La Paz it’s highest located capital city in whole world. Closer to sun isn’t even capital of Nepal or Buthan. Those who are coming here directly from Europe can have some problems with altitude sickness. From windows of plane city looks like taken from mountains. As boil over from giant pot into which are looking two old ladies – Huayna Patosi (6088m ASL) and Illmani (6430m ASL). Legend said that there was also third one, Mururali. But after argue with Illmani she said magic spell: Sarja mi! which in Indians Ajmari means “get lost!”. Spell hit Mururali in neck and her head rolled through Altiplan and finally reached peak Sajamy and made from it highest mountain of Bolivia (6542m ASL). Since that moment into pot looked only two old heads. They saw how small village Choqueyapa was create and how came there conquistadors from symbol of sword and missionaries under cross. They saw how roads much more hilly than in San Francisco were created and how poor people were pushed up on hills by reach one.

City of thousand of pigeons…

… one strange clock (look on numbers)…

… and one strange tent. Few times police woke me up but that was first time when woke me up special police squad. They told me that under viaduct is manifestation and they just wanted to check who is inside my tent. They wished me good dreams and went just like that!

Today city can looks like every other city in Bolivia. The same buildings made by red bricks constructed without any plan which looks like from Tetris, but from giant cash from cocaine. The same places on streets where You can buy food and the same corrupted police. There is some saying here: “Be aware of Peruvian’s rednecks, Bolivian’s law and Chilean’s girls”. Even very restricted law here always work paragraph 20 or 50 depend of offense – rolled bill of 20 or 50 pesos. City bigger, maybe a little bit more moved but in construction the same. Besides few small things which makes from that place very interesting city.

When finally I found really beautiful church, I also found there this information. I wonder if they want to protect more paintings or incomings from turism.

Last one in the middle of glasses towers

Church changes in bank. Like in every capital main religion in La Paz is money

Teleferico! Most modern thing whitch La Paz have! Because capital is located in the middle of mountains there is no possibility to build here metro. That is best solution. Fast, efficiently, clean. Like in Europe

Really interesting is also museum of coca. You can know there coca’s place in culture abut also chemical composition…

… types of coca and how they harvest it…

… good influence for health…

… but also bad one …

Finally You can received full receie how to destilate cocaine 🙂

i check also local cinemas. Form bottom to up. And I need to say that people here have so enthusiasm and ingenuity that in Europe we can envy it!

It’s boring to see some new movie in cinema. It;s much better to see movie from 1924 🙂

In La Paz even in not enough oxygen everybody are running like crazy. They don’t have time to stand in queue, search specialists or offices. They will find them.

Local government said that You made Your mud hut without permission and need to disappear? But You left Your primary school after first week and only what You can write is “coca”? It’s not a problem! In front of every government are waiting for You guys with typewriter which for few bucks gonna write every type of document. Including love letter or letter from kidnapper.

Your leaking sink or You wanna connect without permission to electricity lines? On sidewalk are waiting for You few begs with names of professions of theirs owners. To your can You can invite electricians, painters, plasterer or even thief if You wanna open locked car.

You wanna call to Your brother who is illegally in United States but You don’t have mobile phone and only one which You saw was on billboard? It’s not a problem! Next time when You will go to buy in booth tomatoes, bread and newspaper You can use in the same place homey phone with counter! You can meet this kind of phone on almost every booth here.

On street You can also find something else – magic. Real one, in which believe almost every citizen of Bolivia with president Evo Moralez. Days ago they searched place to hide in dark, and only rednecks from villages looked for there after they pray under foots of Holy Mary in Saint Francis church. Now witches don’t feel fear against heat of waiting for them stack, and Mercado de las Brujas are one from city attractions. You will find here amulets for every occasion, you will see future in coca leaves, and in infusion from datura You gonna go through gates of ghosts, ehre You will receive advice, or you will lost Your soul.

