Feb 7, 2019
I spent my first few days exploring the many parks that the city has to offer. Tarija is divided by a river so I spent one day on one side and the next crossing the river.
Parque de Las Flores was my first stop. The park was gated and there was only one entrance to the park which had to be accessed through another gate that led to a set of stairs in between 2 gated areas. The entrance was at the bottom of the stairs. While walking around, I ended up in an outdoor market where many people were selling home hardware. I guess it was their version of a home depot! It was between a few of these stalls, behind a parked truck that I finally found the stairs leading to the park.
The park was beautiful and very quiet. There is a pond with a bridge leading to a gazebo right in the center. Behind it, the name of the park is spelled out with bushes. As the name suggests, there are flowers planted all over the park but much less than I expected. Sitting there under the shade, listening to the birds chirp made a perfect morning.
Next, I walked to what I thought was a park not too far away. In front of the entrance were many locals selling flowers which seemed odd. Looking in through the gates, I realized it was a cemetery that was quite busy so I did not go in. I continued walking and found a little restaurant for lunch.
Feb 8, 2019
The next day I went to Mirador Héroes de la Indepencia. It was up a set of stairs, hidden from the main street. This park is very large and because it is higher, gives a wonderful view of the city. Yet again, it was quite empty, with only a few families and others passing by to walk their dogs.
I continued to another plot of green land I found on Google maps. There was no name and required walking through some wealthier areas and more secluded houses. This one was also up a hill. The stairs leading up to the top have stained glass images every few steps depicting a religious scene. Once at the top, there is a beautiful mirror image building with a walking path in between. Again, the path lead to a cemetery, this one a lot more empty and quiet. Further out is another beautiful lookout.
I headed for lunch at another local restaurant, where I ordered fried fish with rice. It was lunch time and the restaurant being busy, two locals sat at my table. Their lunch entailed drinks only; they were drinking a mixed drink of white wine and cola. Definitely a drink I will have to try for myself at a later date.
It was very nice to see that parks in Tarija are very well maintained. Other small parks and squares around the city were also filled with plants and very clean. Both actual parks that I went to had people working, cutting the grass and bettering the parks. It was also very nice to see that all the round abouts were gorgeously filled with different plants.
Today was the beginning of an annual carnival, a very big celebration here in Tarija that lasts a few days. It will be explained in another post after the festival has ended.
Next stop: valle de los condores trek.