It’s Stories Like This That Keep Me Going:
The Bolivian capital of La Paz (meaning ‘peace’ in Spanish) is the highest capital city in the world at 11,811ft above sea level. The city is also known as The Shanghai of the Americas due to its unique markets, traditional customs and high location. The best golf course in the world is situated here, so crowned because the thin air helps the ball travel several feet further.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid died here; so did Che Guevera. More importantly to chocolate fans though, is its alleged story that around 1870 a British ambassador was publicly humiliated by General Melgarejo, who stripped him naked, strapped him to a donkey, force-fed a barrell-ful of chocolate and paraded him and the mule around the City. All because the poor ambassador declined an offer to drink the local fermented beverage called CHICHA. An infuriated Queen Victoria declared that Bolivia didn’t exist and literally crossed it off all British-made maps.
.
