Headed to Plaza Murillo for the tour I had booked for the morning. I got there a bit early so had time to admire the Presidential Palace which is one of the buildings which front the plaza. I also witnessed a flag raising ceremony which was done with a little pomp but not much fanfare. I was surprised by the police presence but when my guide, Marcelo, arrived he explained that either the President or the Vice President must be about to leave. Suddenly there was...

My flight into La Paz arrived at1am. Cleared customs, my driver was waiting and off we went for what I thought would be the usual airport to hotel trip. How wrong was I. Within minutes we were driving through a virtual ghost town. Every building was secured by a roller door, there was no one to be seen and no cars. Not even parked cars. The only inhabitants were packs of dogs roaming the streets and scavenging amongst the piles of rubbish. In daylight hours ...