Rematch against Bolivar and Strongest... there definitely wasn't a tie this time!

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Well thanks to the people of El Alto giving notice that they would be striking on Monday and blocking off the highway into the city, my original plans to go to Potosí were axed as I was planning to arrive back in La Paz early Monday morning to go to work. No problems though. Yesterday, I was successful in finding my group of friends and I a hotel for Carnaval in Oruro and on this day was the rematch of Bolivar vs. The Strongest. I didn't have to worry about buying a ticket for the game, because Rosemary from my office was going on Saturday to pick up the tickets for herself, her friends and I.

So around lunch hour, Karin and I left the apartment to make our way towards the stadium as I thought I was suppose to meet Rosemary at the stadium at 12:30PM. I called half way on our walk to the stadium and she said she would be there by 2PM, so all of a sudden, I had a lot more free time on my hands. Karin was hungry so we stopped by a stand near the plaza to get her her fix of salteñas for the day. Not surprisingly she was still hungry, so we went for ceviche in the main plaza of Miraflores and this time I got a serving of it myself. The whole time I was eating it, I kept thinking what is said in the CUSO Health and Safety Manual: Do not eat ceviche in South America. The main reason why is because ceviche is not "cooked", it is marinated is either lemon or lime juice for a long period of time to "cook" it but from what I have heard, this does not kill all the bad stuff in it. Anyhow, I had ceviche for lunch in probably the worst place I could of had it (in the plaza, not at a restaurant) but it was so good. As I am writing this entry much later than the actual event, I can say that I had no problems with it. Maybe my body has built up some immunities to all this different bacteria now.

After lunch, Karin and I walked up to the stadium to meet Kevin who was having a blast trying to find tickets to the game. The only tickets you could buy from "official" sellers were for the preferential section and these were going for 40 Bs. It was interesting going around with him from scalper to scalper, who seemed to appear out of nowhere selling tickets, and after visiting about four different scalpers, he had enough tickets for all his friends his promised to buy tickets for. We still had some time to wait until the big game, so we sat in the plaza outside the stadium and watched the streets filled with fans for a while. I decided that I was a Strongest fan and went to buy a hat to show my support. This hat ended up being very useful when we got into the stadium and couldn't find a seat. Some Strongest fans saw my hat and made room for my friends and I so that we could watch the game. My friend Nadia, who is a Bolivar fan and was wearing their wares, was being booed at so to enjoy the game, she had to remove her Bolivar hat and scarf and enjoy the game from the Strongest side. The fans were wild on this side of the stadium... the spirit of the crowd is very addiciting.

This game was very different than the previous one on Thursday. Strongest dominated the game and ended up winning 4-1. I am not sure what sport Bolivar was playing that day, but it didn't look like soccer 😉 Two fútbol matches in one week... rather exciting! Hopefully I´ll be back to see some more games before my time in La Paz is over with.

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Photos

Grafitti
Translation:
Che and Evo are the same: irresponsible fathers.
I am confused by this because Evo is not married and I don't think that he has any children.

Soccer game under the bridge
There are quite a few of these soccer courts that are build over the highly polluted river in the city. It is much nicer to see these courts than the river, I can tell you that much!

Lunch Time Snack
With the ceviche that Karin and I ordered for lunch, we received these tiny, crusted fish as a pre-meal snack. I actually thought that they tasted pretty good.

Ceviche
Ceviche, raw fish marinated in lime juice, is absolutely amazing. I probably shouldn't be eating it in the plaza though.

More Graffiti
Translation:
La Paz without peace = MAS (the current party in power in Bolivia)

Tihaunacan Ruins in the Plaza?
These a replicas of ruins at the Tiahuanacu archaeological site, west of La Paz. These replicas are found in a sunken location inside the plaza outside the soccer stadium.

Pollos Copacabana... the McDonald's of Bolivia!
This fast-food restaurant serves up chicken and fries mainly. As there an no McDonald's in Bolivia, this seems to be where people go to clog their arteries.