This morning Louisa, Adam, Marion and I decided to go on the city walking tour. We met another girl, Bridget from Australia who knew Adam and Louisa, at the tour too.

The tour started in San Pedro square which is really called Sucre square. The square has a lovely church on one side but the main attraction is the San Pedro prison which is the pink building in the photo below.

The prison is very unique in that the prisoners basically run it themselves. There are around 10 guards but they only guard the perimeter of the prison. The prisoner’s wives and children also live in the prison but they are obviously free to come and go as they please. There is a small school on the square too where the children from the prison go. Obviously there are times when violent crimes are committed within the prison but they are not as frequent as you would expect.

There is a drug problem though as drugs are often smuggled into or out of the prison via the family members but also thrown into the square from the roof of the prison. The prisoner’s need to have money as they have to pay rent for their cells and for other creature comforts.

Tours used to be able to go into the prison but this was banned a few years ago as prisoners were giving the tourists cocaine on the way out.

Following this exciting start to the tour we then made our way to the local markets which are so colourful and sell all sorts of fruit and veg. In Bolivia there are over 30 different varieties of potatoes including dehydrated potatoes which can then be kept for 20-30 years without going rotten.

We learnt about the traditional dress of the women in Bolivia- the Cholitas.

Bowler hat: apparently when the British arrived to build the railways they ordered some bowler hats for the workers. Unfortunately the hats that arrived were very small so instead of wasting them a few of the men persuaded the women in Bolivia that the hats were the latest fashion and the trend took off. If the hat is worn on top of the head and is straight it means the woman is engaged or married, if it is worn on one side the women is single and on the other side she is a widow. If it is more to the back of the head it means she is in a complicated relationship.

Skirts: the puff skirts make the women’s hips look larger which symbolises fertility. A lot of the women wear several skirts. The most beautiful part of a woman is considered to be her calf so the skirts also cover the woman’s calves.

Hair: the women all wear their hair long and often add extensions to make it even longer. Long hair is beautiful but also represents strength and wisdom.

Women judge men on the thickness of their hair, how they strong they are and if they have a little bit of a stomach as this implies a certain amount of wealth.

The next stop on the tour was the witches market. This is now combined with handicraft stalls which cater for tourists but our guide told us that the locals still come here to buy the things they need to make offerings to Pachamama. This market has all kinds of potions and powders which can help you with a whole range of problems. Many of the objects are related to luck, love, fertility or money.

One of the most haunting things you see at this market is the dried baby llamas. Whenever a new building is being constructed the Bolivians bury a baby llama in the foundations. This is a ritual known as cha’lla and is an offering to Pachamama. It is said to protect the building and the workers as well as bring good luck and prosperity. One of the more worrying things is that for larger buildings a baby llama is not sufficient so a human sacrifice is required. Our guide told us that a ‘higher’ Sharman and two accomplices will go to an area where homeless people hang out. They will befriend a homeless person and get them completely drunk. They will then take them to the foundations of the building and lay them face down in the prepared hole where the ritual to Pachamama will take place. Once the ritual is complete they will cover the person in concrete as part of the foundations. The person has to be alive at the time of burial and they have to be a person that nobody will miss. Although nobody admits to undertaking this ritual human remains are often found in the foundations of buildings.

The next stop was San Fransesco church. When the Spaniards invaded they encouraged the indigenous people to build a church. This church combines Catholicism and the original beliefs as some of the carvings depict Pachamama.

Inside the church there are lots of mirrors. The Spaniards placed these inside the church as the indigenous people believed that part of their soul was inside the mirror so they kept coming back to the church.

It was then time for a little snack so we stopped at another market – Mercado Lanza where we had a delicious avocado sandwich and a massive glass of fresh mango juice.

After refreshments it was on to the main square. We heard a lot about the political history of Bolivia. Over a period of 200 years of independence Bolivia has had 179 presidents. One president who was actually quite nice said something along the lines of not being an enemy to the poor. The rich people in Bolivia took offence at this and dragged the president out of the office and hung him from a lamppost in the square. They later realised their mistake and constructed a memorial to him at the lamppost. In total Bolivians have killed 7 of their presidents and presidents no longer live in the presidential palace at the square.

In around 2003 the president (who is the current president) introduced an income tax including on those earning minimum wage. There was a huge protest and as the police were affected (they earned minimum wage) they joined the protesters. The government called in the army and there was a lot of firing across the square resulting in 6 deaths and over 200 people injured. You can still see some of the bullet holes in the buildings.

The clock in the government building goes backwards. Apparently the president said this is more in tune with the old sun dials.

We then went to a local restaurant where the guides told us about some of the good and not so good things about the current president.

After the tour Marion and I went back to the witches market and I bought a new jumper (although fitting it in the rucksack will be difficult!). We stopped for a hot chocolate and Belgian waffle at Cafe del Munde. The hot chocolate was delicious as they made it with orange and cinnamon.

In the evening we met up with Adam, Louisa and Bridget and went to the only Vietnamese restaurant in Bolivia – Vinapho. The food was so nice and it was good to have something completely different.