Photography, La Paz and Batman

Weird but positive feeling this time, that being writing a post at almost 3700m, from the highest capital city in the world. I would love to say that I've plenty of pictures to show you. The reality is a bit different. Surrounded a bit too frequently by tourists, I have to recognize that taking my big camera out (Canon 5D II, before you ask) and walking around, with it around my neck, doesn't really fit my notion of trying to be a bit discrete and enjoying what I see.It's a real shame because what I see here is great. But more than ever, I realize that I am not really keen in landscape photography and taking pictures of people, which is a really what I like to do, takes time. You need to talk with your subject, you need to wait for the right moment, the perfect light. And sometimes, I just want to walk, quietly, observing, analysing and enjoying what I'm seeing, without having to think about the safety of my equipment, the disturbing background or how to make my subject feel confident and relaxed. Maybe I should also travel with a smaller camera. But till yet, I haven't found a nice, not too expensive one. Maybe the new Canon ESO M... but that's another story.17 July 2012: Isla del Sol, Lake Titikaka, Bolivia. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].19 July 2012: La Paz and shoeshiners, Bolivia. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].20 July 2012: Streets of La Paz, Bolivia. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].And because I am (and certainly will remain) a very naive boy, I hope that, one day, the USA will start thinking of a system to better control the way their weapon are sold (and used). It is with real pain that I read the news and the shooting in Aurora...

Food, Beer and Flip-Flop

Walking in the streets of Cuzco, Agua Calientes or other cities in Peru, looking for a restaurant, is a weird experience. While the first was the capital of the Inca Empire and the second, also called Machu Picchu village, is the entrance door to the mystic Incan city, the majority of the restaurants proposes pizzas, burgers and pasta, adding only sometimes local food to their menu.This phenomenon is definitely not proper to Peru. You can also eat German bratwurst, hot dogs, pizzas or other "international cuisine" on a beach in Thailand or in any touristic cities. But while it usually consists only in a small part of the menu or involves mostly very touristic restaurants, it seems to have infected the majority of the restaurants located at the center of the cities mentioned below. Consequently, it takes some time to find a restaurant providing local food and it is almost impossible to find a restaurant serving only local food and no spaghettis Bolognese or other pizzas.If there are so many pizzerias, it certainly responds to a demand from travelers. While I kind of understand it from people enjoying life on a beach during their week of vacation, I'm a bit more surprised to see that people crossing an ocean, spending hours in an airplane to discover a culture so different from theirs, have apparently not curiosity for or interest in local cuisine, nor the minimum amount of willing to adapt themselves to a new way of living or to local habits. We are not speaking about eating worms, wiping your ass with your left hand or drinking local untreated water. No, local cuisine in Peru consists of rice, potatoes, chicken, pork, vegetables, etc ... Not exactly a big gastronomic step.11 July 2012: Cuzco Market, Peru. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].I'm afraid that this is one of the many examples representing the lack of interest or preparation from many tourists. It frequently starts with a group of (usually) girls climbing a mountain wearing flip-flop ("Nobody told me we had to walk that long during our 5 days trekking") or of people having only t-shirts while traveling at 4000m altitude in winter ("I thought that every country south of Miami was warm"). However, they usually know exactly how much cost a beer and where to party topless (even if they are in a Muslim country).I've considered for a long time that traveling was a unique opportunity to better understand the world we are living in, to put in perspective our own living condition and therefore, to improve our own existence. But while I still consider it as true, I'm afraid it doesn't apply to everyone, especially when you don't make some small efforts to discover a new culture/country, trying to adopt a different state of mind. The consequence of it is to have to deal with people, or to listen to their conversations, full of clichés: Africa is populated of poor people always begging for money and trying to robe you, but beer is cheap. Thailand is great because beer and girls are cheap. Laos is even better because food is cheaper. In Europe, everybody drinks beers, go out at night and eat tapas (if you have studied in Salamanca with non-European, you certainly know what I'm talking about). Traveling around the world is then just a unique opportunity to get drunk for free (or almost), to have sex with a pure stranger (after having spent three hours speaking about how boring are you respective countries) or of taking pictures in fantastic places, simply to update your Facebook profile picture.11 July 2012: Cuzco Market, Peru. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].Maybe I’m a bit bitter or push it too far. Or maybe it’s just a new type of travelers, influenced by our dear Leo DiCaprio, who says in "The beach" that his trip in Thailand, "his beach life”, was the best time of his life. Indeed... sex, beers, drugs and a few gunshots for the fun.

New adventures

It took a bit longer than expected but finally, the great news arrived. I should start working with a new humanitarian organisation in October this year and join my new mission in Bangui, Central African Republic, a few weeks later.Although my passion for Photography is more present than ever,  I feel, after more than three years working with the United Nations in Darfur (Sudan), the desire to play a more important role in the humanitarian field. I want to believe that, by working with one of the best, oldest and most respected humanitarian organization, I will have a chance to contribute, even slightly, to improve the situation of a country, region, family or simply of one person. Although a good dose of cynicism and black humor is usually needed in that job, that's not always an easy task.My experience in Darfur taught me than things are rarely black or white, truly good or bad. Good intentions are sometimes the first step to serious mistakes. Observing people (including myself) making such mistakes made me think of how I could make sure my work globally had a positive influence on the life of the people I was supposed to assist. There is certainly no perfect solution. But some seem better to me than others and I believe that principles of independence, impartiality and neutrality can make a difference.And before daily radio checks, curfews and other restrictions become part of my life again, I'm just enjoying discovering a new continent, new cultures, ways of living and improving my Spanish. The calm before the storm, maybe.9 July 2012: Manu area, Peru. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].