Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SAN PEDRO PRISON
OnthesoutheastsideofPlazaSucrerisestheformidablebulkof
San Pedro Prison
(Cárcel
de San Pedro), for years one of Bolivia's most infamous tourist “attractions”. Critically
overcrowded, structurally precarious, rife with tuberculosis and increasingly a scene of
desperate protest, it nevertheless exerts a morbid fascination for the stream of foreigners
who continue to find their way in despite it being officially
illegal
to do so, despite the
obvious personal danger (no one will help you if trouble arises) and despite the negative
effects it can have on the prisoners and their families when authorities periodically decide
to clamp down.
Those whose curiosity gets the better of them will find what seems to so endlessly fas-
cinate Europeans: a self-governed microcosm of Bolivian society, with
shops
,
restaurants
and
billiard halls
; prisoners with money can live quite well here. Comfortable cells in the
nicer areas change hands for thousands of dollars, and many inmates have cell phones and
satellite televisions. Like the city on the other side of the walls, the prison is divided in-
to rich and poor neighbourhoods, with the most luxurious area reserved for big-time drug
traffickers, white-collar criminals and corrupt politicians: the most high-profile resident in
recent years has been the ex-Prefect of Pando,
Leopoldo Fernàndez
.
Those without any income, however, sleep in the corridors and struggle to survive on the
meagre official rations.
Family visitors
come and go regularly, and some children live in-
side with their fathers; when the riots erupt, it's the families who are often caught in the
midst of it. If you're intent on a tour against all advice, it's worth thinking long and hard
about the consequences it may have for both yourself and these families, even as you may
feel your entry fee is financially assisting them. With the presence of guards minimal and
cocaine
widely available, moreover, some gringos are foolhardy enough to try taking some
out with them; you can be assured that this is the best way to make your stay considerably
longer than you intended.
Museo Nacional de Arqueología Tiwanaku
Tiahuanacu 93, two blocks from Av 16 de Julio • Mon-Fri 9am-12.30pm & 3-7pm, Sat 9am-noon • Bs10 •
02 2311621
Shortly before the Prado (Av 16 de Julio) ends at Plaza del Estudiante, a left turn down some
steps and two blocks along Tiahuanacu brings you to the
Museo Nacional de Arqueología
Tiwanacu
. Set inside a bizarre neo-Tiwanaku building that was originally home to the natur-
alized Bolivian archeologist Arthur Posnansky, who led some of the first serious excavations
tures from the Inca and Tiwanaku cultures, though the exhibits are poorly explained. Among
the more eye-catching items is a collection of post-conquest Inca drinking cups, known as
