La Paz, Take My Breath Away

At 3,600 meters, La Paz literally took our breath away. It's a pretty crazy city full of the hustle and bustle of daily life. But with 1.2 million inhabitants, it's not surprising that we were constantly crowded in and gasping for air. Despite its reputation as not the safest city, we found that walking around during the day allowed us to see the real La Paz and not once did we feel ill at ease. At night, though, we always took a taxi...and at $1 to get across town that didn't really break the budget. The city is a contrasting mixture of beautiful squares, stoic colonial buildings, and gritty sidewalks full of sellers of every kind. We just sat in the square and saw how the locals, "Paceños" as those from La Paz are called, enjoyed their weekends, got married, and played with their kids.





One of the most interesting things we saw constantly in Bolivia was women wearing the bowler hat. At first, when we walked into a huge crowd of women wearing these hats we thought we had hit a Magritte convention gone wild! In Bolivia, it is common to see people, particularly women, in traditional dress. What they wear and how they wear it is a clear indication of social standing and their pride about who they are. The indigenous population of Bolivia, like Peru, is made up mainly by the Quechua and Aymara ethnic groups. I read that the Aymara women are given their bowler hats at birth and hold on to them all their lives, so the hat is far more significant than just a way to ward off the sun. In fact, given the size of the hats in comparison to their heads, we doubt that it added much shade. The Aymara women who wear the bowler hat upright are married women, while single women wear their bowlers slightly tilted. Here are a few pictures of some older women with their upright bowlers.





These Quechua girls, on the other hand, wear either canvas or straw hats and unlike the Aymara, the hats really do seem to have a practical purpose. Considering how powerful the sun is in Bolivia, it seems like a wise idea to make the hat an essential part of the wardrobe!