Andorina Hostal, Arte & Cultura Samaipata

... our maps) we went through the peaje, and the sign told us it was 53 kms to Samaipata, it turned out to be 65. It was from this point that the road began to climb, very gradually at first and with only a couple of kms of downhill for the rest of the day, we were in for a long ride we just didn't know it at the time.<br><br>Eventually the road began to follow the river and we started to wind our way up and around the mountains. The road ...

... a package (a bit frustrating again!), we get to the airport and head to Puerto Suarez on the Bolivian side of the boarder.<br><br>Our third taxi of the day (thankfully so cheap here in Bolivia) says he will take us to the boarder. He make out like the trip is a lot longer then it actually is (to scam more money from us) so when we get to the boarder we are confused wether he is taking us further or not?. This was the dodgiest ...

... check out the busy local towns as we passed through. There is so much action on the streets here as people seem to just hang out by the road, as do the cows, pigs, dogs, chickens (and on the road)<br><br>We arrive at about 9pm and know very little about this town but ask a local to point us to a hotel and he decides to walk us there. We bought him a beer and made broken spanglish conversation.<br><br>B$100 per night per room with private bath.

... as a meeting place. The actual site was basically a huge megalith on top of a hill that had been carved all over with different things; cats, &#8220;snake drains&#8221; and the famous Five Niches. We spent the morning walking round the site before walking the 11 kilometres back to the town through the hills.<br><br> We spent the rest of the afternoon chilling in a cafe and looking round the archaeological museum. We got ...

... schön....da es der National Feiertag Boliviens war gab es natürlich Feierlichkeiten....nichts wirklich aufregendes aber es gab was zu tun... Nach 2 Tagen sind wir dann auf eine kleine Tour durch den Dschungel gegangen...Man darf in diese Gegend nur mit einem Local Guide gehen die in dieser Region wohnen. Mit dem Geld für die Tour wird dann die local community unterstützt... Wir wurden also mit einem Jeep in den Dschungel gefahren und haben dann ...

... we looked for the markets there, and then took a taxi to the next village, 3 hours ride, and its called samaipata. its really a nice village, and we went today with 2 other israelies to waterfalls nearby and some old inca ruins, i liked better the watterfalls. tommorow we will go for a day in the jungle and later take the night bus to Sucre... ill send pics later when i can

... Cascadas, a trio of waterfalls in a pretty part of the valley. The taxi driver insisted on taking corners at 100kph despite having no seat belts! Another highlight of our five days in Samaipata was visiting a local wildlife refuge, where we had the chance to become friends with one of the monkeys. We could have spent so much more time in Samaipata but with our Bolivian visa running out and the elections over, it was time to move on to the judicial capital of Bolivia - Sucre.

... Spanish book for awhile. As soon as possible, I headed out for a hike to El Fuerte, 10 km away. I thought "no problem", but with altitude (not too much, about 1800 m.) and hills to climb, it turned out to be more than I bargained for. About 1 km from the park entrance, a park employee gave me a lift the rest of the way. Well, there was no respite from the hill climbing INSIDE the park; oh, silly me! But, I did ...

... doen dat lekker toeristisch met een reisbureau, gerund door een Duitser, met een gids uit Nederland, slapen in een hostal van Fransen. Maar ik vind het allemaal geweldig. Mijn tripjespartner-in-crime is Sandrine uit Zwitserland (waarvan ik heel even dacht dat het een Kristina-type was, oei, ken ik een Kristina?) maar we hebben al ontzettend veel gelachen, gediscussieerd en ik heb vooral al veel met open mond geluisterd naar haar levensverhaal. Ze is ...

... the monkeys in particular were great value. Later that afternoon we made the mistake of listening to a cab driver who seemed to think the weather was good for visiting the locl waterfalls, but when we arrived it was drab and overcast; in stark contrast to the glorious sunshine in Samaipata town. However, we decided to make the most of it and spent a couple of hours walking the trails before the cold got the better of us and we ...