Downtown La Paz, Bolivia (August 2019) — Image by kenne
High in the Andes
Sites can take your breath away
Where the air is thin.
— kenne
Archive for the ‘La Paz’ Tag
Downtown La Paz Leave a comment
Great Blue Heron Leave a comment
Great Blue Herons In Madidi National Park, Bolivia (08/23/19) — Images by kenne
Madidi is a national park in the upper Amazon river basin in Bolivia. Established in 1995, it has an area of 18,958 square kilometers, and, along with the nearby protected (though not necessarily contiguous) areas Manuripi-Heath, Apolobamba, and (across the border in Peru) the Manu Biosphere Reserve, Madidi is part of one of the largest protected areas in the world.
Ranging from the glacier-covered peaks of the high Andes Mountains to the tropical rainforests of the Tuichi River, Madidi and its neighbors are recognized as one of the planet’s most biologically diverse regions. In particular, Madidi protects parts of the Bolivian Yungas and Bolivian montane dry forests ecoregions.
Access to the Madidi National Park by flying from La Pez over the Andes to Rurrenabaque. We drove muddy jungle roads to our guide’s Tacana Community, where we boarded balsa wood rafts on the Tuichi River.
— kenne
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Bolivian Cholita Women Leave a comment
Cholita Women In La Paz, Bolivia (08/19/19) — Image by kenne
City of the full moon & speckled dove, of breathlessness,
thin air spiked with smog & the clay-colored fingers
of La Cordillera Real cutting a serrated skyline
behind grey buildings. City of black-haired women,
stout cholas sharpening their eyes under
the curled brim of a bowler hat
tipped to one side, their shoulders swimming in shawls,
hips wobbling the hem of a bell skirt. City
of open-air markets where chilies spill from burlap sacks
wrapped around the vendors like colors in a palette
running from rust to buttercup yellow.
— from “Boarding an Overnight Bus – La Paz, Bolivia” by Marty Saunders
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La Paz, Bolivia Buildings Leave a comment
La Paz Buildings (08/17/19) — Image by kenne
Bolivia
Perhaps instead of expecting things
Expecting everything to end the way you think,
It is better to leave them to the unknown.
To leave them empty so as you travel,
As you evolve…
And the pages will follow.
— Andrea
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Illimani As Seen from La Paz 2 comments
Illimani As Seen from La Paz, Bolivia (08/18/19)– Image by kenne
The Legend of the Illimani and Mururata
The Legend of the Illimani and Mururata,
a story of mountains in which,
takes place in the middle of the Andes,
in a country divided by mountains,
Bolivia.
The Legend goes as follows,
long ago,
there were four lords watching over the Andes.
Huayna Potosi, Lord of stone
Illampu, Lord of light
Mururata, Lord of air
and lastly,
Illimani, lord of water.
They were ruled by the main god,
Viracocha,
who favored Illimani the most.
Mururata envied that Illimani was favored,
so much so,
that he started a brawl between him and Illimani,
that went on for years,
until Illimani had won.
As punishment to Mururata,
for causing too much trouble,
he was beheaded,
and his peak,
was left in the Andean plains.
If you look up,
La Paz, Bolivia,
you will come to find a beautiful mountain,
watching over the city,
that is Illimani.
— Marcelo_lelo12
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La Paz Market Street Leave a comment
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)
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Return Flight To La Paz — Photo Essay Leave a comment
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.)
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Back In La Paz 1 comment
La Casona Hotel
Downtown La Paz
Downtown La Paz
Downtown La Paz — Images by kenne
Back In La Paz
An early morning
Streets still damp from a shower
In downtown La Paz.
Our stay will be short
Quick trip to Titicaca
Before flying home.
— kenne
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El Alto, Bolivia Leave a comment
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.)
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Rurrenabaque, Gateway to Madidi National Park 2 comments
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.
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Madidi Jungle Walking Trees Leave a comment
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
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Valley Of The Moon, La Paz, Bolivia 2 comments
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
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Cholitas Wrestling 4 comments
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
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Pieces of La Paz 3 comments
Pieces of La Paz, Bolivia — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Pieces of La Paz
Found walking the market streets
Forever with me.
— kenne
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Street Wires Of La Paz 3 comments
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
