I met Leo in La Paz and we had planned to travel around Bolivia for a couple of weeks before going back to Lima at the end of the month. It was Leo's first time in Bolivia as well so we were looking forward to learning more about the country (and it was also very useful travelling with a fluent Spanish speaker and a Peruvian....certain things suddenly became slightly cheaper, maybe we were getting a discount on the usual 'gringo' prices). We spent a day in La Paz wandering around the city and eating in Mercado Lanza. All in all the Bolivian food isn't amazing but like every other Latin American country they do have good deep fried pastry street food in the form of Salteñas (oven baked pastry stuffed with a selection of meat and served with various sauces and relishes) as well as a favourite of mine, papa rellenas..basically a a ball of cottage pie, a fried ball of mashed potato stuffed with minced meat and onion again served with various sauces. Really delicious! And a bargain at 5BS (less that $1).
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| Questionable looking papa Rellena |
We took an overnight bus from La Paz to Cochabamba at 10pm which got us into Cochabamba at 6am the next morning and cost us $8 each. Cochabamba is a city in central Bolivia and is known for its year round spring like climate and good food (a nice change after cold La Paz and of course he promise of good food is always a plus). We got into the busy bus station of Cochabamba too early in the morning and took a taxi to an Airbnb we booked for two nights. We got to the house in what appeared to be a middle class, quiet suburb of the city and were greeted by the welcoming family of Monica and her husband Gustavo and their son Pablo who was around my age. Even though we arrived early they had a hugely appreciated breakfast spread and welcomed us immediately. We all sat down and had really good strong coffee (hard to find in South America), bread, cheese and fruit. They spoke Spanish so I let Leo do most of the talking and I contributed as much as I could! Over the next two days the whole family treated us like their own. Gustavo loved talking especially about politics, corruption and the drug problems in Cochabamba and indeed Bolivia. Pablo even took us to a local restaurant for lunch one day where we had a huge meal of salad, traditional vegetable, rice and meat soup followed by 'Costillas al jugo' translated as 'ribs to juice' which was well....slow cooked beef on the bone with rice, minimal vegetables and pasta (I thought Peru was big on carbs but in Bolivia triple carbs are common with meat/chicken often being served with pasta, potatoes and rice)!! We also had a litre between us of fresh apple juice which was served in a brown glass beer looking bottle. After the mountain of food we were also given a small jelly. The whole meal cost only $4!!
The owner obviously took my pale complexion and blonde hair as indication that he should speak English to me (his instincts were right) he spoke with an American accent and Gustavo later told us he worked in New York for many years where he had a restaurant. The walls of the restaurant were lined with photos of him with various famous people including Putin, Bill Clinton, Trump to name but a few.
It also happened to be a strike or 'Paro' of all buses and taxis that day so we didn't venture too far as all the roads were blocked and obviously there was no public transport. They were striking as the government had proposed a new law that stated if a drug trafficker was caught transporting drugs in a taxi or on a bus then the vehicle would be seized immediately. I can understand the outrage at this law threatening the drivers' livelihoods.
We also spent a whole day exploring the city of Cochabamba. A big highlight is that Christ the Redeemer statue situated overlooking the sprawling city in the valley below. The teleferico is the main way to access the statue as the neighbourhood below is apparently too unsafe to walk through. We arrived at the teleferico in the morning with the sun shining only to be told it was closed for maintenance (for one week which has now been one month...South American style) so we took the only other option of a taxi there and back costing $6 return. The statue is actually the second biggest in the world and is 44cms taller than the famous Christ the Redeemer in Rio.
