La Paz (Bolivia), part II

I was happy to get to spend another halfday in LaPaz before leaving Bolivia altogether, as I already knew my way around quite well, and it's always nice to know where you're headed, and there were a few things I still needed to check out in the center (including shopping ); I also needed to go get my celebrative T-shirt for having survived the Death Road on a MTB and the DVD-R with the pictures and videos from that adventure! I got the chance to go back to The Point, the hostel with by far the most comfortable beds on my trip, wash up, say HI to the people who work there, and grab my DVD and T-shirt!
I am not too sure why I liked LaPaz so much...maybe because the beds were so comfy, or because I really felt at home at the hostel, or because the city's dramatic physical setting nestled between mountains, or because it's one of the highest capitals in the world, or because it's big and crazy and hectic but at the same time manageable on foot...it's a probably a mix of all that!
I had missed out on a few things on my first visit, so my first run in the morning was for salteñas, filled pastry shells similar to empanadas but juicy inside...they're usually filled with either meat or chicken only (duh!), but my LP pointed me to a few that had veggie ones...they are only served in the morning, so I had to rush, because this was probably the only city in Bolivia with veggie ones (I had asked around, getting the same "We like meat around here" replies!)...they were kind of expensive and it was hard not to burn your tongue or spill "juice" everywhere, but I had 3-4 and was happy to have tried them!
Back to the central/chaotic part of the city, I finally made my way through alleys of the typical Andean articrafts, and hats, scarves, gloves, etc...I visited the Coca Museum, which was very interesting but definitely needed a bigger space, and then went through the witchcraft market, where I saw lots of llama embryos for sale...apparently if you build a house it's good to have one of those buried on the property!
Then I wandered around the black market which was total chaos, but not as active as usual because it was Saturday...right after my LP walking tour was over, it was time to go back to the bus terminal, which was very close-by! How convenient is that?!

My night bus back to Peru involved crossig the border at Desaguadero before it closed at 20...we got in line and quickly realized it would be a lengthy process! After patiently waiting for my turn for an entry stamp into Peru, I almost started laughing when the two people at the windows in front of me were almost arguing with the officers...one lady, diligently followed by her beautiful husky, started saying that she had lost all her papers but wanted to get through anyway, while the officer kept saying that she had to pay a fine of some sort...the other story was even more entertaining! This girl, whom I had not realized was so young since she was facing the other way, showed up to the window with her papers and the officer said that in order to cross she needed both of her parents' permission since she was a minor...she kept saying she was 18...the officer would look at her papers and say she was 17...he would ask her how old she was, and she would say 18...haha it was great!!! It went on for a good 5-6 minutes...he must have asked her at least 10 times, and she said "I'm 18" at least 10 times...although I was in a hurry, it was exhilarating! At some point she somehow decided to give up, picked up her ID and left!!! Ahhh finally my turn...

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