Today I decided to explore the city on my own and take the teleferico to Los Altos.
A month or so ago la Paz got his first teleferico (out of 3 that the president is building) and it takes you from downtown la Paz all the way to the top of La Paz, Los Altos.
I got out of the hotel and was impressed by the number of vendors in the street! Apparently Saturday and Sunday are their big market days and it reminded me so much of home and also of the markets in Vietnam!
It was kind of crazy walking amongst many people and trying not to get hit by cars!
Once I got to the teleferico I was impressed by it. The most impressive thing was that there were no lines! I got my 6 bolivianos round trip ($0.95) and off I went to the top of La Paz!
The view was impressive! I could see the whole city! The fun part was looking down at the houses and seeing woman washing clothes and hanging them on the roof!
The whole trip reminded me of the poor parts of El Salvador, people living under really poor conditions and having to put rocks or tires on their roofs so they don't fly away with the wind!
Once I got to the top the view was breath taking! SOOOOO BEAUTIFUL
I could see La Paz and behind it snow covered mountains.
I decided to take a stroll around Los Altos and see what was going on. In reality I wanted to get a great view of the mountains and the city but I couldn't find any viewpoints until after a 15-20 min walk!
Since it was Saturday they were many families all around the street, I saw people with llamas and little ponies trying to sell rides for the kids! They even had a HUGE ice age mammoth that kids could climb on and take pictures.
I walked around trying to be discrete about picture because Bolivians really don't like their pictures taken and I'm always afraid they will throw stuff at me.
Once I was done with my Los altos stroll I went back to the teleferico and the lines went all around the building! Luckily, I had my round trip so I skipped the line!
On the way down I noticed a cemetery.... It was huge!!! It looked like its own little city and it was very different to what I am used to. This cemetery had rows and rows of little "buildings" where they stack people (not the best way to describe it) but I was for sure intrigued about cemeteries in Bolivia so I know I need to visit one!
Once I got back to downtown I decided to not follow a map and get lost in the city. I followed people and followed the market!
Oh my! I was so impressed by the markets they literally have EVERYTHING on the streets! Every knock off shoes you can imagine, pants, bras, socks, food, toys... You name it, they have it!
I walked for at least 3 hours and the markets never ended! It finally came to an end when I found the hardware section... You could bargain the price of your sink, your toilet seat, and even a screw diver or a lightbulb... I was impressed!!!!
After so much walking I went to a highly recommended place to get a salteña (traditional Bolivian empanada) but on my way I happened to see a big parade with people dressed up in traditional costumes and dancing... Such a treat!
The salteñas
So much walking made me tired so I went back to the hotel and joined some of the girls for lunch and made back on time for our night bus to sucre!
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