At La Paz, Bolivia … “World’s Highest Capital City”
Aerosur Flight 5L 301 from Sao Paulo to La Paz via Santa Cruz De La Sierra — Bolivia’s commercial center and cosmopolitan hub — taxied down the runway at El Alto International Airport, La Paz, Bolivia. Located 4,058 meters above sea level, it is the “World’s Highest International Airport”.
The satellite city of El Alto—where the airport is based— is spread over a high, central South American tableland — called “Altiplano”— in the upper reaches of the city of La Paz.
La Paz: The city that touches the sky…
Built into a void surrounded by the high Altiplano, La Paz grows and climbs on the hills, resulting in varying elevations above sea level — from 4,058 meters in El Alto to 3,100 meters in the lowest residential area.
At an average elevation of 3,579 meters above sea level, La Paz is the “World’s Highest Administrative Capital”. Overlooking the city is the towering triple-peaked Illimani (the Aymara word for “golden eagle”), a sub-range of the Andes Mountains in western Bolivia, perpetually covered in snow and perceptibly majestic.
The ancient city of La Paz was founded in 1548 by Spanish settlers on the preexisting site of Choqueyapu — an ancient Aymara village. It was founded as Nuestra Senora de La Paz — “Our Lady of Peace” — by Alonso de Mendoza, and commissioned by Pedro de la Gasca.
The Spaniards had come for the Bolivian gold to be found in the Choqueyapu River that runs through present-day La Paz. The Spaniards took the gold mines away from the Aymara people and made them their slaves. The primarily male Spanish population soon mixed with the natives, creating a largely mixed “mestizo” population.
In 1549, the Plaza Murillo — designed by Juan Gutierrez as part of an urban plan — was selected as the site for the city’s cathedral, elite homes, and government buildings.
Plaza Murillo, in keeping with the “Code of the Indies” — regulations on Spanish Colonial Cities from Spain — and originally called Plaza de Armas, was named after General Murillo, one of the heroes of the Bolivian independence movement.
By the sixteenth century, the gold had diminished, but the city’s location between Potosi — the primary silver mining town — and Lima grew in importance, as La Paz became the key transshipment point on the trade route —the most flourishing town in the Altiplano region of the Bolivian Andes, though not as wealthy as Potosi.
By the late eighteenth century, La Paz had emerged as the largest city of Upper Peru (the erstwhile name for Bolivia), becoming a center for settlement and agricultural production — the heavily populated Altiplano hinterland above La Paz fed its growth.
Many large-estate landholders — the “haciendados” — lived in La Paz, while maintaining a small community of the natives to work on their haciendas (landed estates).
Bolivia gained independence in 1825 and Simon Bolivar became the first president of the free Republic. The country was divided into 5 departments—La Paz, Cochabamba, Potosí, Charkas, and Santa Cruz de la Sierra. La Paz emerged as the capital of the Intendencia.
This early beginning — as home to the rich landlords of the haciendas — is evident in the architectural style of the city even today — houses located close to the central plazas and offices of the city are the finest examples of Old Spanish Colonial Architecture. A walk down the narrow, cobble-stoned Jaen Street would be a journey back in time to those colonial days.
But before Yathumagi would head out elsewhere, she had lined up a couple of interesting places to visit in current day La Paz. She particularly loved the Mirador Laikakota — a lookout offering panoramic views of La Paz, and a great place to photograph the triple-peaked Illimani.
She also had a unique shopping experience, visiting the Mercado de Hechicería — the Witches Market — also called Mercado de las Brujas, where one could buy magical herbs and charms for any occasion, as well as those for love, money, or health! It was a marketplace like none she had ever been to.
Copacabana: Settlement along Lake Titicaca, Bolivia…
Copacabana is a holy city on the shores of Lake Titicaca in northwestern Bolivia, flanked by the white-painted Basilica of the Virgin on the left, and Calvary Hill on the right.
Once sacred to the Incas, Copacabana is now home to the revered statue of La Virgen de la Candelaria, the patron saint of Bolivia and the “Dark Virgin of the Lake”.
Copacabana Beach at Rio De Janeiro is named after this sacred city by grateful Brazilian fishermen who believed it was the Virgin of Copacabana who had saved them from a storm at sea. Copacabana is home to several pre-Incan sacred sites and the best base in Bolivia for exploring Lake Titicaca.
A couple of rental cars occupied by Yathumagi and her friends and instructors from the deep-sea diving institute, rolled out of La Paz, heading for Copacabana — a two-and-a-half hour, 158-kilometre drive…
To be continued…
