The bus has arrived at its destination La Paz one hour before the scheduled arrival. With two Swiss friends, met at departure in Uyuni, we first look for a place to have a coffee.
It is five o'clock in the morning, pitch dark, the restaurants still closed, only a small bar open. A resolute lady serves coffee (pretty awful, but enjoyable with lots of sugar) and talks us into a piece of cake. As soon as we have paid, we are asked to leave, because after all, new customers might be showing up. But this is not the case.
Of course, she has picked the wrong customers, because we don't let ourselves be driven away from coffee and cake at the break of dawn. I'd say XNUMX:XNUMX for Switzerland.
A very short taxi ride
Tiredness and a basic lack of knowledge of streets and distances repeatedly lead to being ripped off by cab drivers.
Just like on this morning. I later realize the distance of the bus station to my hotel. I guess, at a generous estimate, about five hundred meters. The cab driver nods at the address, adds a few generous extra loops and unloads me in front of the hotel for 20 Bolivianos.
Which is not a bad reward for just 5 minutes of cab ride. Ladron ...
The Adventure Brewhostel
The The Adventure Brewhostel is highly praised on the Internet. I have reserved a room with bathroom and, although still early in the morning, I am received kindly. It is a typical backpacker El Dorado, with all the necessary ingredients such as table tennis, music from booming boxes, a bar with a huge selection of the trendy drinks. And, of course, everything is high-tech, although its disadvantages soon become noticable.
However, it's not check-in time by a long shot, so I'll probably have to hang out in the lounge for a few more hours. A young lady from Los Angeles accompanies me and tells me about her plans for the rest of her life. Exciting! She wants to move to New York and work for a startup company as a trained engineer. "And becoming a Billionaire like the guy from Snapchat?"
She laughs. Of course. Why not.
A technical puzzle
A technical mystery then keeps me awake for a while.
It seems that my iPhone is the only device far and wide steadfastly refusing to contact the WIFI. It's no problem with the iPad, but the iPhone pisses me off. The guy at the reception advises me to try the adjacent sister hostel. That's right, it works there. However, this means that I have to step outside for using my iPhone?
Great. Anyway, shortly after nine my room is ready for me and the very first thing I do is to sleep for a few hours. As I said, the seats in the bus are comfortable, but there's nothing better than an orderly sleep.
Reuniting with an old friend
So many years have passed since my last visit to La Paz that I have little to no memory of it. But I do remember that the city had grown on me.
Probably everything has changed anyway.
The city has grown massively, crawling up the hills, and once again I have to use the unfortunate metaphor that the city is spreading like a cancer. What stands out are the millions of people, the numerous children and young people, but unfortunately also the droning smoking honking convoys of cars that compete for space all day long. Traffic has increased massively, but the infrastructre has remained the same.
The city is located in a basin, so the space for any improvements to the infrastructure is limited.
But not far from the main traffic routes, you soon come across the city's beautiful squares, where life is still somewhat more peaceful, where street musicians play, grandmothers look after their grandchildren, people admire the cathedral or simply enjoy themselves.
I am strolling along the side streets with a feeling of well-being, but quickly realize that we are at an altitude of almost 4000 meters. The pace inevitably slows, I sit down here and there on a park bench, observing the hustle and bustle and sensing the breath of the city.
La Paz - the supposed capital
The city is located at about 3600 meters in the about 400 meters deep canyon of the Río Chokeyapu, which extends up to the surrounding plateau of the Altiplano and widens into a basin with a protected and pleasant climate.
On the plateau west of La Paz, El Alto has arisen, which is now larger than La Paz with 848.840 inhabitants (census 2012); La Paz-El Alto International Airport is also located there.
The difference in altitude between the southern districts further down the valley, with many villas, and the outskirts at the upper end of the basin is just under 1000 meters, resulting in one of the most spectacular views in Bolivia when descending from El Alto down to La Paz.
There is a significant relationship between the altitude of residential areas and the social status of their inhabitants: the higher the altitude, the poorer the inhabitants. With an average decrease in temperature of 0,6 °C per 100 m, the difference between the lowest and highest residential areas is 6 °Celsius on an annual average; altitude sickness is also a bigger problem for foreigners in the upper areas.
Out of Breath
These are not only statistical data, they can also be experienced first hand. In the meantime, I ought to have gotten used to the altitude, but the streets in this city are never flat, somehow you're always either descending or ascending, resulting in constant panting. Combined with the cold and towards evening also the rain, making the trip an ambivalent experience.
In any case, in the evening I am happy about the electric stove, soon spreading a wonderful warmth and makes the evening in my room a treat ...
Mileage: 3991
Matching Song: Chase & Status - Breathing
And here the trip continues ...
