Don’t worry, we were nowhere near the volcanic eruptions in Chile. We could have been, if we had stuck with an earlier plan and stayed a few more days in the south to visit the Chilean Lake District; these volcanoes are in that area. Either an opportunity missed or a danger avoided, or both.
We’re in La Paz now, after hopping back from Puerto Montt to a Santiago hostel and then hopping on a plane north this morning. La Paz being the main city of Bolivia, although not the capital city as trivia buffs will eagerly inform you that is Sucre.
La Paz is bonkers. The airport is at 4,000m on the altiplano, literally “high plain” and I couldn’t see any sign of the city at all as we flew in to land over the empty plains with the snowy Andes beside us. That’s because La Paz itself fills a huge canyon that cuts into the altiplano; from our taxi a few minutes later we could see the heart of the city way below us at “only” 3,500m. This canyon would be a splendid natural wonder anywhere in the world, but here it is carpeted and wallpapered with terracotta coloured houses and the occasional stiff white church.
The last time we stayed at 3,500m was in Tibet and altitude sickness followed. I was out of breath walking up the stairs to our hostel room, so I’m not expecting much fun out of tonight.
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