Samaipata

Two Fridays ago, Dave and I made our way to Cochabamba’s Wilsterman airport, and boarded a flight to Santa Cruz. We arrived in the tropical climate of Santa Cruz around 8:30 on Friday night, and quickly made our way to where the trufis leave for Samaipata. We were told that the trufis only run until 9 PM, so we were lucky to catch the last ride. After a bumpy three-hour ride, we arrived at our hostel in Samaipata, eager for a bed.

Samiapata, in Quechua, means “rest in the highlands”, and it is becoming a popular tourist destination, as well as a retreat for the residents of Santa Cruz. It is such a beautiful and charming town, that many foreign travelers have come for a visit, and ended up staying, for good! Many foreigners have settled in Samaipata and began hostals, restaurants and tour agencies. They have also helped to make Samaipata the slow food movement capital of Bolivia.

On Saturday morning, we explored the town’s Plaza, which included trying out a delicious French bakery, walking through their market, and Dave stopping at the barber for a shave. We had heard from fellow travelers about La Vispera, a hostel and restaurant outside of town, that is run by a Dutch couple, who have built a beautiful large organic garden and café. Filled with coffee and fresh bread, we hiked up to La Vispera for lunch. We ordered fresh salads and sandwiches and watched in amazement as the waitress walked down to the gardens to collect the ingredients for our lunch; it doesn’t get much fresher than that! Keeping true to their name, of slow food, we played Scrabble and wandered the gardens as we waited for our amazing lunch.

After lunch, we walked back in to town and hopped in a trufi heading towards El Fuerte. El Fuerte is one of Bolivia’s most famous archeological sites, 2000 years before Incan occupation of the region, somewhere before 1000 BC. The name of the site is misleading (the complex was named by the Spanish), and it is not a fort as the name implies, but rather a site for ceremonies and religious rituals.  At the center of the complex is a large sandstone rock that has been carved with abstract designs; surrounding the central rock are the remains of 50 Incan buildings.

Sunday morning, we took another trufi a half an hour outside of Samaipata to the waterfalls of Las Cuevas. Las Cuevas is a popular weekend spot for families and friends with several waterfalls and shallow river pools for swimming. We bought vegetables and fruits at the market in town, and some more fresh bread, and had a picnic by one of the waterfalls.

Villa Tunari

Last Friday, we took our second trip to Villa Tunari. Villa Tunari is about 3 hours North East of Cochabamba and is known for it’s tropical weather, swimming holes and beautiful rainforests. Villa Tunari is located in the Chapare region of Bolivia, a region that is known for producing coca leaves, and is one of the main cocaine producing regions within Bolivia. Since the 1970’s the DEA has attempted to squash the farming of coca in the Chapare, and thus resulted in conflicts between the DEA, coca farmers and the Bolivian government. It has calmed down since President Evo Morales was elected in 2004; Morales has promised to protect the coca farmers of the Chapare and encourages the making of coca products such as tea and other food products, except cocaine. In recent years, local authorities have worked to turn the sleepy rainforest town into a tourist destination, and it’s working!

Our first visit was in July, and since July it has really heated up in Villa Tunari! Part of the reason we love Villa Tunari so much is that there really isn’t much to do but walking along the river, cool off in the swimming holes, pozos, and relax and read in the hammocks. We did leave our hotel sanctuary to walk in to town, enjoy some ice cream and stop by Parque Machía, an animal sanctuary where we saw small monkeys swinging in the trees. We stayed at the same hotel where we had stayed the first time, about a 30-minute walk from town, tucked in the forest, very quiet and a great bird watching post.


We’re hanging out in Cochabamba this weekend, planning to check out the Botanical Gardens and check out some restaurants on our Cochabamba bucket list. I hope you have a great weekend!