La Paz, Bolivia
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| Back into Bolivia. |
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| The helpful Wild Rover map shows Sorata, Lake Titicaca and La Paz. |
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| I spent another five days in the city of La Paz, indulging in a few more reckless nights after reuniting with Laura and James who had by all accounts been having a very relaxed time in the small hillside town of Sorata. The days in the black hole of the Wild Rover hostel passed once again as a blur but on the Thursday, after hearing about a massive flea market which takes place in the suburb-turned-city of El Alto high up on the ridge of La Paz, I hopped in a small mico (taxi van) and made my way up the bowl to have a look. |
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| El Alto became a certified city in it's own right in 1986 and is one of the world's highest major settlements peaking at the breathtaking - quite literally - height of 4200 metres. The haphazard city of a million souls has a rough edge to it and the numerous protests and strikes that occur down in the bowl usually originate here. The reason being is that El Alto controls the only road that enters La Paz meaning that the inhabitants here can shut down the capital at the drop of a hat; a powerful geographical tool they employ frequently and violently. |
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| The dusty, unpaved streets are lined with stalls every Thursday and Sunday. |
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| Tracing the line of the La Paz ridge, the dilapidated city is being built slowly. Very slowly. Sometimes so slowly that they forget to finish building. Three alleyways snaked through the market lined with hundreds of stalls selling everything from ripped off DVD's to shoelaces. |
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| The market is divided into specific sections whether you're looking for books, clothes, DVD's or old hub caps... |
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| Between the rows of stalls large groups of people were huddled around the Bolivian Del Boys who gave their animated speeches to intrigued audiences. This guy was a particularly smooth operator in his attempts to flog some dodgy perfume. |
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| Life in El Alto. |
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| The flea market floods the streets as all the houses set up their own stalls. Need a car door? Get yourself to this house! |
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| One man's trash is another man's treasure has never been more appropriate a saying for the goods on offer at El Alto. |
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| In the distance the snow-capped peak of Mount Illimani rises imperiously over the area and the views of the 'Golden Eagle' are even more impressive from the ridge of El Alto. |
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| Heavy Load. |
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| Seeking shade. |
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| The El Alto donkeys. |
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| A railway line slices the market in two where it joins the Cemetery District of La Paz. |
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| Che Guevara saw me off back down into the pit of La Paz. |
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