Life in a different culture
While at the orphanage, I saw some flowers that I wanted to take photos of. When some of the younger children saw me taking these photos, they suddenly started coming to me with flowers plucked out of the field. Instead, I told them to take me to the flowers while they were still alive. These photos are the result of these young children asking me to take a photo of “this” and “this” and “that.”
I have just arrived in La Paz, an amazing city built in a bowl in the top of a mountain. Houses extend from the city right up the sides of the cliffs of the bowl, reaching near the top. It is such an amazing sight to see and one of the most fascinating cities that I have ever seen.
The edge of La Paz city, where the houses rise up the mountainsides to spill out over the top.
Below are some photos from the amazing journey up the mountain range and along the Altiplano (high plain) to get here.
It was a long and slow journey up the mountain range to reach the height of the Altiplano.
Looking down upon the mountains and roads that we have just climbed up.
Looking through the bus window at some typical houses for the mountains.
A young child looks out the window as our bus moves past her truck.
As we continue to climb, we move up into the clouds that seemed so high above when we started the journey.
A community on the Altiplano.
Two men bide their time in a sleepy township that we pass through.
A baby in the carry-all blanket of mum.
All harvesting here is done by hand with teams of people cutting and gathering the crops.
A lady wanders along the road from her house to the field.
On the bus journey we were treated to two travelling salesmen that wanted to sell snake-oil, and were reasonably successful.
The main La Paz bus terminal.
Here are some more photos of Entre Rios.
These photos were taken a few days later than the first ones, and there are less of these too. I felt that these photos showed a little more of the life and layout of the town than the others. Entre Rios is a small town, but there are many interesting and different things that can be found here.
Looking down onto the township and the Catholic church from the higher section where the mission is located. This is a common view of Entre Rios seen in the news and postcards.
For 50 cents a stick, they are great value. The skewers are loaded with meat or chicken, and for your money you can add a potato to the end and various forms of sauces, including aji, a hot and spicy salsa.
What follows is a series of photos of Entre Rios and the people that live here. Each photo carries its own explanation.
Children playing in the field during half-time of the football match.
Young girl enjoying an iceblock in the heat of the day.
The statue of the Christ is a symbol of the strength of Catholicism in Entre Rios.
Wandering around Entre Rios, it is amazing the variety and number of flowers that you can find here. I thought it worth taking a few photos of these flowers so I could share their beauty with others. What follows is only a sampling of the rich gardens that can be found here.
Small flower found growing wild in the country.
Red rose in someone’s garden.
White rose with spider found in the main plaza.
Still budding flowers found growing wild in the country.
A whole bush of these were growing beside the entrance of a country church.