As expected, I woke up to the sounds of cars honking their horns, and people selling their wares. No cumbia, thank god. This was at 6.30. I managed to stick it out till eight, but then got up and joined the throngs of people wending their way through.

I booked a trip for tomorrow which I cannot tell you about yet as my mom has asked me to tell her about any dangerous activities I do after I've survived. Let's just say it involves bikes.

I had breakfast at the snooty Hotel Rosario, but they had great fresh plums and pancakes which in part made up for the snootyness. I left the hotel and went to Hostal Republica, which is great and cosy and quiet and everything the other was not. I unpacked everything, to augment the feeling that I'm here to stay for a while.

I walked around the artesania shops for a while, but you realise that they all sell the same stuff so you won't really get something unique that they didn't sell in Sucre, or Potosi. Saying that, I did walk past the witches market which sells, amongst other weird things, llama foetuses. Apparently they're to be buried under your house for good luck. I didn't get any of those as the Chilean customs would probably courtmartial me for trying to bring that into the country, plus I can't afford to buy a house anyway. But I did buy a statuette of two lovers, a talisman to be (or remain) lucky in love, and one of Pachamama, which is just for general good luck.

The place I had lunch at was quite cool, it's called Angelo Colonial and the interior is a mix of all sorts of furniture, featuring lots of big chairs. The food (a veggie lasagna) wasn't all that special but I kept myself entertained by listening to the confused discussion between the Spanish speaking waitress and a bunch of non-Spanish speaking tourists.

I tried to find a bookstore with English books, but they only sold paperbacks with titles such as 'Forbidden Passionfruit' and 'Doctor Stud' (well, not really but you get the picture). I am starting to panic as running out of stuff to read for me is about as bad as not being able to breathe. I rubbed Pachamama for some good luck and she delivered...

But first I sent her and all the other stuff I bought on a quest. I went to buy a big box and lugged it to the DHL office, and the lady there was very helpful. She did eye up my newly bought fleece and said she liked it, so I'm not sure if that will make it over the Atlantic, but here's hoping... Sending it was nearly more expensive than buying it, but there was no way I could lug it around Peru as well. I need room for more souvenirs...

At second glance, the bookstore had a murder mystery book with stories from AC Doyle and Agatha Christie, plus: Harry Potter, kept on a secret shelf behind the counter. So I bought the Goblet of Fire, which should keep me busy till Cusco at least. There was a man nearly in tears because he had readf (in the Lonely PLanet, no doubt) that La Paz, and in particular this bookshop, was the only place where they sold LP guides, but the lady told him they didn't do them anymore.

La Paz is not a terribly beautiful city. Whatever nice buildings or churches there are, are obscured by the cars (well, taxis and minibuses, you barely see any private cars in La Paz) or market stalls. The first just make the city hectic and dirty, the second make it lively.

I came across tablefootball stalls, and shoeshine boys dressed like bankrobbers, Burger King, a demonstration, a stall with cuddly toys which had a huge Garfield and a guy selling electric wires (he had them hanging around his neck like beads) and people in business suits on mobile phones stepping over people in (traditional dress) rags.

Incidentally, the shoeshine boys (of which some are syndicated, they all have the same jacket) sometimes cover their faces as they are trying to avoid social stigma (so LP tells us). They are working to make their way through school but don't want to be recognised by their fellow schoolmates or their parents, which is why they dress with a cap over their head.

Oh, the cinema has Ocean's Twelve on at Christmas... Might have to check that out.