Back in La Paz (a month ago)

Remember the blog about my time in Sucre? Yeah, it was a while ago. Here`s the next chapter. Yes, this happened over a month ago...

After a few days in Sucre where I met up with my coworker again, we both bought plane tickets to La Paz and flew back to spend the remainder of his time in Bolivia with his cousins. When we arrived in La Paz, a little more than two weeks after leaving it for the holidays in Tarija, my coworker`s cousins were waiting for us at the airport. It was raining which pretty much spoiled our plans to immediately set out for a group of ruins about an hour outside of the city. Instead we were ushered to his childhood home a few minutes outside of the city center. But before stopping there, we went for salteñas (like empanadas, but Bolivian style) at the restaurant they all grew up with. A brilliant way to welcome us back to La Paz.

There were no real plans for our time in La Paz; my coworker would spend his last few days visiting friends and family, I just wanted to see more of the city and eat much more traditional Bolivian foods. We accomplished both of our goals and I managed to do a few more things.

The first day`s big activity was checking out the witches market in the city center. The market is full of potions, charms, and items of superstition. Locals mainly buy items for good luck. One of these items, llama fetuses, was the main reason I wanted to check out the market. Okay, gross, I know. But interesting none the less. People buy these fetuses and bury them under a house to bless it. Crazy. And worth seeing. The street with the markets was pretty touristy with many more shops set up to cater to people looking for gift items. It was raining full stream and we sent one of the cousins off to find us umbrellas. Umbrellas that held up just long enough for us to get through the market before breaking. Okay, not really that long. But one of the cousins did get the lady in one of the witches markets to explain to us the significance of everything. Really enlightening. Especially after it was translated to English for me. I bought a few love potions for the folks back home that may need them and then we bolted.

To escape the rain and warm up a bit we stopped in this little hip bar down an old cobble stone street. There was art for sale on the walls and I really dug the style of the artist. I was convinced I needed a painting to bring back to the States. But it was cash only. Boo. So I made do with another drink. We attempted a shot of some sort of plant concoction that one of the cousins insisted we try. And by we I mean my coworker. It was harsh. At least by the look on his face. Enough to call it a night.

Before hitting the house we stocked up on wine (because this family loves their wine and so do I) and a few beers. The idea was to chill and chat. We played indoor soccer instead. The plant concoction must have been more harsh than previously thought because in the midst of kicking the soccer ball around, my coworker suddenly grabbed his chest and fell into one of the living room seats. Actually it was the altitude of the city and the exursion of kicking around the ball. But the cousins were on top of the situation. Within minutes my coworker was breathing from an oxygen tank while the cousins took turns massaging his chest. Only in the highest capital city in the world. I was freaked out, they treated it as routine. That pretty much closed the night. Aside from one cousin`s girlfriend having a bit more wine than she thought she could handle and bazooka barfing in a bucket, that was the end to my first day back in La Paz. I still had several more to go...

For pics of my time back in La Paz, follow this link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15233918@N00/sets/72157603944779719/