Livin' big city life in La Paz! We arrived here a little over a week ago and have since been enjoying the Bolivian lifestyle in the big city. La Paz is nowhere near the size of Lima, but it's still pretty massive. Skyscrapers, tons of people, cars still trying to run us over (possibly more so than in Peru) and the world's largest urban gondola system, which just opened last year. This system connects different parts of the city and is attempting to remediate the major traffic issue; with 5 lines to be built in total, they say Phase 1 is already helping with traffic. One thing I like about La Paz is the view. The city is built in a basin, with houses stretching all the way up the sides of the mountains, so when you first catch sight of the immensity of the city it is really quite awe inspiring. At night the sky is lit up with thousands of street lights, or urban stars if you will, and from the top floor of a tall building the city's beauty rivals that of San Francisco.
On our second day here we took the free walking tour of the city. They took us to all the major markets, including the 44 block produce market that occurs on weekends and the Witches Market, where one can buy all the potions and baby llama fetuses they want. Yes, that's right, baby llama fetuses. By the hundreds. Just hanging from the stalls of various vendors. They use these in ceremonies every time a new house is constructed. The fetus is buried under the porch as an offering to Pacha Mama, the Mother Earth. But don't worry, all these babies died of natural causes. Apparently llamas make crappy moms. According to our guide, a greater sacrifice is needed when a large building, much bigger than a house, is constructed. For this, Pacha Mama requires a human sacrifice. That means finding a homeless person on the street, getting him drunk enough to mention that he hasn't seen his family in years, and then burying him alive in a ceremony, after which the concrete foundation is poured on top of him and construction of the building begins immediately. I really hope our guide was joking, but to be honest I'm not so sure how much of an 'urban legend' the story really was. Needless to say, we won't ever accept alcohol from strangers on the street while in Bolivia (or anywhere for that matter).
Also during the tour we were given some nice background info on San Pedro prison. It's a very unique type of prison, where the prisoners actually have to pay rent to stay there. The richest prisoners pay 5,000 bolivianos per month and have jacuzzis and big screen TVs in their pad, while the poorest pay far less in rent and are basically homeless. Apparently they have their own city inside, with shops of all kinds and any service available to them that they might need. San Pedro actually used to be a tourist attraction, where you could go inside and receive a tour, have coffee with an inmate and hear all about their experiences. Then the police realized that there were hundreds of tourists trying to get in every weekend during visiting hours, but not for a tour. They were there to buy some of the best and purest cocaine produced in the area, which the inmates make to support their drug addictions. Once it became clear that this was why San Pedro was so popular, they stopped allowing any foreigners inside. Apparently the last two guys that snuck in were discovered and deported back to Chile on the spot, without any of their belongings, money and passport included. Some prison huh?
On our last stop of the tour we received some info on Bolivian presidents past and present (though all names have escaped me, sorry). The last president is a real gem of a man; in 2003 he exported all of Bolivia's gas to other countries for a meager profit while his people were literally starving in the street. Unsurprisingly, there were protests and rioting and many innocent civilians were shot and killed by the president's militia. All this became known as the Gas War of 2003. To make matters worse, this awesome guy then emptied half of the country's treasury into his private account and fled to...yup, you guessed it, the United States of America, where he is currently living (probably quite comfortably) in Maryland. Currently Bolivia is still in negotiations with the US to retrieve him, but our government won't release him. Apparently releasing him to his own people would be a death sentence. He sentenced thousands of innocent Bolivians to death with his war, but for some reason it's our responsibility to keep him away from the justice these people deserve because somebody in congress thinks his life is worth something. Our government baffles me. But now I know why Americans are the only ones that get charged for a visa to enter Bolivia, they don't like us very much. I sure don't blame them. Fortunately we've felt nothing but kindness towards us since we've been here. Bolivia's current president seems like an interesting man as well. He is apparently quite a controversial figure, with equal amounts of support and opposition. The guides told us he hates Coca-Cola, calling them imperialistic dogs or something like that, and he wants to kick them out of the country. I wholeheartedly agree with him on this point, but I guess the Bolivians like the crap too much to ever let that happen. They've already kicked McDonalds out though, so I consider that a victory in itself. Overall the tour was great and very informative. Learning about other countries is fun.
