Adventures
in the big cities (con't)
Sun Nov 3, 2002
1:32 pm
With a population of 2.5 million people,
all of whom seem to be roaming around the streets at the same time, it is
no wonder that so many people get robbed. We havent found too much to see
here. We did visit the Coca Museum, which explains the cultural significance
of chewing coca and how terrible the US is for banning it. Apparently, Coca-Cola
still imports tons of coca every year to flavor its products. We still need
to check to see if that is true or not- or it could be another trivia question
for all you guys to figure out. Seems unlikely because coca is banned in
the US.
We have just been walking around and checking out the markets. We are staying
just by the Witches Market, where you too can buy your own llama fetus,
or flamingo wings, or have your coca leaves read to see your future. We
also went to the huge city cemetery to see what was up for Dia de los Muertos,
which happens on Nov 2. There were LOADS of people leaving as we were arriving,
so we did get to see the flowers on all the graves. It was like a circus
outside, with people selling everything from flowers to ponchos (it started
to thunderstorm as we got there, and those street vendors wree right on
top of it).
Besides that, we have just been farting around. We have also stumbled upon
REAL chinese food just a couple blocks from us at a place called Restaurant
Discoteca Jackie Chan. We sat in there for ages yesterday and watched the
movie Road Trip, then went out on the town. We also went to the movies and
saw Triple XXX. The best part was when they ended up in Columbia and one
guy starts freaking out and stuffing all these coca leaves in his pockets,
saying something about how much it is worth in the US.The whole audience
started cracking up, since probably half of them chew coca everyday, so
the idea of stealing 10 leaves for money is a little ridiculous.
Tomorrow we fly with the Bolivian military out to Rurrenebaque to spend
three days in the pampas and three days in the jungle, seeing all sorts
of new wildlife and soaking up some heat. Keep your fingers crossed that
we dont get munched to pieces by the mosquitos.
So, we should have lots of fun stories when we write next. Take care! PATTY
and ALISON |
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