Bolivia

About one week now in Bolivia and I can’t express my amazement. What a rough and beautiful country it is. Imagine: from our Dutch flatlands you land at 4000m altitude in La Paz, the capital (or better: El Alto a neighbouring city where the airport is situated). Indeed literally breath taking. Then you descend by taxi on a winding road back to 3600 m. In the far distance you see the brilliant snowcapped 6500m Ilumani peak, and everywhere you look around you see rough slopes of all colours, especially by sunset. In the valley is the busy city of La Paz with its high rise buildings, while at the same time all kinds of indigenas walk around or sell handicraft, or even witchcraft articles. This society is a mix of age old tradition, catholic culture and modern life. And then all those landscapes: from the unhospitable and dry altiplano and andes mountains in the west, to the vast grasslands and amazone jungle in the east. And scattered around are isolated villages, where time stands still, but also colonial cities like Sucre or metropoles like Santa Cruz. Not that I see much, i am only here for work, but happily sometimes we sit in a car or a plane so that my impression will be unforgettable. And our projects are interesting and succesful too, mostly in food security and small business. You see real impact. Of course, that makes you realize it is only small and that poverty remains a sad reality, also it hurts to see how divided this country is.
See you all soon.