The rest of documents include return ticket, proof of funds, hotel reservation and itinerary. All these papers granted me a visa in the Consulate of Bolivia in Cusco. However, there are still other rules that need to be respected upon entering in Bolivia. One of them is the condition of your US dollars, as if they are somehow crumpled you can’t exchange it to local Peso boliviano. The card payments are not widely available so I had to keep my fingers crossed until got accepted at the ATM withdrawal.
La Paz
After completing the entry and money requirements, I am able to enjoy my Bolivian journey, starting with La Paz. The city is located in the western part of Bolivia, covered by the Andes Mountains. La Paz offers many options for good and pleasant stay, and I rented an Airbnb in Edificio V Centenario, which is in the Downtown area. Its Saturday morning and my program starts with a tour in Mercado Rodriguez – the largest food market in La Paz, looking for fresh local food. The Bolivian cuisine is meat-based in general, so as a pescatarian I wasn’t able to try it. However, I found some fresh fish from Titicaca, like Trucha (Trout), Karachi (Orestias), Pejerrey (Odontesthes) and Mauri (Trichomycterus). Don’t forget to try Trucha frita (fried Trout), well served with rice and salad! Like any Latin American market, there are plenty of fruits and vegetables, some of them I saw for the first time (e.g. the red bananas). Many products are coming from the neighboring region of Beni, located east to La Paz and part of the Amazon basin. Of course, the market offers a lot of spices, fried dough foods and pastries, so just make sure you will arrive early in the morning during the weekend, to find more varieties. Next to Mercado Rodrigues is located another interesting market, which is one of a kind - Mercado de las Brujas, or Witches’ Market. It doesn’t matter if you are looking for spells or not, here you could find potions, medicinal plants and spiritual advice. Located in the tourist area of La Paz, many people stop by here, proving that the indigenous majority keeps the tradition alive, despite the Christianity. Another popular market is Mercado Negro, where you could grab many bargains for any kind of stuff – from clothes to tableware. My journey in La Paz continues to the best viewpoint over La Paz - Mirador Killi Killi, where the altimeter hits 4000 m above sea level. It is located in a neighborhood Villa Pabón, close to the Downtown area. Another interesting spot in La Paz is Calle Jaen – one of the few streets with preserved Spanish colonial houses. Actually, they all are around Downtown, but not renovated like on Calle Jean. There are two main squares in La Paz, called Plaza Mayor and Plaza Murillo, both being a center of social life in the city. Plaza Murillo is around the government buildings while Plaza Mayor offers bigger space and many events are held there, so take a look what’s going on there. At the day of my arrival, there was a football game for Copa Libertadores between local Bolívar and Boca Juniors (1-1 after a late goal for Argentinians), so the square was full of fans watching the game.
Indigenous coca culture
Speaking of markets, there is another one-of-a-kind marketplace, called Mercado de Villa Fatima. It is just outside of the Association of Coca Producers (ADEPCOCA) in La Paz. Here, many farmers from Yungas region sell their fresh-picked coca leaves every morning. It is one of the two major regions of coca plantations, as the other one is called Chapare, near Cochabamba. The coca leaf is legal in Bolivia, unlike the cocaine which is strictly prohibited. Evo Morales, the indigenous president of Bolivia, once was a coca farmer before enter the politics. He is famous for chewing coca leaves during his international appearances to remind for the plant’s origin as a traditional indigenous medicine. Morales has strong support among the population, winning the elections with large margin and his portraits are everywhere. However, last month 51% voted on constitutional referendum against president reelection. Anyway, the coca culture is everywhere, as you can find numerous food and drinks with leaves. Staring with the morning Trimate tea, having a pizza with coca leaves for lunch, drinking a mojito cocktail without mint (guess what is instead) or just take a shot of Agwa liqueur at the night club. Some foreigners, mostly arriving by plane, is highly possible to get an altitude sickness due to the higher elevation in La Paz. Last year, the Pope Francis had to drink tea of coca leaves on the plane to Bolivia upon arrival at El Alto Airport, to ward off altitude sickness. In fact, many people have to do it, otherwise they risk to get an unpleasant sickness with headache, loss of appetite and other symptoms. So do I upon arrival, after understanding the medicinal abilities of coca leaves and its difference to their famous derivative, the cocaine.
