A Beginning in Bolivia

It’s been a week since we arrived in La Paz – probably the most interesting and unique city I have been to, yet. The city is situated on the hills below the Altiplano and varies in altitude between approximately 3100 m and 4000 m above sea level. From the minute we landed at El Alto International Airport (4000 m), we knew we had landed in a completely different place. It was harder to breathe – although I had imagined that it would feel worse than it actually did – and it was also pretty cold: -2 C. A big change from the +30 C temperatures we had left behind in New York. The temperature in La Paz varies from below freezing to about 18 C depending on the time of the day and the altitude that you happen to find yourself at. Adjusting to the altitude was not too bad all in all: about one day of feeling light-headed and out of it, slight nausea for me, but that was about it. (Milos even played soccer on his second day here! Mind you, I am still having difficulty climbing stairs without going out of breath.) What we have learned in our first week here:

There is a big divide between classes and races.
This is a topic that deserves its own post as I am still trying to wrap my brain around it and understand the nuances. What I can report so far just from pure observation: The well-off (mostly Spanish descendants and foreigners) live in the lower (3100 –3300m) Zona Sur – the equivalent of US suburbs. It is a micro-cosmos in its own right. Everyone knows each other, went to the same couple of private schools, etc. and hardly ever ventures to the higher, more central, and poorer areas. “What for?” is a response we heard from someone. At the same time, the poorer and mostly indigenous population (Aymara and Quechua) live in the higher-altitude, colder areas spread out on the hills or in El Alto (the town next to the airport that used to be a part of La Paz before it grew significantly in size). The middle class lives somewhere in between. All the hired help around La Paz comes from the indigenous population and it seems that many middle-class and almost all upper-class families have at least a cleaning lady, if not also a cook, a gardener, a laundry woman, and a nanny. I guess, it’s not that different from many other parts of the world. Our own run-in with “exclusion” (I'm exaggerating but it's a funny story) took place when we went out to a new bar/club in Zona Sur with a couple of Milos’s Bolivian friends from business school. Given that they knew the owner, we went through the VIP entrance. We each got a bracelet. However, once inside we discovered that while our friends got the bracelet that allowed them to sit at the tables in the VIP area, the remaining three of us (Milos, me, and one other guy) could only stand outside of it. Wow! VIP within a VIP section. I had never seen that before. Milos and I couldn't stop laughing - we were merely mortals. Of course, we all promptly left and moved to a more chill, rock music locale. So, I think living in Zona Sur is definitely out of the question.

The sun is strong, very strong, and layering is crucial!
As soon as you step into the sun, you can feel it burning your skin. I guess that’s what the altitude plus the proximity to the equator does for you. Daily sun-block application (although somewhat annoying) has become part of the routine, as has applying moisturizer several times a day (for me). The air here is super dry - something that will take a while to get used to. Lips are parched, throat is dry, nose is stuffy - all in all, not too pleasant. We miss our “#1 in Germany” humidifier from the U.S. (yes, that is the brand’s claim to fame, although we have not confirmed it with anyone in Germany). The logical thing to do to escape from the sun’s rays is to step into the shade, you're probably thinking. Normally, yes. But here as soon as you spend a minute in the shade you get cold. That’s where wearing layers comes in. I’m sure we’ll get used to it. But for now, we will put away the little summer clothing that we brought for a warmer destination.

There is half a pedestrian traffic light in La Paz (i.e., only one light on one side of one street).
At least that’s the impression we have been left with so far. Traffic is quite chaotic, but drivers are not aggressive and honking is rare. With the exception of the traffic light mentioned above, the remaining traffic lights we have seen have been for cars only. Pedestrians get their cue to cross when the cars stop at an intersection or they just weave through behind and in front of passing cars. It appears that pedestrians never have the right of way, so it’s best to always look twice in both directions and never count on someone stopping for you (not very different from Sofia, I guess). The funny thing is that there is currently a campaign to get people to cross at crosswalks and to teach drivers to stop at crosswalks. What it entails? People dressed in zebra suits hold up stop signs at crosswalks to stop approaching traffic for pedestrians. If you cross where there is no crosswalk a burro (donkey; but also means stupid in Spanish) follows you to point out the error of your ways.

The only way is up (or down).
Flat ground is pretty rare. The streets (especially in areas closer to the city center and the higher poorer areas) wind up and down the hillsides. It’s an interesting sight and reminds me a lot of Shimla in India. Therefore, if you want to limit the uphill hikes, you have to plan your outings in the city strategically. E.g., by taking transportation to the highest point you will be needing to go to and walking downhill from there.

Life expectancy is 60 for men and 63 for women. The retirement age is 65. Paradox?
Yes, a sad fact. Similarly, health care is free for those over 65 – only 4% of the population – and children under 5. The state is social only in theory. We learned this on a “hop on, hop off” tour in a double-decker bus through La Paz. (Yes, surprisingly, they have that tourist bus here too. Only difference is that it makes rounds only twice a day, so the “hop on” part becomes almost impossible once you have hopped off.)

First-week impressions to be continued