Feria and anticuchos

Well, this week's post revolves around La Paz and a couple of things that make up the amazing fabric of this city: feria of El Alto, and anticuchos.

Beginning with la feria de El Alto - this is a market that occurs every Thursday and Sunday in the El Alto neighbourhood of the city. It has a reputation of being a bit of a dangerous neighbourhood where you don't want to be wearing anything indicating that you have money so I definitely did not bring my camera (sorry!), but something that my friend told me is that in recent years this area - and la feria in particular - has gone from a place where pickpocketing is common to a place where families with strollers can be spotted.

Now what is la feria though? Well, it is a gigantic market of goods - and really any kind of good to be honest. From second-hand clothing to electronics to construction materials to car parts (and cars!) to produce and cooked food, la feria spans multiple blocks with each of these segments (clothing, electronics, car parts, etc) separated more or less from the other. The origins of some of these goods is questionable - good will from Western countries? stolen goods? Your guess is as good as mine. One thing is sure though, if you are looking for something in La Paz and you can't find it in the usual spots then you will more than likely find it at la feria de El Alto.

As for the second thing in today's post, well, anticuchos are a popular late-night eat that can be found on the streets of La Paz (and various other cities.) Anticuchos are skewered pieces of meat that are grilled over a fire and served with a spicy sauce and potatoes. The meat in question is typically beef heart, and although I wasn't too sure that I would want to try it, after a night out dancing with friends, anticuchos sounded like the best idea in the world. I will say that they are incredibly tasty but to perhaps pass on the spicy sauce as vendors tend to save and reuse the sauce day after day, making a new batch only when they run out (which can be many days later.) What my adventures of that night resulted in was a Saturday spent sick in bed for the majority of the day. So next time, "anticuchos sin aji* por favor!" - anticuchos without spicy sauce please!
*aji (pronounced ahi) is the name typically used for a spicy sauce.

Next up: a fun 60km bike ride in the altiplano this Saturday with the reward of a fresh trout lunch! I can't wait!