Small plots and hard work.

Farmers in the mountainous region south-west of La Paz have a hard life. High in the mountains (Altiplano) they scrape a living for themselves and their families.

The arable land consists of small plots and terraces scattered across the landscape. Farmers are working the soil by hand.

The people are poor and their houses are small and simple with tin roofs.

The crops are harvested; autumn is on its way.

Washed clothes are drying on the bushes alongside the road.

The countryside looks awesome, but the life is extremely hard.

More terraces.....

Some of these vegetables look like salad.

Higher up are even less possibilities for farming. Height and cold are taking their toll. 

Walking through an amazing canyon...

After visiting the "Moon" twice, we went for the "Spirits".... At least it isn't clear, the Valley of the Spirits is sometimes also referred to as the Valley of the Moon. There is a huge colourful canyon: Palca Canyon. An extremely beautiful landscape. This is also one of the best walks we took.

 We started a bit higher up the mountain (around 4000 m). In the Valley we followed the river. 

In the background Illimani (6438 m high) is lightly covered with clouds.

We are entering the Palca Canyon

(Here I "glued" two pictures together using "GIMP" and "FastStone" - "Stich"couldn't do it)

Inside the canyon

Part of the rock face looks like Bryce Canyon

At the end Illimani awaits us

Here, in red, you can see the route (from left to tight) we walked. The bus was waiting for us at the other end of the canyon.

Another Valley of the Moon....

We are welcomed to the Valley of the Moon by a woman in Bolivian traditional dress.

This is the second Valley of the Moon on our trip. It is just on the south-west outskirts of La Paz in the village of Mallasa. 

The Valley is not so large, but very different. It makes one think of Bryce Canyon (USA) and Cappadocia (Turkey). This landscape is the result of erosion. To walk around there are stairs and wooden bridges. Almost like a playground for grown ups. Even for people with a moderate fear of heights it is not scary.

Somehow this scenery reminds me of the old computer game  "Riven" (the sequel to "Myst"). Climb the stairs and walk around to search for clues to solve the mystery. Let's hope this isn't a labyrinth.

These eroded stairs were not so easy to tackle.

Even outside the park nature doesn't stop to impress..