Spells, drugs, and rock 'n' wrestle

WRESTLERS fighting with fire, the purest cocaine in the world and a witches' market – welcome to La Paz.

Danger money ... La Paz locals lap up a typical Bolivian bash. No fire ball required this time. Picture: Andrew Carswell

I HAD one eye on the exit, nervously calculating the best escape route through the throngs of screaming Bolivians.

The other eye was fixated on a flaming wrestler. A female wrestler. One who had just been doused in kerosene, had her long plaited locks singed off and was attempting to outrun a ball of flame that had suddenly engulfed her dress.

Apparently it was part of the act - WWF wrestling, Bolivian-style, where the men beat up on the chicks.

I wasn't convinced. Neither were the smarter tourists who had long fled out the front door to wait in the relative serenity of their tour bus, either appalled by the fictional beltings or for fear of being burned alive.

Conversely, the locals were lapping up the entertainment, loudly baying for the blood of the villains and bellowing at every moment of hilarity. For them, this was a routine Sunday afternoon spectacle, an event well worth saving a pocketful of Bolivianos for a month to get your family in the door.

For the locals, residents of La Paz's sprawling slum suburb of El Alto, this was the highlight of the year.

Llama fetus and spell concoctions

Apart from the city's international airport, there is nothing else that would warrant a tourist's attention in El Alto. It is renowned as a den of iniquity, a gringo's worst nightmare, a burgeoning suburb of a million people that clings perilously to the edge of a deep canyon.

The real beauty of this often forgotten Latin American metropolis lies over the canyon's lip. La Paz, proper, is down there. A long way down there - 1000m down there, to be precise.

Top tips: Bolivia travel guide

Perhaps forgetting about the natural beauty of Rio de Janiero for a moment, La Paz is easily South America's most dramatic and captivating cityscape, resembling a deep ant-infested soup bowl, hemmed in on one side by the snow-capped Illampu Mountain, the other by narrow suburbs that reach for the sky.

The urban focus for many travellers who venture to this dizzying capital is the infamous witches' market, a collection of narrow and busy cobbled streets where you can score a bargain.

That's if you have a penchant for llama fetus and spell concoctions.

Wandering the market is an enlightening experience, practising your Spanish bartering techniques, enjoying the peaceful nature of the locals and sampling their wares, whether it be a "genuine' alpaca scarf, or a barbecued chorizo.

Most of the local women here go about their business decked out in elaborate indigenous costumes, complete with a long flowing dress, a thick layer of multi-coloured knitted jumpers, the stylish and well-balanced Bolivian hat that sits high and braided hair that plunges below their posteriors.

The purest cocaine in the world

To sit in one of the many Europea-style squares and watch them knit or sell their wares is captivating.

Perhaps the best square to get a feel for the real La Paz is San Pedro, a well-manicured hideaway where the locals come to siesta in the shade, where businessmen chat over chess and fried chicken and where travellers come to look at the walls of a prison - seriously.

Before the laws were changed in April, travellers could pay to take a tour of the notorious San Pedro Prison, made famous by the bestselling book Marching Powder by Australian law graduate Rusty Young.

They could also pay to stay in the jail, in the cells of known drug traffickers and murderers.

The Bolivian Government would never admit it, but the locals will tell you - even tempt you with a sample - that San Pedro Prison is where the purest cocaine in the world is made.

All tourists get to see of the prison now is its imposing walls and the flow of family members and children (many of whom live in the prison) filing in and out of the gates.

La Paz also has its fair share of "world's best … " attractions: The World's Most Dangerous Road, for one, a cliff-hugging road north of the city that claims up to 200 lives a year. In a bizarre celebration of this fact, tourists hurtle down the road on mountain bikes, hoping to not join the statistics, plunging from 3600m to the town of Coroico at 1700m in the space of 30km.

La Paz can also lay claim to having the World's Highest Golf Course, which, due to its own rugged canyon and surreal rock formations, is akin to playing golf on the moon.

World's Cheapest French Food

For dining, we opted for French during our stay in La Paz. The French connection is surprisingly strong in this city, says the French manager of our apartment. Perhaps similarly to Australian food, there is nothing really distinctive about Bolivian food.

Tastes Peruvian to me. But you can't beat the value of any food here.

Where else in the world can you be served quality French in a fine-dining restaurant, washed down with an Argentinean malbec for as little as $5.

Actually, add that to the list of La Paz superlatives - World's Cheapest French Food. Oh, waiter?

Top tips: Bolivia travel guide

FAST FACTS

Getting there: Flight Centre is offering return economy airfares from Sydney to La Paz, flying American Airlines.

Prices start from $2998 a person, including taxes. Valid for sale until November 11, 2010, and for travel from March 1, 2010. Phone Flight Centre on 1300 939 414.

Package: Quickbeds.com is offering three nights' accommodation at the four-star El Rey Palace Hotel with hot buffet breakfast daily from just $125 a person twin share.

The European-style hotel, located in downtown La Paz, has been operating for 11 years and offers its own restaurant with a pub.

The package is valid for travel between February 1 and March 31, 2010. Ph 1800 002 333.