Mercados de La Paz: food and culture collide

If you can handle the overflowing, bustling street markets of La Paz, they are well worth fighting your way through! The endless array of colours, mouth-watering aromas and fierce but friendly bartering is a feast for the senses.

We were lucky enough to be taken on a tour by a group of shoe-shiners (“lustrabotas” in Spanish). The shoe-shiners work on the streets of La Paz, shining shoes and often wearing balaclavas to protect them from the fumes. In some cases, these face masks are also worn to disguise their identity. These shoe-shiner kids are also part of an initiative, Hormigón Armado, which is a monthly street publication and social project, including taking tourists on tours by foot around La Paz. This seems like a brilliant idea to me, as we couldn´t have had more streetwise, attentive guides full of endless facts and local knowledge! Although I was at first apprehensive to be led through the streets by balaclava-clad guides we soon become accustomed to their appearance, and quickly put our full trust in them as they led us across nightmarish roads, through dangerous streets (I quickly learnt the word for dangerous “pelligroso”!) and made sure we didn´t get lost.

Volunteers and shoe-shiners at the end of our tour

We visited one of the largest, poorest cemeteries of La Paz containing thousands of graves piled on top of each other. We were told that there is a funeral at least every 10 minutes here. Families must pay every year for a space in the cemetery and if they cannot afford it any more, the body is returned to them. The state of each grave reflects how much each family can afford in upkeep costs.

We tasted delicious fresh, fried fish in the fish markets and traditional cinnamon-flavoured ice in an open café area. I was fascinated by a street filled with bowler hat shops, an essential item of the traditional cholita dress, often adorned with VERY expensive gold jewellery!

One of the most unique markets in la Paz is the Witches´ market, selling a bizarre assortment of wares including potions, amulets, candy, jewellery, owl feathers, dried snakes, dried snakes, dried turtles, dried frogs and endless other unusual items. The most renowned item for sale in the Witches´ market is dried llama fetus which is used for Aymara rituals and pretty disturbing!

One of our guides was a woman in traditional dress, otherwise known in Bolivia as a “Chola” or “Cholita”. She carried her tiny baby around the whole of La Paz with us on the tour, while her slightly older son ran riot around us!

Women carry their children, food, market produce and pretty much anything else they need to carry on their backs, wrapped in an aguayo, which is a colorful, patterned, woven sling made from woven fabric. I have discovered you can buy pretty much any item of clothing, accessory or jewellery you desire in this type of fabric - I was most excited when I found the woven ukulele cases!

More information on the Hormigón Armado initiative: http://www.vagabondish.com/shoe-shiner-kids-guide-city-tours-paz-bolivia/

Reciprocity: UP CLOSE Bolivia

The first month has flown by and there is never a dull moment here in the la Valle de la Luna, working for UP CLOSE Bolivia!

Up Close is an initiative run by a Bolivian-British family based on the enthusiasm and passion of volunteers who live and work alongside the family on a variety of projects. These projects are all based in the local community, which is made up mostly of indigenous Aymara, whose language and rich culture survived the conquest of the Spaniards. They work with International Service and the International Citizen Service scheme but also accept volunteers who apply directly to work for Up Close Bolivia.

I am constantly in awe of the dramatic landscape of the red and green Andean mountains surrounding in the valley as well as the tranquility of the valley.  Attractions for tourists in the valley include a zoo and a guided walk around the dramatic rock formations of the valley. The valley is 30 minutes by car and regular public transport from the centre of La Paz but a world away from the hectic life of the city.

The vision of Up Close Bolivia as written on their website (http://upclosebolivia.org/) is : “Bolivia has taught us the true meaning of ‘’reciprocidad’’ which means reciprocity – a concept at the heart of Andean culture. It is all about giving back and contributing in a way that enriches both the person who is giving, and the person who is receiving, equally. We have welcomed many volunteers over the years to Bolivia and shared the joy of their discovery and growing sense of belonging.”

It is an amazing experience being part of this initiative with such strong links with the local community. The projects supported by Up Close include: The Valley of the Moon Children’s Centre, Strengthening local eco tourism through community-based English teaching and environmental work.

