Through the snow into La Paz
The grey and foreboding approach to La Paz.Before reaching La Paz the ride took us through the poverty plagued sprawl of El Alto located on the northern edge of the canyon rim, this is now Latin Americas fastest growing city... and probably has more squashed dogs per mile of road than anywhere in the world.
After the grim ride in, suddenly the road dropped away to reveal the canyon of the Rio Choqueyapu. This 5km wide bowl is filled brim to brim with the city of La Paz. Every tiny space is filled, including houses glued to the sides of towering pinnacles on the canyon sides.
Set at an altitude of 3660m, with a population of only 1.5m La Paz is a stunning sight. Cycling into this with the backdrop of Illimani made New York and Hong Kong look dull in comparison.
