La Paz, Bolivia (08/17/19) — Image by kenne
— John F. Kennedy
La Paz, Bolivia (08/17/19) — Image by kenne
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La Paz Taxi — Image by kenne
Cholita Women In La Paz, Bolivia (08/19/19) — Image by kenne
— from “Boarding an Overnight Bus – La Paz, Bolivia” by Marty Saunders
Illimani As Seen from La Paz, Bolivia (08/18/19)– Image by kenne
The Legend of the Illimani and Mururata
— Marcelo_lelo12
La Paz Market Street — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Bodies pass through the world exchanging gifts
inscribing one another like a mutual tattoo
forcing them to see each other in mirrors and
be known in the sights of beasts and birds
. . . bodies are the center of remorse.
— Juan Carlos Orihuela (La Paz)
We had a little time before going through airport security at the Rurrenabaque Airport.
We chose the shade tree outside, rather than waiting inside the terminal.
On the shuttle to the runway, Tom is entertaining the young women.
Walking to the plane for our 30 minute flight over the Andes to La Paz.
The Andes are the longest continental mountain range in the world.
Images by kenne
(Click Here To See More Photos.)
La Casona Hotel
Downtown La Paz
Downtown La Paz
Downtown La Paz — Images by kenne
Back In La Paz
— kenne
Our last full day in Bolivia would be going to Lake Titicaca,
so early on August 24th, we met Michael Maldonado, our Lake Titicaca guide.
The most direct route takes us through El Alto, on the Altiplano highlands.
El Alto is today one of Bolivia’s fastest-growing urban centers,
with a population of over 1,000,000. Driving through the city, construction is everywhere.
Michael Maldonado On His Phone.
Common to the architecture, the first floor is designed for commercial use.
Most of the buildings in El Alto did not exist a decade ago,
so they are not only new but reflect a modern Bolivian style.
Images by kenne (Click Here To See More Photos.)
Rurrenabaque is Located On the Beni River in Northern Bolivia.
Deboarding the plane from La Paz to Rurrenabaque where we spent the night.
Originally we were scheduled on a morning flight allowing time for us to drive 60 miles into Madidi National Park to an indigenous community where we would start our river journey on the Tuichi River. The later fight caused the drive into Madidi to be delayed to the next day.
After deboarding, we were shuttled to the nearby terminal.
Construction equipment and a billboard were signs a new much larger terminal was under construction.
Rurrenabaque Airport Terminal
Rurrenabaque Airport Terminal
Nearby cafe and restrooms is where a taxi was waiting to transport us to Rurrenabaque.
Walking Trees, Madidi National Park — Image by kenne
Like so much in the Amazon
Everything seems to be on the
Move as you move through it.
— kenne
Ty Markey checks out the landscape at the Valley of the Moon (Chick Here for more Images)
Moon Valley, located 6+ miles from downtown of La Paz is where you will find impressive formations, composed mainly of clay were created by the persistent erosion of mountains and by the area’s strong winds and rains.
— kenne
Matt McGrath with the Cholitas Wrestlers (Flying Cholitas) of El Alto (August 18, 2019) — Images by kenne
Most Cholita wrestlers are Aymara, an indigenous nation residing in the high plains of Andes Mountains. As an indigenous nation, they faced ethnic oppression from the Spanish, forced to perform menial tasks for the aristocrats. In metropolitan La Paz, many Aymara people live in El Alto near the international airport (El Alto International Airport). An impoverished and neglected community the Chola Aymara women began to demonstrate for better schools, health centers, and better security in their neighborhoods. It is this fighting spirit that has formed the essence of the Cholita Wrestling dramatization.
Like American professional wrestling, it’s all about entertainment designed to get the audience involved in the event. I have to say, Ty and Matt enjoyed the chilly night in El Alto more than Tom and me.
— kenne
Cholita Wrestling Slideshow
Pieces of La Paz, Bolivia — Photo-Artistry by kenne
— kenne
La Paz Street Corner — Image by kenne
Having once worked for the telephone company in the 1960s, poles and wires tend to stand out in my line of vision in this city of many colors and contradictions. Streets lined with wires streaming from nests atop poles are not uncommon in old South American cities, a reflection of the congested streets of people and vehicles.
I learned that most of these wires no longer are being used. It seems that when replacing a line, it’s not taken down — to much trouble.
— kenne
