After three nights on the Isla del Sol, we motored back to Copacabana (much warmer this time!) to head back to the city. The weather at 13,000 feet is quite interesting! The day morning that we arrived at the airport in El Alto, there was actually snow on the ground!
Apparently this was the first time that the program has ever arrived to snow!
The rest of that day was incredibly chilly, with thick clouds and threatening rain. The boat ride to the island left us all huddling for warmth, and, for the first time all semester, I was very glad to have my puffy down jacket with me! I put it on at 2 pm and never took it off again all day. The houses on the island do not have heat, because it isn't totally necessary - the sun heats everything up very effectively during the day - but on cloudy days, inside and outside are very cold.
This didn't change much in going to La Paz. Still at very high altitude, the sun will burn you in minutes practically during the day, but the night feels like November or December in New Hampshire! So lots of layering and sunscreen were required.
Looking down at the city of La Paz from the rim of the bowl in which it sits (El Alto is on the flat plain above La Paz) with the city's mountain, Illimani, in the distance.
The landscape of La Paz is truly breathtaking. The highest mountains I have ever seen, forming the Cordillera Real, surround the city, making Cochabamba's mountains seem like little hills in comparison! And, while El Alto is situated on the flat altiplano, La Paz is all hills, and incredibly steep ones at that! It doesn't make it easy for those of us still acclimating to the altitude!
In our few days here, we visited a government ministry - of decolonization - Bolivia's fanciest restaurant, and a number of radical environmental, feminist and artistic groups. I really enjoyed visiting one community, called La Casa de Los Ningunos (the house of no one) which is a group of young environmentalists who are trying to live out the visions that they have for the world. Sound like anyone you know? It wa really nice to connect with some kindred spirits, see their growing permaculture efforts and eat their delicious vegetarian food. The first time I've ever had quinoa "sushi"! Their overarching goal is to "be happy," which I think is an excellent way to tie together all our dreams of a more just, sustainable, fulfilling world.
We also toured a "cholet" in El Alto, which is a new architectural style that draws from indigenous Aymara symbols and cosmology to create outrageously fun buildings that house apartments and event spaces!
The ceiling of the event hall in the cholet that we visited.
All of the cholets have extravagant facades and are five or six stories tall. A great contrast to all the one-story, reddish-brown buildings surrounding them! El Alto is one of the youngest, fastest-growing cities in the world. It was originally a suburb more or less of La Paz, but has now become its own city and is bigger in both population and area than La Paz. The people filling it are mainly Aymara, displaced miners and rural migrants. And they hold an immense amount of political power because of their strategic location that makes it possible to block off the capital city. We only got to spend a few hours there, not nearly enough time to learn about all of its complexities, but it sure is beautiful as well!
And it's totally flat, being on the altiplano, so, in contrast to La Paz, where I saw 2 bikes in 3 days, there is much greater potential for bike use:
A real bike path!
Speaking of bikes, I have decided that for my month-long independent project, I am going to stay in Cochabamba and research the biking culture here. Cochabamba used to be a city of bikes, but autos really took over in the late 80s/90s. However, in the past few years, a resurgence of bike use has begun, both as transportation and as serious mountain biking. So I think there will be a lot to learn! Plus it means I get to spend November riding my bike and hanging out with other cyclists, so I'm feeling pretty pleased. Expect to learn lots more about Bolivian biking soon!
Ciao,
Lucy
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