Samaipata - The Mountains of Bolivia

Recently Charles and I went to a sleepy town in the mountains for a long weekend. We wanted to celebrate being together 10 years this month!
Samaipata is known for it's quiet atmosphere, German influence and cool climate. We enjoyed all three! Charles especially likes a restaurant there, La Vispera, which only serves what is available in their garden at the moment. The passion fruit nectar juice and rhubarb pie were his favorite. I really liked the herbal teas!

We're not sure why, but there is a large German population in Samaipata. The little cottage where we stayed, LandHaus Inn, is owned and run by a German family. In town we made a stop at La Vaca Loca (The Crazy Cow) for ice cream also made by Germans.

A major attraction we visited near Samaipata is El Fuerte -- the remains of a pre-Inca ceremonial site. Nobody can accurately interpret the remains but it looks like a spaceship landing ramp and a lot of doodling on stone slabs. It is fascinating to actually think that the Incas were running around this area around 1500BC.

We were able to visit the waterfalls as well that are about 30km from Samaipata. There has been so much rain that the hiking trail had been washed out and we were required to take off our socks and shoes in order to cross the streams blocking the trails. The waterfalls were beautiful and the hiking magnificent.

We spent a lot of time reading, playing cards, reviewing our goals, chatting about the future and just relaxing. It was nice to feel physically, mentally and spiritually refreshed.

After a lazy Sunday morning and a nice fire on our patio, we headed back. The tricky thing about Samaipata is the road getting to and from. There is only one and it is prone to landslides with all the rain we've had lately. Also, there is a great deal of traffic traveling the road since it is the fastest route to Cochabamba and Sucre.

On the way down the mountain we ran into quite a jam. There had been some landslides that nearly caused a truck to go over the edge. The road was blocked in several places allowing only one direction of traffic to pass at a time. An additional problem is that there are no laws regarding the amount of cargo the trucks can haul so they are often overloaded, causing more danger on the roads.

Fortunately, we made it back with minimal delay and the Land Rover all in one piece. Thankfully we went last weekend because there has been a tremendous amount of rain since and the road is closed. It is absolutely impassable they say now. Too bad that causes a shortage of fruits and vegetables that would normally come from Cochabamba on that road. God is good to give us what we need when we need it.