La Paz, Bolivia

I spent a night in Puno, which is the town on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca and then completed my journey to La Paz, Bolivia, one of the highest cities in the world and the capital of Bolivia. It really is amazing that they choose to build a city here as it is incredibly impractical. It sits in a bowl surrounded by the antiplano with elevations from 3000 to 4100 meters. I spent a just a day and a half here, and while it was fun to see, La Paz wasn't my favorite spot in South America. It is a very busy, chaotic city, with traffic that makes NYC seem mellow.

I went to the Coca Museum and then tried to find the Museum of Musical Instruments. While looking for the museum, which was a bit away from the touristy area, I had a somewhat disturbing experience. Two guys were working together- one posing as a tourist from Ecuador and the as a police officer - the first one distracted me by asking for help in a very persistent way, and the second one acted like he was trying to help me find the museum. The guy posing as a police officer showed us his badge and asked for copies of both of our passports. I had all my valuables with me because I had already checked out my my hostel but lied and said that I didn't have it with me. The "police officer" demanded we go with him to the police station since I didn't have my passport. He wasn't in uniform but was dressed up and kept showing me his badge. In retrospect, the scam is obvious, but at the time I was caught off guard enough to contemplate going with him in order to avoid the potential ramifications of refusing to cooperate with a police officer. Fortunately I trusted my instincts and told him I was going back to my hostel to get my passport. He just walked away with the other guy. I have since heard that this is a major problem in Bolivia.

That night I took a bus to Uyuni to see the Salt Flats.