Single witches You can meet in every Bolivian city but only in capital theirs stall takes few streets. When You gonna watch them from outside You can thing that they are like a another shops with souvenirs. Sometimes really small, sometime when we gonna walk through small doors we will realized inside huge magic palace – like in kids story. First what will catch You attention is smell of herbs, dried skins of animals and smell of burning. Smell of magic. And after that… dried fetus of lamas. Fluffy or small one without fur. In Bolivia it’s good tradition to put under new building skeleton! When You are constructing small home it’s enough to put skeleton of animal. But bigger invest request bigger sacrifice. Request human bones. Who’s found eternity calmness in cement? Usually are people who are working there. Of course in Bolivia is a lot of work safety regulations but even that people work in sleepers etc. So accidents there are normal thing. Nobody will open champagne when Jose gonna put piece of metal into head, but investor now can sleep calmly. Because body of Jose conserved by cement should guarantee safety end of construction. And what about family? They will not looks for Jose? Yes, but… they will never find them. Or in situation when accident was really good documented family will receive a lot of money, enough to build new home, but body of theirs husband/son gonna stay forever under construction. Different “source” are homeless. Nobody gonna look for them.

How much cost fetus of lamas and in the same success of investment? It’s depends, small one cost 35 pesos, big one even 150 pesos. I saw tourist who bought them as a souvenirs. “You wanna build a house” one from witches asked tourist who touched fetus. “No, I just wanna touch”. “So please don’t do it, because part of You will join lama and after that You will be in someone home”.

It’s much safer to touch amulets for every occasion, dark bottles, bags with powdered crystals and many other things. Pentagrams with face of jaguar’s warrior are lying next to turtles shelves, crocodile’s claws, legs of armadillo, dried snakes and imagines of catholic saints. Saint Roza from Lima who can give beauty for girls or dark saint Martina de Perros who understand language of animals. Here faiths are mixing like in huge pot. After one holy mass I took priest to bench and asked what church is think about that and what want to do with that. “That faith is oldest even from whole Church. Only what we can do is to inform that witches and whole cult connected with them is bad”. And what about Pachamama and God of Sun? What with faith of Indians Quechua and Aymara? “if people believe that on first place is Jesus and after Pachamama everything is ok. We can’t and don’t want to do with that anything. It’s like to fight with windmills”. And that’s how it works here. At morning people are going down in incense in churches, and later in incense in their own altar in houses for dark forces.

Under my foots are dried owls and heads of caimans, but when I looked up I saw whole wall of magic candles. There are for love, potency, cellulitis, warts. For end rumors and death. To give for someone diseases. To lost mind. To disconnect lovers. On next shelf are magic perfumes. You just need to use few drops and every man gonna be yours. What is interesting I didn’t anything like that for men. For them are other perfumes: “Use it, and Your shop will be full of clients!”. At the end were waited magic soaps and bubble bath. During bath is necessary to spell in the same moment Paternoster and Hail Mary. How work magic soap? Will bring love, clients, cash. Even for students are special soaps which will bring knowledge.

Stands are banding under weight of herbs and 1001 other magic things. But if You don’t find what You wanna find witches can prepare for You special spell. Under one from tables I saw one waited for client. Small paper box with ashes, horseshoe, some other metal things, few herbs and candies. You just need to burry that and will start works. Other You need to burn like that for riches and Gid’s blessing, which looks like small Holy Mary made from marzipan with small crystals and dollars.

Between shops on colorful carpet are sitting yatari, magic healers and augurs. In theirs bags You can find amulets, talismans and magic powders. From coca leaves poured by alcohol they can read future and when I watched how they work, I need to say that they don’t need to worry about clients. They also know how to solitude problems with cash, in work, on university. But people worried me to not prickle them because they have huge power.

In one from shops I laughed when I saw another soup for rednecks which should bring them good weather and a lot of harvests. I regretted that, because seller with without few teeth in front hissed something and made strange gesture. I wanted to believe that she practiced choreography for cheerleaders. But inside voice told me to go out that place as soon as possible before she will change me in frog or something worst gonna happen than visit of Revenue Agency. I don’t believe in that kind of things but I played as a guest, and as everybody knows even walls are helping for guests so I didn’t wanted to tempt fate.

But if someone will not believe in protection of magic can believe in magic of padlocks. I saw shop close on… 17 padlocks!