Tonight Tonight - Smashing Pumpkins

Hmm, Saturday really wasn't a good day. Our hotel was right on a busy market street, with most stalls selling costumes and other carnival-related paraphernalia. So we went and joined the throng in the morning to get our outfits and weapons. I had my hand on my wallet in my pocket when some guy squirted foam in my ear while shouting "Carnival". I gave him my best good-natured smile, wiped my ear and continued on my way. Anyway 2 minutes later I reached for my wallet and... yep, you're ahead of me. Git! He played exactly the same trick on another guy in our group and relieved him of his camera. I only had about 7 quid in local currency but it also contained both my credit cards, so getting hold of cash will be tricky for the next few weeks. This is where it really helps to be travelling in a group. Another couple offered me the spare card to their account, so I just needed to transfer money in and I was on my way again. Really good of them.

Anyway, that kind of dampened the carnival spirit, but we decided to go and join in anyway. So we donned our clown outfits, loaded up on water bombs and foam sprays and joined the mob. And I do mean mob. A bunch of gringos in the parade was like a red rag to the locals. There was water and foam raining in from all angles. And completely indiscriminate. Foam in the eyes, water bombs thrown at full force from point blank, it was like a war zone. And as if that wasn't enough, some people had what can only be described as golf balls in socks, which were used to whip victims across the back and legs. Seriously, if this happened in Europe there would be riots. And there was nearly one here, as one of our group took exception to one whipping and piled into his assailants. There were considerably more of them than us, so we dragged him out and bobbed and weaved our way back to the hotel. Needless to say La Paz, and Bolivia in general lost its appeal after that.

Thankfully we're moving on to Peru next with a new tour leader, Jennifer, who appears to be missing the fairly basic tour leader requirement of being able to communicate verbally. Every detail of our future plans so far has had to be painstakingly prised out of her. Oh well, things can only get better as D:REAM once reminded us. Although we then got 10 years of Tony Blair.

written by

phileasdogg on February 22, 2009 from La Paz, Bolivia

from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs

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