Catching a collectivo to Coroico then another to La Paz I left behind the humid jungle conditions and arrived in La Paz in the early evening in the rain - not an auspicious start. The hostel was OK and as Jen had said the beds were comfy but it was cold at night and not a particularly socialable hostel.

I headed off for the obilgatory walking tour of downtown La Paz which was another good tour taking in the San Pedro prison (Location for the book Marching Powder) where you pay to enter and rent a cell - with your family!, the witches market, Parilament buildings, San Francisco plaza and back to a bar for political discussions away from prying ears who might not like critisism of Evo Morales (akin in stupid saying to George Bush).

In the afternoon I strolled around and did more of this the next day finding a street festival with good stalls and visiting to contemporary art museum in an Art Deco building. The highlight of my trip to La Paz was the extended afternoon walking tour taking in the cemetery, trip on the red cable car to El Alto, walking through the flea market to see a shaman and then to the Cholita wresting. On the walking tour were 5 of the people I have talked to on the previous days walking tour as well as a couple who I had kept bumping into in Chile so it was a good crowd. You could get a fortune reading from the shaman using coca leaves so I decided to invest a £1 in this to check if I would get a job quickly when I got home - yes and it would be a good one, if I should go on a Galapagos cruise - yes again and if my health would be good in times to come - for a long time yes but then I may have a small problem but nothing too much!

Then off to the wresting - watching firstly traditionally dressed women throw each other around and generally play dirty to win each bout. Next came the men - in two teams and two. Firstly the flies against two grown men then, at first, two men (Mr Super Clean and Kiss) versus a zombie - which became two zombies when another burst from under the stage! All the fights were very staged and cheesy but some of the throws seemed very violent. All great fun and a good end to my stay in La Paz.

I was pleased I was leaving in the morning - some people love La Paz but I didn't feel safe out alone after dark and found the city just to chaotic and dirty. Perhaps if I had been in a different hostel or with people it would have been a different experience.