Alone in La Paz
Trip Start
May 18, 2007
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32
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Trip End
Jul 28, 2007
La Paz,
Bolivia
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
The Witches' Market, with its crooked streets and stands selling talismans and llama fetuses, was unique. On Ilampu Street, on Saturday, cholitas turned up and set up a whole market -- selling more varieties of potatoes I've ever seen before, vegetables, household goods, flowers... It was colourful and absolutely beautiful.
The Coca Museum was very interesting -- a very balanced look at the growth of the coca leaf in "Inca countries" (Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador mainly), and the world's approach to dealing with the cocaine epidemic in the west. Amazing how a medicinal plant used for centuries with no negative effects suddenly became the bane of the western world once western doctors and chemists (mainly Americans) figured out how to make it an addictive drug..
01 - Calle Ilampu
. The UN banned the growth of coca a few decades ago, but somehow, eleven countries are "Legal Producers of Cocaine" with set annual quotas, and these countries include the US, UK, France, and a few others - not Peru or Bolivia, of course. And we can't forget to mention "Coca-cola" which still, to this day, use coca leaves in its production process for flavouring... No, it does not mean there's "cocaine" in Coke! While in Peru and Bolivia, I drank litres of coca tea - far less potent than chewing the coca leaves directly, but still something that would be "banned" in Canada! And yet, it did nothing more, or worse, for me than cure my stomach ache...I met up with Kate for dinner Saturday night, but otherwise started by last two weeks of travelling alone. I really missed the company of Marcus, Catrina and Tully, especially in La Paz - I don't think we were really done with the banter... :-)
I'll have to come back to Bolivia some day - I haven't seen enough of it, and the laid-back atmosphere and colourful feel of La Paz are worth the trip. What a cool place...
