Jesuit Missions - Concepcion
Trip Start
Jun 27, 2004
1
16
57
Trip End
Sep 22, 2004
Concepcion,
Bolivia
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
We found the hotel which had been recommended to us, with rooms for 40 Bs (£2.80) each including breakfast. It was really nice and everyone was sooooooo friendly.
After a brief wander around we looked in at the Tourist Information office which had a few reasonable leaflets. The church was closed but the museum was open - for another 30 minutes. We decided to just walk around town and get our bearings. Later on we went to the Buen Gusto restaurant, also recommended to us, which was excellent. It was the first time I have had fish since I arrived here
a - Democracy in action
.Breakfast was as good as had been promised. Fresh fruit salad, coffee, various breads, cheese and jam. Sunday was National Referendum day. We knew everything in the cities was closed but had no idea what the impact would be in the remote towns. It wasn't a huge problem. We sat in the plaza and watched the crowd of people outside where they were voting - democracy in action! Then we went into the church, or rather Cathedral. After the glitz of San Javier, I thought this one was a bit dark.
The Mission Museum was closed (typical!) but we found the Chiquitos Museum which doesn't appear on any maps. It was incredible, and free. We were even given a demonstration of some of the traditional animal traps. They were vicious and barbaric!
In the afternoon we walked 2 km out of town to La Represa, a freshwater reservoir where we could swim. The weather was incredible and the water, despite initially feeling freezing, was gorgeous. At one stage I went off for a walk and was lucky enough to see a flock of big parrotts in the trees. I also saw the giant ants in action, carrying all sorts back to their nest. How they can carry something 10 times the size of themselves, I just don't know
b - Inside Cocepcion Cathedral
!We stayed down at the lake for sunset. It was brilliant. Then the insects came out which wasn't good for us, but brought all the flying fish to the surface of the water.
The town was very quiet that evening. We don't know if it's because of the referendum or if every Sunday is like that. We went back to Buen Gusto again, and later sat for a beer in the Social Club on the corner of the plaza. When we went back to the hotel at 10, it was in darkness and locked up so we had to ring the bell!
Monday saw us finally get to the Missions Museum which was full of pictures and stories about the restoration projects. There are several more mission towns further East of Concepcion but we had no time to do them this time. It was a lot more interesting than I had imagined possible!
Then came the bus journey back to Santa Cruz! It can take anything between 5 and 8 hours depending on a lot of things. We were lucky, it was only 5 and a half! The variables include all sorts of creatures in the roads (at one stage we were delayed when two fightong bulls locked horns in the middle and refused to budge); numerous potholes to be swerved around; vicious speed bumps; a queue for the one-way bridge (only about 20 minutes, we must have been really lucky on the outward journey); and of course the traffic level in the city.
It had been a fabulous weekend, but very tiring!
