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The best way from Santa Cruz to Samaipata is in shared taxi, and conveniently the taxis wait at a spot 6 blocks from our hostel. We headed down with our packs and were pleased to discover two people already waiting, but as the vehicle was large they wanted to wait for just one more. One turned out to be a couple with a small child, leaving Sophie pretty squeezed in the middle row of seats with me luckily sat in the front.
The journey to Samaipata was as much broken up by the holes in the road as it was the veritable feast of views from the window. The city outskirts was filled with an increase in traditional dress, street sellers, kids out of school and a collection of motorbike taxis, its passengers sat side saddle behind the driver - no helmet and sometimes holding small children. The houses changed dramatically but varied from what looked like mud construction walls to full on mansions, almost all advertising a candidate for the current local governor elections. The other notable sights included all manner of animals running free - goats, cows, horses, pigs, chickens and dogs, plus a car reversed into a
river so it could be washed in the flow!
About half an hour from Samaipata was the most interesting part of our journey. A landslide had caused rubble to form at the side of the road (the other side was next to a drop) and a thick layer of red clay like mud had formed over our uphill journey, continually worsening due to the heavy rain. Whilst lorries and other vehicles had sensibly formed a queue at either side of the difficult pass, we arrived to see a 4X4 and taxi similar to our own wheel spinning and side sliding up the hill. This was not only scary to us, but scared our driver enough to stop, get out and watch while about 8 other vehicles attempted it. After about 30 minutes we had resided ourselves to spending the best part of the afternoon there waiting for the weather to dry up, when the driver jumped back in, turned down the Bolivian music, started the engine and made the sign of the cross having decided the best thing was to just go for it while clear of vehicles. Soph grabbed my shoulder from behind but surprisingly, taking a previously worn track at pretty high speed, we were able to get most of the way before side sliding a little towards the end of the pass. We and the driver were certainly pleased with him, though the half hour build up had definitely added to the nerves.
On arrival in Samapaita, we were dropped off at our hotel, La Posada del Sol. Just up from the main (and only) plaza by about 3 blocks, this place is amazing - the room cheap, the bed huge, the artwork local and fantastic, the view spectacular and the staff with a smile!! We headed off to the plaza to find lunch but stopped at what seemed to be a restaurant operated out of a family's garden. For 1.50 each we had a dish of choclo (maize) with spices, big bowl of soup, and double hamburger with cheese and carrot served with fries! Wow! Being mid afternoon, we were the last table served before closing, and the family had their lunch at a table near us while we ate. We explored in the afternoon, doesn't take long in this small town, and booked a hike round El Fuerte and surrounding forest for Sunday - the rain looking like it would last, scuppering our plans for a trip on Saturday as well.
Our evening was spent in a bar/restaurant called La Oveja Negra (the Black Sheep) which served up a simple meal of blue cheese macaroni with wine for Soph and a Paceña for me. Apparently in Bolivia, Paceña is the cerveza! We also messed around with a number of board games, making for a very relaxing evening in this lovely quiet town.
How Sophie Sees It The man who joined us for the 3.5 hour journey to Samaipata was a fatty, big enough to need two seats on a plane kind of large. Using some twisted logic the driver decided against putting fatso in the front on a seat to himself, instead putting Chris there, and put him in the middle row of seats with me and his wife AND child! And he was in the middle!! The middle!!! My right bum cheek was not on the seat, but in the gap between it and the door (not that there was actually a door or indeed functioning window on my side of the car) and my head did not rest on the headrest, but fell in the gap between in and the "window". Thank God the journey was not longer than it was. I was jealous of the couple in the back of the 7 seater car who had triple the amount of space I had, each!
When it came to tackling the muddy pass on the cliff edge, I was genuinely considering the possibility of rolling off the mountain, and was concerned to be on the side of the car without a door or window to escape from. Oh and no seatbelt either of course. But then I realised that I would be crushed to death by fatso before I got the opportunity to escape anyway. I grabbed Chris's shoulder as if it was the last time I would get the chance to, and breathed a massive sigh of relief as we made it unscathed.
After having been very excited to reach Samaipata, touted as the new place to go in Bolivia due to its proximity to the Amboro National Park, the Amazon basin, Inca ruins etc etc... I was disappointed to find the rain would spoil our plans to do lots of forest hikes. Nonetheless the hotel is gorgeous and a great place to relax in. Unfortunately it does not have cooking facilities so it's a good job we are in the country of cheap meals!
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