After three weeks on attempting conversation in Spanish, we readily welcomed the change of pace at the Wild Rover in La Paz. La Paz is a busy, smog -filled city whose size can not be described: it is simply HUGE. It is set down in a valley with hills, odd in comparison to the rest of the country, covered with trees.
In such a large city, it was a comfort to stumble into the Wild Rover. The hostel was great, it of course had an Irish bar and Irish food. Best of all, the staff was mainly English-speaking young locals and the bar constantly was playing American music. In short, it was the closest thing to home we had felt in a long time. At this point the only thing that could have made us more at home would have been a restuarant with the words "La Paz" actually in it; unforunately the states are the only place to find such a fake mexican treasure.
Similarly, the city is filled with young, rebelious hipsters (some foreign and some local) who work at a host of restaurants and bars that cater to English-speaking travelers from all over the world. Gratefully, after three weeks of chicken and rice, we ate well in La Paz for real cheap.
If we were cooler, and we are just not, we could have gotten lost in the party scene in La Paz. We heard more than one story of naive travelers starting the night innocently by getting close to naked ontop of the bar at the Wild Rover to be later swept by local women to the "Blue House" where the first thing offered is as much cocaine as you want. Instead while this was going on, Bobby and Natalie most likely had their ear plugs in trying to catch their Zzzzzssss at around 9pm.
La Paz being filled with rolling hills makes a quick walk anywhere a tiring one at that. The meandering streets were buzzing with a constant flow of people and small street vendors making this a noisy but ever-interesting place. We can honestly say, if you ever wanted a one stop shop for candy, watches, hammers, ironing boards, or a toilet seat-well most vendors would be able to help you out with their supplies.
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| Not sure if this is up to Code. |
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| The roads are crazy here, no mercy if you try to cross. |
After roaming the streets looking at the Presidential Palace, the ornate churches and plazas, we entered the Wild Rover with headaches from the unimaginable amount of gas emanating from cars and busses.
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| Guards outside the Presidential Palace. Unlike the Brits-these guys laugh if you make faces at them. |
We really enjoyed our time in La Paz but.....
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| Ummmm....Donuts |
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| Last snack before heading onto Uyuni on the overnight bus from hell. |
We had to keep on moving. Next Up, Uyuni and the Salt Flats.
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