Why hello beautiful humans. It’s been a minute hasn’t it? I am back and excited to give you all more consistent posts. Trying to live up to my name. Today’s post is a good one so buckle up.
We got to Santa Cruz yesterday afternoon after 18 hours on the bus. Half of it was spent asleep, getting a good nights rest actually, so it wasn’t too bad. Josefina picked us up and took us to her parent’s place. They are all being so kind and welcoming to us. We showered and had some handmade vegan empanadas that Josefina had made (delish) and then we all rested for the afternoon. Around 20:30 we went to dinner and I got tofu baos. Tasty! And, I got a Maracuya Sour finally for Osh! Thank goodness we rested up, because after that we headed to the Santa Cruz Arena and saw so many musical artists.
The main ones were Corona and La Joaqui. The whole night was an event. Her friends were going to meet us but never showed up. Or perhaps they did at the very end. We did meet her coworker and she gave us wristbands to get up to a second floor viewing level and we felt like VIPs. A local was performing when we arrived and the crowd was loving it. La Joaqui didn’t come out until 02:30 so we were able to stay for three songs before we had to call it a night since we were super tired. There was also such a random altercation between a teen, her mom, and Josefina’s coworker. The table was double booked so in the end we all shared (even though they hadn’t been at the table for the five hours we were there before). The crossfire is another reason we left early.
We slept in the next day, and then met her family at a cookout to celebrate Chilean independence day (18th) with their Chilean friends that live in Santa Cruz. It was a cute and fun afternoon. We then went downtown and saw the plaza, some art exhibits, and got gelato. The rest of the evening we spent hanging out at the house.
Our final day was jam-packed. We woke up around 05:30 and were driven to Amboró (a national park) by their friend in Josefina’s dad’s truck. We were going to do a big hike but we needed a guide and motos and didn’t want to figure that out, haha. Instead, we went to a fun place just outside the parque and saw the same mountains we would’ve seen, plus three waterfalls. We did a mini hike, and then went to Samaipata and saw the Fuerte de Samaipata. It’s a giant rock with carvings on it. They said we were in the elbow of Bolivia because there are different climates on each side. The rock is wild. It has a puma, jaguar, and snake, as well as random windows without holes on the sides. Big UFO vibes. We got lunch in the square and walked around a bit checking out the shops. It was very deserted on a weekday.
On the way back to Santa Cruz, we stopped for sammies and some flowers to thank her parents for letting us stay with them. We had such a special few days with them and it was so generous to welcome us into their home on such short notice. We said our goodbyes and then boarded another night bus. At the station, they told us our bus was #24, so that is the bus we boarded…30 minutes later someone says we are in their seat. Turns out there were two bus #24s out there so we almost got left! When we got on the other bus, they took off moments after we sat down! Close call. Off to Sucre we go!
Madeline Daily 