SANTA CRUZ DE LA SIERRA, BOLIVIA


  • Animal species spotted: 12+
  • Temperature: 22ºC 
  • Walking: 16km


What a day yesterday! We saw so many animals I stopped counting. After breakfast (coffee, limonada and various cheese balls) we took an Uber to a place called Güembé, a nature park in the forest west of the city. It has 15 natural pools and all kinds of animals, some inside fenced areas and some roaming free. Some of them were rescued, like the tapir - he used to belong to a drug trafficker!


Needless to say, even though the pool water was - in my words - freezing, Kai went in for a dip. I’m sure that on a hot day those pools would be a paradise. The feeling of rejuvenation went through our bodies while we walked in the nature park: lush green trees and bushes, the sounds of monkeys and birds, the smell of leaves and fresh air. It felt good, after being stuck in the smoky room due to the rain. I am a big animal lover and was excited beyond words to see these species: 


  • Spider monkey
  • Bolivian squirrel monkey
  • Blue-and-yellow macaw
  • Scarlet macaw
  • Bolivian green macaw
  • Red-footed tortoise
  • Yellow-footed tortoise
  • Toucan
  • Capybara
  • Tapir
  • Iguana
  • Butterflies+++


A particularly touching event was that of two toucans (the bird with the big orange beak, that looks like straight out of a cartoon): one was stuck inside the big bird cage, while the other was outside it. They were trying to break the net between them together. Maybe they were lovers and one of them escaped the huge net, returning to save their loved one. I want to have a happy ending for this story and therefore will believe they got away!


We spent a fair amount of time staring at turtles. In the morning when we first arrived they were not moving much and stayed inside their huts or in big groups to keep warm. Later when the sun had warmed their habitat, they were more active and surprisingly fast!


This park was the highlight of our 3-day stay in Santa Cruz. It cost about 18 euros per person, but was totally worth it. We spent the whole day watching animals and soaking up the sun that finally came out to treat us!