Sophie, Hannah, a girl from Cologne, Germany who just started a 2 month internship in La Paz, and I went to the Coca museum. It was tiny but packed in a lot of information. Here’s what I learned:
1. Coca leaves are native to Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, and Brazil. They grow in warm climates (like las yungas) but can grow in different altitudes so usually in order to breed diversity in the plant, they are grown on step-like terraces in the mountains. That’s pretty clever.
2. Coca leaves actually contain the cocaine molecule, as well as two other cocaine molecule derivatives in smaller quantities. Although its not concentrated in the coca leaf, that’s why the effects of the leaves are weaker versions of the cocaine’s effects.
3. The leaves, especially when chewed, act as an anesthetic, a pain reliever, a stimulant, and as a strong hunger suppressant. For a while, they were traded as money and its use was promoted among the slaves because it allowed them to work longer with less food.
4. Coca extract was used in Coca-cola (hence the name) until it was deemed too dangerous to health by some people. Apparently, a coca-enhanced wine was introduced in Europe first and was very popular among the elite. However, because of prohibition in the United States, the inventor had to create a non-alcoholic drink and came up with Coca-cola. Proof that suppression does indeed bread creativity.
5. The United Nations has listed coca leaves as the cause of poverty in Latin America, especially Bolivia. (I still haven’t figured out this one…)
6. About 92% of men and 82% of women in rural Bolivia chew coca leaves
7. The museum showed all the steps that are taken to make cocaine out of coca leaves. Cocaine ends up containing ammonia, sulfuric acid, as well as other chemicals that I cannot remember. Apparently, synthesizing cocaine exposes the workers to a lot of toxic chemicals and is detrimental to their health. I doubt the drug lords are the ones making the white powder.
8. The majority of the cocaine is exported to, of course, the United States
9. Coca leaves remind me of green tea, for its color, slightly bitter taste, and its ability to be used as a flavor in everything. Coca drinks/foods that I have tried:
- chewing coca leaves
- coca tea
- coca candy
- coca liquer
- coca smoothie
- coca cookies
*I’m on the lookout for coca-flavoured ice cream, it must exist somewhere, right?
After the coca museum, I went home to make myself look a little more presentable (I brushed my hair) and we all met up at a nice Thai restaurant for our last night together, since many had early Sat. morning flights. Silly, if you ask me. Don’t they know that the best way to NOT miss your flight is to never go to sleep and celebrate?
Anyways, we went to a very nice Thai restaurant to begin our night. At first glance at the menu, it looked expensive. 50B’s for a main plate?! Until we did the math and realized its about $8. My perception of what is cheap and expensive has been so warped by Bolivia that its going to be painful to come back to the States and have to pay $3 for a croissant. The restaurant and food was superb. There were 20 of us seated at one big, long table and everyone was in a jolly mood, downing cocktails and appetizers. After dinner, we caught the last 20 minutes of a happy hour in a café where we got 2x1 mojitos/caipirinhas for25B’s. (yup, that’s 12B’s, or $1.50 for each mojito). They weren’t the best mojitos ever, but they were drinkable. Then we went to Melangrina, a local dance bar. It was a non-descript place off a side street but inside it was decorated with maroon walls and Andean masks and textiles. There I tried Chuflay, which is Singani, the local clear liquor, with sprite. I liked it enough to buy 2 during the night. The music choice was eclectic but mostly Spanish and dancing was optional. Then, around midnight, the beating of African drums began. Five women and 5 men came out and performed African dances that were brought over by the slaves to Bolivia. The men beat the drums while the women danced and sang. It was pretty incredible. I wonder why most African-Americans in the U.S. don’t have similar dances and culture than the Africans that came over as slaves to the Caribbean or Latin America. They danced for about 20 minutes and then again at 3am. I was there for both performances…We walked home around 3:30am, when the streets were empty and quiet. This will be about the time I will have to catch a taxi for my flight home in two weeks.
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