People in Bolivia

On first arrival, Bolivia assaults your senses. From the pervading smell of sewage and fried-up everything to the immense number of dogs roaming the streets-all very calm and quiet and incredibly unthreatening unlike in the UK I might add—and the giddy, light-headed feeling one gets on landing at the airport of El Alto (literally the high place), , all contribute to making one feel…well, out of place, really.

El Alto is situated 4,060 metres above sea level so it's not surprising one feels a little weird and short of breath. But if the sense of irreality that accompanies one’s first visit to Bolivia is challenged with more than a very short stay, very soon one is likely to encounter people, just people from everyday life, and with them, a very real sense of humanity and comfortable familiarity.