17-Apr-2012 La Paz, Bolivia
Cintya surprised us by picking us up in the hotel in a very elegant Chola suit. Cameras started clicking at the hotel lobby – everyone wanted to pose with her. She is a very lovely lady and obliged everyone. We soon learned that she came from a long line of Cholas, and that her suit is much more elegant than most Chola that we would see in the city. Traditionally, only the elite wears a Chola and various clothing and jewellery signifies status. A chola will always have a long hair, except these days – Cintya can get away with a hair extension.
Our first stop is Parque Mirador Killi-killi. You could hear Jeanne and Vivien giggle. Killi-killi is the Filipino word for arm pit. From this hill is a vantage point to view the city of La Paz.
Then we drove to Plaza Murillo. In most South American city, the centre plaza is commonly called – Plaza de Armas. In La Paz, however, it is named after Pedro Domingo Murillo – a Bolivian freedom fighter that rose from the middle class. From this Plaza is the cathedral, the government palace, the guarded resting place of Andres de Santa Cruz who at one point was the president of Peru and Bolivia. We learned that Bolivia was once part of Peru.
Prominent on this park are the pigeons. La Paz due to its altitude and expanding population has very few trees. Eucalyptus trees ware also introduced by the Spaniards which further draw away wildlife. Birds do not nests on eucalyptus trees because of its smell. As a result, only the pigeons thrive in the city.
Our next stop is the Museo de Metales Preciosos, located on a part of the city that was preserved to its Spanish Colonial architecture. Most parts of La Paz has been rebuilt to make way for brick dwelling, destroying the old Spanish look. The museum is where we saw samples of Inca golden ornaments.
From here we drove to Valle de la Luna at the lower end of La Paz. This is where Cintya blew us away. Set against the dry and dessert like backdrop of the valley, a musician playing the quenya and the charango emerges and Cintya gave us a rendetion of a traditional Chola dance. It was totally unexpected and delightful – everyone with a video camera was trained on her.
At this stage, the group is just about craving for lunch. Cintya collected 4 bolivianos (equivalent to about A$0.60) from everyone wanting an empanada. Then we drove to bakery where she bought 29 empanadas – some people are having two, they were the wise ones. We’ve been eating and sampling empanadas throughout the trip – this is the best we’ve tasted. It is juicy and cooked just right – writing this blog is making me salivate. My only beef with Cintya is that she said one piece can serve as a meal. Everyone could have had four and may still be asking for more.
Officially – this was the end of our tour. However, knowing that this is our last night together as a group, Cintya arranged for us to have dinner across town and the restaurant provided for the transport. We also managed to see and buy from the night market on the way to the restaurant.
La Paz is a difficult city to promote as a tourist destination. It’s the traffic and polluted thin air than can get to you. However, guides like Cintya are doing a wonderful job to make the visit very interesting. It is a city with a lot of history and culture. I am glad to have visited it in our South American Tour.
Valley of the Moon
Valley of the Moon
Valley of the Moon
Musician, salesman and now a model. (with Jeanne)
As emailed by Cintya