Day 14: Top 14 things I love about La Paz.

And now for a more superficial post.  For those of you who are interested in knowing little things about living in La Paz, I have compiled a list, in no particular order, of some things I love about living here:

1. Tiendas.  Every block or so in a residential area (and maybe more in the city), there are little neighborhood stores.  You can't go inside, usually, but you can stand at the gate and ask for anything your heart desires.  They might have it.  Fresh bread, toothpaste, spices, milk, wine, fire crackers, tomatoes, soda, candy, dish soap, etc...  These places are tiny but they are packed full of goodness when you don't have time to drive to a grocery store.  And, every señora and her kids will know the exact price of all 1000 items available.

2.  Station attendants pump your gas for you.  For free.  You don't even have the option of doing it yourself.

3. If I buy a gift at a store, they'll gift wrap it for free!

4. Mountains.  They are everywhere!  Some are red; some are green; most you can climb (if you're brave).  Some even have snow a good part of the year!

5.  Cheap dry cleaning.  Now, I don't wear a lot of fancy pants clothes, but recently my cat peed on my good, wool jacket and Scotty bought me a shirt from India that needed washing.  I took them to the dry cleaner and paid less than $3 for both.

6.  We can drive from 11,000ft. where we live to the jungle in about 2 hours.  It's still mountainous jungle, but that means there is the benefit of it not being so crazy hot, along with obligatory jungle stuff like bugs, monkeys, fruit trees and coffee plantations!

The jungle!

7.  You can show a carpenter a picture of a piece of furniture and they'll make it!  Like our bed we saw in a Pottery Barn magazine.  And our girls' loft beds, our bedside tables, bathroom vanities, closets, etc...

Super old pic, but shows our bespoke furniture.

8.  Telefericos.  These cable cars are new within the last few years and they are awesome.  Short cuts to just about everywhere without having to be down in the crazy public transportation vehicle that is braving bad traffic and stopping every 30 seconds to pick someone up/let someone off.  It's a fantastic way for tourists to see the city from a calm cabin swinging peacefully above.

Teleferico date with Jubilee!

9.  Blue skies.  If it's not rainy season (Dec-March), there are blue skies.  Every day.  It's heaven.

Blue sky!

10.  Culture.  Now, this could be a post all by itself, but I love that there are traditional clothes, traditional dances, traditional foods that everyone knows and loves and participates in.  Hundreds and hundreds of years of tradition that does not change and makes Bolivians who they are and why they are so united, despite their individual differences.

11.  Llamas.  They're all the rage in the US, I hear.  If we drive outside the city, they are roaming all the fields and countrysides!  They are even cuter in person.

We got llamas!

12.  Healthy, Andean plants - quinoa, amaranth, maca, moringa, tarwi (Andean lupine-it's a thing), chia, flax and so much more!  They grind it, put it in cookies, make drinks from it.  It's so easy to find and it's so cheap.

13.  Which brings me to fresh produce.  I'm sure I've mentioned this in many posts before, but it deserves another salute.  Every Wednesday I drive to a market about 15 minutes away and buy 3 big, overflowing bags of fresh fruit and veggies.  It's not as cheap as it used to be, but it's still pretty darn reasonable.  I also buy all my dry goods there- raisins, nuts, fried plantain chips, fresh ginger, fresh garlic.  And eggs.  And sometimes, used clothes (cause why not?).

14.  Cheap movie theater!  We don't get out a lot/we are really picky about movies, but when we go, there's the V.I.P.  Plush recliner seats, grouped in pairs with a table in between if you want some food delivered.  And, on Wednesday, 2 of us can go for just $8!

There you go!  You're welcome.