Michael Batson

La Paz is one of the highest capital cities in the world. Life there is highly stratified, culturally, economically and geographically. Affluence is measured in altitude, with more of the former equating to less of the latter. The higher up you live, the poorer you are. By the time you get to the city airport, life is barely subsistent.

La Paz was founded in1548 under the name of La Ciudad de Nuestra Señora de La Paz (The City of Our Lady of Peace). The city is Bolivia’s de facto capital whereas the colonial centre of Sucre to the south is the official seat of justice.

From the Peruvian border crossing on the shores of Lake Titicaca it’s a short drive to the lakeside town of Copacabana. A group of Canadians failed to make the cut by Bolivian immigration, and were summarily dispatched back to Puno to acquire the appropriate documentation.

My traveling companion’s views of the approaches to La Paz were somewhat different to mine. After a hastily eaten fish lunch the day before came back to haunt, as their journey over rough Bolivian roads – few outside the towns are paved – was made worse by violent retching out of the window. Each lurch of the vehicle, each movement of the suspension, brought forth more abdominal contractions.

La Paz descends from the satellite city of El Alto at 4000 metres to the more affluent districts hundreds of metres below.

The descent takes you past stands of eucalyptus trees, imported from Australia, the so-called “Lungs of La Paz” pumping oxygen into the air of a city so high breathing can be difficult.

Pity then visiting football teams forced to play the locals. Maradona once brought the national side of Argentina here and they were thumped 5-0. So unfair was the advantage of altitude to foreign sides, FIFA temporarily banned games played over a certain altitude. Little wonder then one of the local club sides in La Paz is named The Strongest.

For a high octane, high altitude spectacle, the seasonal clash between The Strongest and cross-town rivals Bolívar is considered to be the La Paz football derby par excellence.

The main thoroughfares of La Paz make their way cut by roads that ascend the heights of the valley walls. Climbing these streets can leave you breathless. There are moments of panic where literally you find yourself suddenly wondering if you’re capable of getting enough oxygen to maintain life let alone movement.

Overlooking the city is the imposing quadruple-peaked Mount Illimani (Golden Eagle), a stunning backdrop. At almost 6,500 metres Illimani is the second highest peak in the Bolivian Andes.

Bolivia has had a violent history enduring colonialisation, wars of independence, bloody military coups, and narco-terrorism. Fitting then the capital was founded by an avenging Spanish priest, Pedro de la Gasca, sent by the King of Spain with carte blanche to suppress a revolt and re-establish royal authority.

The revolt was led by Gonzalo Pizarro, half-brother of the founder of Peru and conqueror of the Inca, the violent Francisco Pizarro.

Gonzalo had felled de la Gasca’s viceroy predecessor and seized control of all of western South America from Panama south into Chile.

De la Gasca had full regal authority and total judicial power to suppress the uprising, ranging from the death sentence to amnesty; Gonzalo received the former.

Pedro de la Gasca then commanded Captain Alonso de Mendoza to found a new city commemorating the end of the civil wars. La Paz was first established in what today is Laja, on the Tiahuanaco road, before it was moved to its present location, in the valley of the Chuquiago Marka.

Nearby is the city of Tiwanaku,  a day trip from La Paz along Route 3 towards Lake Titicaca. Tiwanaku was the capital of a powerful pre-Hispanic empire covering what is now southern Peru, northern Chile, most of Bolivia, and parts of Argentina, reaching its apogee between 500 and 900 AD. Its monumental remains testify to the cultural and political significance of this civilisation, which is distinct from any of the other pre-Hispanic empires of the Americas.

It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000.

Tiwanaku is located near the southern shores of Lake Titicaca on the Altiplano, at an altitude of 3,850 m. Most of the ancient city, which was largely built from adobe, has been overlaid by the modern town.

The most imposing monument at Tiwanaku is the temple of Akapana. It is a pyramid originally with seven superimposed platforms with stone retaining walls rising to a height of over 18 metres.

