I have a theory that when
traveling, the best places to go are the ones you are not familiar with. The places you have no expectations of are
usually the best experiences. Bolivia is
a country that I never even thought about until this trip. I had no idea about the culture, or what was
even here. So far it seems this country
is a hidden gem.
We arrived in Santa Cruz early afternoon Saturday after a long 24 hours of traveling. It began with an overnight bus from Cordoba to Buenos Aires, then an early morning flight from Buenos Aires to Santa Cruz. My first impressions of Bolivia were not great. At the airport in Santa Cruz we were warned to watch our bags closely at all times because of pickpocketing. We also learned from Spodek that Bolivia is a third-world country. Something about that label is alarming to me and I don’t quite understand why. We went to several third-world countries on World Tour, so it should not have been anything new. The idea of a third-world country is very foreign to me, so I suppose visiting one takes away all sense of comfort. I am growing to appreciate this sense of being uncomfortable. It teaches me a lot about myself and the world, but I am getting off topic. To top it off, customs gave us a harder time than usual as we tried to enter the country. It was nothing serious, just frustrating technicalities. For example, I had some things crossed out on my customs form that I filled out, and the guard didn’t like it, so I had to fill out a whole new form. There was also the issue that we were supposed to have a visa to enter the country, but it was not online so there was no way for us to know about it. We spent an hour before getting through customs registering, paying, and getting approved.
We arrived in Santa Cruz early afternoon Saturday after a long 24 hours of traveling. It began with an overnight bus from Cordoba to Buenos Aires, then an early morning flight from Buenos Aires to Santa Cruz. My first impressions of Bolivia were not great. At the airport in Santa Cruz we were warned to watch our bags closely at all times because of pickpocketing. We also learned from Spodek that Bolivia is a third-world country. Something about that label is alarming to me and I don’t quite understand why. We went to several third-world countries on World Tour, so it should not have been anything new. The idea of a third-world country is very foreign to me, so I suppose visiting one takes away all sense of comfort. I am growing to appreciate this sense of being uncomfortable. It teaches me a lot about myself and the world, but I am getting off topic. To top it off, customs gave us a harder time than usual as we tried to enter the country. It was nothing serious, just frustrating technicalities. For example, I had some things crossed out on my customs form that I filled out, and the guard didn’t like it, so I had to fill out a whole new form. There was also the issue that we were supposed to have a visa to enter the country, but it was not online so there was no way for us to know about it. We spent an hour before getting through customs registering, paying, and getting approved.
After we left the airport though,
my views of the country began to change.
We got to the hotel, yes a hotel, and unloaded. We eventually met up as a group and headed
out to explore the city and get dinner.
Everyone we came into contact with was so nice and friendly. At dinner I had one of my favorite dishes
yet, it was cut up beef tips and roasted yucca.
There are just no words to begin to describe it. We had an early night because of the full
schedule planned for today.
Ana pulled some strings and found a way to plan a day trip to Samaipata, an archeological site dating back to AD 300. Again, none of us had really heard much about the site, but it sounded cool. After a three hour bus ride, our driver informed us that the roads did not appear to be safe for the bus to drive on because of the mud. Most of the road leading up to Samaipata is paved, but the last few kilometers are not. Because it had rained for the past couple days, the dirt roads were in pretty bad shape. I am thankful our bus driver did not try to continue up the road, but that also meant the only way for us to get to Samaipata was to walk there. As soon as I stepped off the bus to begin walking with the group, I couldn’t help but have flashbacks to Mongolia and the multiple times we were left walking because our bus got stuck. The driver explained that it wasn’t too long of a walk, about 4 kilometers, to the site. What he failed to mention was that it was entirely uphill and the mud was dangerously slick not only for vehicles, but also walking humans! It was a tough walk. It was slick, wet, muddy, hot, exhausting… I had so many feelings during the hike up. Perhaps one of the most pressing was the fact that I downed a couple coffees at breakfast, rode on a bus for three hours, and had no sight of a bathroom anywhere. About halfway through the hike up, I decided I couldn’t hold it any longer and squatted on the side of the road. Amanda kept watch for me.
We finally made it to the top about an hour and a half later hungry and tired, only to find that there was no food and only water available at the visitor’s center. At that point it was about 1 p.m. and everyone was starving, but we couldn’t exactly leave to eat lunch and then come back. We all toughed it out and walked the UNESCO Heritage Site without food; it was also still raining by the way. The path around the site took us a little under two hours to walk, and then we had another 4 kilometers to walk down the road again to meet our driver with the bus.
