By the time I hit La Paz, I was ready for a big city. I’m a Chicago girl & I LOVE me a big city so I was super excited to wander, explore, chill in cafes & enjoy some good food. I was most excited about having no plan. Between wine tours, sand surfing, vomit-inducing flights, Machu Picchu, Rainbow Mountain & Isla del Sol… I’ve kept awfully busy touring my time away. So having nothing on the agenda was exactly what I needed. La Paz delivered in full. It’s stunningly located in a sprawling valley surrounded by mountains & features a charming old city feel with new city spoils.
The city, at 3500m, it situated in a canyon surrounded by mountain peaks.Mountains mountains everywhere. The only way to gain perspective on how big the city is & for the best mountain views, hop on the dope new telefericos. The city is still adding lines so they don’t all get connect but it’ll be soon.One of the main city squares always jammed w people. It’s bisected by the massive main thoroughfare, El Prado.During the La Paz visit, we were lucky enough to witness the fiery spirit of Bolivians as rural coca farmers staged protests of new laws increasing competition by shutting down the massive main thoroughfare El Prado. For the most part it was a quiet seated peaceful protest but for the occasional fireworks. The resulting traffic was gridlocked but as we were strictly pedestrians wandering the city, it didn’t impact us. I rather enjoyed walking down the middle of the street with no cares. We visited the coca museum (duh) & afterwards sampled some beverages from the coca museum’s bar. The “original recipe” for Coca Cola featured cocaine but I’m almost positive the drink just included a shitload of coca. And also coca beer cuz why not? They were both delicious.Massive Sunday markets. These tented stalls scattered in every direction for blocks & blocks.The tented stalls sold everything from unattractive oddly fitting & unflattering length skirts that every local woman wears (like above) to auto parts, school supplies, etc. You name it, they had it.The market also featured this odd little building housing witches. Each door was a separate witch’s lair / witch’s haven (?!?! I’m not up on my witch lingo!) where you can have your fortune read & other good stuff. You know if they’re open for business if there’s a fire burning outside. It seemed like a slow day for the witches as there wasn’t much activity but we finally found a fire (which was a little disturbing… something may have previously been alive). So we knocked to see if they were available, but there was someone ill inside (& it was really creepy) so we moved along. Perhaps it’s more of a night thing?So instead we went to this way more accessible witch hangout as there’s this little street known as “Mercado de hechiceria” – or witches’ market. So we found a stall we liked & disappeared inside to wander around. There’s weird shrunken llama heads & a random assortment of remedies, potions, herbs, etc. it’s so cool.At first I intended to ask for a remedy for my horrendous cough. Then after snooping around a bit, I thought better. Instead I gave the witch a problem to solve – that didn’t involve me ingesting weird things – attracting a man. Bwah haha. Somehow I said it with a straight face cuz I need a guy just about as much as I need a hole in my head but boy did she go to work. She sorted through her stash to offer me several items. It was so much fun so I ended up buying this crap to show her my appreciation. It included a couple potions (or essential oils I typically use as perfume) & a tiny gold amulet (which seemed to be a couple amorously embracing) wrapped with neon pink died llama hair for good luck.You can find help for your colon right next to some sort of bedroom performance enhancement.We sought out the best resto in La Paz & enjoyed a fabulous tasting menu. The resto is Gustu, the sister resto of Noma, the Copenhagen resto consistently ranked as world’s best. So obviously the Dane joined us & was super excited. Quite possibly my fave part of the whole experience was the cocktail I started (& ended) with. Gin (what else!?!), cucumber & smoked rosemary (that you smell after unscrewing the capped jar & then pour the gin & cucumber mix on the smokey ice). The name? A Fucking Cocktail. And yes, I REALLY enjoyed ordering it.The mix. Maybe one of my other fave parts of the resto visit, again besides the food? I’m pretty sure a famous boy band was eating there at the chefs table & then having drinks after while we lingered. They kinda looked the type – you know, boyishly handsome. Not many young guys splurge on a fancy dinner like that. People – patrons & the staff – were making quite a bit of fuss. But I don’t have a fucking clue. I’m not up on my boy bands. All I know is the staff gave us free drinks after dinner so they weren’t the only fun group dining that night.
I visited Quito twice on this trip. The first time with Gina for 1.5 days. The second time with Kristin & Amy for 1 day after the rest of our Ecuador adventures on our way to Peru. I played the role of tour guide the second time during our 10hr layover. So while I know there’s more to see, I’m fairly confident I can give a pretty good overview of Quito’s old town in a day, including plenty of time for food & drink, as we all came away loving the city.
Teleferico ride up to the mountains surrounding Quito, specifically Volcan Pichincha, for a fabulous lookout over the city & hike. Or in G&I’s case… a closer look at the cloud enveloping the mountain top.
The view from El Panecillo, a hilltop overlooking the old town, featuring a statute of the Virgin Mary.
Climbing stairs & frighteningly steep ladders to the top of a gorgeous Basilica del Voto Nacional w stunning views of the old town & El Panecillo. Due to my bizarre fear of ladders, this was no easy task for me so I chose to sit out the second round & grabbed a drink at the base while waiting for the girls.
The basilica may now be my fave church toured due to the unusual concrete animal statues diving off the facade. How boring are gargoyles when you can instead have anteaters, monkeys & alligators? I’m a big fan of the unusual.Unlike G, I did NOT have a smile on my face when tackling the ladder
Wandering the streets of the old town & exploring its lovely plazas including Plaza Grande featuring the Presidential palace & political rallies (especially the week before the national election) & Plaza San Francisco.
Traditional Ecuadorian lunch of fritada sitting outdoors in the lovely Plaza San Francisco (my personal fave Quito plaza) & perhaps a game (or 5) of triangle dominoes, the addicting game I discovered in Bottle Beach, Ko Pha Ngan that G heroically stashed in her backpack to Ecuador.
Drinks on the rooftop of Vista Hermosa restaurant overlooking the old town, it’s plazas & El Panecillo.
Wandering La Ronda, a beautifully quiet pedestrian street during the day featuring shops & art galleries that transforms at night into a raucous array of cafes, bars & live music.
amusemusings 