This was the first of two full days in La Paz and included a city tour by mini-bus and also by cable car and some walking. It was ok, and went to some of the more interesting places.
We first went to Moon Valley which is down the river from the city centre and is effectively due south. It is like the "bad lands" in the USA and has a moonscape look and feel. It is a park with a set of paths and so we took the one which is about 40 minutes and has a number of nice lookouts, including one over the golf course.
Second we drove into town and took a cable car to a lookout which was a lot of fun. The furnicular is built by Dopplemayer from Austria and is particularly professional. All the cars are colour coded for that route of 11, and include toilets and recreational areas. As they "fly" over the houses you get a wonderful view of each area. The local people love them a lot and so one is being extended to the airport and two more are under construction. They commenced around 2015 and are the "metro" for La Paz.
La Paz is actually not the official capital - that is Sucre. However, the Presidential Office is in the square and so effectively it is. There are guards outside that make a good sight. Men are conscripted to the army for three years and for women it is voluntary. Also in the Square are two brand new buildings that are very modern in design so the juxtaposition of new and old is quite striking and very spectacular.
Next we went to the Witches Market where locals are supposed to buy all their offerings to their local gods including Llama Feotus' which are not so endearing! Bolivia is a very catholic country but many indigenous people also believe in their local gods. However the market is very touristy and sells every type of nick nack and geegaw you can imagine including the merged stones being amethyst and citron which is frankly hard to believe! After that, hats and T shirts take the cake.
Lastly we asked to be taken to the front gate of the men's prison at San Pedro known as the "White Powder Prison" after a famous book written by a black American who was incarcerated there. The book was called "Marching Powder" where he describes how the inmates ran the prison until 2009, and had their families living in with them!
On this day there was a huge protest in the city by workers asking for a pay rise. Typically they earn about US$360 per month, which is not much, even given the low cost of living in Bolivia. The net impact to us was that it took hours to drive out of the city!
Lastly, sheryle and I walked down to the restaurant called Gusto, that is in the top twenty in Latin America where the food was to say the least un-usual and delightful with lots of vegetables and unusual tastes. We loved it as it was so different. We also tried a local Sauvignon Blanc which was equally different!
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