la paz...

hey folks, still in la paz but feeling a lot better now. turns out that friday night in la paz is the time for mayhem! today i went and checked out the main church in town and it was garishly religious. if they ripped down all the gilded gold maybe then bolivia wouldn´t be in so much debt and poverty! it´s been pretty good this morning though. i had an empanada for breakfast and a tuna sandwitch for lunch.. and it actually looked like it was meant to! believe me, that´s a big deal! the main food here is deep friend chicken and chips and if i have to eat it one more time i will spew. everywhere... that is not a threat, it´s a promise! they have these big chunky deep fried chips with everything here, and a serve of rice. i´m used to it now. i don´t know what my life is going to be like when i order spagetti bolenganse and don´t get chips and rice with it. all on one plate. mmm, tasty. so today i checked out the witch´s market. yes, as in the type that ride on a broomstick. turns out you can buy spells and potions and all sorts of things. maybe i´ll buy a love potion, or a dried llama feotus, apparently it wards bad spirits away from your house. i would bet guests and salesmen too! these things are pretty ugly, i´ll try and get a photo of one, but the last thing i want to do is make a bolivian witch cross! ordinary bolivian women are scary enough! i love the clothes they wear though... they wear flat court shoes, a big foofy skirt (called a polletra or chicken cage), a t-shirt, a cardigan and a bowler hat. yep, like a bowler hat! they also usually wear a big piece of cloth that ties together around their back like a hammock, but they use it to carry stuff in, including their children! every now and again you´ll hear one of the back sacks crying! originally i thought these outfits were just for the tourists, but it´s not true. they do everything in them from the farming to playing football! i want one of the skirts, but at $95 US, i can live with out it! ok, the future... i think i´m going to head to sucre tonight (see if i can get on overnight bus so i don´t have to pay for another night´s accomadation) which is the real capital of bolivia. (la paz is the de facto capital), it´s also home to some mighty fine chocolate. then to salta in argentina, which is supposed to be a swinging little town. anyway, scott has started wandering into the street (which oddly he does whenever he feels it´s time to move on!) so i´d better pay my 1 boliviano and motor. talk to you soon guys, love, simone