Barbies & Bananas in Bolivia

A number of interesting, and in some cases unusual, things have happened since my last blog on La Paz…

La Paz is well known for it’s rich market scene and extensive range of products on offer at these markets. In fact, there is almost no need to make a trip to the supermarket. At our local Mercado Rodriguez, not only is there a diverse array of fresh bread, fruit and vegetables, but one can also find spices, nuts, barbie dolls, beauty products, bread, cheese, pasta, rice, toiletries, electronic appliances, cows tongues, fish, llama foetuses, clothing… and the list goes on. It is also nice to see the friendly cholitas (some of whom manage to transport all of their produce to and from the market in a bag slung across their back) on the receiving end of the payment as apposed to a faceless supermarket franchise.

While the market scene can be bustling and exciting, unfortunately it was also at Mercado Rodriguez that I had a rather confronting experience. Before arriving in Bolivia I had read a lot about the fact that, because the Bolivian culture remains very traditional, many of the cholitas are against tourist photographing them. However, as I had already spent a week in La Paz and hadn’t experienced any problems, I thought perhaps it had been an exaggeration. When, [however], I was taking a photo of one of the stalls with masses of apples piled on top of each other on the corner of a bench, the owner of the stall started screaming at me in Spanish. I walked away quickly fearing that my lack of Spanish would only aggravate her further. I understand why she was upset, and I felt very guilty, wishing I had been more careful to begin with.

On a lighter note, this day was also memorable as it was the first time I tried the traditional Bolivian delicacy of ‘Salteñas’. An ovular shaped pastry filled with your choice of vegetables, beef or chicken, this delicious and very popular street food is found all over La Paz and is available until the early hours of the afternoon. They can be bought both on the street and in specialised restaurants, however due to the liquidity of the sauce, I believe they are enjoyed much more if seated and accompanied with a jugo de tumbo (a fruit that tastes similar to passionfruit).

The weekend was spent lounging around with the other interns, Camilla (UK) and Seneca (USA), with Sunday bringing the addition of our final intern for the months of May and June. Maryam, another British traveller, was welcomed into the Bolivian Express penthouse early on Sunday morning. The strangest and most entertaining thing we have discovered since sharing a number of days together is that, despite the fact we are all English-speaking individuals, our assortment of accents make discussions much more complicated than those when we are trying to communicate in Spanish. A discussion about ‘thongs’ must be clarified with the addition of ‘flip flops’, cooking instructions become complicated when Nina and I are told to roast the ‘aubergines and courgette’ instead of the eggplant and the zucchini (and by this stage Nina and I are feeling a lot less classy. These episodes never cease to create a table full of girls bursting with laughter, with the speaker adding further explanation before the most innocent of stories can turn awkward for at least one of us seated.

This week Nina and I have felt more like journalists (having been given our very own press passes and everything!) as we have been navigating through La Paz in order to meet various interviewees for out article on Afro-Bolivians. I won’t go into detail about the nature of our article, as I don’t want to spoil the surprise for when it is finally published as part of the Bolivian Express! However it has led us on an interesting journey in which we ended up meeting an Afro Bolivian, Jorge Medina, who is fairly high up in the ranks, but is at the same time a very laid back guy.

On the way to one of our many meetings we passed a room that look suspiciously full of people and had guards stationed by the door, so we moved closer for a better look. Nina and I were in hysterics when we discovered all of the commotion was to celebrate the National Festival of the Potato. Ironically it seemed like a serious affair, with a number of men in suits and large-scale posters lining the walls!

“Alascitas” is a festival held in Bolivia every year in late January/early February. It is a ceremony in which Bolivians buy miniature objects from market stalls to give to Ekeko, the household god of abundance (a chubby guy with rosy cheeks). In return for their offerings, Ekeko watches over the house and ensures the family everlasting happiness. By the end of the year, the Bolivians are supposed to get (in it’s proper size) their object of desire. Before our consumerist society, the offerings used to be daily necessities such as farm animals or vegetables. Nowadays however, one can purchase miniature sized airplane tickets, cars, ipods, drivers’ licenses and even marriage (and divorce) certificates! Unfortunately I wasn’t in La Paz for this festival but I found it so interesting when Camilla told me about her experience of Alascitas that I thought it worth a mention!

After Tom’s gut wrenching (both literally and metaphorically) experience last year in Argentina and now my week of serious diarrhoea and vomiting, I believe it can be said that South America is not fond of the Wolffs. After two visits to the doctor I have discovered I have a bacterial infection. However having been given a course of antibiotics I am hopefully on the mend!

 Adios.

A few other interesting things to note about La Paz:

Each of La Paz’ tiny buses (micros) is equipped with a screamer. The screamer is the individual stationed by the window (or door) screaming out the various destinations of the micro in the hope of gaining a few more travellers.

At a number of the main pedestrian or ‘zebra’ crossings, there are humans dressed as zebras entertaining and dancing for the tourists, whilst at the same time attempting to direct the traffic (but really just getting in the way).

Don’t be fooled by taxis…what may from the outside look like a taxi can also serve the purpose of a minibus. Nina and I had an experience when, thinking we were taking our own taxi back to the apartment, we made another four stops along the way… eventually piling in another four (and not overly slim) people. 






P.s. This is a seriously cool bar hidden in our street - it is made entirely from recycled metal!