Living in La Paz

Trying to sum up a month of living in La Paz is tricky. Partly because my memory is a bit of a blur, but also because it’s hard to put into words how much fun it is working at the Wildrover. Now working at an Irish hostel in one of the world’s highest cities is definitely not a traditional Bolivian experience. But it is a traveller experience and the people we met made it one of the best parts of our trip.

By this point of our OE we had realised the funds were running low and we would need to find some work to stretch out the journey. We started off our time in La Paz at Adventure Brew Backpackers. It’s a really nice hostel with great facilities, an all you can eat pancake breakfast and a pretty good location next to the bus station. We were offered bar work straight away but Adventure Brew was somewhat lacking in atmosphere so we decided to check out the competition. After stopping at the Wildrover for a beer we were offered a job by the bar manager, Paul. The deal was working four 8-hour shifts a week and in return we would get a free bed (in a pretty gross 8 bed staff dorm), a free meal each day, and a handsome discount off our tab at the end of the three week working period.

I’ve broken up our La Paz experience into three categories: Sobriety, Partying and Other.

A) Sober Activities
When we first arrived in La Paz, we had several days of getting our bearings and exploring the city. I decided to take a free tour with Red Cap Walking Tours. The tour begins at Plaza San Pedro where you have a full view of the comings and goings at San Pedro Prison. I had read Marching Powder at the beginning of our trip and the place fascinates me – it’s almost impossible to visit now so I had to settle for an exterior view. The tour takes you to various markets, including the Witches Market where dried llama foetuses are displayed at street stalls. I highly recommend Red Cap Walking Tours as it provides a good introduction to the city, shows you where to get the best freshly squeezed juices in town, but also gives an insight to the customs, traditions and history of Bolivia – and if you get Marius as your tour guide then you’re guaranteed to have a good time!

B) Party Activities
Partying was our number one activity in La Paz and we’re pretty good at it I must say. My daily routine turned into waking up around 2pm or 3pm, spending the afternoon watching the America’s Cup, and then partying until at least 6am in the morning. Each night consisted of new friends, lots of drinks, this song and a couple of games of pool at the Wildrover before heading to another bar around 1am (either Traffic, The Dubliner, Mongo’s or Mythology depending on the day of the week).

C) Other
Sometimes you do manage to get out of the hostel and do outdoor activities, such as attending the Bolivia vs Ecuador World Cup Qualifier at the stadium in La Paz. I’m no football fan, but seeing a match in South America was on my bucket list because of their reputation for a crazy, chaotic atmosphere. However this game turned out to be rather subdued, with a half filled stadium and ban on booze. But things did liven up when Bolivia scored a goal in the first few minutes of the second half. The other thing about La Paz is that it has some fantastic restaurants, partly due to the large expat population. We had an amazing meal at The Dubliner with our Irish mates, Liam and Carla, where we chowed down on massive steaks and smokey ribs. We also dined at the French restaurant Rendezvous with our other Irish mates, Paul and Kate, where we sampled foie gras, calamari, lamb while sipping wine beside the fire. Yep, living the food dream! And with a handy “Wildrover Staff” wristband we were treated to some nice discounts at most restaurants in town.

But the best part of La Paz was the people we met! The Wildrover bar crew – Jack the lad, Paul, Kate, Boston, Simon, Matt, Kieran, Lydia, Alex, Lisa, Aimee, Chelsea, Yosef, Luis – and of course the Wildrover staff – Edith, Ben, Silvia, Nelly, Litzy, Mariana, Sergio, Julio, Yanira. And special mention to those who never seemed to leave – Julio, Daniel, and I’ll pop Owen in there too. Being based in La Paz for so long was great as we managed to catch up with people we had met up north, including Liam and Carla, and our NZ mates Christine and Simon. There’s nothing like spending several days partying with new friends only to have them disappear and then return a few days later with tales from the Amazon or Salt Flats and to carry on the festivities.

But all good things must come to an end. And after a month of this party routine my body was starting to freak out and the All Blacks were calling Ryan’s name to Argentina so we decided to hit the road again. I don’t know if I’ll return to La Paz again to work but I would take a week of partying at the Wildrover any day.