La Paz, Bolivia is a bustling city of more than one million. In its heart, you could almost be forgiven for forgetting its third world status. Amongst the high rises you can even find a McDonalds. But the illusion of first world grandeur is quickly shattered once you step into the side streets. High-rises give way to haphazardly assembled stalls laden with everything a witch could desire. Surrounded by the plethora of shriveled fetuses, a quarter pounder with cheese is the last thing you'd expect to find.
However, if it's dried frogs, Bolivian armadillos, ceramic figures of naked couples or dried llama fetuses that you're after, you've come to the right place. But what are they used for? And how does a backpacker with only backpacker Spanish find out?
You could hire a translator, as I did, or simply refer to the list below:
Llama fetus (dried): To protect the house. An estimated 99% of Bolivian families have a dried llama fetus thrown under the foundations of their house for luck.
Llama fetus (burnt on a plate of sweets and herbs): To ensure luck for a new business venture.
Dried frogs: For money. If you stick a cigarette in your frog's mouth, your chances of striking it rich will increase.
Bolivian armadillos: Kind of like a Chubb alarm. Stick one above the entrance to your house, and it will prevent thieves from entering
Amulette d'amor (ceramic couple embracing): To get yourself hitched.
Naked ceramic couples: To improve the sex life, rectify impotency, and increase fertility
If you're exploring with us on the Bolivian Backroads tour, you'll have plenty of time in La Paz to navigate the markets. After returning from an outing to the Salt Desert, any adventurer worth her weight in, well, you know, won't want to miss out on the wares and wonders of the Witches' Market. It's only a few short blocks away from the hotel where you'll be staying. We'd hate to deny anyone the opportunity to take home a dried frog and hit the jackpot - as long as you send some of your new-found wealth our way!
Mary was very helpful. Quick to reply with helpful information and closure on arrangements.
Nicola Maxwell
1 hour ago
Our agent Jessica was very helpful with the whole process and always responded in a timely way to all of our questions.
K Van
1 day ago
Chern was very patient snd helpful.
CaBaba
2 days ago
Cruse ship was great. Fantastic food and service. Cruise itinary got changed so not what we expected, but not an major issue. Japan portion was great. Drivers/guides arranged by 80 Days were great. Hotels were mostly ok. Did not know that most hotels outside of major cities do not allow shoes to be worn in the hotel. again a minor inconvenience. Overall a great trip. Adventure Life communications were timely and much appreciated as far as changes/requests.
Peter Goff
3 days ago
We were a group of three that initiated our research by independently searching for the best agency to help us in the somewhat complex experience of traveling to the Galapagos. We chose adventure life because they were the most responsive in the website provided the most comprehensive overview of the trip. Their reviews were also very good.
Adventure, life splits up its booking process in two parts. First Jeff, the booking agent helped us decide which experience best suited are interests. We chose a small 14 to 16 group sized yacht. Once the booking was made with Jeff, we were handed off to Coleene, who oversaw the complex process of assembling all of the necessary documents and making sure we had everything we needed to make the trip go smoothly. The adventure, life website, then becomes your personal place of reference for all things related to your trip from door to door. It’s a lot of information to assemble, especially for three travelers, but the website makes it easy and Colleen‘s gentle reminders kept us on track. In all, from the beginning, we had four months from the time we started our research till the time we departed. We felt that was, a good amount of preparation time and don’t think it would be wise to do it in less than four months. Mostly because I think you have more options with that amount of time. There were others on our trip that took six months and more from the time they started planning.
The trip itself was outstanding. We ended up on an excellent yacht (Galapagos Angel II) with a great group of guests that we were able to connect with and put together a really nice google photos album to share.
Jed
1 week ago
Mary was very helpful. Quick to reply with helpful information and closure on arrangements.
Nicola Maxwell
1 hour ago
Our agent Jessica was very helpful with the whole process and always responded in a timely way to all of our questions.
K Van
1 day ago
Chern was very patient snd helpful.
CaBaba
2 days ago
Cruse ship was great. Fantastic food and service. Cruise itinary got changed so not what we expected, but not an major issue. Japan portion was great. Drivers/guides arranged by 80 Days were great. Hotels were mostly ok. Did not know that most hotels outside of major cities do not allow shoes to be worn in the hotel. again a minor inconvenience. Overall a great trip. Adventure Life communications were timely and much appreciated as far as changes/requests.
Peter Goff
3 days ago
We were a group of three that initiated our research by independently searching for the best agency to help us in the somewhat complex experience of traveling to the Galapagos. We chose adventure life because they were the most responsive in the website provided the most comprehensive overview of the trip. Their reviews were also very good.
Adventure, life splits up its booking process in two parts. First Jeff, the booking agent helped us decide which experience best suited are interests. We chose a small 14 to 16 group sized yacht. Once the booking was made with Jeff, we were handed off to Coleene, who oversaw the complex process of assembling all of the necessary documents and making sure we had everything we needed to make the trip go smoothly. The adventure, life website, then becomes your personal place of reference for all things related to your trip from door to door. It’s a lot of information to assemble, especially for three travelers, but the website makes it easy and Colleen‘s gentle reminders kept us on track. In all, from the beginning, we had four months from the time we started our research till the time we departed. We felt that was, a good amount of preparation time and don’t think it would be wise to do it in less than four months. Mostly because I think you have more options with that amount of time. There were others on our trip that took six months and more from the time they started planning.
The trip itself was outstanding. We ended up on an excellent yacht (Galapagos Angel II) with a great group of guests that we were able to connect with and put together a really nice google photos album to share.
Jed
1 week ago
Mary was very helpful. Quick to reply with helpful information and closure on arrangements.
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