So carnival is definitely not exclusive to Oruro, it´s fiesta time all over Bolivia right now... or perhaps the celebration is just following Erin and I? On Sunday La Paz was buzzing with the carnival fever; the streets were swarming with people in costumes and, of course, more spray foam, water guns, and waterballoons. However, besides Oruro, the typical carnivals here are a little, well... messier. According to the owner of our hotel, the La Paz celebration is "more about the water and foam assaults... just a bunch of people acting crazy." With our hotel conveniently located on the main street where the parade came through, we chose to watch the action above from the safety of our balcony... until our caucasion-ness, and likely my red hair, got us noticed and waterballoons came bombing toward us.
Every Sunday evening, something very unique happens in La Paz; it`s called "Cholitas Wrestling"... For those of you unfamiliar with this entertainment marvel, picture a fake WWF wrestling show with local Bolivians - men in hilarious costumes, women in traditional Bolivian clothing, amd midgets - all fighting each other. However in a smaller venue with a fraction of the budget, but ten times more ridiculousness. Erin and I were lucky enough to experience this special event.
We were picked up by the gringo tour bus in the late afternoon and drove up and just outside of the city. (We stopped at a lookout point to take some pictures of La Paz, which is actually a wicked looking city. It`s beautifully situated in the valley of these huge, rugged mountains and the brick houses and buildings climb all the way up the sides.)
Back to the action: Us tourists were provided with "VIP" ringside seats; I`m still trying to figure out whether this was a good thing or not.
We were graced with a variety of characters and matches - singles and doubles, free-for-alls, and often the referee joined in.
I think one of the wrestlers, masculinely complete with a bird-beak mask, took an interest in Erin and I.
There was nothing else La Paz could possibly offer that would top the wrestling experience, so we took off the next day. We headed for the town of Copacabana on Lake Titicaca (where we are now).
In Copacabana, we decided to treat ourselves to one of the swankiest hostals in town (well, by our travel standards), called La Cupula. It`s a beautiful place that overlooks the lake and we have pretty suite with our own kitchen. And the restaurant has chocolate fondue.