Uploaded on 2015-11-15 by jetoff41

----------------------- Most of the food derives from the landscape. But almost every food you can buy at the huge variation of markets through the city is local food. This ranges from rice, quinoa and potatoes up to fruits, vegetables and meat. Next, fresh water: Even if we are at an altitude of about 3.800m, in many parts of the region you are not able to drink water from the mountains because of the incredible contamination through mining. For an Austrian like me, this is unbelievable. ![Animals in the landscape of the altiplano.][1] ![Sheeps, which will be saled to butchers in the city centre.][2] ![In the back, you can see a little sheep farm in the rural area of Oruro.][3] 2 Regulating services --------------------- Altogether, regulating services in Oruro are not ideal. Compared to Chile for instance, Bolivia has a big advantage concerning earthquakes, tsunamis, storms and many more. But there are a lot of other environmental problems. For example, pollution through old cars and a lot of dust that will be blowed by wind leads to a very bad air quality throughout the city of Oruro. Even though there are many trees and parks in the centre of the city, which lead to a better air quality, basically it’s a very dry region. There are no forests and if the raining season starts, soil cannot take up all of these huge amounts of water, which automatically causes flooding. ![Plaza 10 de febrero from above.][4] ![Another park in the centre of the city.][5] 3 Habitat or Supporting services -------------------------------- For relaxing in the rural area of the department of Oruro, I can recommend the national park of Sajama with it’s beautiful volcanos, thermal quells and animals. If someone is interested in a place directly in the city, there are the already mentioned parks and the Virgin of the Socavon Sanctuary, which is a monument on the top of the city’s „house-hill“. One interesting part of this monument is the fact, that the area around this statue is built out of synthetic grass. ![Relaxing in the synthetic grass in front of the Virgin.][6] ![Virgin with the synthetic grass.][7] 4 Cultural services ----------------- In Oruro, the offer of cultural services is greater than I have ever thought. The following especially is written for those, who really want to get an inside in this great variety of cultural experience. 1. Tourism: The most important touristic attraction, of course, is the annual carnival - the world’s second biggest carnival (about 350.000 people) behind de one in Rio (Brazil). Since 2001, it belongs to the list of „Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanit“ from UNESCO. The economic impact of this event is huge: prices for bus tickets, hotels and further touristic infrastructure are at least twice as high; jobs are built etc. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find official numbers of these impact. ![Friends at the annual carnival of Oruro. Traditional clothes for the dance "Tinkus".][8] 2. Spiritual experience and sense of place: For Bolivians, mountains often have a religious meaning. The highest mountain of Bolivia, Sajama (6.542m), which takes place in the department of Oruro, has a history too. According to the indian legend, it’s a male god and part of the second highest mountain, Illimani (6.439m, La Paz). Illimani „knocked off the head of the mountain Mururata, which landed 200km west and formed to the (now) dead volcano Sajama“. 3. Aesthetic appreciation and inspiration for culture, art and design: Bolivia is a country with 37 different languages. In the area around of Oruro (=departamento de Oruro), the most important languages are Castellano (type of Spanish), Quechua and Aymara. 4. Recreation and mental and physical health: There are many parks for relaxing. The most well-known is „Plaza 10 de febrero“ in the centre of the city. (Look at image 4 - park from above) [1]: http://s11.postimg.org/8nqx863qr/landscape.jpg [2]: http://s28.postimg.org/gi4w8rpyl/sheeps.jpg [3]: http://s23.postimg.org/5b53nsn9n/sheeps_back.jpg [4]: http://s11.postimg.org/hcintc8s3/park.jpg [5]: http://s29.postimg.org/yvf9sr06f/park_trees.jpg [6]: http://s29.postimg.org/63d3n0hwn/virgin_foot.jpg [7]: http://s14.postimg.org/shr73afgh/virgin.jpg [8]: http://s10.postimg.org/545162la1/carneval.jpg