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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



GOING TO MARKET: LA PAZ 



forgot the coming of the Spaniards, for 

 the men and women whom I met on the 

 road belonged to a time long past. Speak- 

 ing a tongue even more ancient than the 

 Quichua of the Incas, these people were 

 little changed from their ancestors who 

 lived in Aymara-land. In those olden 

 days, when the habitation in the canyon 

 was known as Chuquiapu, just such way- 

 farers as these urged their llamas down 

 the steep hill at dawn, hoping to be the 

 first of the country folk to reach the vil- 

 lage market. 



Too soon came the day for our de- 



parture. Regretfully we rode up to the 

 Alto, where we stood for a time bidding 

 "farewell" to the canyon. Yet I find I 

 have never lost sight of it. 



Up here in our progressive America, 

 where we rush and strive from morning 

 till night, where all of the cities are alike r 

 and every man, woman, and child dresses 

 like every other, I think happily of "Our 

 Lady of the Peace." When the day is 

 especially colorless I recall with delight 

 that far-off canyon, where lies the quaint 

 city of "high lights," kaleidoscopic La 

 Paz. 



