Loopy La Paz

I've discovered a new meaning of chaos: La Paz, Bolivia's unwieldy unofficial capital city - at the world's highest altitude. Approaching the city on the bus from the main "highway" is a pretty nondescript experience - until the bus throws itself headlong into the incredibly steep canyon in which the city precariously sits.

The main part of the city - government buildings, plazas, office buildings etc - occupy the base of the long, narrow canyon, with the fancier residential neighbourhoods in the lower, southern districts. Arising steeply up the sides of the canyons to dizzying heights of over 4000 metres are unwieldly masses of DiY red-brick shoeboxes.

But La Paz's unique mountainous setting, in the shadow of the gorgeous 6000+ metre Mt Illimani, affords stunning views from just about any street a few blocks up from the flat centre district at the bottom of the canyon. And funnily enough, the red brick (there is also a lot of makeshift mud brick throw-ups) blends in almost perfectly with the surrounding mustard-coloured hillsides.

Aside from Prado, the main north-south drag in town, the streets in La Paz are arranged up the hillsides like a tangled mess of spaghetti. Some are so steep you feel like you need those gay trekking poles to help you stay vertical as you climb up. Towards the top of the canyon you really feel the altitude quickening your breath and burning your lungs.

Unfortunately, Bolivia's drivers do not take into account the windiness, narrowness or gradient of the city's streets when they hit the roads. Crossing roads here is absolutely terrifying - even more terrifying than crossing Mexico City's 10-lane boulevards. Little green men for pedestrians are absolutely non-existent here, and even when the typically choked roads are moving at a snail's pace, it is difficult to weave between cars as they simply rev their engines and barge into you to fill up the gap.

But La Paz's chaotic streets are the main attraction here. From the Inca ladies tucked inside street stalls to shield from the cold, to mini buses rolling past with their conductors yelling out their destinations as fast as race callers "SanPedroAeropuertoSopocachiElAlto", you are never short of some entertainment.

Peaceful Inca lady protest

You can buy almost anything at the markets and street stalls which line most of the centre of town, everything from batteries to bread, tissues and beauty products. The informal economy to which these street stalls contribute has played a central role in Bolivia's economic improvement over the past 20 years and reduced its dependence on its ailing silver mining industry

The city is also home to frequent demonstrations, which require police roadblocks, further exacerbating the traffic chaos. Revellers at one protest, which marched up the main street on a Friday afternoon, attracted even more attention as countless (extremely loud) firecrackers were let off. Another more mellow affair took place a few blocks up the hill where bowler hat-clad Inca ladies waited patiently outside a government building.

Cheap eateries abound in La Paz, but we skipped these in favour of restaurants, where you can get a really nice meal for a fraction of the price in most other Latin American countries. We had enormous tandoori chicken baguettes at an English pub (ok so we were only there to watch the rugby), delicious falafel and shish kebab at a Middle Eastern restaurant and hearty beef Madras at a British Indian curry house. Ok so by now, after eight months on the road we are missing the variety of foods we enjoy at home.

Apart from working out our lungs climbing the hills on a quest for the best lookout in town and gawking at some impeccably dressed indigenous ladies in shiny full skirts and delicately woven stalls, we spent a good part of our time in La Paz watching the final matches of the Copa America, Latin America's premier football tournament. We delighted in yelling "GOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLL" for as long as possible after every goal, and giggling that it was a "gay" final when Paraguay and Uruguay qualified.