The thirteen hour ride up here felt as though the bus were really a decrepit washing machine. Over a bumpy dirt road, the bus leaned to each side, rickety and squeaky, cold night views barricaded by a sheet of wood replacing window glass.
An arrival to La Paz, one of Bolivia’s capitols, a city built at 3640 meters high in the belly of the Andes.
Exploring town:
Crossing guards in zebra uniforms, indigenous women dressed in layered, poufy skirts, and Charlie Chaplin-like bowler hats
Rows and rows of street vendors -- raw meat spread on tables, refrescas with pickled peaches, gelatin-cups with cream, coca leaves in large grain bags, panties and batteries, giant avocadoes and Harry Potter!
At the witches market -- herbs and aphrodisiacs, anaconda skin and spotted jaguar fur, frog carcasses and San Pedro cactus.
Llama fetuses are said to be used as an offering to Pachamama (Mother Earth) by being buried under new constructions; those who can afford to sacrifice live llamas.
Five to zero! A man yells this from across the street.
Bolivia vs. Argentina – the soccer match’s progress is narrated through radios posted at nearly every vendor’s stall.
Green, yellow, and red hats, a crowd of fans are chanting “Bolivia!”
Policemen with shields stand in lines. Protests, people hanging out of story-high windows, fists beating air.
... at the moment, Cafeteria El Balcon, Plaza de Armas
I'm on a mission -- realtime. muhahahaa..
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1 comment:
Do! Witches markets? Anaconda skins? How amazing! I wonder if you left comfortable or a bit guarded when you arrived- Bolivia and Peru seem like a whole different South America; fewer tourists, a little more raw lifestyle. I miss you SO much! Can't wait to hear all your stories again in person! Love you and be careful! Your sister, Mo
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