📸 Photo

MARCHING POWDER

You can tell a lot about people when you first meet them. I liked Colonel Lanza as soon as I saw him open the hotel door and stride confidently into the reception area where I was waiting. He was of medium height with broad shoulders, and he was dressed smartly in pants and a jacket with no tie.

'Good evening, Mr Thomas,' he said, looking me straight in the eye and shaking my hand very firmly. He had a forceful way about him – which I had expected, since he was a colonel – but he was also friendly and extremely polite. When we went out to his four-wheel drive, he walked around and opened the passenger's side door for me.

'So. How you like La Paz, Mr Thomas?' the colonel asked as we drove off. 'Very cold, no?'

I didn't feel comfortable enough just yet to tell him he had my name wrong.

'Freezing,' I said, looking over at him. Now that I could see him up close, I noticed that the sides of his mouth drooped down whenever he stopped smiling. He looked at me sideways when he noticed me studying him. 'But it's nice,' I added.

During the drive to the restaurant, we talked mainly about Santa Cruz, which Colonel Lanza knew. He also told me about his wife and two young children.

'How old are your children, Mario?' I asked, trying to keep the conversation flowing.

'Mario junior has eight years and Catalina has six years. They are very beautiful. You must meet them.' The way he talked about his children made me think this was a man I could trust. We also talked about Tito, but by the time we were seated in the restaurant, we seemed to be running out of things to discuss.

'Do you like a beer?' he asked in order to break an awkward silence that had settled upon us. I didn't want one, but I didn't want to risk offending him on our first meeting.

'Yes, thank you. I'd love one.'

'Have you tried the beer of La Paz? Is called Paceña.'

'Not yet.'

'Is not like beer of Santa Cruz. You will see.'

He was right. For a start, it was impossible to pour.

'Slowly,' the colonel warned when he saw the glass filling with froth.

30