📸 Photo

MARCHING POWDER

be afraid. In all of my time as a guide, not one tourist was ever hurt in San Pedro. In fact, once visitors got over their initial fear of coming through the gate, most were amazed at how safe and relaxed the atmosphere was inside. In broad daylight there was little chance that any of the inmates would be stupid enough to try anything; apart from the payback they could expect from my bodyguards, the police would have severely punished anyone who attacked a tourist.

Eventually, the inmates welcomed tourists because they brought cash into the prison economy. I tried to spread business around so that everyone benefited. The taxistas made very easy money – normally, they charged half a boliviano per callout, but I let them charge double that, and to each tourist in the group; the restaurant and shop owners sold extra food; poorer inmates were often able to sell their artwork and souvenirs, such as key rings or small figurines; and even the beggars managed to scrounge a few small coins. During that initial period, at least, most of my visitors were attracted by the unique opportunity of seeing what life was like inside a Bolivian prison. But there was also another major attraction for the backpackers: taking cocaine.

With the police only ever entering the prison to carry out the lista, it was actually safer to do drugs inside the prison than outside. Ricardo used to joke about this all the time: 'What are they going to do if they catch you with coke in here? Send you to prison?' It was also safe for tourists to take cocaine in the prison. Everyone knew exactly what went on in my room, but providing I was discreet and paid the right guards their cut, they never bothered me.

Many tourists simply wanted to sniff one or two lines before they went out the gates, just to know what pure Bolivian cocaine was like. For others, it was the first time they had ever done it. And if you were going to try cocaine at all, why not in San Pedro? The cocaine was made in our laboratories, so it was cheap, and you knew it wasn't cut with anything nasty.

The trouble was, once we had started sniffing, it was hard to stop. My visitors always wanted to buy one more packet, especially when they became entranced by my stories about the jail. We would do more lines and then buy some cans of beer, and when it came time for them to leave, they wouldn't want to go. They wanted to hear more. Luckily, there was a solution: tourists could also sometimes stay the night in San Pedro.