The Fishers in La Paz, Bolivia

Some friends have asked what our neighborhood is like, we hope to post some photos soon, but I thought I would try to describe it a bit. It is called Achumani, and it one of many small neighborhoods that make up the Zona Sur (or South Zone), which is the upper/upper middle class section of La Paz. We would not be able to afford living here if the family we rent from had not given us a significant discount.

There are mountains every direction you turn, and we are getting in better shape just walking UP the streets in our neighborhood. The view is amazing, but being on the first floor, we mostly have to go outside to see it! The homes/apartment buildings are very nice and well cared for, but graffiti is all over here, even in residential neighborhoods like ours. Every building has a fence or wall and a security gate of some kind so you don´t see much of your neighbors around you. We are two blocks from a main road full of businesses and restaurants. It´s a bustling, lively place. There are no Targets here (sadly), so the street is full of little shops - one for seafood, one for meat, one for chicken, one for deli meat, one for bread, one for other groceries – you get the idea. There are many types of businesses you would find in the States – a gym, internet cafes, pizza and ice cream places, dry cleaners, banks, etc.  so in some ways it feels familiar. When you step into the building that houses the neighborhood market though, it does feel and smell like a different world. I steer clear of the hanging raw meat section! The people who sell things other than produce stack their goods twenty feet in the air to make the best use of their small space, I´m always afraid that everything is going to come crashing down around them.  

We have several parks near us. Two have playgrounds. It is strange because they keep the garden areas very well-tended but they aren´t too concerned about trash lying around or about safety of the play equipment. Sometimes pieces are missing and there is no such thing here as a safe surface to land on (ragged gravel is the material of choice under the swings!). However, Avery doesn´t seem to mind and enjoys them anyway. They also seem to have strategically placed these parks next to the “river” which emits a very fragrant odor!