Valle de la Luna

Our first stop in Boliva was the Valley of the Moon.  It is composed of an area where erosion has worn away the majority of a mountain. Due to being composed of clay rather than rock, over the centuries the elements have created a somewhat odd work of art here, like a desert filled with stalagmites. It is similar to another zone of La Paz that is known as el Valle de las Animas (the Valley of the Souls). It is an important site of the famous holiday, Dias de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

The mountains surrounding La Paz are composed of clay.  It is interesting to note that the mineral content of the mountains varies greatly between individual mountains. As a result, the sides of the mountains are different colors, creating very striking optical illusions. A majority of them are a clear beige or light brown color. There are also areas that are almost red, with sections of dark violet.

It was so interesting to explore this place.  It really felt like we were walking around on the moon, the formations were so unique.

After our visit to Valle de la Luna we headed back to downtown La Paz for a walking tour of the city.  Our first stop was at one of the original streets of the city, to give us an idea of what La Paz would have looked like during the times of the Spanish conquistadors.  The whole town was decorated in it's national colors, red and green, in celebration of it's independence day! There were decorations everywhere, lights, streamers, balloons, flags, how lucky that we happened to be in La Paz the weekend of it's independence celebrations!

And here is a picture of my lovely hotel room and the view out my window!