Day 73 - Foetuses and mummies

Cochabama

Cochabamba is known as the city of eternal spring, and so far it's lived up to that reputation. First off we tried to get to Cristo de Concordia, but when we were close enough to see if the cable cars were running it was apparent that they weren't - so that was put onto tomorrow's list.

Instead we walked up to the main market in Cochabamba, called La Cancha, which is the largest open air market in South America. Before we even reached the market itself the streets around it were full of people selling things, mainly produce, along the paths on either side. Then once we were in the market it was chaos - people everywhere, stalls selling almost anything you can think of. Apparently the place is infamous for pickpockets, but we were our usual cautious selves and didn't have any trouble.

Spot the dead llama

In our wandering through the market we came across the witches section with people reading cocoa leaves and cards, and many llama foetuses  and even what appeared to be baby llamas dried and hanging up, which are buried in the foundations of new houses as an offering. There was also a human hair area, which answers the question of how all the local women can have such amazing long black hair past their waist.

After the market we visited the Museo Arqueologico de la Universidad, which was small but had a good selection of mummies and other archaeological oddities (as well as the usual ceramics, textiles and tools).

I bet he never thought he'd end up here

To finish the day we visited the Palacio Portales, a beautiful old house built by a man who made a fortune out of silver mining, the house was in great condition and the garden was well kept. We had arrived in time for the English speaking tour, however our guide's knowledge of the language wasn't too good .... so the tour was a little frustrating. Then again we are in a Spanish speaking country so perhaps we shouldn't expect to be spoon fed all the time!