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Published: September 20th 2007
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Samaipata is a tranquil, green, warm retreat for the residents of Santa Cruz but seems to have been invaded by a host of lost hippies and dutch people who have set up businesses here. I cant blame them for wanting to settle here but they kind of spoil it a bit. That said they have set up some beautiful hostels and restaurants which I have been happily eating in while I was there. Including Hostel Andoriña and La Vispera where I was presented with a menu with about 8 herbal teas. The ingredients all home grown and dried there at the farm and infused into your pot of tea with one of those Dutch infuser balls that should have caught on all over the world but we are a bit slow.
I arrived in Samaipata after a slightly scary bus ride from Potosi then Sucre. The bus was delayed leaving by 2 hours and I got the feeling the driver was trying to make up time…on windy roads partly destroyed by the floods and landslides of the last rainy season…and in the middle of the night while we were trying to sleep.
I kept waking up every few corners thinking
this is it, surely we are going to crash on this one. The other passengers felt the same on one particular bend and there were cries of “Maestro..whats the hurry?!”
Anyway survived that and got dumped on the side of the road at 5am and wandered into the town. Luckily found the lady of a hotel in the square got a room. I then spent the next half an hour killing mosquitos in my room before passing out till about midday.
Finaly I’ve reached the tropics!
From Samaipata I did a trek into the Amboro national park, staying in the Comunidad Volcan campsite/cabañas, my guide as usual was very quiet but his mother and neice at the comunidad were lovely. The wonderfully named Dulce Milady kept me entertained all evening by candle light while “Mami” kept me well fed and supplied me with fantastic freshly made lemonade after some very hot walking but some stunning views to make up for it.
On my return to Samaipata my taxi driver picked up a bloke from Las Cuevas waterfalls who I had seen at the thermal laguna in Potosi. He turned out to be a very nice Aussie called Gareth and he
suggested a visit to a local animal sanctuary so we went off to the mad house together with a half Kiwi half Sri lankan girl. Gareth spent the next few hours under a growing pile of animals and we spent the rest of the evening drinking beer and laughing at him.
I also visited the Inca ruins at El Fuerte near Samaipata which were actually quite impressive - a big ceremonial site carved into a huge sandstone rock. One of the few guides in Bolivia who has actually told me anything useful too.
It was all too brief really, I could have stayed another week but I am now in Santa Cruz trying desperately to organize a trip into the remote and intriguing Noel Kempff Mercado Park. It is notoriously difficult to get to and not many people go so of course it was immediately appealing to me. However I have spent 4 days here trying to find other people to go with to share costs (transport in the park seems to require hiring a 4x4 or at least paying lots of $s for lifts from Park guards as there is only one vehicle which is shared between the community
and limited petrol supplies). I have come up with nothing unfortunately after lots of sweaty pounding the streets of Santa cruz although I have bought myself a swanky hammock and gas stove and lots of ready meals in preparation. So instead I am about to embark on a crazy mission to get to a small town in the North of the park (I heard there is a festival this weekend and am becoming good at gate crashing these kind of things) and we will see what happens from there, there may not be a bus back for another week, or I may be able to get into the park from there who knows.
I am a little nervous setting off into the middle of nowhere on my own but so far Bolivia is so tranquilo, I haven’t felt in danger anywhere, in fact people are very friendly. Now that I am in the lowlands too things are even more laid back, if I get stuck in a little town in the middle of nowhere I can just sit in my hammock and read for a week till the bus comes in!
Honestly the most dangerous thing here so far has
been the pavements - every day I came within a hairs breadth of falling flat on my face or breaking a few toes.
I also dont recommend taking a micro during rush hour. I did one trip the other day here which was full body contact on an overcrowded bus, trying not to burn or electricute myself on the uncovered light bulb directly above my head which was jammed against the celing, how rare to be the tallest in the crowd. All this whilst trying to see where the hell I am, and hold on for dear life while the driver excelerates to beat the traffic then jamms on the brakes to pick up someone every few yards. The bus behind us actually went into the back of us - any damage? Who can tell?? Too many other dents!
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