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
With the smoke and with the fire, many people muffled and silent
on a street, on a corner,
in the high city, pondering the future in search of the past
— in the subtle entrails, night lightning
in the probing eye, thoughts go to agony
— from “The City” by La Paz Poet Jaime Saenz
Not knowing the purpose of the sidewalk celebration,
still I could feel its spirit among the many
presided over by Illimani—the mountain.
“Illimani is simply there—it is not something that is seen… / The mountain is a presence.” — Jaime Saenz
On The Sidewalk of La Paz, Bolivia — Images and Video by kenne
“Chola, Yes Yes!” — Photo-Artistry by kenne
For many years the indigenous Aymara and Quechua women (cholitas), who can be easily identified by their distinctive, elegant outfits, were refused entry to certain restaurants, taxis, public buses and city plazas. The women were told, “Chola, no no!” But, not any longer. In the standard dress of a heavy multi-layered skirt with petticoats, long shawl, precariously perched bowler hat, jewelry and little flat pumps they are now common in the streets of La Paz.
Since the beginning of this century, a gradual rise of grassroots movements rural peasant groups in Bolivia culminated in the 2005 election of the country’s first indigenous president, Evo Morales, who has been credited with the country’s ongoing transformation.
— kenne
Tom, Matt and Ty take in the sights near our hotel in downtown La Paz — Images by kenne
Our first day in La Paz was one of trying to adjust to the altitude and hilly streets without being run over by people and vehicles — most of the streets a narrow and bustling with activity. You learn quickly to move slowly and take your time, which is very important at this altitude (11,942 ft). We started the day with coca teas and leaves while continuing to drinks plenty of water. We were well aware that altitude sickness is not to be underestimated.
La Paz is a beautiful city with a lot of contrasts. There are markets everywhere. The following slideshow will provide a feel of what we experienced walking the street around our hotel.
— kenne
We arrived in La Paz August 17th for a couple days of site-seeing and rest
before our river adventure in the Madidi National Park in the Bolivian Amazon.
Metropolitan La Paz makes up the most populous urban area in Bolivia,
with a population of 2.3 million. (These views are from the “Killi Killi” lookout.)
21122 feet-high Mt. Illimani
Mi Teleférico La Paz–El Alto (La Paz–El Alto Cable Car),
is an aerial cable car urban transit system serving
the La Paz–El Alto metropolitan. The El Alto International Airport
is located on the higher plateau above La Paz,
which can be seen in this image. At an altitude of 13,325 feet
it is the highest international airport and the
fifth highest commercial airport in the world.
Mi Teleférico is the first system to use cable cars as the backbone of the urban transit network.
Travel companions, Matt McGrath and Ty Markey (August 18, 2019) — Images by kenne
