Have you read Marching Powder by Rusty Young? I’d read a lot about this book on travel blogs, and then managed to find a copy in a hostel. It’s a compelling story of an English guy locked up in a Bolivian prison,. It tells how corrupt the police and government are within Bolivia and very interestingly talks about the lawless, even guard-less prison that stands in the middle of La Paz; San Pedro.
Because of the book we were already intrigued by San Pedro prison; it’s right in the centre of town and the first time we walked past there were three prisoners on the roof wielding iron bars; trying to fix something up there. They shouted at us as we walked past, being the only tourists on the street.
We’d heard the stories of past tours, which supposedly do still run although I am not brave enough to find out! We read online about Crazy Dave and his daily prison chats in San Pedro Square and decided this was a good compromise.
We had aimed to go to the square, hang around and see how many other gringos turned up for the talk that day before we committed ourselves. However, Crazy Dave is absolutely on it and HE WILL FIND YOU as soon as you even think of turning up at his tour! We were the first ones, but he bought another few over very soon after. He openly told us to hold on while he went to have a quick joint. We sat with his over-sized denim jacket, his over-sized cup of Coke and his funny little laminated sign. By the time he came back he’d gathered many more people. He tried to entertain us with some card tricks while we waited, although he was actually too wasted to remember them. Eventually there was over 20 of us there to listen to him that day.
Dave is an ex-convict from San Pedro prison and obviously still very much an addict. What followed was one of the strangest hours of our year of travel! I won’t ruin his stories for you but Dave is an entertaining character. He is almost a stand-up act, turning his misfortune and sometimes tragic life in to funny stories. He tells us he knows Tommy (star of Marching Powder) and assumes that’s all we are there for, but his life is just as intriguing and his well practised stories are really, really interesting. You cannot help but like this man and I’m almost banging my head in to my hands at different points of his story, just willing him to be able to sort his life out or to get a break.
His stories and his physical scars tell of a hard life. When we left, we tipped Dave for his time, and I just really hope that the money doesn’t all go to funding his drug habit. I couldn’t help but feel a little sad for this guy; his history, his drug stories and for what his future will hold.
This was a great way to spend an hour of your time in La Paz. If anything, it’s a great story for you to re-tell; the craziness of San Pedro prison relayed through Crazy Dave.
GO | San Pedro Plaza, 1pm daily. Based on tips.
