SANTA CRUZ DE LA SIERRA, BOLIVIA

• Altitude: 400m
• Temperature: 17ºC 
• Kilometres travelled by plane: 2039 km
• Coffees drank: 10
• Kai's kilometres by running: 6.5

Well, it wasn’t the easiest start of our journey on Saturday. First of all we got only a few hours of sleep, as we had to take a 5am bus for the Montevideo airport. Also the party the night before took its toll. We weren’t in our best moods (read: Elisa wasn’t). When we got to the airport, at the immigration they told Kai to pay a fine, because he had been in UY too long on his tourist visa. We knew we had to pay it, and were okay with it, just had forgotten, but the problem was we were already in a hurry and we had exchanged all our money to Bolivian pesos. The fine could only be paid in Uruguayan pesos. So, Kai had to go back, get cash from an ATM (withdraw 3 times as the machine only gave him a little at a time) then go to the immigration desk, where it took some time to get served, then back to the security check, back to the immigration queue. By then the boarding had started, so we had to run, and made it just in time.

The aircraft was a small Bombardier CRJ 200. The first sight of it made my heart jump as I am afraid of flying, especially in small aircrafts. But once we were airborne it was surprisingly silent and comfortable. Making a brief stop-over in Asuncion, without having to change the aircraft, we were on our way to Santa Cruz in no time. The coffee served onboard was amazing, I’ve never had as good coffee on a flight!

Getting to Bolivia was easy and friendly, the only disappointment being the rain. I had read Santa Cruz is quite a hot place, with temperatures averaging 24ºC this time of year. We were not that lucky and had to settle for 17ºC. Taking a minibus from the airport to the centre, due to horrible traffic, we decided to walk from the bus stop the remaining 2 km to our Airbnb apartment, which was great as we got to see the city and got there faster than a taxi. Santa Cruz, located middle of the country, is the largest city in Bolivia by population (2M) and has grown so fast in the last decades, the infrastructure is fighting to survive.

Our Airbnb apartment was not the nicest experience (we usually only have good ones): the whole place smells like cigarette smoke and is dirty as hell. But hey, we only pay 10 euros a night, so I guess you get what you pay for. The intention is not to spend time in the apartment, right?

For lunch we sat down in a small local that served tasty soup and chicken for 10 Bolivianos per meal (80 euro cents) with big smiles from every corner. Following an extended afternoon nap we rushed to an Irish pub to see the second half of the Champions league final, happy to see Liverpool win after so many years. Kai is a long-time fan!

Alejandro, a local guy Kai met at a race back in Montevideo, welcomed us to his home town. We picked up race numbers for the guys because they were going to attend a running race the next morning. After having delicious ice cream, he drove us to a nice restaurant, El Aljibe, where we had again a very local culinary experience with peanut soup & yuca (potato-like vegetable) with spicy salsa and charque (a type of dried meat) - with rice and salad.

Sunday morning Kai left at sunrise to run to the race location only to find out it was suspended due to the rain. He got a bit lost, got soaked by the rain, but found his way finally back with the help of Alejandro. We had breakfast at the local mercado, curious eyes staring at us everywhere. It’s not like there are no tourists! We bumped into at least three different German groups during these two days. The Germans are everywhere!

All in all the experience here has been mixed: the poor weather is not helping, neither is the crappy accommodation. But the culinary experience has been wonderful. The food is cheap, fast, a little spicy and delicious everywhere. Looking forward to exploring more of it!