{"id":34764,"date":"2019-07-14T18:54:44","date_gmt":"2019-07-15T00:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/?p=34764"},"modified":"2019-07-14T20:34:44","modified_gmt":"2019-07-15T02:34:44","slug":"bolivia-2019-fun-in-la-paz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2019\/07\/14\/bolivia-2019-fun-in-la-paz\/","title":{"rendered":"Bolivia 2019: Fun in La Paz"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our climbing of three peaks in Bolivia is underway. I arrived early, as in 1:30 am Thursday morning, to El Alto at the world’s highest commercial airport at 13,175’\/4061m and was promptly met by the Mountain Madness<\/a>\u00a0 team and liaison. We made our way to our great hotel in La Paz where I’ve been adjusting to the altitude of 11,607’\/3550m for the last couple for days.<\/p>\n

Today, Sunday, July 14 along with Mountain Madness guides Gaspar Navarrete, and\u00a0Paul Guerra we took a walking tour of the city including the market and the Witches Market where you can buy all things dealing with spells\u00a0including\u00a0potions, dried frogs, medicinal plants like retama and armadillos used in Bolivian rituals.<\/sup>\u00a0The most stricking, and disturbing in my opinion, are\u00a0the dried llama fetuses.<\/sup>\u00a0They are taken when llama is killed for food and was unknown to be pregnant. The fetuses are buried under the foundations of many Bolivian houses as a sacred offering to the goddess Pachamama.<\/sup><\/p>\n

Something a bit less dramatic was the market. Similar to most market around the world like in Ecuador, Moshi\u00a0or Namache Bazzar, it is a feast for the eye with all sorts of native fruit, vegetables, clothing, hand-woven accessories and more. Of course, its often the people that make the experience. Here are a few scenes from today. Click to enter the slideshow.<\/p>\n