"No ve?" vs. "YYYYYYYYYYYyyiii?"

So Thursday night, Lucas, Mansi, and I boarded our bus cama to Santa Cruz around 10PM. Although there was some confusion about which bus we were supposed to board and some scrambling around to find the right bus, we ended up getting to our correct bus and our right seats. Almost immediately we were on our way and fast asleep in our luxuriously wide bus cama seats. Well the trip was supposed to take about 10 hours, but we were on the bus for about 14 hours due to some unexpected cocaine checks by the cops with canines.

Finally when we arrived, we made our way to Jodanga's Backpacker's Hostal. We had made reservations for Saturday night, but couldn't for Friday, so we decided to check it out in person to see if they had any space. Turns out, they did not. Well, we looked through the books and the recommendations in the front lobby for what to do for the rest of the day, the night, and the next day until we could come back to the hostal. We settled on spending the afternoon at the Cabanas 20 minutes from Santa Cruz near the river, and the night and next day in Samaipata about 2.5 hours west of Santa Cruz in the cloud forests of the Bolivian lower mountains. At the Cabanas, we had a delicious fish lunch (Surubi... mmmm), and then Lucas and I drove around on some 4-wheelers in the dust and dirt.

After the 4-wheeling, we caught a cab back to the taxi station to Samaipata and were immediately off winding through the mountains near Santa Cruz to our Friday-night destination. Around 7PM, we were dropped off in the Plaza Principal of Samaipata, which was absolutely gorgeous. We took a seat on a bench and read my guide book to figure out where we were going to stay. As Lucas was reading off the options, I am pretty sure I heard the word "view," and I immediately said, "YES! Let's go there!" So we were off to Hostal Posada del Sol. So when we arrived, we were shown a suite with 2 bedrooms, a private bathroom, a kitchen area, a sofa, a single bed in the living area, and a double bed in the main bedroom. Well, Mansi and I could definitely share a bed, but we were nervous about how pricey it would be. Turns out, it was only about $8.50 per person to stay there! We were so excited that we had a clean and beautiful place to stay with the most amazingly beautiful night sky and stars above us. We showered and then headed into town to book our hiking tour into Parque Amboro for the next day and eat some dinner. We ate at a beautiful place called Latina Cafe that made me feel like I was nestled in a stone cottage in the middle of the French Alps. 

 

We had yummy pasta and delicious red wine. After dinner, we met some American and Hungarian travelers and bar hopped with them. Turns out there are really only 3 bars in Samaipata, so we bar hopped between the three. I would definitely say that Che Wilson was probably the most "hopping" of the three, but still nothing compared to Cochabamba. Anyhow, we had some skunked beer and then called it a night since we had to wake up early for our hike.

In the morning, we ate our included breakfast with the amazing view shown above in the background. Home-made jam, fresh warm bread, tea, and papaya juice with lemon really hit the spot. We then gathered our things, stored them in a luggage room, and headed off into town to meet up with Javier, our guide for the hike into the park. 

Javier was absolutely great. The hike, on the other hand, was an absolute adventure. Well the cloud forest is a very very humid place. Recently however, some very cold winds from Patagonia in Chile and Argentina called el "Surazo" came into the cloud forest and made the branches and leaves freeze. The last time this happened was 30 years ago, so we were in for an unexpected treat that only happens every few decades. The trees and leaves had basically exploded because of this phenomenon, since when water freezes inside things it explodes. Therefore, the entire forest was basically on the ground.

Well, it was definitely a tough hike up the mountain. Good thing Javier had his handy machete... well, actually Lucas had it most of the time since Javier didn't really feel like wasting the energy cutting things and Lucas was all for it. I fell a few times, and I was completely dirty, and I had some ants in my pants (just at the ankle part which is now swollen with ant bites), but the view from the top after 7 hours of hiking was absolutely magnificent. We were extremely exhausted, but we rested for 30 minutes to an hour at the top before heading back down.

After arriving back in Samaipata, we picked up our things, and hired a private cab back to Santa Cruz. We slept since we were totally burnt out, and we knew we wanted to go out and experience Santa Cruz's night life. We ate at a place on the Plaza Principal, and then headed to Equipatrol for some night clubs. We wanted to go into this place that my host sister had said was good, but it was closed for a birthday party. As we were walking away though, the guards said, "ok, ok, 10 Bs." So for 10 Bs, we entered a private birthday party. We danced the night away and then Mansi and I headed back to the hostal around 2:30AM while Lucas stayed out.

