I think being in a foreign country—where everything is new and you constantly have to step outside of your comfort zone—well, that only made my anxiety even worse. Josh, on the other hand, was not nervous at all! He was excited. Before coming to Bolivia, Josh had ridden on ski gondolas in Colorado dozens of times. Plus, he doesn’t have a fear of heights like me. After my first ride was over, I felt a huge sense of relief that it wasn't as scary as I'd thought it would be. Now, we take the Mi Teleférico several times a week, whenever we leave the village of Jupapina to travel into the city center. Now that I am more comfortable with it, I really enjoy taking the Mi Teleférico. The views over the city are truly spectacular, and I never get tired of them. Plus, it saves us a lot of travel time, which means we get more time for exploring and having fun in the city.
Absolutely! The Mi Teleférico is connected to both the culture and environment here in La Paz. For starters, the Mi Teleférico system has provided a quick and easy link between the outer regions of La Paz and the city’s metropolitan core. The Aymara people are one of the indigenous groups of people who live here in Bolivia, and hundreds of thousands of Aymara people live in the outer regions of La Paz. Now, more and more Aymara people are traveling into the city center, for both work and for leisure. The mixing of Aymara people and the non-indigenous people living in La Paz is creating a more diverse and inclusive culture here in the city. All of the cable car stations have both Spanish and Aymara names.
