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November 15, 2005
Touring La Paz
With more time than we expected in la Paz we used the day to catch up on email and tour the city. La Paz is like any other busy capital except that here it is extremely common to see women in traditional Andean clothing walking down the sidewalk in the business district next to people in suits.
Once again, we ran into Tilman and Iris, the German couple that we originally met a in Machu Picchu, and then saw again at our hotel in Copacabana. They were in the same predicament as us, as they had tickets on the train that had been cancelled. We all walked around the city for a bit before they headed back to their hotel. Em and I explored some local markets where she bought a new scarf and down the street we ate at a small local restaurant.. The prices here are incredible cheap.
At 7:30 we had made it to the bus station and waited outside for about 40 bags of coca leaves to be loaded onto the roof of the bus. I asked Maria, who had stayed with us to make sure we got on the right bus, where all the coca leaves were headed.
“Argentina,” she replied.
“What happens to them there?” I asked. “That is the problem” she stated as she shrugged her shoulders. Truthfully, I though, the problem is that the U.S. is waging a ludicrous billion dollar war on this tiny plant. The results are that we drive the price of coca higher and higher creating more incentives for people in the countryside to produce it. The other consequence is that it drives people like Evo Morales right into power.
At 8:30 the crowded bus finally departed and I was soon asleep after listening to a few economics lectures on my MP3 player.
Posted by Peter Mork at November 15, 2005 2:04 PM
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