There are many carved stone heads set into the walls, doubtless symbolizing an earlier practice of exposing the severed heads of defeated enemies in the temple. To the north of the Akapana is the Kalasasaya, a large rectangular open temple, believed to have been used as an observatory. The interior contains two carved monoliths and the monumental Gate of the Sun, one of the most important specimens of the art of Tiwanaku.

If you look closely there are pockmarks on many of the icons. Pity then the in moments of idle tedium, elements of the Bolivian military amused themselves with casual target practice. Hopefully, it’s status as an UNESCO Heritage Site will prevent future willful damage.

Nearby La Paz are a couple of Bolivia’s more curious attractions, the latest thrill for tourists, the Road of Death or El Camino del Muerte.

These comprise the North Yungas Road, a 95 kilometre stretch of road that leads from La Paz to Coroico, 56 kilometres northeast of La Paz in the Yungas region of Bolivia. A second Yungas Road, known as Chulumani Road, connects La Paz to Chulumani, 64 kilometres east of La Paz.  It is considered to be nearly as dangerous as the north road.

The Yungas Road is legendary for its extreme danger.  In 1995 the Inter-American Development Bank christened it as the "world's most dangerous road" that is, outside of a warzone.

One estimate is that 200-300 travelers are killed yearly along the road, or one vehicle every two weeks. The road moreover includes Christian crosses marking many of the spots where such vehicles have fallen.

Needless to say travel insurance is a must in Bolivia, and elsewhere in South America. Unbelievably, you meet people who venture forth without though to such prerequisites, including one Australian woman I heard of. She wound up in a neck brace after a bus accident where upon the bus company compensated her to the tune of US$10,000. Quite where a bus company in rural Bolivia would find such a sum is unclear, but she was rather fortunate to say the least.

Bolivia is blighted by the legacy of colonialism, its society highly stratified. Like Peru, race dictates much to do with social status. Current president Evo Morales is the first Aymara to hold presidential office. Opinion on him is divided along class and racial lines. Unlike North America where there is only black and white, Latin America is black, white and everything in between.

La Paz presents a meeting of Bolivia’s worlds, old and new. Aymara women in voluminous skirts and bowler hats living day-to-day frequent eek out a living in markets barely streets away from suited businessmen sipping coffee in upmarket cafes.

The disparity in lifestyles and income is stark and insurmountable. Social mobility is extremely limited. The country has a multitude of social and economic problems. One proposed solution was the export of cocoa tea (mate) as medicinal to rich Western countries, a potential money spinner.

On the basis of supply versus demand, the US rendered the project stillborn. As the world’s largest arms supplier and manufacturer, Washington defends its position as being about demand. However, with drugs, the US defends its position as the world’s largest cocaine consumer, as being about supply.

No wonder then, given such hypocrisy “Evo” as President Morales is domestically referred to, prefers the company of Cuba and Hugo “Boss” Chavez of Venezuela. The US once preferred military dictatorships as allies, more comfortable with personalities than ideologies, better “our dictator” than that of someone else, they may have to change their tune.

Cocaine and Bolivia go hand-in-hand. Coca is a cash crop capable of sustaining subsistence farmers. Hardy, coca returns more harvests every year with less investment than less contentious crops. Obvious then, impoverished farmers with ready buyers take this route over other less lucrative options.

Marching Powder is a tale of the San Pedro jail in La Paz, a jail out of the ordinary. More a community than a penitentiary the book describes the experiences of the British inmate Thomas McFadden who became known for offering prison tours to tourists.

Like many other countries with conspicuous drug “problems” involvement with such things are to be avoided. One story is of a Canadian who, when caught at La Paz airport with cocaine, dobbed in his mate hereunto unconnected why, because he couldn’t face serving time alone. In jail, one wanted to kill the other, but then was faced with having no one to talk to.

Outside the main cathedral, coffin makers, the undertakers display their wares. There you are stepping from one world to the next. A night at the movies with a pretty Kiwi girl, saw me walking home through deserted streets, hoping I wouldn’t have to out run any would be assailants, as they’d probably have the edge on me.