Photos 2013: La Paz, Bolivia

Our first week in Bolivia was spent in La Paz. There is surely no other city on Earth like it...

View over the city with a snow-covered mountain in the background

The city is surrounded by mountains: the highest is Illimani (6438 metres)

Looking at a distant mountain

Another view of Illimani, from a high view point looking across the city

Houses and other buildings covering a mountainside

The built-up area extends all the way up the mountains and overflows on to the plateau above,
where the new municipality of El Alto is located

Lights on the mountains at night

At night, the street lights on the mountains are visible all over the city

A city square, surrounded by Government buildings

Plaza Murillo: the central square in La Paz

Politicians and military leaders on the steps of a Government building

Our visit coincided with Peru's Independence Day.
President Morales held an official celebration with the Peruvian ambassador in Plaza Murillo

Barbecue meat and other food on a restaurant table

We celebrated Peruvian Independence Day in a Peruvian restaurant,
which served up a magnificent South American style "asado" (barbecue)

A boat on Lake Titicaca, with mountains in the background

We were treated to a day out at Lake Titicaca: the water was blue,
the air was clear and mountains were all around. There's an account of the trip
in this post on the Brummies in Bolivia blog.

Looking down on a bay in Lake Titicaca

At Copacabana we climbed a hill for wonderful views over the town and Lake Titicaca

Women wearing traditional Andean clothes

Back in the city, we saw many women wearing traditional clothes, including what look like bowler hats

A small, brightly-coloured bus

These small buses - "micros" - run here and in other Bolivian cities.
Taxis are also plentiful and, by European standards, cheap

A carnival procession, with elaborate costumes

We spent an hour or so at a carnival run by Bolivia's universities.
We were amazed at the quality of the costumes and the energy of some of the dances,
all performed by students

A group of people looking at what is claimed to be a lunar landscape

We saw more extreme geography at "Moon Valley",
where erosion has left this remarkable landscape

A dog, a car on bricks and a run-down street scene

Although better-off Bolivians can live reasonably well, most people cannot.
El Alto felt like a huge building project where the money had run out

A welder working in the street

Life on the street: this one was full of car repair shops


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