Round the world in 150 days (mas o menos..)

Relaxing in Samaipata...



Samaipata is a lovely small town about 3 hours away from the bustling city of Santa Cruz in Bolivia. It´s a stone's throw from the Amboro National Park, which is known for its giant fern forests and its abundance of birds, including Condors. It´s also near Bella Vista, which has spectular mountain landscapes and waterfalls. Also, it's right next to El Fuerte, which is a strange-looking ruin with lots of stories about its functions in the old days, including an hypothesis about it being a landing strip for ancient aircrafts.

I've been here about 5 days now, exceeding my original plan as usual. I think it´s the tranquility of this place that lured everyone to extend their stay. For a small town, there is a surprising number of expacts living here, some running hostels and restaurants, some artists, some running tour agencies, and there is even one yoga instructor from Israel and a photographer from Holland, who also runs a hostel with his Bolivian wife, and that is where I´m staying.

The hostel only opened about a month ago, so everything is new. The walls are full of beautiful landscape photographs taken by the owner (Andres). I also love the fruit salad that I get every morning for breakfast. Some rooms have mountain views, but mine is just a small room at the basement, next to the kitchen. It's not too bad though.

My excuse for staying here is to learn spanish in a beautiful and quiet environment. I have 1.5 hour class in the morning, and 1.5 hour at night, so have the whole day free to do as I wish. Yesterday I went to the nearby waterfalls (Cuevas) with some new found friends, and this afternoon I´m going to a pottery class! They even have guitar classes for locals, which I´m very tempted to do, but that would mean extending my stays yet again!

posted by Susan @ 11:21 AM