Introducing Mystery Class #2
LaPaz, Bolivia (16.500 S, 68.150 W)

Greetings from La Paz! We are students at a technical school on the outskirts of La Paz, Bolivia, South America.

Our city is the highest capital in the world with an elevation of 3,567 meters (11,700 feet) above sea level. La Paz is located in the altiplano region of Bolivia, a large flat area that makes up nearly 10% of Bolivia.

Just above La Paz, on the top of the edge of this flat area, is another city called El Alto. It is often known as La Ceja (Spanish for eyebrow), as it sits at the top of the bowl where La Paz makes its home. Homes are built into the sides of the bowl all the way down.

Map of Bolivia

Situated between two mountain ranges, the city boasts a beautiful view of Illimani, a 6,000 meter (21,000 feet) mountain peak. Murarata, another mountain peak near Illimani, has a flat top. The folkloric story says that the two mountain peaks fought and Illimani won by cutting the head off the other mountain

Illimani Mountain

Also near La Paz in Lake Titicaca, which is shown in the photos below. This lake is regarded as being the highest navigable lake in the world.

Pictures of Lake Titicaca

Outside of our school, we can see the rock formation shown below. It is called La Muela del Diablo, the Devilís Molar.

La Muela del Diablo

La Paz and El Alto have a combined population of about 1.6 million people. El Alto is said to be one of the fastest growing cities in South America. While it does offer more economic opportunities and a better standard of living than the rural villages, most of the people living in El Alto commute to La Paz for work every day.

Spanish is our official language but as many as 60% of the population are indigenous populations that prefer speaking their native language of Aymara, Quechua or Guarani. In the open-air markets of La Paz, you can hear Aymara spoken as often as Spanish as more than one half of the citizens are indigenous.

The people of Bolivia are mostly catholic (brought by the Spanish), but the indigenous populations honor an old Incan (or Tiahuanaco) based religion, with Pachamama (Mother Earth) as the main goddess.

La Paz has a cool, dry climate and never really gets hot. There is a large fluctuation in daily temperatures, from no more than 18 Centrigrade (65 F) to as low as 0 degrees C (32 F), depending on the season. You do not want to be caught without a sweater in La Paz as the temperature can swing greatly, depending on the sun. In the extremely strong sunís rays, you will feel hot but step out of the sun and you can feel cold. You can often see people with a newspaper or something blocking themselves from the sun.

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