Helping with a fair stall for the nursery for the International Day for People with Disabilities, in the centre of La Paz

My responsibilities include teaching three 1.5 hour English evening classes a week. The students are aged between 14 and 74 so a very diverse range of people from different backgrounds and with different levels of English. One thing they have in common though, is a great enthusiasm for learning English! I am really enjoying the classes, getting to know my students, and working alongside new members of the Up Close teaching team, Ana from Australia and Lotta from Sweden. Teaching English is definitely more of a challenge than I expected - there are so many rules and irregular verbs which are difficult to explain! I´ve taught 6 English classes so far and I´ve learnt that planning is crucial, as well as being creative on the spot and making it up when things don´t go to plan! I´m planning an outdoor class in the local zoo so the students can put their new animal vocabulary to the test…

On Thursdays I help out in the zoo, helping with animal enrichment (using creative methods to hide food, giving the animals a challenge at feeding time to recreate hunting for food in nature), improving environments for the animals as well improving services for visitors and the local community.


Painting the fence of the Jaguar enclosure at the zoo

I am also responsible for communicating regular updates about our projects to give an insight in to the daily responsibilities of Up Close volunteers and what to expect if you come to work for Up Close: http://www.facebook.com/#!/UpCloseBolivia.

I am looking forward to the next two months and getting involved in more community projects with Up Close!

Isla de la Luna, Lago Titicaca

Last weekend as International Citizen Service volunteers, we were lucky enough to spend three days and nights living alongside the local Aymaran community, on the beautiful island of the moon, in the azur blue waters of lake Titicaca. The name "Titicaca" combines words from the local languages Quechua and Aymara and translates literally as "Rock Puma". Isla de la Luna (3km long by 1km wide), the sister of her nearby larger brother, Isla del Sol, is an important religious site and home to a small Aymaran community of 25 families. We lived alongside Bolivian families, who welcomed us as part of their own family and helped out with their day­ to day activities - an amazing experience.

The community worship mother earth (Pachamama), nature and consider the distant snowy mountains as their protectors. They toast to Pachamama´s honour before every meeting or festivity, by spilling a small amount of liquid on the floor, before drinking the rest. Isla de la Luna is the legendary home of the Inca goddess Mama Quila. The ruined temples on the island were originally built by the pre-Incan Aymara culture. During Inca times, specially selected women known as the "Virgins of the Sun" lived like nuns on the Isla de la Luna and performed ceremonies dedicated to the sun.

The long-term plan is for International Service volunteers to visit the community every three months over a three-year period, to help the community develop and maintain sustainable community tourism projects. As part of this goal, we were assigned a topic per group, to research potential areas of interest among the locals for development, which could be supported by the work of International Service volunteers. I researched health and education services available on the island, and managed to communicate with our family, using a mixture of broken Spanish interspersed with a few words of Aymara!

Every morning we got up at 7am to eat breakfast of coffee, cheese and bread in our family´s small kitchen. We all sat round on tree stumps, surrounded by walls blackened by the wood smoke of their adobe (mud) cooker. On the shores of the lake we helped pull fish called Ispis (small whitebait) out of their nets with our Dad Roberto, and kept some for frying in batter and eating later, so delicious! We rowed out to their trout farms (small square nets containing around 1000 trout) and fed Ispis to the trout, catching some with a net on a long wooden pole to eat later. Back in their kitchen, we helped our mum Vivienne gut and prepare the fish for eating.

One morning we helped lead their two Llamas (Negro and Amelia) up on to the top of the island for grazing. Then we herded their 10 sheep on to another side of the island, a challenge at 3800m altitude! As we headed rapidly upwards, our mum (Vivienne) pointed out plants used as herbal remedies for all types of illnesses. We managed to collect a few specimens to support our research along the way, while trying to keep up with her marching pace.

