📸 Photo

CHANGE OF PLANS

'Exacto. There will be no problem in Bolivia. You get on the plane, the plane flies to Europe and then is not my problem. You say nothing about me. I deny everything.' We shook hands.

Before we returned to Colonel Lanza's four-wheel drive, I bought a bottle of wine for his wife and a tricycle for each of his children.

'You are very kind, Mr Thomas,' said the colonel, putting his arm around my shoulder. 'My children will like you a lot. Maybe one day my family will come to visit you in England.'

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Bolivia is a very poor country, but I could tell there was money in the south of La Paz – La Zona Sur – where Colonel Lanza's house was located. You could almost smell it. Everything was bigger and cleaner and more modern. As we drove south, the dirty, cramped apartment buildings in the city centre gave way to freshly painted houses that were surrounded by high walls with private security guards patrolling outside. The cars were newer, and the traffic flowed more quickly along wider roads that were lined with trees. Even the people looked different. There were no colourfull Indian markets. I saw only boutiques and modern shopping arcades with big window displays set up for Easter. The few people on the sidewalks looked taller and thinner and whiter. They wore imported jeans and designer T-shirts. It was almost as if a little piece of the United States had been transplanted into the heart of South America. Even the sun seemed to be shining more brightly.

We arrived at the colonel's house, which was one of the smaller ones on the block but tastefully decorated inside. I got along very well with his family. I didn't get to know his wife very well because she couldn't speak English and spent most of the time in the kitchen cooking. However, Mario junior and Catalina played with me the whole afternoon. They were very well behaved at first and I could tell that the colonel was strict with them. After lunch, I taught them how to count in English and we played chasings around the small garden. Colonel Lanza watched us from the door and laughed.

'You see. They like you.'

Now that I had met his family, our trust in each other grew. He even mentioned doing some more business together after this run.

By the end of the afternoon the children were climbing all over me, squealing in delight.