Made it to La Paz!

Long trip to get here. If only airlines flew direct!

Had to descend to New Zealand where the duty free shop looked exactly like the duty free shop in Sydney. I learnt to apply perfumes for free in New Zealand. Smelled great on the way to Santiago where by some twsit of fate I was granted 3 seats up the back! Three!

Curled up and slept till we got to Santiago 5 hours late.
Lots of lines to show ur passport thru.

Chile is real dry. On way from the airport scenery corroberated this. Dry yellow hills with stocky, small green trees contrasting the tawny grass. Mountains surround Santiago. Small brick houses met us as we flew down the very swanky highway. A brown river seperated the highway to and from the airport. A few slum shacks next to the river. Reminded of Mike Davis´s "Planet of Slums" as this woman looked out at us from her minimal wooden shack on the dirty river. Plastic bags and mangy dogs. The Chilean bus driver said "iqual, es iqual" when I asked if newly president elect Michelle Batcharett had bought positive changes to the people. Meaning same- same.

Horses hanging around some housing clusters. Gorgeous old buildings. Spanish colonialists came down from Peru in 1525 to steal gold. They didn´t find gold or silver but Santiago´s soil was rich in minerals due to the indigenous people´s centuaries policy of slash and burn. The invasion of Chile began in earnest in 1540 - was carried out by Pedro de Valdivia who founded Santiago in Feb 1541. They stole the land and killed the indigenousl. They built beautiful old architecture with slave labor. Old street lamps that reminded me of scenes from The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. That was Santiago.

La Paz is ogglingly beautiful. Breathtaking. We came down the hill from Al Alto ' where La Paz´s airport is situated. Mountains kissed by lazy clouds. Languorous white clouds meet thousands of red bricked houses. Up and a mountaneous ravines. Billboards of Evo Morales greeted us. They are campaigning for soccer to be held in La Paz. Posters greeted us of that. Indigenous women with their bowlers hats. And distinctly woven brightly coloured shawls. "Two million people live in La Paz and El Alto" said our taxi driver. "They all support Evo Morales". A Bolivian journalist student in the plane who lives in indigenous Cochabama said support amongst young people for Morales is drawn on a class basis. "The poor and indigenous support Morales and the rich whities in the richer 5 eastern states don´t." Private universities, like those in Venezuela, are home to racist pro-American youth, she commented. "We had 50-60% illiteracy here before Morales. Now it is down to 20-30%".

"There is private and public education here" said our taxi driver. "The private is better, still, but since Evo Morales began his campaign for education it is getting better fot the poor."

Met a Brazilian guy on the plane, who is a lefty student doctor in Sao Paulo. We are sharing a room with a few beds up in a cheap motel near the centre of town. He rolled around today and ran into a rally with lots of indigenous women. Raining scattered the crowd before he could find out why they were rallying. The plaza where they were is surrounded by the presidential residencey - where Morales is supposed to be sleeping!!! and by the state parliament. I may get to say ello to Morales yet.

The Brazilians portugese is bleeding odd. It reminds me of German - they get gutteral. Then it sounds French. A Finnish guy we had dinner had said portugese reminds him of Russian. He can speak bad English and seems to understand bad Spanish. We´re managing to get on. Its cold. Will have to buy clothes which are not for summer. I read Lonely Planet before coming. It just didn´t sink in.

Am getting in touch with some gay and lesbian groups and some feminist groups. MAS - Morales´s party has an office. Will go there. Really want to get to a rally. Think they are on all the time so that wont be too hard. A gay and lesbian posting on the proposed constitution changes said there was a stipulation that marriage was between a man and a woman - outlawing same-sex marriage. 15 groups are talking to the government- waging protests according to this report I read. The reporter was pro-Morales. Will find out more!!

Many graffettio - pro-Evo - around La Paz. Not to same extent as Venezuala´s but good to see. There are soldiers in the streets of La Paz = the military is for most part = pro Morales. They are near the banks. I feel quite safe at night here. A couple of women said its safe to wander around. Just dont be overt with flashing cameras around. There is still poverty. Indigenous people begging on streets. Just very impressionistically - there were about the same amount that I see around Sydney Central station. The recent pension plan that Morales has instituted will help - older Bolivians get money each week from proceeds of nationalised gas. Not oddles but will help.

Evo Morales once said "I don't mind being a permanent nightmare for the United States.”
Lets all strive to be this!