Now I want to go to La Paz...

[fajrdrako]

I was web-browsing for photos of places, as I like to do, and came across this interesting photo by Tom Robinson labelled Llama foetuses. Witches market, Sucre, Bolivia.

How odd, thought I. Especially since I am currently reading Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett, about the witches of Lancre, and not a llama foetus among them. (As far as I know.) Then I did a double take. Witches' market? Here and now? Really? So I looked it up.

And sure enough. This description says casually:

...The most prominent product available in the Witches' Market are dried llama fetuses, which are fairly large and moderately disturbing to the foreign visitor. These are always buried in the foundations of new constructions or businesses as a cha'lla (offering) to the goddess Pachamama.

I find the second sentence more remarkable than the first. National Geographic has an article on it all. (I love this world!)

Some of the sites have photos which look as if they are from Harry Potter or Discworld itself. And it reminds me of some shops I went to in New Orleans.

Another tourist website has a handy tip: "If you stick a cigarette in your frog's mouth, your chances of striking it rich will increase." Who knew?