Last Day in La Paz, Salar here we come

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27 Mayo - La Paz
Okay, last day in La Paz.
There are markets for different kinds of food, flowers, household stuff, basically anything you could ever want, you can buy on the street.
There is an Api market here, where you can go buy the warm drink really cheaply and if you speak a little Spanish, you can be assured that you will be elbow-to-elbow with someone who would love to have a conversation with you. These are the coffee shops of Bolivia. There are all kinds of people stuffed into these little places getting Api and brunelas.
Api is a thick purple drink comprised mostly of purple maize. It is seasoned with sugar, lime, cinnamon, and a little bit of cloves and served steaming hot. It is so thick that you don't realize how hot it is until after it is burning your throat and belly, but it is yummy in my tummy and so cheap. We have made a point to get Api as often as possible, and today was no exception. And Nikki is feeling a little better, good enough to get some Api anyway, so that is good.
We've gone shopping some more and went to the Cocoa Museum. Cocoa is a very important part of the Bolivian and Peruvian cultures and was a sacred plant to the Incas. One theory is that Machu Picchu was built as a cocoa farm and that the residents were there for the sole purpose of growing cocoa. The leaves are dried and then chewed like tobacco. It gives you a mild lift, similar to caffeine, but it lasts much longer and does not leave you the afternoon coffee slump. I do not know the numbers, but a large percentage of the people chew cocoa leaves. And you all know of chocolate. That comes from this plant too. Of course, the controversy with the plant is that it is used to produce cocaine. The U.S. government has been staging a war against cocaine since the 70s and have tried on a couple of occasions to outlaw the existence of the plant and to criminalize the growing of it. In Manu, we were able to visit one of the farms. The growers are not rich drug lords and they do not make cocaine. They simply grow it and dry the leaves. You can buy a big bag of leaves pretty cheaply and they ship the rest to whoever will buy it. It is a naturally occurring plant and derivatives of it have been used to make anesthetics that are still in use today in the U.S. It is sad that our government cannot or will not fight the drug dealers, the true offenders, but would instead target these poor farmers and a crop that is not much different than coffee.
We will soon be jumping on our overnight bus to Uyuni. I am not looking forward to the bus, but am really looking forward to the Salar. I have heard a lot of good things about it. Many an acquaintance have said it was the highlight of their trip.

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Comments

[Cindy J]

Empanadas
Aren't those empanadas good? We eat those in Panama too! And drink the Api also.