La Paz

La Paz has been my last stop before heading home and it´s served up some good things and some bad things!

La Paz is a very busy city. Crossing roads is a mission in itself and you don´t dawdle in the middle of them - the cars will not stop for you! Like any capital there are a lot of people around and so you have to pay attention to where you are walking on the streets. It also has a reputation for a lot of petty crime.

I was also in La Paz about 10 days ago because of a bus connection and I had the day free. I had checked out of the hostal and was walking to the centre when somebody pointed out there was something on my back. Turns out someone had dripped something like toffee sauce all down my clothes. I had been warned about this scam - people steal your bag while you wipe it off and so I was very careful. However, it was even more annoying because I spent that night on a night bus and so didn´t have the opportunity to shower!

It does give a bad impression of La Paz but the city itself is lovely to walk around once you´ve got used to how busy it is and look after your things! Like all cities in South America it has many churches, and it´s best just to walk around and see the ones that aren´t always on the tourist trail and these are often just as nicely decorated.

I also saw the coca museum. This had been recommened by many people. Coca leaves are chewed by a lot of people in South America and tourists pick up the habit too. They can be purified into cocaine but the leaves themselves aren´t drugs. They help with altitude and reduce hunger and tiredenss but aren´t addictive. The coca musesum explained about the history of the leaves. They pointed out that until the Europeans came coca leaves were only used for altitude and were considered social and like any other herbal medicine. The Europeans then took it and made it into to cocaine and now blame Bolivia for the number of drug addicts in their countries. It was a very well presented museum.

I now have about 12 hours left in Bolivia and it´s amazing how quickly the past two weeks have gone! Overall it´s been an amazing 9 weeks and I´ve been so lucky to be able to explore a bit of this continent. My only regret is that I don´t speak more Spanish and didn´t learn any before I left. It would have made so much different to be able to communicate properly with people. Not just people in hostals or taxis but also people that sell you water or that you meet on a bus. There is always petty crime but I have found that just as many people want to help you in this country - whether it´s explaining what´s in a meal or giving directions, you can always find someone who is willing to give you a hand.