La Paz, Bolivia & San Pedro Prison

The bus from Copacabana was only 3 hours to La Paz but was one of the strangest experiences. All of a sudden we were stopped in a desolate area, the driver mumbled something and got off. After a minute or two of waiting all the gringos on board were starting to get very confused. We eventually realized we were supposed to get off the bus and board a little boat to cross a river, while the bus boarded its own transfer. It was very dark, hardly any lights around us, and quite cold. We all squeezed onto this barely floating boat and huddled together for warmth. It felt like we were being smuggled into the city. Quite odd... As we drove through the outskirts of the city I was appalled by all the trash. It was everywhere, all through the streets. However the immediate downtown area was trash-free. La Paz is at an altitude of 3600 meters, and the city is on a slope, so it was taxing just walking around. We stayed at the Wild Rover Hostel which was quite the party hostel. The Loki Hostel is right around the corner, and they all come to the Wild Rover bar each night. Lucky for us, our dorm room was right next to the bar - so sleep was not an option. To be fair, the hostel closes the bar at 1:30am and forces you to bed or out to the clubs. At 1:30 taxis are lined up outside the hostel ready to take you to the chosen club, so everyone just piles in a continues the party. The San Pedro prison is a popular stop among the backpackers. It is not actually legal to visit the prison, yet it is a major tourist attraction. This prison is very unique, in that the inmates families can live with them inside the prison. (We had a little girl rollerblading all around us during our visit). The prisoners have to pay to enter the prison then they have to buy or rent a cell. There are two sides to the prison that you can visit (sperately). The larger side is Population, which houses those who have committed murder, rape, and a plethora of other crimes. The other side is the "VIP side" which only holds around 150 people, mostly major drug crimes and political prisoners. We were unknowlingly brought to the VIP side. While Bolivia is extremely inexpensive, the prison visit will cost you 450 Bolivianos (about US$64). The guards allow the illegal visits because they pocket 400bs from each tourist. The other 50bs goes to your guides. We had two guides, one had been in the prison for 16 years, caught with 4 tons of cocaine on a plane headed towards the US. The other has been there for 9 years, even though he hasn't actually been convicted yet. His court date keeps getting pushed, so even though he hasn't been found guilty yet, he has served significant time. He is a third generation drug lord, most of his family is living in the Hamptons. His father's godfather was Pablo Escobar (so he says anyways..) We sat inside a closed cell for about three hours talking to these two men. We could ask them anything we wanted - sometimes they were very careful with their answers, and other times they just laughed and refused to answer. It was so surrreal having a candid conversation with these big time drug offenders. Other than the prison La Paz does not have too much to offer. Many backpackers get stuck here just because it is so cheap and they want to party. We stayed for four days then made our way down to Uyuni.