As difficult as all of the walking got throughout the day, it really did make the experience for us. It gave me an insight as to how great this place actually is. People used Samaipata as ceremonial ritual grounds for hundreds of years and they all made the hike without modern technology. Not only did they hike it, they constructed it. It is important for us, as architecture students, to understand how these people lived and used their architecture. The more we know about the past society and cultures, the better we may be equipped to address our current issues in the built environment. It also reminds me of the importance of culture to architecture and how they are one in the other. Architecture should be directly influenced by the culture in which it exists. It seems this is an issue that grows continually as the world becomes more global and connected by technology. It is hard for large, modern cities to maintain a culture and identity. Visiting Samaipata today reminded me of the importance of remembering and understanding past cultures in the world, as well as, the importance of preservation.
The night ended perfectly with an amazing late lunch/dinner at the Samaipata village about 15 minutes down from the archaeological site. The restaurant was run by artisans, or friends of the artisans (I can’t remember which) that sold their work at the site. Ana made friends with them shortly after we finished the hike on top of Samaipata, and they invited us to eat. They opened up their restaurant only for our group and cooked the best meal any of us have had yet on the trip. We all ordered different dishes, but of course we all shared bites with each other. I enjoyed a wonderful cappuccino and rosemary chicken with a side of Hawaiian rice. That experience is one that I will never forget. The kindness of strangers is so refreshing!
Ana pulled some strings and found a way to plan a day trip to Samaipata, an archeological site dating back to AD 300. Again, none of us had really heard much about the site, but it sounded cool. After a three hour bus ride, our driver informed us that the roads did not appear to be safe for the bus to drive on because of the mud. Most of the road leading up to Samaipata is paved, but the last few kilometers are not. Because it had rained for the past couple days, the dirt roads were in pretty bad shape. I am thankful our bus driver did not try to continue up the road, but that also meant the only way for us to get to Samaipata was to walk there. As soon as I stepped off the bus to begin walking with the group, I couldn’t help but have flashbacks to Mongolia and the multiple times we were left walking because our bus got stuck. The driver explained that it wasn’t too long of a walk, about 4 kilometers, to the site. What he failed to mention was that it was entirely uphill and the mud was dangerously slick not only for vehicles, but also walking humans! It was a tough walk. It was slick, wet, muddy, hot, exhausting… I had so many feelings during the hike up. Perhaps one of the most pressing was the fact that I downed a couple coffees at breakfast, rode on a bus for three hours, and had no sight of a bathroom anywhere. About halfway through the hike up, I decided I couldn’t hold it any longer and squatted on the side of the road. Amanda kept watch for me.
We finally made it to the top about an hour and a half later hungry and tired, only to find that there was no food and only water available at the visitor’s center. At that point it was about 1 p.m. and everyone was starving, but we couldn’t exactly leave to eat lunch and then come back. We all toughed it out and walked the UNESCO Heritage Site without food; it was also still raining by the way. The path around the site took us a little under two hours to walk, and then we had another 4 kilometers to walk down the road again to meet our driver with the bus.
As difficult as all of the walking got throughout the day, it really did make the experience for us. It gave me an insight as to how great this place actually is. People used Samaipata as ceremonial ritual grounds for hundreds of years and they all made the hike without modern technology. Not only did they hike it, they constructed it. It is important for us, as architecture students, to understand how these people lived and used their architecture. The more we know about the past society and cultures, the better we may be equipped to address our current issues in the built environment. It also reminds me of the importance of culture to architecture and how they are one in the other. Architecture should be directly influenced by the culture in which it exists. It seems this is an issue that grows continually as the world becomes more global and connected by technology. It is hard for large, modern cities to maintain a culture and identity. Visiting Samaipata today reminded me of the importance of remembering and understanding past cultures in the world, as well as, the importance of preservation.
The night ended perfectly with an amazing late lunch/dinner at the Samaipata village about 15 minutes down from the archaeological site. The restaurant was run by artisans, or friends of the artisans (I can’t remember which) that sold their work at the site. Ana made friends with them shortly after we finished the hike on top of Samaipata, and they invited us to eat. They opened up their restaurant only for our group and cooked the best meal any of us have had yet on the trip. We all ordered different dishes, but of course we all shared bites with each other. I enjoyed a wonderful cappuccino and rosemary chicken with a side of Hawaiian rice. That experience is one that I will never forget. The kindness of strangers is so refreshing!
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