Up in the Andes: 2009

New Shopping Center

A new shopping center just opened nearby. Only the movie theater and food court are actually ready, but why let a construction site get in the way of the grand opening just in time for the Christmas season?

The escalator works, it just needs a paint job.

Koctail

Anyone for a koctail at Kasual bar?

Public Phone

Public phone outside a police station - the official hat makes all the difference. Maybe you are supposed to make only serious calls from it.

Corn

This is what organic corn looks like (not as impressive as the genetically modified one, is it?). And you never know what you are going to find behind the layers of leaves, sometimes it's only half of this. But it does taste pretty good.

H

H is silent in Spanish, which is probably why they think they can put it anywhere they want without consequences - hence Tohilet, Whit, and Jhonny (which is a fairly popular name, by the way).

Control Antinarcoticos

Sign for a check point on the way from La Paz to Coroico, in the Yungas (between the Andes and the Amazon Basin) where vegetation is abundant and everything grows with minimal tending - tropical fruit, coffee, cacao, tobacco, and coca. The sign probably takes away a bit of the surprise factor.

Photo Hunting

Apparently, it is an official term - Photo Hunting. Here, for example, you can photo hunt not only animals, but also rivers and waterfalls, views of high mountains, flowers, and other vegetation. If you want to see all the things that were caught last weekend, visit: Takesi Inca Trail album

Bolivia - Brazil

Moments after Bolivia scored the second goal. They won the game 2-1, which is not that surprising since Brazil already qualified for the World Cup and played with only a handful of their regular starters (Julio Cesar, Maicon, and Dani Alves; Adriano also played in the first half). And, of course, there is the altitude as well - visiting teams rarely do well here (Argentina lost 6-1 in April). Brazilians apparently arrived an hour before the kickoff.
What is a little more surprising is that locals did not seem to care much at all - the stadium was just over half full, a lot of people were more interested in getting the yellow thunder sticks (partially shown on the photo) from the promoters, and the guy next to us was reading the classifieds in the newspaper the whole game. Most of them were listening to the game on radio as well. Other than the occasional "BO-BO-LI-LI-VIA-VIA" chant, the only other time when the crowd got excited was to taunt the national team coach when he subbed the scorer near the end of the game, and when one guy ran onto the pitch with some transparent, but we did not manage to see what it said before he got escorted out by the police.

Kitchen surprises

Most apartments in La Paz are rented furnished. These are some of the things that we found waiting for us in the kitchen: "I love America" mug, another one with "Pause... KING SIZE!" Coca-Cola ad printed on it, and one with an ear instead of the holder, to go with the theme "Ecoute j'ai un secret a te dire..." ("Listen, I have a secret to tell you..."), but my favorite is the plate commemorating Apollo lunar missions 7 through 17 (!!?!).

Sea Access

Must be one of the weirdest monuments I've seen. Bolivia lost its coastline to Chile in 1884 and have been hoping to get it back ever since. The message is "that which was once ours, will be ours once again", but I guess there is no stronger message than having a dude in sandals bayoneting the other guy in the throat.

Carnivoros Anonimos

On Sundays, El Prado (the main avenue here) becomes a pedestrian zone with stands, a street fair. This stand helps people overcome their addiction to meat (!!). The sign says: "I want to quit meat but I can't. Carnivoros Anonimos was created for you." The stand was well attended.

Rush hour

Rush hour in La Paz, view from our apartment window.

Transportation options

1. Micro (blue bus) - about half or so of the regular bus size, similar to yellow school buses in the US. Cheapest and slowest option.

2. Mini (white minivan) - capacity is about 14 passengers, the most frequent of all public transportation options, have fixed routes that are listed on the front windshield (and yelled out the window by the driver's sidekick every 5 seconds). Sidekick (usually a teenage kid) also collects fares from the passengers. The cost is from 1 to 2.3 Bolivianos, depending on the distance and the time of day.

3. Trufi (car on the right) - "Taxi de Ruta Fija", taxis that have set routes (also listed on the front windshield; no sidekick). Capacity is 5 passengers, as they somehow fit 2 people next to the driver (and the car is with a stick shift). The cost is 3 Bs.

4. Taxi (behind the micro) - the same as anywhere else. The cost is usually 12 or 15 Bs for most distances.

Note: 1 USD = 7 Bolivianos

Up in the Andes