Quillacolla Fiesta & more

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Three weeks have passed now here in Bolivia and the surroundings and culture no longer seem strange. This is simply another part of the one world and all people are basically the same. The Bolivian people are generally very friendly and many were happy to speak to me today as they watched England beating (at the last check) Trinidad & Tobago in the World Cup on the tv in their shops.

Bolivians love music - one hears it everywhere. Much is local salsa-based pop music but one also hears the lovely Andean flute or pan-pipe tunes. Today, unexpectedly, as I came into the small town of Quillacolla (5 minutes mini-bus ride from the Community) I discovered it was a fiesta day and I was able to take many shots of a wonderful parade. There was one religious parade with military personnel behind and another more cultural and colourful.

I´ve also been taking the opportunity to capture some of the flora & fauna at the community on film this week and attach a couple of those images. There are 2 llamas here and they seem very placid to me but are apparently quite stubborn when they have to be moved. We saw the beautiful little frog when we were gardening the other day. One hears the frogs singing/whistling by day or night - it´s really a lovely sound. The thousands of stars at night and the sun on the mountains at sunrise and sunset are all quite stunning - I can´t do them justice on my camera.

I have just been to the market which happens every day to stock up on fruit which is very available. 25 large mandarin oranges cost about 50p and 25 bananas 20p. There are also wonderful exoic fruits too that are unlike anything we know in the UK. One such, called chitimoya looks uninspiring but tastes absolutely delicious - they´re more expensive at about 15p each. The Bolivians are also very good with cakes and pastries and make excellent croissants filled with cheese. Everything is sold either in small shops or by vendors anywhere and everywhere on the street - there is no possibility of running out of anything. On one market today I bought 3 small fresh cheese made of alpaca milk from a delightful old lady (photo attached) for about 80p.

Well, that´s probably enough for now. As you can see, all is well and I am enjoying spending time in this beautiful county immensely.

Trusting this finds you well and thriving.

Sent with much love

Eve

P.S. Apparently the fiesta was Corpus Christi

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Photos

Beautiful Frog
We suddenly noticed this beautiful little frog whilst gardening. One of the many wonders here.

Llama friend
This is one of the two that live in the community - I haven´t yet discovered if they have names.

Cheese Lady
This lady loved having her photo taken and was so delighted with the result on my camera that she had to show her friends.

Fiesta Dancers
There were several groups of women such as these, all moving in a similar way to the same music. The costumes are a very ornate version of the clothes worn by all traditional Bolivian women.

Fiesta Dancers - Men
There were also several group of men dressed pretty much as gangsters. They waved model cars as rattles as they danced.