La Paz

2 THE ESSENCE OF......... LA PAZ, BOLIVIA

We were only in La Paz for two days, so it would be presumptuous of us to believe we have discerned some defining characteristics of this sprawling, beautiful city. Nevertheless, we did notice a number of things which stood out to us. They follow below:

THE BANDIT SHOE SHINE BOYS.
For some reason that is not clear to us, many, if not most, of the shoe shine boys in La Paz wear stocking caps which cover most of their face, leading the casual observer to believe that he or she is in the presence of bank robbers. We speculated that one reason may be to avoid breathing in the fumes of the city. Another explanation may simply be that this is some sort of recognized uniform. Finally, it may just be a reaction to the cold weather of La Paz, although this would not explain why they would continue to wear these masks on warm, sunny days. Whatever the reason, we found it peculiar.

These guys are not dividing up the loot from their latest bank heist; rather, they are shining shoes!

PHONES AT STREET STANDS.
La Paz, like the other South America cities that we have visited, is lousy with street stands. What struck us as different, however, was that many of these street stands came complete with a telephone. For a small fee, any passerby can use the phone for local calls, much like a pay phone. How these stands get the phone line is beyond us, as these stands happen to be everywhere. But one thing is for sure, and that is that these stands offer one stop shopping: you may purchase a magazine, some chocolate and a gaseosa (soda), while calling home to tell the folks that you may be late.

ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS:

Central La Paz is one big market. No matter where you turn, the streets are lined with vendors selling every imaginable product. What is also interesting, is the way that the vendors are organized, which is to say that they are often grouped together on a product by product basis. For instance, the meat market is one section, the health and beauty aids in another, the buttons in yet another area, and also the pots and pans section. This organization is a remarkable element of efficiency in what otherwise appears to be raw chaos.

There seems to be an optical shop on every corner in La Paz. What makes this all the more unusual, is that we had remarked earlier that not many people in South America wear glasses.

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