La Paz

La Paz - the administrative capital of Bolivia - tumbles out of the high plains, clinging to an erosion-ravaged canyon. All roads lead to the bottom of the valley, a higgledy-piggledy mass of stone buildings, vehicles, street stalls and people struggling for their bit of space amongst the thick clouds of exhaust fumes.

Our first view was quite breathtaking - the city is nestled under nearby snow-capped Illampu, some 6000m high. La Paz itself is surrounded by another city - the sprawling El Alto, whose population surpasses La Paz itself (1.3 mill to La Paz's 800 000). It's colder and windier in El Alto, and the people live closer to the ground, though at higher altitude.

As we decended deeper into the valley, hand-pushed carts, animals and mud dwellings gave way to asphalt, smart vehicles and substantial double-storey stone buildings.

We found a base just out of the centre - Andy once again riding the bike into the foyer - across the plaza from the fabled San Pedro prison (the novel Marching Powder by Rusty Young gives an interesting, if slighty dry, account of his stay there). We were hoping to make a visit -apparently possible on Sundays for a small "donation".

As it turned out we never got to make the visit. It might have been the altitude (even the valley is at a lofty 3660m), or possibly that our sensitive western systems finally gave in to local food prep techniques ... or maybe it was the water. Anyway, both of us spent our first two days there shivering under our blanket-mounds and building up the energy to make frequent trips to the toilet. At one stage, we had run out of toilet paper and drinking water and neither of us had the energy to go out to buy some more! ... rather a low point of our stay.

When we finally emerged, it was to seek out the most gringo-of-gringo food joints in the hope of plain, clean food ... and to get a buzz again from the the bustling atmosphere created by the colourful mix of the traditional and the modern, vying for a living in La Paz's steep narrow streets.

Wall-art in La Paz, quoting and illustrating article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Our second visit to La Paz, after our trip out to Rurrenabaque, was far shorter and more productive, with Andy squeezing in some bike maintenance while I handled the gift-shopping and post office duties.