La Paz - Jekyll and Hyde, Cholitas and Food!

Spent time in the city. Lots to see, ate at amazing vegetarian restaurant called Namaste. The food is so fresh here and the fruit.. oh! dont get me started! So GOOD! 

 

Also went round the market to have a look at the local scene. 

Cholitas: The traditional women of Bolivia. They often work in the market places. This traditional dress was brought in from the Spainsh when they colonised - still part of the the people's culture. It goes to show how much of the culture has been shaped by these powers. It is very common to see them around and in the older generations. Each region of Bolivia has its own sytle of Cholitas and have different names for these women depending where they are from.

Then I saw the other side.  La paz by day is a market place but by night it feels like a VERY different city. In fact every city in Bolivia I have a feeling has two sides to its personality. I was surprised in the day how developed the city feels and was expecting to see more poverty in front of me, but they have developed a sustainable lifestyle here albeit very simple. They make it work.

The children that approached me at 9.30 / 10pm 

But then came the night and I saw a very different side. They market place became a heaving place full of hustle and bustle and it does not end til 10.30 / 11pm. It is also advised that we dont go around at night because it´s too dangerous with theives everywhere. But as I walked around with a friend, in front of me on the streets at 9.30pm were families begging for money and sitting on the streets but not just adults, children as young as 4 or 5 years old.  The shock when this 4 year old asked me for money was pretty hard to describe. It turns out that education is not valued as highly here and despite it being compulsory to go to school most poorer families dont send their children to school but instead bring them to their ´workplace´ie. the streets to beg and sell things. I guess it´s their way of teaching their children about how to work but then the cycle repeats for another generation of being trapped in poverty. But the sad situation is not that it´s a rare scene, i saw children everywhere and it broke me.

 I have a feeling I will be seeing this same scene in Cochabamba.. i was right

in the middle of the busiest road in the city selling things.