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| Some of Cochabambas city views |
After enjoying the heat of the morning with Christ we took a colectivo into the city centre (the shared taxis here are the main way to get around and are actually mini vans or people carriers which are very frequent with up to 12 people squished in often with some standing (or bent over stance as there isn't much head space even for kids in these vans) they generally cost around 2BS for a trip ($0.28). There are also private taxis and some larger buses. We (of course) sought out a local food market to try some local food. We decided to go for 'Pique' a dish apparently local to Cochabamba. However it didn't live up to my expectations. Of course it revolves around carbs..in the form of papas fritas (chips) with chorizo piled high covered in tomato ketchup, mayonnaise and garnished with chopped tomatoes, onions and mint..a very random mix. I ate it all anyway despite it being cold and with a stray cat curled up around my right foot. The market was buzzing with fresh fruit juice stands lined up along one wall and ice cream stalls on the other. We paid the 15BS ($2) for the meal which definitely did its job of filling you up. Later that day we took another crazily packed people carrier (nine adults in one) to go and see another attraction called 'Palacio portales '. A large intricately decorated mansion with gardens and art exhibitions. The house was built by a wealthy tin baron who never even lived in the property. we decided not to take the guided tour of the house and wandered around the manicured gardens and free art exhibitions before squeezing into another overly packed van to bring us back to the Marquez family including their beautiful dogs Capitan and Botauke.
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| Palacio portales |
After a lovely two days with our adopted Bolivian family we said goodbye and thanked them for their hospitality. We went and spent a night in the countryside of Cochabamba in a hostel that looked and sounded very good. It's own self contained 'resort' with pool table, swimming pool, bikes, ping pong, playground and gym. When we actually arrived at Las Lilles I felt like we had been given the pound shop version of what we expected! Yes it was the right place but I think we arrived ten years too late.
The place had really been let go. The pool was brown, the 'gym' consisted of a punching bag and a broken exercise bike in the garden, the pool table had no triangle and holes in the pockets, the room we had booked was flooded and the 'bar' consisted of dusty empty spirit bottles lined up on shelves behind a counter in the common area. The place had potential but at the time we arrived I thought it would be potentially shit. Anyway we resigned to one night there (which coincidentally was St Patrick's day)...I wasn't feeling optimistic seeing as there seemed to be only two other backpackers staying there. There was however a lot of space and it was a beautiful day. We went for a walk around the dusty lanes getting randomly attacked by rampant dogs (joy) and cooked a nice lunch in the kitchen (which was actually functioning)! We did venture into Cochabamba that night and sought out the ONLY Irish bar in the whole city...I just wanted some patriotism and an overpriced, questionable tasting. Guinness...when we strolled past the Na Cunna at 8.30pm when most Irish bars on St Patrick's day around the world would be busting at the seams and blaring Irish music...this one was...well was not. We could see in and there were two people in the whole bar (one of whom was a Bolivian bar man). I couldn't even bring myself to go in, not a good introduction for Leo to paddys day! We instead settled for the worst Mexican meal I've had ever and maybe the worst meal I have had in South America before heading back to our strangely eerie, dated hostel ranch on another overcrowded mini van! The next morning we wanted to take the free bikes they had on offer for a cycle to be informed by the owner that they now only have one bike as the other had broken (of course). So I ran and Leo cycled steering away all the crazy, barking dogs that seemed to be outside every house (petrified of these dogs), the countryside surrounding the hostel was really beautiful with the mountains framing every angle you went. Later that day I managed to stream the six nations (the wifi was actually very good) to witness Ireland beat England (it made up for a disappointing paddys day). Leo and I then headed to take another minibus to Toro Toro that afternoon. Bye Las Lillas....you strange place!
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| Las Lille's looking quite good actually in the sunshine |
Next stop: Toro Toro town and national park.
Food/drink: Pique - traditional to Cochabamba consisting of fried potatoes, chorizo, egg, some random salad and sauce in a local market for $2 (underwhelming...and also sadly cold). Papa rellena - deep fried mashed potato stuffed with minced meat and vegetables. Costillas (ribs) with rice/pasta/potatoes (or all three) and salad/vegetables at a local restaurant.
Stayed: air bnb, Cochabamba, las lillas, Cochabamba ($9 per night)
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