Day 19

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Freddy insisted on starting our walking tour of the city at 8am to beat the tourist rush later on. We began at San Francisco church, and made our way to Palacio Presedencial and Congreso Nacional. We noted the Bolivian police at every corner in every street while walking about too. Next we headed to the oldest cafe in La Paz where the notorious Cuban leader (can't remember his name) used to come for coffee. We enjoyed a saltena each here (I only tasted dads and opted for a fresh beetroot and carrot juice) which are similar to Peru's empanadas, however these are Bolivia's signature food only sold from 9am-12pm. We were all exhausted even mid-morning due to the uphill streets. You are either walking steeply uphill or downhill so it makes for a good workout! Freddy showed us to San Pedro prison which is possibly one of the most famous prisons in the world, not for expected reasons, but because it is the only prison in the world of its kind. The book 'Marching Powder' by Australian Rusty Young who served time here sums up the ins and outs of this bizarre prison where inmates buy their cells off real estate agents, run shops and restaurants, and women and children reside with imprisoned members. They even have a kindergarten. The wealthy drug lords live luxuriously inside San Pedro, while the poor are deprived. Freddy explained all of this to us while standing a good 100m away from the prison behind some trees as the guards can be very aggressive, and he advised us not to take pictures. I sneakily zoomed right in and got an okay shot. Dad and I then put the cameras away and decided to walk obliviously right in front of the prison gate. I was in awe... I could actually see 30-40 inmates close up. This stopped me dead in my tracks before I was politely ushered away by one of the more placid guards. Being cheeky I walked pass again to have another look. This time I noticed the visitors checking in and out. The guards said nothing this time and I thought I better not push my luck so walked back a bit to simply look in the windows. They had only a few thin bars on the windows and I could easily see people moving around inside. It is so odd they have this prison in the city centre and so accessible to see! I wished they still had tours inside the prison, however Freddy explained they had good reason for stopping them. With my criminal justice background (studying this at RMIT) I was hungry to know more about this place so I have spent a lot of time researching and reading Marching Powder which we found in a bookstore here. Next we all went to the Moon Valley (Valle de la Luna) which I had not heard of. It was a breathtaking place simply formed from erosion. Its name is derived from nothing except for the fact that Neil Armstrong (the first man on the moon) became intrigued with Bolivia when he realised he could see the Bolivian salt flats from the moon. This happening sparked an interest and eventually a trip to La Paz for Mr. Armstrong and he played golf on the worlds highest golf course which is directly next to Moon Valley, which he then gave its name. The golf course looked impeccable and all dad and I could think was how much of a ball Brenton would have here, including the lodge style golf club. We all took a local Chevrolet bus ride down. It was fun riding with the locals, and school kids eating their icecreams. As usual once back into the city centre dad and I did our thing exploring the streets and the non-touristy areas. We found a very cool vego place for lunch called Namaste in the midst of a meat market! All up we walked nearly 10km roaming the streets, then returned to the hotel for a rest, then joined the Swiss couple plus Brooke and Trevor at a quaint candle lit place for dinner. I didn't sleep well at all because of a gut wrenching stomach ache which I sometimes get when I consume dairy. All night I was regretting the milk I had in the masala chai tea. P.S sorry for the typo's and poor writing lately the altitude is getting to my head 😊

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