Experience in La Paz - Mariel's Bolivia

How was it living in La Paz? Would you recommend it?

It's a beautiful place, small and fairly quiet. The climate varies and the altitude of the city usually affects people if it's their first time in the city, but everything else makes up for it, since you can find quite a few cultural centres, a lot of places to entertain yourself and best of all, it's a small city where you can't get lost or locate yourself. There are different areas, like anywhere else in the world and you can find areas with modern architecture and other with fairly old architecture. The unfurling of culture is incredible - it's always recommended to those who come to Bolivia to get to know La Paz first as it's so diverse.

View of La Paz

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What's the student life like in La Paz?

Student life is fairly good, although they don't have so many privileges like in other places, life is fairly cheap. A good lunch won't tend to exceed 2$. The majority of the universities have free internet and libraries which makes studying easier.

How much does it cost to live in La Paz?

Just like life all over Bolivia, it's pretty cheap. Food costs between 10 and 15$ per day, including breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner. Transport between 1 and 1. 5$ a day if you use public transport which is the best option.

Accommodation can be a bit more expensive, you will find places from 200$ per month for just one person. To go out to entertain yourself at the weekends, whether you go to a theatre or a club could come to around 10 or 20$.

Did it cost you to find accommodation? Do you have any advice?

I'm Bolivian and I've always lived in La Paz, but I have friends who come from other countries and they told me that it's not too complicated to find a place to stay. Also, there is obviously the possibility to do an exchange and stay with Christian families who are in a position to host.

What's Bolivian food like? What are some of your favourite dishes?

The food in Bolivia is perhaps the best, seeing as we have dishes of all types from each area of the country (high plateaus, valleys, tropical regions and flatlands). There are exotic and seasoned dishes to dishes which are fairly simple but which have a lot of flavour. We have the typical small dishes which people eat mid-morning and they are: Salteñas (a kind of empanada), Tucumanas (cheese fried empanadas), Trancapechos (a kind of sandwich), which are all relatively simple but delicious. Between the traditional dishes, the most common are Sajta (a kind of spicy chicken stew with potatoes), Chairo (a soup made of vegetables and beef), Fricasé (a pork dish). The majority have strong flavours and are made with chicken, pork and cow meat. It's good to mention also that the food is found everywhere for different prices, since you can eat well in a market or by going to cheap restaurants, but there are also gourmet restaurants and fusion restaurants which are more expensive but incredible.

Salteñas

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Which places would you recommend visiting in La Paz?

There are touristy places inside and outside of the city. Inside, we have temples and churches from the colonial times which are fairly popular, also more than 30 differently themed museums: historical ones, art ones, cultural ones etc., and cultural centres where you can go to enjoy a nice concert during the evening or night. Outside of the city there is Copacabana, which is on the shores of the Titicaca lake; the place is somewhat cold but it's quite pretty since there are ruins there, a bohemian vibe and also the option to visit islands which are located a bit away from the beach. On the other side is Coroico, it's the same as Copacabana at more or less 3 hours away from the city, but the climate is warm. It also has touristy places but that are in the jungle and are fairly bohemian and friendly- Closer to the city, we have Tiwanacu (cold) and Sorata (hot), where you can find museums with ruins and caverns in the mountains respectively. Lastly, and endless amount of indigenous festivals in different towns close to the city so you can get to know the Bolivian culture a bit better. It's worth mentioning that from La Paz, it's fairly simple to get to any part of the country.

Titicaca lake

And to eat in La Paz? Can you list some of your favourite places?

• Gourmet Restaurants: Gustu, El Pronto, Chez Moustache, La Suisse.
• Expensive Restaurants: Jardín de Asia, Charlie Papa, Baco y Vaca.
• Cheap Restaurants: Nostra, Hamburguesas Toro.
• Markets: Camacho Market (variety of traditional dishes).

Which places would you recommend for a night out in La Paz?

It depends on the kind of music that you like, there are too many.

• Reggae: Ttkos, Roots.
• Cumbia, Reggaeton, Electronic: Senses, Forum, Calle 21, Malegría.
• 80's Clasics: Gold, Love City.
• Rock: Equinoccio, Alive.
• Jazz: Thelonius, Matheus.

Amongst others, as well as various bars with different vibes.

Have you got any advice for future students who are thinking of going to La Paz?

You shouldn't be scared of asking for whatever you need. At first, Bolivian people can be fairly timid, but we are the most friendly and each time we are getting more used to foreign people.