La Paz and Tiwanaku

Arriving in La Paz I was super well received by Gabriel and his family (thanks, Lu for putting me in touch!). Not only was I blessed by their hospitality, Gabriel is a fellow biologist (soon environmental engineer), AND a part-time tourist guide. The first day I got to tag along on a ¨La Paz on Foot¨ tour. We were joined by a father-daughter pair from England who were great company, and interesting people (having worked for development agencies around the world).

Our walk started in El Alto, which used to be a neighborhood of La Paz, but has since become it´s own city, with population about 900,000. It lies on the bolivian altiplano and is now the fastest growing city in the country due to migration from rural areas. The vast majority of the population is indigenous. El Alto people have a very strong sense of community and are very politically engaged. They played an important role in forcing out ex-president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada when they blocked all access routes to La Paz and left the city stranded. They are strong supporters of current president Evo Morales.

From El Alto looking down to La Paz

After walking down from El Alto we visited the markets in La Paz - furniture, clothing, fruits and vegetables...and contraband iPods for about US$40. (Almost bought one!). That day was also the beginning of a ¨La Feria de las Alasitas¨, a important traditional festival where you can buy miniatures of everything (e.g. new car, new house, internet cafe...), in hopes that you will get the real thing in the year to come.)
The day after the election we went to Tiwanaku. (BTW, the constitution was approved by the majority: click HERE for more). Tiwanaku culture is considered to be the most important pre-Inca civilization. What I liked the most were the drawings carved in rock - on monoliths and doorways - and are distinct from anything I saw in Cusco and Machu Picchu. Many of the symbols, for example on the ¨Puerta del Sol¨ were used to keep a calendar of the year - showing how advanced they were in their knowledge of astronomy.

Bolivian altiplano and part of the Cordillera Real

Tiahuanaco or Tiwanaku

¨Puerta del Sol¨ in Tiwanaku

Relief carvings