San Pedro

Today I spent the day in my children's centre in the babies room - all under 3 and one actual baby who I got to play with all morning!

We had a meeting with CIES, the clinic that organised PAP tests which hopefully we will be organising for the mothers in our centres. While waiting for the meeting to start we waited in San Pedro square, the square where the infamous prison is (read 'Marching Powder' to find out why it is infamous!). It was so bizar, on the edge of this beautiful and relaxing sqaure is the prison, which not very high walls and a very pretty entrance. Although you cant really see in the photo ( photos are banned so this was a sneaky snap!) through the big gate you can see lots of the prisoners milling around in the square past some bars. They all waved at us and beckoned us in, wanting to get some extra cash from a tourist tour (to spent maybe on a prison cell that they have to buy or rent themselves, or maybe a meal in one of the many prisoner run restaurants inside, or maybe some of the 'best' cocaine produced in Bolivia - produced in the prison!!?!). There was a constant queue of women and children getting their bags checked before going into prison, families often live inside and can come and go as they please, with bags full of fruit and veg!

Walking to our meeting across the square we looked back to see a prisoner casually sitting on one of the roofs inside the prison smoking, looking very relaxed and not at all worried to be in prison!