Santa Cruz Vignettes

I arrived in Santa Cruz de la Sierra late late on February 5th, or perhaps early early on February 6th. By three in the morning, I had completed a visa application, paid $135 US, collected my luggage and gained entry into Bolivia. My dear cousins Sergio (Ovando d'Avis) and Yovana (Ovando Eterovic) were waiting patiently for me and drove me through the night city to my home for the next two weeks—their lovely house, in fact.

That is not their house. That is a cathedral.

Santa Cruz de la Sierra is a modern city of 1.5 million, in south central Bolivia. The economy and population have grown rapidly in the last few decades and the city has expanded outward in concentric rings. This expansion and the focus on commerce have not resulted in the most beautiful city, I will admit, but the center plaza has its charms. Also, I enjoyed a wide range of delicious food, at family's tables and at restaurants, in cuisine local and international. And there was one case of both at mi prima Claudia's restaurant, where I ate excellent salteñas and pique macho.

The Ovando family originally lived in Cochabamba—as did the d'Avis family—but relocated some years ago to Santa Cruz. (Gabriela Ovando and her husband, Jorge Barrero, live in Florida.) I was so pleased to reconnect with Sergio, Yovana, Jaime y su familia, Claudia y su familia, and of course the family matriarch, Doña Florencia. I had not been in Bolivia or seen any of them for twenty years! Their kindness and hospitality were overflowing and I am so thankful.

Jaime, pictured above, took me four-wheeling near Porongo one Saturday afternoon. We may have almost gotten stuck in the mud, but I had a brilliant time with him and his friends. Zooming along dried-up river beds was particularly great, as was the sunset from such a locale. The countryside surrounding Santa Cruz is lush and verdant and just gorgeous.

Yovana and Sergio likewise took me out into the country on the Monday of Carnaval. We drove up into the mountains and jungle to reach the town of Samaipata, at an elevation of 1600 meters. After feijoada for lunch at El Pueblito restaurant and resort, I photographed the surrounding hillsides and my hosts had a bit of a lark.

Regretting our lunch beers a bit, we hauled our full bellies up a few hundred more meters to visit El Fuerte de Samaipata. The main local attraction are these Incan ruins, marking the furthest east extension of the Incan empire. We tried to see the carvings worn away in the stone, imagined the layout of the community, and were unimpressed by the depth of the prisoner hole.

Overwhelming, the countryside was just gorgeous and completely different than I expected from Bolivia.

I suppose that is all I have for now? I was able to work quite a bit in Santa Cruz; I was not particularly busy socially and that was actually good. I am keeping some record, as I am able, of food and wine in my written journal and I will try to put together a summary soon. Family, friends, more food and drink, and more work here in Cochabamba are occupying me presently. Sometimes there is too much life to recount. Sometimes there are horses to stand in, yo.

Signing off, for now, this is Carlos Andrés d'Avis, Rey de Caballos Oscuros.

* I cannot presently offer the photographs from my single night out in Santa Cruz during Carnaval—they do not yet reside on the Flickr. In summary, I drank beer, saw a parade and got shaving cream on my head.