Sky Ride to El Alto
High is a state of mind. The metro in La Paz is not underground like we are all used to. Metro Teleférico connects La Paz and El Alto by gondola lifts, covering the elevation of more than 400 m between two cities. I took the yellow line (Linha Amarilla) from Sopocachi in La Paz downtown to Mirador and a ride back from 16 de Julio station in El Alto to Central station in La Paz by the red line (Linha Roja). This scenic ride is the only transportation for more than 100 000 people daily in the metropolitan area and is rapidly expanding by construction of new lines. At the time of my visit, there was only 3 lines in operation with 8 more coming, so in the near future these gondolas will be the major form of transportation, reaching hardly accessible areas all around La Paz. This is also the longest aerial cable car system in the world. However, it comes with a price – more than US $700 million, which is quite a lot for one of the poorest South American country. The ride costs less than 20 cents, which makes its social impact stronger, as many poor people live in poverty on the hills around La Paz and the cable cars is their opportunity to reach the downtown. The social inequality is very obvious - you will see it immediately the gap between rich and poor upon entering El Alto. More than 70% of people here live in poverty, so be prepared if you want to have a walk. It is not only the poverty, that makes the difference as people from El Alto, called alteños, are mostly indigenous. They speak Aymara language and their culture requires to sit on the floor, to be in contact with Pachamama (Mother Land). It is generally safe in El Alto, but still very chaotic and definitely not among most interesting things to see. I went there only to visit the statue of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, who was captured by Felix Rodriguez in La Higuera, Central Bolivia and killed. However, next to the statue there is one more interesting thing here – the colorful bávaro-boliviano churches designed by the German priest Sebastian Obermaier, like Iglesia Amor de Dios. It is one of the latest-works, built in 2001 and together with more than 30 schools, 70 churches and 6 kindergartens, he is memorized as the “architect of El Alto”. Iglesia Amor de Dios is located just next to the 16 de Julio station of the red line so it’s easy to reach by cable car.
Valle de la Luna
Just 10 km south of La Paz is located a canyon with surreal sights, called Valle de la Luna or Moon Valley. Its landscape is composed by eroded limestone rock formations, creating a stalagmites carpet in the desert-like area. There are even blooming cactus flowers from the native San Pedro cactus (Echinopsis pachanoi), known for its hallucinogenic effects. It contains more mescaline than the famous Peyote cactus, so if you want to intoxicate yourself for a psychedelic experience – be careful! The easiest way to come here is by taxi – its cheap and you can negotiate with the driver to wait for you outside the valley. He/she would not be allowed to enter with you, as the valley is open only to foreigners. I was asked to show a non-Bolivian ID (as my broken Spanish wasn’t enough proof of that), in order to visit the site. I didn’t understand why the entry for locals are not welcome at that beautiful place. The entrance is quite cheap (less than US $2). Once there, you will see two main tracks – a long one which takes around 45 mins and a short one, which is just 15 mins. The tracks are marked and secured, but you will need comfortable shoes and of course good weather - It won’t be the best place to walk when raining.
Camino de la muerte: Yungas Road
Another famous spot nearby La Paz is the Yungas Road, known as the Death Road. It is the most dangerous road in the world, connecting La Paz with the city of Coroico. The road starts at elevation of 4650 meters above sea level in La Paz and ends at 1200 meters Coroico for a distance of 60 km. Hundreds of people travelling between two cities dies yearly, on northern part of the road. Many buses and trucks were swallowed in the years, especially during the rainfall season. In 2007 the government closed the road for buses and built a new section to bypass the most dangerous part of the road, thus reducing the fatal accidents. Today, this section of North Yungas Road is a bike route for extreme travelers and many tour agencies in La Paz will provide you a bike with an equipment and guide to the most dangerous road in the world. However, the fatal accidents remain, as tens of tourists died in the last couple of year, some of them while making selfies. Professional and amateur mountain bikers from all over the world are coming here. If you plan to visit the road, just stick to the group and avoid the edge of the road track. The day trip from La Paz costs up to US $90 and don’t even think about to save money on renting cheaper bikes!
This article was originally published in The Economist's magazine Bulgarian issue No. 25 of June 2016.
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