It was time to leave the beauty of Lake Titicaca, but I was heading to somewhere else I was excited to go to. La Paz.

It was going to be a nice 3.5 hour ride and I got some great last glimpses of the lake. The roads were nice and windy (winding windy) and no wind and I was making good time and then suddenly I had to come to a stop. The road ended at a stretch of lake a couple of hundred metres wide. I thought I had taken a wrong turn somewhere and missed a bridge? But no. No bridge. It was a ferry crossing. I was directed further along the shore and onto a waiting ferry. There were heaps of them and all the same. Riding onto the ferry was fine but I had no idea how I was going to turn the bike around to ride off. But after a short trip the guy helped me balance my bike as I backed it off, I paid him the 20Bs ferry cost and I was on my way. Goodbye Titicaca.

 As I continued on I was thinking about the lady losing her cat. I was sitting on about 90kph when suddenly a bird came out of nowhere and deflected off my helmet into my shoulder. I was okay but it gave me quite a fright though. I’m not sure how the bird ended up. Probably the same odds of survival as the cat. Then a few minutes later I came around another bend and there were unmarked roadworks and my front wheel went in a rut and started wobbling and I lost control of the bike. My first reaction was to put my foot down and rebalance the bike but at 80kph that was a stupid thing to do. As soon as my boot made contact with the road it kicked backwards which twisted my body sideways on the bike. I somehow managed to keep hold of the bike and it managed to stay upright until I was able to stop. I ended up with a sore back and a really sore toe. My boots had done their job. My back was fine next day but my toe is a bit bruised but is getting better. Hopefully I’ll never do that again. I headed off again and then yet another thing happened.

I was on a nice section of road and noticed a speed camera in a car up behind a tree. I had no idea what the speed limit is in Bolivia and everywhere else I have been, no one obeyed it anyway. I was thankful to see that the cops didn’t come after me. Until 5kms later I had to stop at a police checkpoint and they made me get off the bike and go into their office. They told me I was doing 97kph in an 80kph zone. I thought I was doing 98 but I wasn’t going to argue. The showed me a WhatsApp photo of the speed camera with me in the background. Nice photo. The discussion was in Spanish and the fine was 200Bs. They showed me the rule book and said I would have to pay. Fair enough I was speeding. That’s about $45AUD in real money.

 I said I would pay but only if I got a receipt. He showed me a full receipt book and said he couldn’t give me a receipt as he didn’t have any left. We paused for a while and then I said I would pay as long as I can have a photo of him accepting the fine money. A brief discussion went on with his colleagues and then he asked if I would accept a 50Bs fine without a receipt or a photo? With my rate of exchange that worked out at about eight Aussie dollars and I thought that was fair as I was speeding and I did get caught. I paid up and they all wished me a safe trip. Seems like a needed a bit of wishing after the morning that I had had.

And then I was in La Paz. I had no idea what to expect as I didn’t know anything about it. There was a lookout sign, so I pulled over and walked up to it and I was amazed. What a beautiful city. I had arrived at a highpoint, and I had to wind my way down to my accommodation which was a 20 minute ride. Lots of steep roads and tight bends but it was fine. I arrived at Villa Florita where I had booked 3 nights for the princely sum of $25AUD a night. I also ended up paying an extra $5 a night for parking my bike in a carport outside my front door. There was a slight delay checking in as it was an entire apartment and so no staff and I had to wait for the owners dad to arrive to let me in. Fortunately, there was a restaurant next door so I was able to sit and have a beer while I waited.

The owner’s dad was lovely, as was his son who I met a few days later. The apartment belonged to his dad who had passed away, and they were 3 generations of architects. I was in the loft or studio apartment which was two levels and had these amazing views. My place is the orange roof with the skylights in both photos. It was situated just below the city lookout. I ended up staying 8 nights in total, not because it was so nice but because I finally got sick and spent a couple of those days on the toilet. I was so glad I had my own space. I think I got some bad cheese from the supermarket. Serve myself right for cooking my own meal of cheese on dry biscuits and not eating in the street as usual.

There was also a lot to do in La Paz besides looking at this view outside my window. The Canadian guy was still in town, so I caught up with him and we did the Bolivian Death Rode together. I’ll do a separate blog about that. Another highlight was the Telefericos. They were awesome. I had heard about them but forgot. I spent about three hours on them in the afternoon then got off for beer and pizza at the Witches Market and then back on again for another hour at night. I think there are 8 different lines and I did 7 of them. But before I rave on more about them I should just explain something else I didn’t know.

