La Paz, Bolivia Walkabout

One of the great things about La Paz, Bolivia is their mass transit system. Unlike anything else in the world, La Paz uses gondolas to move the population around the city. Yep, the same gondolas people use for skiing, La Paz uses to get from point A to point B. Pretty good idea. The “Mi Teleferico” system was started in 2012 and today consists of lines connecting the major parts of La Paz city with their neighbor city El Alto. This system is used everyday by workers, travelers, delivery personnel, etc. to get everywhere in the city.

A portion of La Paz from a vista viewpoint

Using the gondolas, one can transit from the farthest point outside the city to downtown in about 10 minutes. Driving would take 1 hour, more during rush hour. Before the gondolas, travel from El Alto to city center La Paz was only capable by negotiating winding roads that often were jam-packed with traffic.

Today we have a tour planned that will take us to an area called, “Valley of the Moon” and then we’ll have a chance to ride on 4 of the 10 gondola lines to get back to the city. Our guide will be Miss Daylis, who, it turns out, was one of the best guides we have had in all South America. A very professional, knowledgeable, and personable young lady with a lot of potential and a great smile. And so, the day begins…

Saturday morning police roll call in the square

Everyday life in La Paz

Umbrellas covering a cafe

A traditional Bolivian wedding

Off to Valley of the Moon, “Valle de la Luna”. Rumor has it that this valley, the remnants of a mountain that has been eroded by wind, was named Valley of the Moon by Neil Armstrong, the astronaut. Apparently, Neil was golfing at a nearby golf club and saw this massive valley of spires and it reminded him of the moon. Believe it or not.

Today’s tour will take us through the valley on a fairly well defined trail to see a few of the many unusual eroded spires. A final treat was the young man playing traditional flute music while standing atop one of these spires. Pretty cool scene but difficult to give him a tip.

Valley of the Moon

Flute player

Next, on our way to the Yellow gondola line to start our city sight-seeing adventure. We were really surprised at how clean the gondola stations were. Spotless! There are signs (in Spanish) that clearly tell you where to go for connections and where this gondola ends. With the help of our guide, Ms. Daylis, it was a snap getting through the station. Most stations also have refreshment areas and small cafes with outdoor seating and viewing areas. A really cool way to get around the city or get to work.

Gondola station

La Paz from a gondola station lookout

Imagine walking these stairs twice a day!

Last on our tour list was the “Witches Market” (also known as El Mercado de las Brujas and La Hechiceria) and since we were back walking, it had to be uphill!

Witches Market with hanging flying witches.

A flying witch

So, what can you buy here in the “Witches Market”? Among the many items sold at the market are dried llama fetuses that are said to bring both prosperity and good luck, dried frogs used for Aymara rituals, soapstone figurines, aphrodisiac formulas, owl feathers, dried turtles and snakes, herbs, and folk remedies. Witch doctors in dark hats and dresses wander through the market offering fortune-telling services. The dried llama fetuses are mostly used for bringing good luck to workers building new homes. The fetus is buried under the foundation of new home construction. Wealthy people usually sacrifice a live llama, poor people bury a dead fetus.

LLama fetus offering

These offerings are for Pachamama, Mother Earth (Collette has a new nickname!). Pachamama is one of the three “Gods” in Inka religion. The other two are, Inti, the Sun God, and Viracocha, the Creator God. These God’s ruled in realms known as hanan pacha , the celestial realm, ukhu pacha, the inner earth realm, and kay pacha the outer earth realm where humans lived. The Incas also had three rules to live by: do not steal, do not lie, and do not be lazy.

That wraps up the day. Off to have a bit of lunch with Ms. Daylis and enjoy the warm Bolivian weather.