Tarija, Bolivia

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I arrived in Bolivia early this past Wednesday, the 28th I think. The bus left Salta at around 1 am and got me to the border at about 7 in the morning. I entered Bolivia through the town of Bromejo and passing through customs wasn't too difficult. I had to pay a $135 US and show proof of my yellow fever vaccination. The fee for the visa is an indication of tension between the US and Bolivian governments. I recently learned that this past September, the Ambassador to Bolivia was thrown out of the country, persona non grata and I've heard that the DEA really upset a lot of people when they burned a lot of coca fields last year.

So crossing ther border wasn´t too bad and I shared a car with a bout 6 others to the small city of Tarija about 3 hours drive from the border. After setting myself up in a little residencia, I called a guy I orignally contacted through couchsurfing.com and met him in the afternoon. He's been a great help so far helping me to understand the Bolivian poeple who are quite different from Argentines and have a very differnet different attitude toward Americans. They are not nearly so welcoming and are easily offended. Its been nice to have a friend in this town too as it is not very popular with backpackers, which is strange because it is really nice and teh surrounding country is beautiful.

My first full day in Tarija, Fabian (my couchsurfing friend) and I went out to La Casa Vieja, a 408 year old winery, that still crushes the grapes under foot. It turns out Fabian is a tour operator in the area and knows the owners quite well, so we had plenty of free wine to drink. I also bought a a couple of bottles to take home. It was real nice and we met a really fantastic couple from France who have been traveling through Bolivia for a few months now. They are still here in Tarija and I've seen them every day since.

We went to the clubs this past weekend and I've been trying all the local cuisine in the central market. Bolivian food is quite good. I am especially fond of cheese filled pastry sprinkled with powdered sugar and teh other day I ate cow heart for the first time which was really delicious. One of the more remarkable things so far in this area has been a hike out to waterfall this past Saturday. Fabian and I, the French couple, and a couple of people who run a travel agency in town went out there together. I don't think I had ever swum in a waterfall before.

Tarija is a real nice little city, and I love the central plaza, full of palm trees, but I am getting anxious to move on. The next destination is Salar de Uyuni (the famous salt flats) and Fabian is leading a tour out there that I might be able to jump on with, but nothing is confirmed yet as the politiacl situation in this country is quite tense with the recent elections and the country is pretty much equally divided over the adoption of the new constitution. They biggest probem I may encounter is the frequent blockades that happen spontaneously and make overland travel impossible for days at a time. Anyway, the tour to Uyuni is supposed to leave tomorrow and if it doesn't pan out soon I will just cut out on my own. I am anxious to see more of this beautiful country.

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