Snapshots of Bolivia

Bolivia, named after Simón Bolívar, is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the only country in South America which has no access to the sea.

It lost its access to the sea in the War of the Pacific (1879–83) against Chile.

Since its independence, Bolivia has lost over half of its territory to neighboring countries in wars.

People speak Spanish, Quechua or Aymara, depending on the area.

La Paz is the most populated city in Bolivia with 2 million inhabitants.

It is divided in two parts: La Paz and El Alto.

El Alto

At 3600 meters high, it is the highest capital city in the world !!!

The city of La Paz was founded by the Spanish settlers on ancient Aymara village in 1548. It was founded as Nuestra Senora de La Paz (Our Lady of Peace) by Alonso de Mendoza to commemorate the "pacification" of Peru.

It is a commercial city.

The Spaniards came for the Bolivian gold found in the Choqueapu River. They took the gold mines away from Aymara people and made them work as slaves. The primarily male Spanish population soon mixed with the indigenous people, creating a largely mestizo.
La Paz' geography (in particular, altitude) reflects society: the rich live down hill where it is warmer, whereas the poor live up the hill, where it is really cold.

The legend says that the god Viracocha stepped on the earth, making a big hole with his heel. He put the Spanish inside it to protect them from the snow and the wind from the Cordillera Real.

Mercado de Hechiceria (Witches' Market).

They sell herbs and remedies as well as ingredients intended as means of manipulating and supplicating the various good and bad spirits. If you're planning a new home, you can buy a dead llama foetus to bury beneath the corner stone as a cha´lla (offering) to Pachamama.

Around La Paz : Chacaltaya, 5300m.

The Bolivian Altiplano

Valle de La Luna

El Valle de la Luna con sus formaciones geologicas , debe su aspecto a la erosión, varias veces milenarias por el viento y las lluvias.

Tiwanaku

La Cultura Tiwanaku sin duda fué una de las más importantes en la historia del mundo Andino durante unos 2500 años (1500 ac hasta el 1200 dc). Y tuvo una gran influencia en las culturas posteriores.

Las características arquitectónicas de sus templos muestran una excepcional compenetración con el cosmo, no sólo a través del conocimiento astronómico, matemático o tecnólogico, en los cuales alcanzó niveles superiores, sino en una cosmovisión que integra lo divino y lo humano en un plano tangible y útil en la vida cotidiana. El conocimiento de la hidraulica y el manejo de los pisos ecológicos se adelantó miles de años a nuestra civilization.

La Puerta Del Sol con el calendario agricola que le permitió un dominio científico de la agricultura.

Hasta hoy en diá, las técnicas del manejo de la piedra, un verdadero amasado, continuán asombrando a la ciencia moderna. Son un misterio como la propia desaparación de este gigante tecnólogico.

LOS PERDIDOS EN LA PAMPA BOLIVIANA :)