La Paz - Last pictures

Since I am staying longer in la Paz, I decided to upload some more pictures. Here some of the last few days...

The Church of San Francisco:

Coca leaves:

Streets of La Paz:

 View of the city and the football stadium:

The condor, national symbol:

Family on the street:

Colonial style building:

The shoe cleaners:

Courtyard at San Francisco Church:

Typical bus from the city:

Night parade celebrating 200 years of independence:

Daves birthday:

Square with copies of the Tiwanaku ruins:

Panorama of the city:

The next entry will probably be Lima, will skip the Bolivian side of Titikaka since I heard is not so nice as the peruvian one...

La Paz - Tiwanaku

Today went to the old ruins of Tiwanaku, a precolombine civilization that collapsed 800 years ago...

Tiwanaku city nowadays:

Panorama of one of the sides of the pyramid at the ruins:

Typical head sculpture on the wall:

The famous sun gate, 48 chasquis (messengers) and 4 trumpeteers symbolizing the 52 weeks of the solar calendar:

The god Wiracocha at the gate:

I think I look old and tired:

Typical tiwanaku figure:

Workers labouring at the archeological site:

Will remain in La Paz still for some days, I am picking up ideas for my book...

La Paz - El Choro Inka Trail

Spent the last two days walking over an old Inka road, 55 km. from La Cumbre in La Paz to el Cheiro. Tiring, hard, huge blisters, but definetely cool stuff:

A Panoramic view of La Cumbre, at 5300 meters over sea level:

Beginning of the Inka track:

 Some old aymara constructions:

 A herd of llamas:

 One part of the track very well preserved:

 The first day we walked down 2900 vertical meters, from 5300 to 2400, so the landscape changed a lot:

My small bagpack, esential:

Dried meet, typical Inka, still done nowadays:

An aymara cemetery:

 The Choro river:

Abel, a kid living on the place were we camped to sleep, with Chancho:

 Me with Chancho (I think is the first time in his life that Abel used a photo camera):

Next to the tent where I slept:

We crossed many bridges:

 The weather was lovely, so was the view:

The houses at San Francisco, just before the Cuesta del Diablo (Devil's steep):

Nice flower:

 Hanging bridges everywhere:

Do I look tired? Nooooo...:

 Another hanging bridge:

With Tamiji Hanamura, a famous 105 year old japanes who lives at the track:

Not so far from el Cherio:

Old aymara houses eaten by the jungle:

 

Some condors probably watching a dead animal:

The condors are not easy to see, at least in Bolivia (from what everybody told me), but I guess I was lucky with that. Will stay for some days in La Paz, trying to rest body and mind.

La Paz - Death Road

Years ago this road was open to traffic, but there were many accidents and many people killed (hence the name). Now is possible to drive it by bike, and some cars are also allowed to go. This is by far the best experience in Bolivia until now:

Our bikes, ready for the road:

The landscape at the top, with snow (we would drive down 3000 meters):

Los gehts!:

The first views:

With David and Flo:

Yeah!:

I am happy!:

With the group (2 Irish as well):

Still laughing:

Oh, ohhh...:

I am the one closest to the abyss:

Here we all sit close to the abyss:

Panoramic views of the Death Road Valley:

Normal life after our return to La Paz:

 

And now some videos as well:

Another one before starting:

And now, some of the road (I am the third):

And the next things should be Tiwanaku, The Valley of the Moon, and maybe a 3-day Inca Trail Trek, let's see what happens!!