Without the time to duck into Peru and experience Macchu Picchu (it’s been on my “To Do” list for years…), I was keen to make a day trip out of La Paz to see the ruins at Tiahuanaco, on the old shoreline of sacred Lake Titicaca.

To make it easy for myself I signed up for a tour, and I was quickly reminded why I really dislike taking tours when I travel.  Our guide was an old hand who knew his stuff, but he wasn’t at all able to package it up in an interesting form.  On top of that the second sentence he spoke was a somewhat jokey reminder to give him a tip at the end of the day – let’s just say that didn’t work in his favour!

After an hour and a half drive out of the valley and onto the altiplano, we arrived at the ruins.  The guide made us suffer a good three hours (!) in the two museums before we even got to explore the ruins.  But what we did see in the museums was amazing – some beautiful pottery and other artifacts, and some gigantic yet fabulously intricate rock carvings and pillars – even though the choice bits have been pinched by the Spaniard “conquerors” and European archaeologists over time.  Surprise surprise we weren’t allowed to take photos inside the museum, but here’s a sneaky one I took:

To keep it brief, Tiahuanaco was the religious centre of a pre-Incan race that covered much of the same area that the Incas later did along the Andes (and by the way their ruled for centuries longer – although we can blame the Spaniards for killing off the Incas).  There is still much excavation going on but glimpses of the ceremonial pyramid structure were visible and some of the temples devoted to Pachamama (Mother Earth) had been reconstructed.  Their detailed knowledge of astronomy, well before the Incas came along, was clearly visible in the design of structures which acted as calendars for identifying the equinoxes and solsticies during the year.  Impressive stuff!!

I left Santa Cruz’s hot and humid conditions and boarded an ageing 727-100 (!) that looked like it had just one more flight left in it.  One hour later, and having flown through a large thunderstorm, I arrived in La Paz, which at around 4,000m makes it the world’s highest capital city by far (Quito is #2 at around 3,000m).  Stepping off the plane and onto the tarmac was quite a shock to the system: the thin air literally took my breath away, and the temperature was a good 20+ degrees lower than in Santa Cruz.

I’d flown up to La Paz with Sarah, a member of my Habitat group, and together we caught a taxi into the city to our hotel.  The airport is located on the flat expanses of the altiplano (high plains) while the city itself is nestled in a narrow valley, and we had an amazing view of the city once the taxi crested the edge of the valley and plummeted (and I mean it!) down into the depths of the city.

The next day we explored the city and saw some of its sights.  My first impressions of La Paz weren’t great but it’s definitely warmed on me with its mountain views (the beautiful 6,500m Illimani stand at the end of the valley), San Francisco-style streets, interesting neighbourhoods, local markets and incredibly friendly and inquisitive people.

   
The streets around Sagarnaga and the Witches Market (the touristy part of the city).

    
Some of the delights in the Witches Market: lurrrrrv potions (gotta get me some of those!) and yucko dried baby llamas (ummm, no thanks…)

    
(L) Plaza Pedro Murillo with the cathedral. (R) Guards outside the presidential palace.

    
Plaza San Francisco at night.

    
Some city views from the top of the valley.

Here are some more photos…

The Habitat group on our final day with Adriana Escalante, the owner of the house, and her children.