Central America can easily turn one off to Latin American capitals. Smog, poverty, dirt, and chaos prevail from San Salvador to Guatemala City, with the possible exception of Havana-esque Panama City. I’m glad we gave Latin American capitals another chance in South America. Buenos Aires, Santiago, Montevideo, and now, La Paz, have all exceeded our expectations and are well worth a visit.

La Paz in two words: colorful and extreme. The giant city fans out at the base of snow-covered giant peak Illimani. Locals chomp through wads of coca leaves to get through the day while visitors sip coca tea to adjust to the dizzying altitude. Women in bowling hats and huge (I have to believe padded) skirts cling to the knot of the weaving tied around their back, containing either a baby or the day’s package of goods for sale. The narrow steep cobblestone streets around Iglesia San Francisco are lined with sidewalks full of weavings, hats, jewelery, purses and any other creation aimed at the culture-loving gringo shopper while up the hill, the Mercado de Brujeria, with its local tradition cures, hawks wares to an entirely different crowd, including my favorite the baskets of llama fetuses. Yikes.

My personal favorite thing to do in most cities is wander, and there are plenty of interesting wander-worthy places in La Paz: the cobblestone streets of Sagarnaga, the Plaza de Murtillo, the many markets, and historic Iglesia San Francisco. The city is home to many interesting museums, although we only made it to the Museo de Coca, which was interesting if not unbiased. And of course in La Paz, it’s important to try at least one of its coca creations. My favorite was the “Bolivian mojito” below: a mojito using coca leaves instead of mint leaves. Not too bad!