Bolivia and La Paz, I really like Bolivia

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The first thing to say is Bolivia easily my favourite place so far, an excellent place to travel and loads of fun. It exactly what I´m looking for when I come to these distant lands. Nothing entirely works as expected which makes getting around and doing things way more fun. There are loads of fantastic sights to see and great things to do, in the north is Amazonian Rain Forest, Andean Mountains run through the middle, Salt Plains and spectacular parks in the south, Deserts, Mines and as its a 3rd world country everything is dirt cheap. Could easily have stayed alot longer.

La Paz, its claim to fame being its the highest capital city in the world at 3500m-4000m. The city is in a canyon which means the streets either go up or down. You get a great view over the city as you arrive through the Andes. Bolivia is very poor you can tell straight away, a bed for the night costs just over a pound, beer less than 50p, a meal is a quid. In fact in everyday life its hard to buy anything for more than 30 Bolivanos or two quid. It makes travelling on a budget great, you give up converting back your own currency after a while.

La Paz feels more like a huge market town than a capital with street stalls every. The shops are all small and tend to only sell one or two types of items such as wheel barrows or spare parts for motors or rope, no major chains anyway. A real hustle and bustle about the place.

The only place I wanted and really had time to see in La Paz was the San Pedro prison, just finished a book about an English guy how got locked up there a few years ago for drugs smuggling, Thomas McFadden - Marching Powder (nicks book of the month!). He and a few other inmates ran guided tours of the prisons for tourists, you could even stay over! Unfortunately its all stopped now. The prison is right in the city centre with a park across the road, I sat and watched a constant stream of people coming and going through the main gate. Walking round the corner I observed a dodgy looking package being handed over to a guard through a side entrance. I get the feeling that the rules are more like guidelines here. At the main gate (on the street) I asked the guards about taking a picture of the prison (in very bad Spanish) I was pointed in the direction of a piece of paper pinned to the wall informing that foreign nationals are not allowed to visit the prison. Must have been great to come here a few years ago and go on a guided tour!

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Photos

Bolivia
Meeting up with Laura and Katharine again in Copacabana, Bolivia.

Bolivia
Popcorn! The women has turned away from the camera because they believe if you have your picture taken it steals your soul

Bolivia
Bridges Bolivian style!

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The streets of La Paz

Bolivia
The famous San Pedro prison, La Paz

Comments

[Joe & Holly]

Tranquilo
Looks great, H and I have just finished the book....great read. Shame you couldn't get a tour, you might have met crack cat.

[Jenny McCabe]

Bolivia and La Paz, I really like Bolivia
I have just finished reading Marching Powder, never been to Bolivia. What a fantastic book. What I'd like to know where is McFadden now, what did he make of his life. I am told to this day they still don't accept that all the bribery and corruption goes on in this Prison. I intend to write to Prisoner's Abroad and also Amnesty International to see what they can do.

[Medalla]

Bolivia and La Paz, I really like Bolivia
As far as I have read, Thomas is working as a builder in England (London or Liverpool, cant remember). I'm gutted that there are no more tours. Would have loved to see crack cat! That said, I bet there are tours still going. Just because the Guard pointed to a sign saying foreign nationals are not allowed to visit the prison doesnt mean that for a few Bolivianos, or even a few dollars, the guard would look the other way. Only trouble is, what do you say to the taxistas now that there is no Thomás? Would need to talk to people in the hostels around the city. I'm sure there is still a tourist trade in San Pedro with a worthy tour guide that speaks english.