Well there is a definetly a different feel to La Paz compared with the very rural Copabana on Lake Titicaca. We were a bit adventurous in getting across the Andes and used a local Collectivo - these are actually small minibuses that hold about 15 people (though ours took a few extras) and for something like 1 pound you get a 3 hours trip, together with the locals in very close quarters. It didnt help that most of the journey was on mountain roads and we were not too confident of our driver's ability (or even whether he had passed driving test - if there is such a thing in Bolivia!) The views of La Paz as you approach are beautiful. It's the highest capital city in the world at around 13,000ft above sea level. You come in over the tops of the mountains and get a full appreciation of this huge city that nestles in a bowl completley surrounded by the Andes. As the Capital of Bolivia there are about 3 million people here, but if feels so chaotic that it could be double that - London feels like a peaceful town in comparison. The more wealthy live in the bowl itself whilst the poorer types live higher up in the surrounding mountains in a shanty town called El Alto (the heights) We travelled with Glen and Ann, who we met on the Isla del Sol and eventually managed to find a reasonable hotel, after a few attempts. What we hadn't realised when we asked the cab driver to take us there was that the hotel is directly opposite the La Paz city prison. Lets hope there are no breakouts in the next few days. In Bolivia the prison system is operated like a series of individual cities - when imprisoned, people are not allocated quarters, they quite literally have to fight for them so either the wealthiest or the strongest gets to lead the life of Reilly and god knows what happens to the rest. Each prisoner has to pay to stay in prison, working within the prison to earn the money. 'Prison' cells range from 5 star with all the mod cons to 'coffins' which house 5 people. Chris is writing to Tony Blair to get this adopted back home. You can apparently take a tour of the prison on certain days and are given a guided tour by an English speaking inmate, together with a couple of bodyguards. Carol is hoping that the recent ban on such visits is still in place! There isn't a great deal to do in La Paz in terms of great architecture, museums or world famous sights but we did keep ourselves amused wandering the streets soaking up the streetlife. One such interesting place is the witches market where locals go to get ingredients for medicine and witchcraft, including those llama foetuses again (see photos from Cusco market). Another oddity about the city is the shoeshine boys, who are everywhere and are constantly approaching you. Unlike any other place in South America, so far, they completley cover their faces with ski masks, as they ply their trade. Apparently they are so ashamed at having to support their families in this way that they want to hide their faces from any locals, in case they are recognised - however, it makes for a scary experience the first time they come up to you! The area to the east of La Paz is one of the world's prime areas for growing cocoa leaves, the base ingredient for cocaine. There are an estimated 9000 labs in this area of Bolivia hidden in the jungle area called the Jungas. There is an interesting museum in La Paz which is dedicated to the cocoa leaf and the production of cocaine. It takes about 1300kg of cocoa leaves to make 1kg of pure cocaine. Cost to produce is about US10,000. One of the things which is very popular over here to combat soroche (altitude sickness) is Mate de Cocoa which is a tea made with the cocoa leaves and gives a mild high feeling. Carol has certainly taken a fancy to it and now after going to the museum we understand why!. The other alternative is to chew the leaves themselves which again gives a mildly euphoric feeling. Many of the locals continue to do this and you can find cocoa leaves for sale in the markets. Whilst we enjoyed the change in pace, two nights in La Paz has been enough and we are now ready to move on to Sucre in the South East for a steadier look on Bolivian life