These are 2 pictures that I took from the roof of the hotel that I stayed at last night. They were taken right at sunset. From the top picture you can sort of make out the shape of the city, which is located at the bottom of a bowl in the mountains. The pictures don´t do justice, however, to the magnitude of the height difference between the top and the bottom of the bowl - around 2,000 ft.
Arriving at La Paz really is breathtaking. After our little boat rides on Titicaca, we traveled for about 3 hours accross a completely flat plain, with mountains off in the distance. If it weren´t for these mountains, the road itself could be in Kansas. The outskirts of the city are the poorer regions, and slowly these began to appear. After about one hour of driving through the slums, with detours down dirt side streets due to strikes and demonstrations blocking the road (all peaceful) the bus turned to the left and we were on the edge of the top of the bowl. We had a complete view of the city. The city itself consists of tall buildings and organization in its center, but as it creeps up the sides of the bowl, it turns brown and chaotic. Richer people live in the older districts at the bottom, and poorer people have filled the bowl to the point of overflowing. The view from the top really was magnificent.
2 comments:
I enjoyed your description of the bowl and how the pecking order of society has chosen the bottom to be the best and the top the least desirable. Just the opposite of Park City, America.
Good to hear that you are safe.
Love,
Dad
I enjoyed your description of the bowl and how the pecking order of society has chosen the bottom to be the best and the top the least desirable. Just the opposite of Park City, America.
Good to hear that you are safe.
Love,
Dad
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