On Wednesday we visited the Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon) outside La Paz, so named for the strange rock formations jutting up from the earth creating sharp peaks and deep crevices. Supposedly this gives the appearance of being on the surface of the moon. I've never been to the moon so I wouldn't know. But it was a really cool landscape. We did the loop once but it was so short we decided to walk through again just for kicks. It felt nice to be away from the city and out in a natural area, if only for a couple of hours.
On Thursday we did the infamous Death Road bike ride, the world's most dangerous road. This road is also called the Yungas Road and until 4 years ago it was used as the primary route of travel between La Paz and Coroico. Unfortunately they don't call it the Death Road for nothing. Something like 20 people die biking it every year when they fall over the edge and drop down sheer cliff faces hundreds of meters high. Needless to say, I was perfectly content being the slowest one in the group; I preferred to keep my life instead of recklessly racing down the very rocky and difficult terrain like everyone else. I'm also OK admitting that I'm not the most skilled on a bike, especially when there are rocks as big as a persons head in the path, so I didn't really feel the need for speed. It was enough just to enjoy the spectacular view of the surrounding mountains and the deep canyon below. Luckily nobody in our group fell over the edge, though 2 people did fall pretty hard. We also met a guy from another group who tried to do a jump at one point and fell off and broke his arm...pointless recklessness. But boys will be boys I suppose (and he was from California, so it makes a bit more sense. We're a crazy breed). I managed to stay on my bike the whole time, so I consider that a win. It was a pretty epic experience and I'm really glad we decided not to miss out on it. I'm also glad we survived, and they gave us a free t-shirt to prove it. Our group was awesome; there was a guy from SF, a girl from Trinidad, and a hilarious French brother and sister pair who were really friendly and entertaining. I knew we would eventually find some nice French people. It was a great day, I would highly recommend trying the bike ride if you're ever in Bolivia.
Other than all that, our week in La Paz has been little more than shopping and eating. We found a few restaurants close by with great vegetarian options, so that was awesome. My favorite restaurant here is a British-owned curry house called Star of India, with a killer lunch menu (3 courses for only 35 bolivianos, or $5). They have multiple yummy curries to choose from, as well as naan bread and great soup. They also boast the 'World's Most Dangerous Vindaloo,' which obviously I had to try. It's a suuuper spicy curry dish using the rocoto pepper, which I'm told is the hottest pepper in Bolivia. This restaurant will actually give a free t-shirt to anyone who can finish the full dinner platter, as only 1 out of 8 people who try it can do so. A shirt would have been cool but since I just wanted to try it, I ordered it for lunch which is only a half serving. I did what I could and came pretty close but I couldn't even finish the lunch plate. The flavor was ok, it was an interesting taste, but man was it spicy. When I ordered it the waiter actually tried to talk me out of it, so that was pretty funny.
I've had to restrain myself on the shopping front. There are so many cool jackets and sweaters and bags and fabrics, I just want it all! I got myself a Bolivian 'chompa,' which is a really colorful al paca yarn and cotton sweater, so I'm satisfied for the moment. It turns out I do have some self control after all. And speaking of self control, Lauren got a tattoo a couple days ago of a world map on her arm. I really wanted to get my sun tattoo I've been wanting forever but I know I can't afford it right now, so I was good and exercised my newfound self discipline. I'm quite proud of myself because in case you don't know, tattoos are very addicting. But I'm sure my time will come.
This morning we took a ride on the urban gondola, 'mi teleférico,' up to the largest flea market in South America. The ride was awesome; it starts from the center of town and heads up the mountain to the community of El Alto high above. The view of La Paz from the gondola was incredible, and the whole system seems to be really well designed. I usually get a bit nervous on ski lifts and things like this but I didn't feel anxious at all on this ride. We got to the top, stepped out of the station and right into the heart of the huge market. This market only happens on Thursdays and Sundays and it stretches up and down multiple streets for at least a mile, probably more. The vendors are selling everything from car parts to clothes and shoes to books and music to local food and fruit juices. Definitely a typical South American market, I loved it. We didn't stay too long because for one thing, it was all stuff we didn't need, and it also started to get really crowded really quickly. I'm glad we got to ride the Teleférico and see the market, and I'm also glad we had decided to go early.
Tomorrow we will catch a morning bus to Oruro where we will spend the night and then take the train down to Uyuni. In Uyuni we will depart on a 3-day tour of Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat. La Paz has been great but we have been here for awhile, so I'm really looking forward to moving on and seeing the rest of Bolivia. Peace and love everybody!