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Published: February 20th 2008
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Though I was making steady progress on my way east toward the isolated wildlife refuge in the jungle of Villa Tunari, I have now gotten stuck in the big city of La Paz - in a great way. Shortly after my arrival I checked into a hip backpacker's accommodation called the Adventure Brew Hostel, so aptly named because there is a brewery on the main floor which serves up Saya beer, the best microbrew I've yet to taste in South America. After chatting a bit with a transient bartender working at the rooftop bar and inquiring about employment opportunites I soon had a casual interview with the hostal owner and found myself working the very next day. For the last four weeks now I have been bartending regularly at the panoramic bar of the Adventure Brew hostal and loving life in the big city. In addition to serving up drinks and good times to the numerous backpackers passing through on Latin adventures I have also been working as an events planner of sorts, generating new ideas for bar games and parties to keep travellers entertained during their stay. From bar trivia to casino nights to trashy America night (complete with
beer pong tourneys, keg stands and WWF wrestling) we have been keeping people busy with creative ways to party. Generally after closing down the hostel bar around 12:30 at night, staff and backpackers alike head out into the city to really turn it on in the numerous bars and clubs. The night life is fantastic and full of latin clubs, salsa music and lovely latinas (who happen to LOVE blue-eyed gringos - yes!). Often we dance the night away, hopping from club to club, only to return with the rising sun at 7 in the morning. Another good cap off to the evening is a dip in the Adventure Brew beer spa, an outdoor wood-fired bath tub that is filled with h2o and a half keg of beer. We soak in the suds with a pitcher of microbrew while overlooking the lights of La Paz and reminiscing about the good times. It has been the most nocturnal lifestyle I have ever led, and a seemingly endless party since I've arrived. That being said, I have managed to be reasonably productive when not partying, and have been taking spanish lessons with a private teacher on a daily basis. I'm making quite
a bit of progress, but am still far from proficiency. In addition I've kept busy with both salsa and tango classes a few times per week(10 bolivianos/$1.25 for 2 hours), and will hopefully be shakin' it with style when I get home.
Despite a rich Andean culture in the bowl-shaped city, everything else about La Paz is ridiculously inexpensive, from clubs to clothing to food. I am able to live lavishly on less than $10 per day, and just last night had a filet mignon at 3 in the morning for only $4. The city is full of energy and the locals are very friendly and accomodating. In the first week of February I had the pleasure of witnessing and participating in the much-acclaimed Carnaval celebration. Though not as reputed as the Brazilian party in Rio, it was still a full force bash for four consecutive days, complete with costumes, parades, dancing and debauchery. Also unique to the La Paz celebration is a no-holds-barred city-wide water fight. Everyone stocks up on water balloons, super squirt guns and cans of spray foam and unleashes on anyone in sight. The Bolivians also like to go after girls and gringos, so we
were prime targets for water bombs to the face any time we walked the city streets. We gringos later exacted our revenge, however, when the Pepino parade passed beneath the 5th floor balcony of our hostel on the main drag. Raining down hundreds of balloon bombs and buckets of water on anyone unlucky enough to walk beneath us, we got the last laugh from our sniper position on high. Following Carnaval weekend I also unveiled my latest brainchild - BEER MASH WRESTLING. When touring the Saya brewery I was wondering about the hundreds of liters of spent barley left after a brew and thought, "why not fill a baby pool with this stuff and have bikini-clad girls wrestle in it?" Thus, with a bit of creative planning and persuasion, the world´s highest beer mash wrestling competition was born. Undoubtedly some of the best fun I've had in the last decade. La Paz has been the biggest surprise of my trip, and continues to reveal it's many faces to me with each new day. This is why I have had such a hard time leaving, and in fact don't have any intention to for another month or so. I will leave
you with this small token for now, and soon will follow tales of high-altitude pursuits and adrenaline on the most dangerous road in the world... Ciao for now
Andrew
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Alli
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Livin the Life
You are living the life my friend!