Four days in Sunny Santa Cruz

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We arrived late but hungry to the beautiful 5-star Los Tajibos hotel in Santa Cruz on Monday, Nejla’s birthday. Although it was close to 11 at night, we definitely had the energy to dress up in our evening finest to celebrate the last few hours of her special day with some delicious red wine and even more delicious steaks! After a relaxing but special dinner, just the two of us spoke and dined in the elegant Terraza open-air restaurant for about 2 hours, we went back to our hotel room and got some much needed rest.

The next morning we delayed a bit in getting out of bed as we enjoyed our top notch accommodations. By the time we were fully dressed, it was about noon, so we headed to the Terraza for a Los Tajibos salad (including my favorite- delicious palm hearts) and a light wrap. Then, we continued to indulge our relaxed attitude and lounged by the gorgeous pool under the Santa Cruz sun. Poolside we had some amazing fresh lemonade and fried yucca with salsa golf (a popular condiment here - mix of ketchup and mayonaisse). It was paradise!

That Tuesday night, we met with our family for a 7:30 dinner at the hotel. Family included my father’s only sister Tía Cristina, her husband Tío Jorge, my Tía Luz María (former GM of Los Tajibos), her daughters Luz María and Paulina, Paulina’s daughters Dominique (11) and Antoinette (8), my father’s cousin Tío German Michel, his two daughters, and son-in-law (a University of Florida graduate). It was a lovely dinner, especially to catch up with family we haven’t seen since our last visit in 2002. Nejla and I, like our cousin’s Luz Maria and Paulina, shared a beef fondue for two, and finished with a great dessert platter including a chocolate volcano soufflé. ¡Qué rico!

I think little Dominique and Antoinette, technically our nieces, were most excited to see us. They dragged us away from the dinner table every chance they got to teach us some dances or games, constantly stroking our hair saying how pretty we were (obviously they were adorable!). Tío German and his daughters also gave Nejla and I each a very thoughtful gift - two slightly different cut but same color necklace pendants featuring a purple precious stone and a small diamond set it silver - these pieces are called Bolivianas, because they are completely constructed from precious metals from the mines in Bolivia (the country was once a HUGE mining economy, especially in Potosí, which experienced a mining boom that would beat the Western Gold Rush).

The next day, Wednesday, Nejla and I got up in time for the amazing breakfast buffet at the hotel, including lots of fresh fruit native to tropical Santa Cruz and delicious hot entrées. Then, we set out Río Piraí, on the outskirts of the city, and rented some four-wheelers for an hour and had a blast tearing up the riverbanks. Although I got stuck in knee deep water, seized my engine several times, and was absolutely covered in mud, it was an awesome experience. We definitely didn’t want to pass up on that fun, since we had been there last time in Santa Cruz, only then my older cousins and brother took off in their minimotos and terrorized the city streets as teenage troublemakers. On the way back to meet our taxi, however, Nejla got a bit freaked out as every passing car tried stopping to talk to us and we had to ignore lots of catcalls…apparently we found out later that the area we went to is not very safe at all, especially for two blondes, but we made it back safely to the hotel.

On the way back to hotel, trudging through the elegant lobby and dinning area covered in mud, we saw Paulina and Luz Maria with their husbands starting lunch. So, we showered up and joined them for another delicious buffet lunch (my favorite dish is ceviche - a cold seafood salad with lots of lemon). We got to see Joaquin again, Luz Maria’s husband and a huge Patriots fan, and we met Paulina’s new husband Calan, son of a Christian preacher straight from the heart of Texas! We really enjoyed their company for lunch and as is common in Bolivia, the meal lasted a couple hours and consisted of a lot of great conversation. By then it was past 3, so we took a taxi to my Aunt Cris’s new condo. It was beautiful and so were her two grandkids, Esteban (7) and Mateo (5), whom we haven’t seen since they were babies. We enjoyed the afternoon playing with the boys and an even more fun guy Tio Jorge. Remembering my last visit and our many games of chess, I challenged my uncle to a few games of backgammon (which I won best out of 3). After work, our cousin Cris, mama of the two adorable boys, met up with us.

We returned to the hotel just in time to get ready to head out to the very social hotspot Santa Cruz Tennis Club with my uncle German. He took us out to the Karaoke bar there, where his daughters met up with us. He and Nejla took turns entertaining the rest of us with their great singing voices. It’s uncanny how much my uncle German is JUST like my dad! After the karaoke, we went to the restaurant side and had a delicious meal.

Thursday, Nejla and I again enjoyed the hotel breakfast buffet. Then, Nejla and I lounged a bit more under the palm trees in the great hammocks and hot tub outside our first floor rooms (I’ve been making my way through one of my favorite books Siddhartha by Herman Hesse for the second time). We joined up with our aunt Luz Maria and cousins Luz Maria and Paulina to go to a popular restaurant for lunch famous for their mouth-watering Argentinian steaks. The afternoon consisted of some more relaxation, although there were a few showers that day. Nejla and I took a short siesta and then got dressed up for dinner together at La Terraza, when I convinced her to go in on the Pacu Muto dinner for two - another self-cooking specialty with which you get a plate of potatoes, veggies, and tons of various meats and cheese that you grill on a small gas stove to your liking. After nearly busting our britches from eating so much, we got ready to go out with Susanna Michel to a local Santa Cruz bar/lounge. Being a Thursday night, the dancing area wasn’t open, but we did enjoy a live singing/guitar duet and a few martinis (the bar’s specialty). The music was fun and we talked with Susanna and some other Cambas (Santa Cruz natives) for a few hours. Nejla and I had definitely noticed the stark difference in style between the more urban, European La Paz nightlife and the more trendy, flashy, American Santa Cruz style. All the women were extremely dressed and made up and beautiful, and most of the guys sported Hollister, A&F, and Lacoste polos and button ups. We got back to the hotel at about 2am, not without passing by some hot transvestite hookers on a corner in downtown on the way home.

We got up about 4 hours later so Nejla could get to the airport for her early flight, only to find out that it was delayed about 3½ hours. Since it was an overcast day and I only had a few hours left, I got a manicure and pedicure done at the hotel salon, along with a much-needed hair cut after seeing Nejla off to her flight. Then, I grabbed a quick lunch by myself, said good-bye to the hotel staff, who were all telling me again and again to say hi to my family back home (most of the waiters have been working there for years, so they remember us well since my family lived in the hotel for a few months when I was about a year or two old).

It was back to the States for Nejla, and back to La Paz for me that Friday afternoon….


Saludos ~Laura

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