Exploring the local cuisine and the area of Tarija

Sopa de mani (peanut soup) and picante de pollo (chicken in spicy sauce)

We really liked the peanut soup, but because we love peanuts, we would love if it had even more peanut flavor. The peanut soup was made on a chicken broth, but can also be made on beef or vegetables. The chicken in spicy sauce was not spicy, but we really liked the flavor of the potatoes to right in the picture. As drinks we tried two different kinds (very to extremely sweet), I am not a fan, so no more drink to accompany our food in the future. In the right picture you see a close up of the dried fruit in the clear drink.

It was time for some healthy shopping, while this little kid were trying to get a free orange

After all the healthy shopping we stopped to try different kinds of Bolivia pastries. My happy face to the left, but to the right you see the leftovers. If I have to describe them in one word, it would be DRY! So we are not fans of Bolivian pastries.

We “enjoyed” the pastries at the local plaza watching the pigeons and the electrical wiring

We headed back to Lance, who was parked in a underground garage. I was time to hit the road and get out in nature. Just outside Tarija we had found a place on www.ioverlander.com with some swimming holes and waterfalls, where we could camp for the night. It was a beautiful place, and on the other side of the river was several good options for setting up a tent. Anyway we stayed in the van.

Our “rent-a-dog” for the night

The next day we hiked to the nearby waterfall

The drone was really handy for taking pictures of the waterfall . Can you find us in the picture?

After the short hike (20 minutes each way) we were back on the mountain roads

Love the mountains

We were on our way towards Potosí, driving through the Central Valley of Tarija with 2,400 hectares of wineyards. The grapes are grown in 1,600-2,150 meters above sea level, which makes it a high altitude wine (Source: http://www.winesofbolivia.com/). Our plan was to stop in a small town called Villa Abecia, and as we got closer clouds where gathering.

We stopped in the small town to visit “Don Tomas Vinos”. From the outside it looked like it was open – perfect! We walked through the door into a dark room, and elderly man was sitting behind a desk with his eyes closed… “we are closed, com back at 6 pm”. Well, he didn’t even give us a change to just buy a bottle of wine.

Instead we walked around for 5 minutes, and ended up buying a local wine and a bag from ice cubes from a smiling elderly lady. So no winetasting today, but we had plans for a ice cold drink later.

Back on the road we had to stop to pay a fee. A lot of the road in Bolivia are toll roads, the amount of money is everything from 1-12 BOB. Always show your last toll ticket, because sometimes we will just stamp it, and you can continue. There is usually no fancy toll booth, so get out of the car!

Back on the mountain road we stopped to give you a small overview of the road. The road is paved, and the speed limit is usually 60-80 km/h, but our average speed is closer to 50 km/h because of all he turns and all the uphill. Driving in 3000-4000 meters kills all the power, that Lance has.