Saturday was our 5th year anniversary and we spent most of the day in La Cancha...supposedly the largest open air market in South America. It is a large sprawling area south of the city consisting of thousands of street vendors, narrow alleys, shops, etc. It is easy to get lost there, but is a pretty fascinating place...both in terms of a cultural experience as well as seeing capitalism at its best. Think Mall of America with a very strong 3rd world twist. Jen promised me two hours, but as usual it turned into a 4 1/2 hour adventure. When we got back we realized that we had spent over 420 Bolivianos (about $48)...rather a lot of money to drop in a couple of hours....for Bolivia that is. But then we started to count up what we had purchased we decided that we probably got a good deal. Just to give you a sample of the prices here, we purchased the following items/services for under $50 : 30 personal facial creams (for the girls at one of the houses), 3 pairs socks, a pair of Nine West dress shoes (barely used), a pair of Saucony running shoes (barely used), 2 lbs. flour, 6 sweaters for kids (used), toothbrush, ice cream cone, boot repair (Andrew´s hiking boots), 2 liters of milk, 1 liter of whipping cream, 1 pair Crocs with 12 "jewels" (barely used), donations to beggers, loaf of french bread, 2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice, and a piece of lemon pie. ....and the experience? - Priceless!!
Despite this amazing list, inflation is a serious problem here...especially for the poor. This is the worst it has been in over 15 years. Basic commodities like flour, rice, and potatoes have doubled or tripled in price in the last year.
Jen modeling in front of a used clothes stand in La Cancha...one of her favorite places to go. Think Goodwill covering several blocks...with potential treasures in every stack of cloths. I still haven´t found my Patagonia fleece though!!
Here is a picture of one of the "alleys" in La Cancha....it is a rat maze if you venture into the depths of it.
2 comments:
What huge bags of potatoes!! What great deals you got!
Wondering where you are now... on the hiking portion of your trip, maybe? It will be very hard for you to leave the ophanage, no doubt. I have a feeling you will go back. Amy didn't get a chance to write while she was here... send me your current email. She is done with work now, and has more time.
love,
Esther
I wouldn´t say that it is any cleaner than Nicaragua...but it depends upon where you are at and what time it is. They do seem to have a better street cleaning system than I remember in Nicaragua. After big events (protests etc.) the streets are chock full of trash, but it is gone by the next day....quite amazing. - Andrew
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