The most common illnesses on the island consist of colds, coughs, flu and fevers. The leaves of the eucalyptus tree, abundant all over the island, are used to treat fevers by soaking the leaves in hot water and placing on the skin. Crushing up the eucalyptus leaves, releases a powerful scent used to help treat coughs, as well as the leaves of the wira wira plant. The sacred coca leaves soaked in hot water are important for soothing stomach pain, as well as a mint-scented plant called ‘coha’, and the ‘anis’ plant. Soaking leaves from the romero and salvia plants in hot water are important remedies for treating colds. For more serious conditions, the only option is to take a 2 hour boat trip to Copacabana for pastillas (pills) which our family seemed to acknowledge as an acceptable solution.

Amelia the Llama

The stars were incredible at night, with the milky way the clearest I´ve ever seen it. We had bonfires in the evenings accompanied by lots of music, alternating between the men of the community playing wooden pipes and drums, us English girls singing (with me on the ukulele) and songs by the Bolivian children, soo cute! The sun was incredibly intense, even though the air temperature was sometimes cold and as soon as the sun set, I was grateful for the warmth of my ski jacket! Swimming in the waters of the lake felt amazing and very refreshing after the heat of the sun, although surprisingly none of the locals joined us!

We visited the neighbouring Isla del Sol for an afternoon and local guides led us up a winding rocky path to a large sacred rock, at 4000m altitude.  The ruins of a labyrinth-like building remain, with a well containing the water of eternal youth that supposedly never dries. In the religion of the Incas, it was believed that the sun god was born there. Across the waters we could see the shores of Peru in the distance and some floating rock islands in the middle of the lake.

Back on Isla de la Luna, we all helped our families prepare a huge Apthapi (a big picnic lunch spread cooked by all the local families). Everyone tastes dishes made by other families which are all laid out on the floor on colourful blankets used to carry the food. Their diet contains a large number of vegetables (including potatoes, sweet potatoes and quinoa) and a few types of fruit, the majority of which are grown locally on the island. They eat fish on a daily basis which when fried in oil and salt is delicious!

Carrying food for the Apthapi in the traditional way

Our family told us they are happy with their access to education on the island and have abundant knowledge on how to treat illnesses with herbal remedies to maintain good health. The people were so friendly and welcoming, although very shy at first. Worshipping the earth, along with celebrating music and dance seems to make for a contented, happy community. They were initially apprehensive but excited to welcome tourists in to their homes and families which helps them to earn a living as well as share the beauty of their lives and culture.

Bienvenido a Bolivia! And so the adventure begins...

6 days in and already our arrival at El Alto airport, La Paz, Bolivia feels like a distant dream. My first week in Bolivia, as a volunteer on the International Citizen Service scheme, has been a whirlwind of colour, dizziness and friendly welcomes.

We entered the sprawling metropolis of La Paz via a steep, bumpy road which winds its way down nearly 1000 metres from the airport (4061m above sea level) to the city.  A vast mountain panorama opens up before you as you descend from the Altiplano, with jagged rock formations and ridges looming in on all sides. The towering triple-peaked mountain, Illimani dominates the horizon with its snow covered faces creating an incredible first impression!

Views over of La Paz with snow-capped Illimani in the distance

It is the vibrant colours of La Paz which continue to amaze me; from the brightly painted buildings, to the sprawling fruit and veg markets, and the traditional outfits worn by the Cholitas (Bolivian women).

Living at over 3000m altitude gave me a pretty dizzy head which stayed with me for the first few days. I have quickly learnt that having a constant supply of water available, as well as regular cups of the traditional coca tea, are essential for coping with the altitude!

It has been amazing to receive such friendly welcomes from the International Service team in Bolivia, my project and host family coordinators, UpClose Bolivia, as well as local people in the community. I am living in the beautiful setting of La Valle de La Luna (The valley of the moon) with 4 other International Service volunteers (Katie, Doug, Danielle and Ryan), located a 30 min taxi ride from the centre of La Paz, surrounded by mountain peaks, ridges and towering rock pillars. Really excited at the prospect of living in the Green House for the next 3 months, exploring our surroundings and starting our projects!

The Green House, La Valle de la Luna

View from our balcony of La Valle de la Luna