La Paz, Day 5 (including the promised Day 4, Part 2)

Continuing on from Sunday 15 October 2006:

"Anyway, I went back to the hostel, met up with Olivier, and headed to a meet point where we joined teams with Naomi and some others from the hostel.

"We went to a fútbol game!!!

"My first in South America - Bolívar (La Paz`s team) vs Potosí. The first half was a bit slow, but it picked up a lot in the second half and in general it was great to be there. Such a good way to see the city! There were mostly locals in the big stadium, divided not-so-evenly between the two teams. Everyone had a great time though. Half-time was crazy; the refs were actually escorted off the arena by a team of army dudes in full riot gear, shields and all. Olivier speculated that it was mostly for show, though some of the crowd were throwing things at them.

"After the game we happened to see this lookout spot in the distance so we wandered over to take a look. Turns out it was this big kids` playground, this vast and colourful play jungle, but high on a hill which afforded a spectacular view of the city. I wasn`t sure I wanted to go in at first, but like so many of the Inca sites I`ve seen it turned out to be much bigger that it first appeared. It was this long, colourful stretch of endless play thing, swings, teetertotters, structures, slides, arranged haphazardly in a swirling curving sweep of Dr. Seuss landscaping. I felt like I was in the land of Oz and that I should follow the green and purple brick road.

"What made it even more fun though was this group of people I fell into. We get on really wee, we`re like minded, and had a lot of fun talking each other. Olivier seems to be the natural leader of the group - he`s a quick thinker, has this contagious hyena laugh, and is very funny; he`s a lawyer back in Belgium. Naomi is also very intelligent and is such a lovely person; she`s a sensitive traveller and has a great attitude about everything.

"The others are wonderful too, Susie especially, but I just don`t have the time to write about all of them.

"When on our way out of the little kids park we came across a big kids one - a mini carnival called `Super Galaxy Park` at the end of the street. I was the most excited because I love stuff like that, and the group waited for me as I went on one of the rides.

"Walking from there we stopped at this crazy contemporary cafe, full of coloured swivel seats, funky lights, a water fountain...really bizarre for Bolivia, and we all agreed it was too pricey for dinner, but we decided to stay for tea just to soak up the atmosphere.

"The best thing about this place was the conversation we had. We were reduced to 4 people at this point for one reason or another, so it was just Naomi, Susie, Olivier, and I. We joked and laughed a lot, but let the conversation get serious, too. Olivier was talking about his visit to the Potosi mines and his encounters with the people who work in them. Apparently most of the men working there know they will die in 15-20 years from breathing all the dust and fumes, but they continue to work because they basically have no choice. There is no money in the silver they mine for, but they know no other work and do it anyway with the (small) hopes that the money will get them through school (many are kids), through a degree, and out of the mines. Only a few make it out. The tourist industry helps a bit because when an agency takes tourists there, into the mines, they bring the food and water or money that the miners need to survive. And the guide Olivier had was a former miner who got out of it because he knew a bit of English and made enough money as a guide. The only people in line for the pension house were women - widows. I wish I could write all the details of the conversation."

I`ve been so busy I haven`t even been able to keep up my personal journal. Yesterday I visited the Coca Museum which was really interesting. They provide English language guide books so I got a lot out of it. It teaches you everything from the historical and current uses of coca today, medicinal, magical, practical; from there it also talked about it`s evolution into cocaine and the cocaine industry, addiction, how it`s made. It was really fascinating and I learned that Coca Cola still uses coca leaves in it`s mix for flavour (though they stopped using the cocaine extract long ago).

I also visited the Contemporary Art Museum. There`s not much I can say about it except some of the pieces were so so beautiful I wish I could take them hope with me. I took a few pictures and wrote the names of the artists I really liked.

Last night I went for drinks with the hostal crowd - yet another amazing time out. Olivier left for Copacabana today so I`m going to miss his company, but Susie and Naomi are still here and we`re going to go to the cinema tonight. I think we`re going to see Volver, Penelope Cruz`s new Spanish film.

I went to the immigration office today to get my visa extended and had one hell of a time there. Canadians aren`t privilege to the free extension, so I had to pay 165 bs (about $23), which was fine because I know I`m going to stay here longer, but I didn`t realize it took a day to process. It was frustrating because the woman was speaking rapid Spanish, knowing I couldn`t understand her, and finally I had to recruit the help of a French lady to get through it all. The delay means I had to change my bus ticket yet again, so I`m not leaving La Paz until Wednesday night instead of tonight.

This is all fine though. I`m not really in a hurry so a couple extra days here are no big deal. I`ll just have to cut my time going through Perú the second time and head straight up to Ecuador.

I´m off to meet Jen, the British girl I hung out with in Cuzco. She happens to be in La Paz now and we`re going to go see a few museums today.

Hasta mañana!