Gran Poder

Saturday was Gran Poder, La Paz's huge annual festival / parade / religious day but actually a carnival. They have different 'fraternities' that are made up of hundreds (or thousands) of dancers and a huge band. They had a 7km route around La Paz, with a fraternity leaving every 10 minutes from 8am until 5pm - the last ones didn't finish until past midnight!

We went and watched, renting a seat in some precarious stands for a massive 4 pounds (which felt very expensive!). The route was lined with stands that appeared sometime in the night before, so there was no choice! We were transfixed for hours with thousands of people dressed up in epic costumes dancing along the route. It was impossible to leave because you could always see interesting people coming around the corner!

We made the most of our gringo status and walked down the parade route, getting to dance and take photos with the dancers! A great day!