The Peace (yeah right)

It was unfortunate that the bus was so incredibly cold when we arrived in La Paz, as the approach to the city is a wonder in itself. The entire construction is perched on the side of a mountain; there is no flat in La Paz... However, with steamed up windows and little light as we drove up at 7am we could see nothing of the beautiful cityscape. What we could see however were hundreds of Chicalitas clad in traditional Bolivian garb of multilayered hoop skirts, bowler hats and multicoloured blankets in which they carry their wares. Famously bad tempered, these little old women I learned fast are best to get out of the way of (I realise it's impossible for all of these women to really be old, or to really all be as totally round or as bad tempered as their repute, but at the same time not avoiding the determined bowler hat- plait combo coming towards you really is a fools errand).
My first day in La Paz was much warmer than I had steeled myself for what with the altitude and all, but what was interesting was that while its much warmer here than on the salt flats the altitude is much more noticable (after 5 days I´m still puffing at the top of the stairs). Once out of the evil bus of death Lucy, Sophia and I made our way to the Loki hostel, made infamous by its Lonely Planet reference 'insomnia pumping... if you haven't already heard of it you probably shouldn't stay there'. Luckily we had already heard of it (Loki La Paz really does have quite the reputation on the travelling circuit here), and I had been tipped off by some of the girl I met in Buenos Aries that they took on Bar Staff in the hostel. Once at the hostel we were greeted by an austere victorian style mansionette that had been decked out in traveller appropriate decor (lots of focus on drinking and socialising), needless to say I absolutely loved it and was delighted when later that day the bar manager Cam told me I was welcome to a job starting the following Monday. The first night I was here was the last night of Neil's stay (the Ozzy lad whose job I was pilfering) and as a result he was being auctioned off for charity, we had a fantastic night at the bar, and I was happy to meet my new workmates.
As I wasn't working until Monday I had a few days to explore the city (read 'have nasty hangover' for my second day- altitude and tequila shots being a poor life choice), and I did so by visiting some of the tourist markets with Sophia who was looking for presents so close to the end of her trip. While we were out Sophia introduced me to the Bolivian concept of jugo bolsa (juice bag), which is where you pick fresh fruit from a market stall and they make it into smoothies for you and put it in a little sandwich bag with a straw for you to take away. Absolutely delicious but unfortunately has to be made with powdered milk here as the water isn't safe to drink (many castualties at the hostel are testiment to this on a daily basis) and there is no fresh milk. One of the things I have found incredibly difficult about travelling is the difficulty of getting fresh fruit and veg that wont leave me sweating and crying for three days after, a massive bonus of working in the Loki is the European kitchen where all veg is cleaned with purified water; never been so excited to see a salad in my whole life! Naturally the downside is that they don't really serve traditional Bolivian fare, but after nearly two months of empañadas and deep fried everything I feel like I've earned a few days of fresh tomato soup with meatballs and a tuna melt or two! Being totally in the centre of La Paz Loki is also well positioned to go and eat Bolivian should the need arise, although bizarrely the resturants that fare the best here are Mexican, Indian, Steak and an English pub- the Bolivians catering for the recent massive influx of first world tourists (Bolivia has really only become a tourist destination in the last 10 years). I experienced this phenomenon first hand on my third night here when I decided to go and try the 'most dangerous curry in the world' at the Star of India along with two English lads I had met when I was at Iguassu Falls who had ended up at Loki, Zoe a fellow bar recruit here, and an insane Ozzy called Brendan who was determined to finish his dish inorder to get the free 'I survived the worlds most dangerous curry' T- shirt. Despite not being a massive curry fan I felt the gauntlet had been thrown and dived in with the boys ordering the 'death dish' (Zoe being the only sensible absainee), the first few bites of the curry itself were actually delicious but soon the burning, crying and sweating started and it became a race to the finish- clean plates only get a t shirt! I finsihed first, with the English guys coming in not far behind me, Brendan on the other hand actually looked as if he was about to die and took a staggering 1.5 hours to finish and I think left the resturant about 3 stone lighter from sweat loss. However it was very good night, and we celebrated by going back to the bar and joinging the staff in a few 'blood bombs' (redbull, vodka and grenadine drunk as a shot); a big part of being staff here rotates around being involved in the party... terrible burden. After my first few days I was able to move into the staff room, and had taken steps to find out about volunteering here in my spare time... looking forward to my 5 weeks at the Loki!