Salteñas
Tuesday, March 12
From Lake Titicaca, we took a bus and drove for a few hours to the city of La Paz. While we could only spend a weekend at Lake Titicaca, we planned to stay in La Paz for three weeks and work from there.
We rented a cozy little apartment in La Paz, from which we had a fantastic view of the snow-capped Mount Illimani (6,442 m). Depending on the neighborhood, La Paz lies between 3,500 and 4,100 meters above sea level, and although we had already been living at over 3,000 meters above sea level for almost two months now, we clearly felt the altitude as we walked through the city. The higher up you are the more difficult breathing and walking gets. Despite its proximity to Peru, La Paz seemed completely different to us than the Peruvian cities we had visited. La Paz is more crowded, somewhat more chaotic, economically weaker, and feels somewhat magical due to its altitude and its location below the snow-capped Mount Illimani. In Bolivia, and especially in La Paz, the indigenous population is even more present in everyday life in the city. No matter where you go, you'll see “cholitas” — indigenous women dressed in colorful skirts and usually with long braided hair.
In La Paz, it also seems easier or less strictly regulated to open a kiosk or food stand on the street. Wherever you look, there are small kiosks selling newspapers, sweets, and drinks. These small stands usually also have a rotary phone, which people can use for a few cents to make phone calls. Furthermore, there are small food stalls on almost every street selling hamburgers, sausages, or Bolivia's most typical street food — “salteñas.” Salteñas are small filled savory pastries and thus the Bolivian interpretation of empanadas. In contrast to empanadas, salteñas are usually braided at the top and are made of a yellower, sweeter dough than empanadas. They're usually filled with various meat fillings and are known for being particularly juicy. Over time, we tried a variety of salteña fillings and found these Bolivian dumplings to be a great snack when you're on the go or need a quick lunch.
