The city of La Paz

La Paz is actually a quite a funny city and its inhabitants, as well :D

When entering the city, one gets a nice panoramic view. A huge valley with thousands of tiled-colored houses. The houses all look the same. One of its inhabitants, a guide for travelers, states:"We, Bolivians, are very intelligent people, we build our houses, but we do not finish them. We decorate the inside part of the house. Decorating and finishing the exterior of the houses means taxes to pay. We know how to avoid taxes. We are intelligent people." La Paz, the so-called "the highest capital in the world", is the dwelling place to app. 3 mln. people. Its downtown, situated at 3600m has a thicker layer of oxygen, a better transportation system, markets and nice plazas and inhabits of the higher social classes - 1 mln people. The other 2 mln. people, live on the hills of the town, where it is colder and windier.

Descendants of Incas, many of the inhabitants are still superstitious, believe in sacrifices, rituals and (black) magic. This makes the "Witch market" in La Paz survive. Dried fetus of llamas, dried frogs filled with golden balls, snake or jaguar skins, tea for arousing love feelings or other amulets makes the market a boom. It is a crazy thing to see all these things and to hide behind people and stands in order to take pictures, but still avoid the witch-seller.
Still, we cannot ignore the fact that the city becomes more and more capitalistic. Huge skyscrapers and well-dressed people populate the inner part of the downtown. Rarely can one see ladies wearing their traditional clothes with their English-borrowed- hats. The business environment marks this world.

Bolivia has just a spectacular nature. Just outside the city, one discovers the "multi-cratered" scenery, the Valley of the Moon.

A very big and hectic city, which one should visit and understand.