On the train, I met this nice couple who are expats living in La Paz. When we arrived in Oruro, we shared a cab to the bus station and they managed to find bus tickets that left for La Paz within the hour. The whole trip didn't take more than 3.5 hours.
As I came closer to the city, I could see 1/2 finished houses all the way in. It turns out that, if a house is left unfinished, the people pay less taxes on it. All the houses are staggered down in rows over 1000 metres of mountain. Contrary to most places in the world, in La Paz, the rich live in the lower altitudes and the poor live in the higher altittudes. This is mainly because of the climate. In winter, in the higher altitiudes, the temperatures can drop down to -15 degrees C. In the lower altitudes, low temperatues in winter range from 10 C to 15 C above zero.
After checking into a hostel, I went out and managed to get myself properly lost. Originally, I was looking for food. Clean food. I had fried chicken, french fries and a Coke for the 2nd day in a row. The neighourhood I'm in is packed with street vendors. I mean blocks upon block of various wares for sale. ANYTHING you can think of is for sale, except for, of course, tampons with applicators.
When I finally found my way back, I booked 2 tours: 1 to Tiwanaku, an enourmous archeological site which dates back to before the Incas, and a mountain bike trip down The Death Road.
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