Altitude sickness in La Paz

When we finally made it to La Paz (13,313 feet above sea level), I felt that I was at death’s door. John got me into bed and started a search through the city for Excedrin (Travel Lesson: Don’t count on finding your favorite pain meds –bring them with you!). The hotel brought an oxygen tank into the room- one of the ways to counter altitude sickness. John spent the next day watching me sleep and watching movies (wouldn’t you know that the hotel would be playing the movie about the soccer players who crashed in the Andes and had to eat each other to stay alive-not the best movie to watch when you’re nauseous).

The next day, we decided to try a bit of exploring. The city appears to be set in a huge bowl with a shantytown at the top. As you descend into the “bowl”, the entire complexion of the city changes from shanty to exclusive residences. We made a stop at the Witches Market (Mercado de las Brujas) – on Calle Linares where the stores offer things like llama fetuses and dried frogs.