Graham Milton

I’ve discovered a new fetish of mine:

I went out and bought a replacement sketch pad yesterday. It was a decent enough pad… good price, ok paper quality, leather bound… A very sensible purchase.

But as I was paying, I saw another book, which was…

…divine

Oh god - I’ve discovered a new fetish: overpriced handmade sketch books! It was a one off production, made by the paper company. There are no others like it: Perfect size, amazingly soft dark leather, HEAVY paper; perfect for ink work. So beautiful!

But I had just bought the sensible sketch pad… and my dream book cost about the same as two months accommodation in Bolivia!

I moped around for an hour, I couldn’t get this other book out of my mind. I eventually ran back to the store and swapped my mediocre purchase with this devine new book, for a ridiculous amount of money…

I cant wait to fill it up!

Ok maybe its too early to be making judgement calls… but Buenas Aires definitely does NOT feel like the rest of South America. Really its just like being back in Europe. Everything I so far attribute to SA is a million miles from here: poor kids hastling me to buy something, run down streets and buildings, dogs and llamas running through the streets, etc. etc… Oh well maybe I’ll just holiday like I’m in Europe for a while. I think its time to do a little shopping. Find some galleries and cafes. And maybe take some spanish lessons. And a nap. Hmmm, definitely a nap. In other news, I read a good book last night: Tuesdays with Morrie. A short read, but circling around death and philosophy in a beautiful way that gives lessons on living more loving and human lives. I thought that the ideas could have been pushed further, but given it was a true story, I found it heart-warming.

Despite the unfortunate ending to my time in La Paz, I really love the city. It’s strange, because I have generally hated every other city like it: both the city and its inhabitants are AMAZINGLY dirty! Its far too crowded. Its too noisy. There are traffic jams at every other intersection, so there was a constant drone of a dozen car horns. There’s a constant threat of theft and of violence (there are cops with shotguns on every other corner) and there is poverty everywhere.

But, for some reason, I loved every second of being there: It was such an unpredictable place! Despite everything, the city had mystery… and I was intrigued.

With the majority of the city’s tradings happenning in makeshift stalls on the side of street, its like one giant, surly market-place. Haha, and I was blown away by just random the stalls were! Walking any given street you could find: Toilets for sale, then lingerie, raw meat hanging by hooks, stationary, snacks and coca leaves, then spare car parts and hardware accessories!

Oh, and I love coca leaves.

mmmmmmmmm

Therein may lie the reason…

I was robbed the other day! Bastards! Quirky Anacdote ensues:

Its 6.30 in the morning, and I’m walking through La Paz to get to the int’l bus terminal: Tired and grumpy. Walking up a steep hill. Pre-coffee. Carrying my heavy main backpack and my small ‘day’ backpack.

And a bird craps on my head!

A massive squirt of bird crap ran from my back, over my head, onto my backpacks on onto the pavement. Bastards.

I blink a few times in shock, then start trying to clean myself up… A passer-by chuckles to himself, then offers a few sheets from his newspaper, I mumble thanks, take off my backpacks and start trying to wipe clean both myself and my bags.

It wasn’t until after only a few moments when I realised what had happenned: This wasn’t bird shit, it was mustard… and my small backpack has disappeared! Someone had squirted me with mustard, and the old man with the newspaper distracted me while someone else grabbed my stuff.

Bastards.

As well as getting miscelaneous daytime stuff like my Holga camera and Lonely Planet guides, the bastards took my sketch pad!

I’m not so concerned about material crap, like the books or leather jacket, but now I’ll never be able to get a decent scan of my old sketches of Cusco, and now nobody will see the new illustrations. I’m yet to decide if I should start a new sketch pad, or if I should leave the idea be.

Took an overnight bus into Copacobana, Bolivia last night. About to catch a boat over to Isle De Sol.

From what I can gather, theres not much to do other than a few quiet hikes to see the Incan ruins, and generally skulk about on the beach drinking and admiring the view. Something tells me there won’t be many internet cafes, so you may not here from me for a week or so, probably not till I’m in Lima or Buenas Aires (Feb 9).
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Oh and a word of caution for anybody out there thinking about travelling to a spanish speaking country and going to the local markets in the morning for a nice cheap meal:

DO NOT ORDER PATITAS FOR BREAKFAST!

In fact, do not order Patitas under ANY circumstance!

I have a habit of randomly ordering things from the menu, despite having no idea what Im getting… At least this way Im not always ordering the chicken curry.

Anyway, I was face to face with a WHOLE PIGS TROTTER, sitting up to the knee joint in a watery stew.

oh. my. god.

I politely sipped at the stew and even prodded at the trotter (toe nails and skin still intact) and even nibbled on SOMETHING floating in the water.

Despite whatever i tried washing my mouth with, I could still taste it for the rest of the day! ! GAR!!