Still tired from the Uyuni tour and the night bus I arrived in La Paz, the highest capital of the world. It was still very early when I arrived (4:30 am) and I was a bit reluctant to hike to the hostel at this time, lucky for me there were 2 German girls that headed in the same direction and they dropped me off at my hostel where I ended up sleeping on the couch for a bit.
La Paz would mostly act as a place to get some rest so the first day I spent most time writing and reading.
The second day Viki decided to join for a day too, but came with some bad news (for me). She found a very nice volunteering project and could therefore not hike the Huayhuash circuit with me and Anastasia. It was a pity to hear that, but I’m also happy that she found the thing she was looking for for so long.
After Viki left though I met a nice Bolivian girl called Pamela that wanted to show me around Valle de las Animas (valley of the spirits), a walk she claimed to know like the back of her hand. So I accepted her offer and we went to explore the wilderness La Paz had to offer.
When we started walking though, I started to doubt her claim though. We had to walk through a very narrow gorge and it was blocked by some massive rocks. She said that indeed the rains make the route slightly different every time, but I couldn’t stop thinking we would get lost.
Once out of the gorge though that feeling changed when she knew every little detail of the hike. Apparently she camps here regularly (it’s just 30 mins hiking from her house) and talked about the landscape and rock formations scattered along the trail. One rock in particular, called the sentinel, was located on the mountain ridge and is said to herd and take care of the souls that end up here.
Having climbed up all the way past the sentinel it was time to descent and get into a gorge again. We finished the trek soon after and since she lived very close by invited me to eat at her (parent’s) place.
By that time we already got to know each other quite well and decided to spend the next day together as well where she showed me the witches market in La Paz. According to her and other locals I met the people here still have strong ties to Pachamama (Mother Earth) and they believe that if you want to built a house (amongst other things) you should offer Pachamama something in return, a dead baby lama for instance. It is this kind of stuff, including offering candies (on which wishes are written) and other things that one could buy there.
After the market we walked around La Paz a bit more and I really got to appreciate the city. I heard some bad things about it (like being very dangerous, ugly or uninteresting), but I disagree. There is plenty to see around this place and even though I did not do much as I wanted to rest a bit I think this place is quite under appreciated.
My last day in La Paz consisted mostly of booking my bus to Lima and spending my last day with Pamela. Already with Viki I went to a very nice vegetarian restaurant and needed a reason to go there a second time, so I took Pamela there as a good conclusion of our time together in La Paz. We walked in the park afterwards but it was time for me to move onwards and split our ways. I still needed to hike the Huayhuash and she applied for a job and had her interview the next day (a successful one as she got the job). Though it was time to head our own separate ways I am grateful for the time we ended up spending together.
Lima on the other hand was not too special for me. I guess a 30+ hour bus drive takes all life out of you for a couple of days and my main task was to buy my sister a blanket that matched her chair. Additionally, I finally had my interview with Sono Motors! Though it was struggling a bit with the Skype connection sometimes I really enjoyed the conversation we had. I think it’s a company very in line with my ambitions and I would love to help them introduce the first solar powered car. I have a good feeling about the conversation so perhaps in a week or two I might know more about what’s ahead of me after coming back home from my travels. Must say I am quite excited to live in München too and live a bit closer to the mountains.
And last but not least, with Viki gone I needed a new hiking partner to do the Huayhuash circuit with and this partner came in the form of a Dutch girl named Lisa. I think she has some adventure in her blood and is very keen on doing the hike with Anastasia and I. I guess we’ll wait and see how that chapter evolves itself.