Category: Bolivia

Feb 12, 2018

In many countries around the world, carnival is a massive celebration. In Bolivia, it is celebrated throughout several weeks in February. Tarija in particular celebrates friendship and good humor. On the 8th of February, it was the celebration of comadres, meaning women. Men on this day will offer baskets of food to the women they want to seal their friendship with. Groups of women were seen wearing similar outfits and dancing in the streets. By 10am, beer was sold in the streets!

Then, there is a day for the party of the districts. Each district organizes a “barra” where people dance, eat, drink and throw water. This day was Feb 12th this year. I walked around the main plaza during that day and it seemed like the whole town had come out to party. Small children were holding big water guns, spraying anyone who walked by. Others had water balloons or cans of foam. Only women wearing traditional clothing walking the streets were exempt from falling victim to them. Indeed, I got sprayed with water and foam a few times during the day. In the morning, there were large trucks lined up in the streets with massive water tanks spraying people. By the afternoon, the fountain located in the main plaza had run dry from all the kids filling up their water guns or balloons. Around 5pm, the party was over as a group of police officers were chasing people out of the fountain.

Feb 13, 2018

The celebrations are not yet done before the actual day of the carnival with the “challa”, or car, of the house to ensure there will be no problems during the year. This day was also the day I had to take a bus to Tupiza for a tour to the salt flats. I had messaged the bus company previously and they told me the bus would be running on schedule. Upon arrival to the Nueva Terminal de bus, I found myself among many locals waiting around; the bus terminal was closed and no one knew why. In South America, you can catch shared taxis, called truffis, that bring you from one city to the next. Many of these were parked in front of the terminal and locals were slowly getting on to them one by one. I asked many drivers if they were going to Tupiza and they all told me a hard no.

However, I soon met a local woman. My understanding from her saying was that buses were running from another terminal. We hopped into a taxi together and headed to Parada Norte, a much smaller and more run-down bus terminal.  Buses were running there and somehow I got my ticket to Tupiza from the same bus company I had originally planned. The normal bus schedule was at 10am but this one was at 11:30am. Among the passengers, there was Esther who was the only person I had met so far fluent in English. She was heading to Tupiza for work as cook and English guide for a salt flats tour. She quickly convinced me to join her tour that was leaving the next day. I had originally booked with another tour company but was told the tour was be postponed because the other people were also having trouble getting to Tupiza.

Even with unexpected interruptions from the carnival, I arrived at where I needed, joined the tour I wanted and left with the tour on the day I had planned. There were many bumps along the way, and literally too, but it all worked out according to plan. As backpackers say, “It is either a good time or a good story!”

Feb 9, 2018

About an hour away from Tarija is a little village in the valley, famously known as valle de Los Condores or Condor Valley. The owners of the tour company, Vincent and Julia, have a farm house there where I spent my 1st night. The view was beautiful, with mountains all around. It was a very relaxed night, with Vincent talking about his life and why he moved from Belgium to Bolivia with his wife. Not only do they run the tours but they also run a school, after school program and a place to live for girls who come from poor or abusive families. Their project is affiliated to an NGO and has now been running for 20 years!

There were 2 cows on the farm which we got to milk. Turns out it is extremely hard to milk them even though Carmen, the cook, made it look so easy. I got to try a cocktail of a hard liquor with sugar, cinnamon and fresh milk that was directly from the cow. The milk being fresh, it was still warm and the cocktail is supposed to be enjoyed warm.

Feb 10, 2018

Next day was the hike up the mountain. It was led by a local guide Alex, who was my age. He was extremely nice and always smiling, thoroughly enjoying what he was doing. Along the way, he would point out different plants and of course the condors. It was nice to see that he was just as excited to see the condors as we were! All the way up to the camp site, the weather was perfect as the sun shined brightly. It was lunch time and our camp site being someone’s land for cows, we were shortly joined by a herd of them. There were even 2 baby cows who were around 8 or 9 days old.

After lunch and mounting the tents, it was time for the next part of the hike up to the top of the mountain. This took another hour and a half to reach the top. However, by the time we had reached the top, it was all foggy and nothing could be seen. When we decided to leave a bit later, everything started clearing up. There were so many condors flying around. They are very curious animals and would fly right above us. With their 3-meter wingspan, we could hear the wind when they flew near enough.

When looking from below, they are all black. When looking from above, some of them are brown while others are white. The colors are for young and adult condors respectively. Male condors also have a crest on its head. There were at least 5 condors flying around and others perched on the cliffs. Alex even laid down pretending to be dead to attract the condors.

Feb 11, 2018

It rained all night and into the morning. This was not unexpected as it was currently the rainy season. We started our hike down in the rain and it stopped shortly after. Sadly, because of the rain, we did not take the trail that passes through a waterfall. It would be very slippery and dangerous so we took the same way that we hiked up from. Once back at the farm house, there was a barbecue before heading back to the city.

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.

Feb 6, 2019

Tarija, like many other small cities I’ve arrived at through the airport, doesn’t have fancy terminals. Instead, stairs are wheeled to the doors and you walk out. They designate the walking path, a few military police giving directions. The second you walk out the plane, you hear the sound of a band playing. Looking down, there is a large crowd, most of whom school children, waving at you; what a great warm welcome!

To get to the city center where my hostel is located, I could either take taxi or bus. Airport taxi costs a whopping 50Bs but if you walk outside of the airport area, taxi only costs around 5Bs. Tarija is a very safe city and nicknamed the capital of smiles so I chose the latter option. However, once outside the airport, I noticed taxis were shared and my Spanish not being the best, I opted to take the bus, a mere 2Bs. Many buses go towards the central plaza so it seemed like a more fool proof option. Buses also have signs posted on the front window indicating where it is headed. There are no designated stops so you wave the bus as you would a taxi.

When you get on the bus, you reach forward while the driver reaches back to hand him the fare. Not knowing this, I got on the bus and sat down, trying to figure out how to pay. The driver didn’t say a word and let me ride. After observing many locals, I finally handed him the money I owed but was never asked for. To get off the bus, either you tell the driver or do it whenever the bus is stopped.

I walked a couple of blocks to the hostel, exhausted from a very long 24hrs spent in planes and airports.