La Paz, Bolivia

A fabulous breakfast again, really like this Hostal and the family that run it. Ali and I are on a mission today to look at companies that offer mountain biking down the infamous Death road. This takes time as there are around 20 companies, we narrow down to 2 and finally book with Xtreme downhill for Thursday. They have good bikes, a safe record and we have met a couple of people who have used them with positive feedback. I also visit the offices of Boliviahop, to look at onward travel. Boliviahop offer a Hostal pick up, flexible hop on and hop off passes with key stops, so whilst they are a little more expensive they take the hassle out of the experience and I think I will feel safer. We stop by the Witches’ market locally known as El Mercado de las Brujas. The people of La Paz are very superstitious and will often consult a witch doctor on key life events such as a new home. The witch will create a personal offering, perhaps a small llama or dried llama foetus but it will always include sugar as a gift for Pacamama (Mother Earth). Rumour has it that larger construction projects such as hotels or office buildings will hire a witch doctor, but the sacrifice needs to be bigger. They will search for a homeless person (as they have no family to miss them) as part of the offering and drug them before burying in the construction’s foundations. This rumour has been supported by the discovery of bodies in ritual positions but I am not sure how common it would be now. Dinner tonight with the girls was amazing, an appetiser of local fruit including; custard apple, tuna and a weird fruit that tasted like a bean. For mains I had pork chop with pineapple salsa and mashed purple potatoes washed down with Malbec. The people of La Paz are right, the potatoes are delicious!

La Paz, Bolivia

Walking tour this morning, and after a great breakfast (including eggs!) we set off for San Pedro Plaza. The red cap walking tours come well recommended and we have two guides with us. The plaza sits in front of San Pedro prison which was built for 400 inmates but houses 2500 people with families. Whilst the inmates are sentenced to time in there, they have to rent their cells and these can be of varying quality. It is like a mini city in there with sections for different crimes, people also earn money however they can including being taxis bringing people to the gate for visitors as an example. The reputation was further enhanced when a foreign inmate started offering prison tours to tourists. There are stories of tourists being raped, left in a section or just needing to buy their way out. They are now banned but our guide was clear to never take a prison tour! Our next stop is a massive street market on Gonzales street. Locals prefer to build a relationship with their preferred vendor that they then call their Casera, in return for this loyalty their Casera will give them the ‘Yapa’. This is a little extra, a couple of satsumas or a mango for free. I was surprised that the La Paz region has over 400 types of potato, they were even selling what looked like white pebbles but were in fact dehydrated potatoes that will last 30 years. We also learned a story behind the Cholita’s bowler hats. They were very fashionable with British people in the 1920s and a importer ordered a shipment from Italy. When they arrived they were too small but they enterprisingly sold it to a Cholita as the latest fashion. It has then gone on to become a tradition amongst Bolivian women. They wear it straight on if they are married and at an angle if they are single, widowed or divorced. The puffy skirt is also traditional with up to 6 layers underneath emphasising big hips as an attractive quality. The length and weight varies on the climate in each Bolivian region. La Paz is longer due to the cold and it needs to cover the ‘tusu’ (calf). The calf is special, and a good strong calf flashed in a dance can secure a partner. There is a parade of Cholitas and traditional dancers going down the street which is colourful and exciting, apparently this parade is practice for the big one next weekend. We head over to the colonial Spanish side next, when they reigned they split the city so they didn’t have to mix with the indigenous people. The grand main plaza is here, together with the cathedral and presidential palace on its surround. The guides share a few stories about previous rule and the current president and his blunders which are amusing. This afternoon we are trying to get to the Cholita wrestling and the first part involves taking the Teleférico to El Alto. The president is passionate about the Teleférico system linking areas of La Paz but they are still under-utilised. As tourists it is brilliant as it takes you up high, over the cemetery and finishes with a birds eye view of La Paz. It also lands us in an area called El Alto which today houses the largest flea market (I buy a tablecloth…) We find the wrestling which turns out to be funny and strange in equal measures. It started to protest against domestic violence and is now s huge tourist success. A Cholita wrestling WWF style is definitely laugh out loud material, go girl power. We make our way back as the sunsets and see fireworks as we descend on the Teleférico. Tonight we have Pizza but we manage to get a table that faces the parades. I can’t believe it is still going on, all the marching bands are playing the same song and the dances are similar. It is magical and lots of fun, they are now pretty drunk as well so the all male sections in particular are slightly out of sync with their rattles and drums. They finish about 10pm, it’s been an exciting day in La Paz.

La Paz, Bolivia

I have it in my head that I am not going to like La Paz. You read about people being robbed, it’s unsafe and the last time I was here I suffered terribly with the altitude. On a positive, all the girls I met in San Pedro are there and Tricia is sharing a taxi from the hostel to the airport as we are on the same flight. At the airport I run into a couple of other guys I have met on in Sucre so we have a good natter on the flight. Tricia and I share a taxi down from the airport, the driver kindly stopping so we can photograph the panoramic views. There are 2million people living in La Paz and you can see most of their houses spread out in a bowl in front of you, an amazing sight. Ali and I are sharing a room here, and once I have found the hostel I dump my stuff to meet her and Eva at a local tea shop. I love seeing all the Cholitas in their traditional outfits selling produce or running down the road with a bundle tied to their back. We have a chilled afternoon drinking tea before Shivani and Nicole arrive from their tour of the jungle. They are filthy but it doesn’t seem to phase them, they are hungry so we head out for a nice curry earlyish before crashing for the night.

Sucre, Bolivia

Last day of Spanish today, and I am glad I did another two weeks but I am ready to move on. I have improved, it is still not coming very easily but as long as I am improving that is a good result to help me travel. I meet Tom after lunch, who I met first at the Dinosaur park and who I bumped into again on Wednesday. We were looking for sites to visit and I was keen to see the Santa Clara convent. It was just opening as we arrived outside the fortress sized white walls. The nun showed us first into a room filled with old artefacts and religious art. The convent is 17th century and the art dates from that time. She then kindly took us into the convent walls where we could view the frescos painted around the courtyard. The central courtyard itself was abundant with flowers including poinsettia trees and geranium hedges. It was a very peaceful and quiet spot despite being in the centre of Sucre. A younger lad then showed us a secret passage way with more art that led to the back of the chapel. In the chapel is a beautiful wind organ that is bellows driven. It is the oldest and first made in Sucre. The turquoise painted doors open to reveal the organ (think it was 16th Century) which is still functional and played four times a year. Lovely place to visit and we enjoyed a coffee in the square afterwards. Ali is catching an overnight bus to La Paz tonight so brings her stuff to mine pre leaving at 8pm. I on the other hand am booked on the plane tomorrow morning with Tricia (£33 to fly vs £16 for a 11hour bus!). Tricia and I get to go to the Florin Cafe one last time, and the BBQ ribs are a worthy last night dinner.