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Published: October 16th 2005
What a choice!?
So Pete needs to choose which boat to put his 10 tonne truck on!?So we arrive in La Paz a sprawlling city in the middle of a huge crater backed by some amazing mountains.
Most of us were too tired to venture out after our night in Copacabana so we had a "quiet one" in the bar opposite.
Alex is still ill so we've been taking things slow, which is not that easy at altitude.
We took a collectivo to the otherside of town yesterday. Basically its a mini bus where someone leans out of the open door shouting all the locations its going to. If its going near somewhere you want to go you hop on with the many locals and pay 1 Bolivano (about 7p) we went about 7 miles for this money - amazing!
Bolivia is split between the very wealthy and the very poor. Near the Valley of the moon where the drug dealers, embassy workers and military personnel live it costs approx $500,000 for a house at the other end of town they don't even earn $140 a month!
We went to the Witches market yesterday a place where you can buy charms to bring you good wealth, a good job, a car or
Say goodbye?
Will they really make it! a house etc. The llama here is very important and the market stalls are full of dried llama foetus's that have apparently been naturally aborted!!??
Funniest part of the trip so far was us all trying to blackmail our tour guide to take us into the San Pedro prison. Everyone should read Marching Powder to get the full explanation of how bizzare the place is.
The book description is as follows:
Marching Powder is the story of Thomas McFadden, a small-time English drug smuggler who was arrested in Bolivia and thrown inside the notorious San Pedro prison. He found himself in a bizarre world, the prison reflecting all that is wrong with South American society. Prisoners have to pay an entrance fee and buy their own cells (the alternative is to sleep outside and die of exposure), prisoners' wives and children often live inside too, high quality cocaine is manufactured and sold from the prison, and all the police from the governor downwards can be bribed. Under the surface is a frightening level of violence - Thomas's life was often in danger and one of his friends was murdered by the police when he threatened to expose the
Lisa "i´m not worried" much!!?
& Helen finding the whole thing hysterical.... corruption in the prison
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Cynthia
non-member comment
Valley of the Moon
Hi Girls I hope you enjoy Bolivia. My sister just live beside the Valley of the Moon. I think we could walk from her house there. Missing you both. besos Cy xx