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Tuesday, 16.04.2002: Bush camp near Poopo - La Paz
We left at 8-30am and got to El Alto (4000m) at 12-20pm. The truck was parked safely in a truck park and we all went down to La Paz in taxis. It was a miracle that our taxi could actually still drive. It must have been 25 years old and it was wobbling all the way down into La Paz. We were really afraid that the brakes might not work on the steep windy road down into the town centre. But the spectacular views of La Paz made up for it.
The city looked massive, nestled between the hills down at 3600m - the highest capital city in the world! It´s full of buzzing markets, lovely churches, various museums and lots of places to go for views over the city. Also everything is unbelievably cheap and we bought loads of stuff even though there isn't much room on the truck!
We all stayed at the Residencio Rosario - a 3 star hotel near the black market with great rooms and a fantastic restaurant. Some of us managed to go to a really cheap Indian restaurant for a vegetarian meal before going on the city tour. We went out to the Valle de la Luna - weird rock formations in the sandstone, went to 2 viewpoints to have a look over the city, saw the highest golf course and highest football stadium in the world (the team of La Paz usually wins because the other teams can´t cope with the altitude!) and went to the famous gold museum and witches market. The whole tour took 3,5 hours.
La Paz city tour
We had three new passengers. Paul - a friend of Grant - and the other two we knew were females. All the lads were looking forward to meeting them - the new talent on the truck. Well all we can say is that Melva (60 years old) and Elva (67 years old) are very nice ladies!!!! Needless to say we all howled when we found out!
At 10-30 pm we all went into the Diesel bar for the great cocktails. Lots of ice fights and heavy flirting made the night most interesting!
Wednesday, 17.04.2002: La Paz
A free day for everyone. Shopping time!!! It´s so cheap here ... but how much space is left on the truck???
Well, Helen and Kirsten bought 9 (!) fleeces for 10US$ each (Helen needed some Xmas presents for her family), one bowler hat (traditional hats in Bolivia), an alpaca poncho (very soft), a table cloth and finally a big plastic bag to store all the new items in it. It wasn´t much different with the others and Darrell´s bed was covered in souvenirs when we left La Paz.
The street life in La Paz is very interesting with all the street vendors and shoe cleaners. It started to rain heavily so we were really forced to stay in the shops and by more stuff! It was actually bucketing down and the cobblestone streets turned into little streams (very slippery!). It was only about 4 weeks ago when 69 people died in La Paz due to heavy floods and landslides. Many of the farvellas on the steep slopes of La Paz were washed down the mountains.
At 7pm we were all invited by Vicky and Richard for pre-dinner drinks before we all got into taxis to Mongo´s for their engagement party.
The big table was covered in red roses and we all stood in line and threw confetti all over them as they entered. Graham offered Melva and Elva a rose as a welcome-smoothie! Aaaahhh ... how sweet!
The food with famous Mongo burgers and fish and chips was excellent and there was lots of blowing of confetti across the table - a gentle introduction to the group for Melva and Elva!
Thursday, 18.04.2002: La Paz
Another free day with more shopping to do! We went to the black market just around the corner of our hotel. It was very cramped and they were all selling the same things! Some others went to the Alcohol Alley to buy 5 litre containers of vodka (more like paint stripper!).
We spent the afternoon doing some sightseeing. There are lots of lovely squares and old churches in La Paz.
After two major parties in a row, most of us were looking forward to a quieter night. We booked a big table in the hotel restaurant and enjoyed a relaxing dinner. A local band played traditional Bolivian music.
