Welcome to Bolivia

I arrived by plane from Sao Paulo. This was a huge shock between the messy city of Sao Paulo and the quietness of Santa Cruz.

The country is cheap as a lot of people told me. However, it is also far less developed that the other countries I have visited so far. In any case, people here are not complaining, jealous or angry.

Immediately, I loved the atmosphere.

Eastern in Santa Cruz

My first day in Bolivia was the Friday of Eastern. If in my childhood region, it is a day off, after 3 years in Paris I used to deal with the Parisian rule: it is a normal day.

But in Bolivia, this day is not only a day off but also a very important day to celebrate. Everything in the street was closed. Guess what, everybody was in front of the cathedral for the celebration with the bishop.

Hopefully, in front of the cathedral, there was a lot of stand with food for the practicings. I joined them 😉

Let’s discover the Bolivian food

During the few days I spent in Bolivia, I tasted many local foods. If I was very happy at the beginning, it was without knowing the future. The next bus I took between Santa Cruz and Sucre was stressful for stomach reason. I had to take care one week in Sucre, to get back an enough strong stomach.

The foods I tasted:

• Mocochinchi: a sweet juice with a peach inside, very delicious
• Somo: a fresh sweet drink made with a kind of corn. For me, it reminded me more gnocchi. But, it is nice.
• Arepa: a kind of crepe with cheese and egg
• Empanadas: here the original one is with meat, potatoes, olives and an amazing sauce

The journey to San Javier

The town of San Javier is around 200 kms (4h of uncomfortable minibus…) from Santa Cruz. It is the closest point from the Jesuit mission. The Jesuit mission took place in the 16th century. The goal was to “educate” the indigenous of the region (close to the Amazonia).

Due to the Jesuit mission, many new towns appeared in the region. Many of the churches from those towns have been added to the UNESCO. The church in San Javier, all in wood, was atypical and very beautiful.

At the beginning, I wanted to continue further to Concepción that is only one hour from San Javier. However, I started to feel bad. A headache that forced me to come back to Santa Cruz.