Day 101: La Paz, Bolivia

Our story begins on Palm Sunday, it`s backdrop La Paz, Bolivia. We had awoken early eager to see the city with fresh eyes after a night`s rest. Breakfast was awful as expected.

We headed down to Saint Francis` Cathedral to see how the Palm Sunday festivities were lining up. It was awash with merchants selling everything from palm rings and crosses to chocolate easter eggs. A line had already formed at the entrance of the church as the priest was beginning his latin sermon.

We decided to skip the proceedings for now and head up behind the church to the Witches Market. Old men and women, mostly native, wandered around looking over the items for sale. What does one sell at a witches market (behind a church)? Well llama fetuses of course. Not to mention the dried and stuffed bull frogs with gold nuggets as eyes, giant dried black condors, jaguar pelts and all manner of idol and potion. We stopped by a stand ran by an older Indian woman. Her stand was covered in the witches` wares and as much as we would have loved to buy a dried baby llama (fur and all), it was a bit too big to fit in our pack.

No so lucky for the llama

Rack of Llamas

On her table, between the frogs and incense and potions were small bowls filled with tiny clay talisman. Baby llamas for luck (only slightly less powerful that there formerly alive equals), frogs for wealth, condors for safe travels, Andean crosses for health, and a myriad of other talisman for all manner of things. We picked up the ones important to us. Lin grabbed a lucky llama and a condor. While Saben purchased a lucky llama, condor, and an Andean cross.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat and got a little work done but our day was not complete. It was palm Sunday and, while we are not religious, this country certainly is and therefore a trip to the church to witness one of the most important days of the year was a cultural must.

Lunch, Pollo Milanese

As we walked in the courtyard hundreds of people were milling about outside, soothe sayers reading fortunes out of melted metal shavings, tarot card readers telling of the future and piles upon piles of palm stalks (for sale of course). Not quite what we had expected at a Christian event but this is Bolivia and the native culture permeates everything.

Palms for sale outside the church

Market outside the church

As we walked up to the church, Lin was held up for a moment by an old women who had dropped her cross made of palms in Lin`s path. We thought nothing of it. We went inside and listened to the priest speak in latin followed by a spanish translation by one of the altar boys. The church was packed, 300 people at least. Some crying, some deep in prayer, some texting in the back row, and two white faces among the masses understanding neither the latin or the spanish.

View inside the church

When we had our fill we headed off for some supper. As we were paying Lin reached into here purse for the needed change only to find her hand fall through the bag and out the side. It had been slit. Her face reddened; she was furious! She poured though the bag looking for what had been taken. Her wallet… All the fears rushed at once, what was in there, how much is it worth , what am I forgetting. After a few calming breaths we took count. Only the wallet missing. What´s in the wallet?…. Nothing! Lin hadn`t received her new cards from the last robbery and had spent her last boliviano on the lucky llama. Lucky llama indeed!

Apparently while the old lady held Lin at bay someone had taken a razor blade and sliced (inches from her spine) her bag open and grabbed the wallet. We had a laugh at the robbers expense. She lost her student ID and a phone card but nothing of value other than a very pretty and cute wallet. The last place you would ever expect to get robbed, in the entrance of a church. We enjoyed our supper and found a safe place (on our person) for the lucky llama…