LaPaz is the highest capital city in the world at 3650m and has less than a million people. It’s in a valley which it has out grown and has built up on the surrounding hills and has spilled over into a neighbouring valley and city called El Alto which wasn’t really a city before, but now has a population of over one million people and is at 4100m. To me it all just looks like one huge city. The president lives in La Paz and the parliament is here, but another city called Sucre which is the Constitutional Capital and where the Supreme Court is, says that it is the real capital. It’s only 2800m and has 300,000 people. And Cochabamba thinks they are the most important city. But Santa Cruz has nearly two million people and is the largest city in Bolivia. Luckily we have Canberra.

So back to the Telefericos. They are a network of cable cars that crisscross the city and take people up the steep hills to most parts of the city and the neighbouring city of El alto. I had no idea at this stage there were actually two different cities. I snapped a pic of a Jesus statue and its apparently in El Alto. And also a weird looking cemetery.The cable cars cost 45 aussie cents a ride and you pay for each line separately. I think you get a better price if you are local and need to change lines.

The first line/station was finished in 2014 and was built by Doppelmayr who are a Swiss-Austrian cable car company. They worked in with the Bolivian government and local contractors. They are slowly extending it’s reach around the two cities. The whole system is pretty flash. More than 300,000 people use the system each day. I can’t imagine how bad the roads would be without it. It doesn’t make a profit but saves the government millions on roads and traffic congestion. It’s also all electric and so it cuts down on vehicle pollution. I’m a fan.

La Paz means peace in Spanish and was named when the conquistadors (which sounds much nicer than invaders) took control of the quiet city without having to fight the Incas to get it. This was almost 500 years ago. While it is a peaceful city there were lots of protests going on while I was there. One day the trucks blocked off all the roads. Another day the medical profession turned out in droves to get more hospital funding. There’s lots of singing and fireworks going off. I was watching one of the soldiers tapping on a barricade in tune to the chants of the protesters. I think they suggested that they all go home but they didn’t want to, so several black motorbikes appeared and then we all got tear gassed.

Fortunately I had been tear gassed before, in Israel, and unlike that time, I knew what it was and left the scene quicky with only minor irritation. Everyone else decided to move along as well. No need for the big riot truck that I saw parked a couple of blocks away. There were lots of other groups I saw wandering around but no idea why. Singing and playing instruments.

There were lots of great old buildings in various stages of disrepair. There was restoration work going on with some badly need new footpaths going in. I came across one street where you go if you need a tradie. You just rock up, have a chat, negotiate a price and take one home with you. This was another nice moment where my Spanish was just good enough to have a chat with a few old tradies. A 5 minute conversation took 20 minutes but I think we all enjoyed it.

Because the exchange rate was so good I ate pretty well. At least once a day. I was cooking my own eggs for breakfast in my apartment for a few days but then found this lovely lady selling fried eggs in a bun for a dollar. So I went there every day. She was supposed to be in the photo but ducked down while I wasn’t looking. She was very patient with my Spanish and we had some great chats. She gave me her WhatsApp if I wanted to contact her. The people in Bolivia are so lovely.

At the moment there is a huge problem with fuel. Due to various factors like blockades and lack of foreign currency there is basically no diesel available in the country and only random deliveries of petrol. If a station get fuel people queue up all night to get some. I found a short queue one day and rushed home and got my bike but after only a half hour wait, I was told I was not allowed to buy it as I was a foreigner. Middle photo below. I was so close. They were very apologetic and told me to come back that night after 5:00pm and que at a particular pump and I can get some. That night after two hours I got to the pump, and it was quite a hassle. I was sitting behind the taxi in the photo below.

They were willing to sell me fuel but It all had to go through computers and WhatsApp calls because my licence plate didn’t register with the computer. Then they needed my passport and another call to get permission and a code. Meanwhile the cars are still queued up behind me. I felt terrible but I needed the fuel. I finally got it and had to pay the tourist rate which I think was double the local subsidised rate of 50 cents a litre. I was very thankful for their patience and persistence for my 6 litres of fuel. There are cameras and police/army at all the fuel stations controlling things.

Next day I had to get the apartment owner to drive me around town to find a plastic container I could put fuel in if I could find some. I was so excited when I finally got one. I had seen a petrol station half an hour away with people queuing with containers. I went there several times over a couple of days and the line never seemed to be moving. Just getting longer. I never saw a container being filled. And everyone had a piece of paper with a copy of their documentation and approval to buy fuel. I had no chance.

So after 8 days and various attempts and connections I realised I wasn’t going to be able to buy any fuel in La Paz so I decided to head east towards Brazil via Santa Cruz. I had to take the long route because the city of Cochabamba was totally blockaded and no one was getting passed, so I took the northern route which was 500 kilometres longer and hoped that it would be like they said and the petrol stations in the country areas didn’t have computers or police and they would sell me fuel. They were wrong.

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