Samaipata, Bolivia's little piece of paradise!

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I am not sure at what point I got it into my head that we needed to go to Samaipata, but the more I read and talk to people about it, the more I wanted to get us there. Its Quechua name means "Rest in the Highlands" because it sits in the foothills of the Cordillera Oriental.
It took us (us four, my cousin and his two kids) about three hours to get there from Santa Cruz. We did make a few stops, one at a pretty little lagoon at the top of a mountain and the other at the bottom of the same mountain where we thought people were selling sugar cane but it was just a super friendly family that was harvesting their sugar cane. They invited us in, gave us all samples of the cane and showed us how they were making molasses candy.
The trip was made a lot longer due to the odd Bolivian habit of having speedbumps on the major road. It's their way to keep the speed down but it makes for a bumpy ride. My niece was counting them but gave up after we got close to 30 and we were only half way there.
It was all worth it when we arrived. We stayed at a cabin at the Finca La Vispera. Its a beautiful, relaxing organic farm. With a huge vegetable garden that made me miss my little garden! They even had a big patch of rhubarb. Angelica and I were in heaven!!
We spent the afternoon exploring the garden and the near by trails. We had dinner at their littlee cafe and the food was all delicious, all fresh from the garden. Brian built a fire in the the fireplace later that night, and the only thing that was missing were the marshmallows.
I woke up early the next morning to enjoy some quiet time in the garden and to watch the birds. The hummingbirds were much bigger there. The size of a finch and when they flew their wings made an odd helicopter-like noise. We later got to enjoy a visit from a flock of parrots, like 20 of them and they made a lot of noise.
I could go on and on about this place. It was amazing. I was very much hoping that Pieter (the owner of La Vispera) would decide to adopt me! I would happily take over running the place and caring for the garden.
We had breakfast at the cafe and I got to enjoy a rhubarb tart, where the rhubarb was mixed with grapes.. very yummy.. I will have to try to re-create it next year when my rhubarb comes back.
We also got a horse for the girls to ride on but neither of the boys were too interested in it.
The time to leave came much too fast. I am not sure how or when, but this is a place that we all want to return to!

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