California Girls, we're unforgettable, daisy dukes, bikinis on top!!!! (-Cab dancing)

We talked with the night guard at the hostal for a while and got his number. We shared our peanuts and chocolates with him, and he was very happy. Then we went to bed... I think Lucas came in a couple hours after that. We are still not sure what happened with him that night. The next morning we headed to Alexander's with our new friend Magella from Ireland, but living in Australia. We might even meet up with her in el Salar to do the Uyuni trip with her.

After cake at Alexander's we went to the artisan market, bought some bracelets (for Eva... you better be happy), and then sat on the Plaza Principal. Then it was time for Mexican food and the trip back to Cochabamba. The trip back actually was a little smoother. 

 

Certainly there were cops searching for cocaine, but they only found that our ayudante (the helper, not the driver) was drunk. Oh well, they kicked him off, and we were back on the road. 5:30 AM, and we were back in Cochabamba. I was ready for a quick nap, and then a full day at work. Today will probably be spent finishing the enlgish portion of the website that I started yesterday, as well as planning Mansi and my fabulous ending trip in Bolivia to Sucre, Potosi, and the Salar.

So where did I leave off... Well I think it was Saturday. Turns out the girls from Northwestern went to Chapare, so we decided not to have the bonfire. Also, I saw rain for the first time in Bolivia, so that kind of prevented the bonfire as well. We still went to Katarin's for dinner though where I helped make about 5 pizzas! They were absolutely delicioso! We also made jello shots (mmmm) for afterward. While we were still in the process of making the pizzas, though, Matias, Katarin's 5 year old son, got a hold of the jello shots and said, "mmm, jello, can I have it while I wait for the pizza???" It was extremely hilarious and we had to pry it out of his hands telling him it was a trago (shot) and not for kids. So after dinner, the jello shot competition began. I hardly knew it would be a competition, but after 15 jello shots, I sure felt ready to head to bed. I was so exhausted from the night before, that I fell asleep at 9PM on Katarin's sofa! I was woken up at 2AM by Karin. And I happened to have a blanket covering my body and a pillow under my head... how deep was I sleeping? Anyways, Karin is a sweetheart and made sure I was comfortable even in my sleep.

Sunday was spent at the Hotel Portales pool again. The sun was out again. No more rain. At night, Natalia, Mansi, and I made quesadillas at their house. I was in charge of the guacamole and salsas. They were absolutely delicious and their entire family ate with us and enjoyed it.

The rest of this week was spent at the office creating the website. On Monday we met with the web page designer. He taught us how to enter our information onto the current website. This week we have basically been working to refine what we already have and enter all the information onto the website. Next week, we will be working with the designer so he can do all the coding since we have no idea how a PHP platform works (although I can know create basic HTML websites... yay me). Well we will be working to have the website be dual language, photo slideshow, mini entrance site for affiliates to upload their information, a search option, and basically making the design more user friendly. To see what we have so far, visit www.cadepia.org. We only have the information now, but you will at least be able to see the changes if you look at it now, and look at it at the end of next week.

Well last night, I went on my first date. If you can even call it that. I would like to think that it was NOT a date. Anyhow, I set up Esteban and Mansi because Mansi likes Esteban's teeth... or dientes. Mansi told me I had to come if she was going to go out with him. Esteban told me if I came I had to bring a date. Well, I wasn't about to bring my 35 year-old Bolivian stalker, Richard (who turns out to actually be un buen gente according to my work friends who know him because he is an affiliate). So instead, I turned to a boy I had met a while ago and who keeps texting me asking me to hang out with him. So all four of us ate at Paprika where I had the best margarita I have tasted in my entire life! After we wanted to go dancing at Tirana, but it was closed! So being my boring self, I went home and went to bed.

Also, I forgot to write about this... yesterday, my mommy made cunapes (which is a yucca bread with cheese pictured below), cheese empanadas (plain and picante), AND rollitos! They were all amazing and I am excited to go home right now and eat some more!

 Cunapes

Rollos

Well, I'm about to leave work to go find some portable speakers (parlantes portatiles... I need to remember that word) since I'm leaving for Santa Cruz tonight with Lucas and Mansi. Then I have to eat, finish packing, and I'm off to the Las Vegas of Bolivia. Pictures and more to come. Miss you all!