A Greener Bolivia: Santa Cruz de la Sierra

One of the lowest cities in Bolivia, Santa Cruz is still 600 meters above sea level in a huge plain south of the Amazonian Basin. The city can be visited in a day or two; its main attractions are the colonial central plaza and a zoo providing insightful views into the Amazonian wildlife. Gorgeous churches within a colonial setup transfer the visitor a few centuries back in time; the recent and significant expansion of the city did not spoil the skyline and while in the central plaza a visitor may be tricked to search for "Conquistadores."

However, Santa Cruz is also the biggest Bolivian department and has much more to offer. Three other cities of touristy interest are in this department. Montero is a huge agronomic center just fifty kilometers away from Santa Cruz which offers a different angle of what it is like living in rural Bolivia. Valle Grande stills sponsors many buildings in the elegant Spaniard lines of colonial times. Puerto Suarez is the gateway to the Amazonian Basin’s backside, which is much easier to explore from here than from Brazil. Puerto Suarez is here the connection between the cities and nature, and Santa Cruz has more nature to offer than jungles. The Yapacani River, a hundred and twenty kilometers north of Santa Cruz offers quiet beaches where it is possible to relax and fish.

From Santa Cruz there is access to Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil and the Amazonian zones of the country; making it a natural stop in the way from or too there. The crossing to Brazil is done within desolated areas, but the cross to Argentina is done through a cute little village called Yacuiba, where the two cultures meet for a shared siesta.

Quick Tips:

During May and June, cold winds arrive from Argentina. They are called "Sureños," ("from the south") and are a big surprise to those expecting to arrive at a tropical garden. Bring some warm clothes during the season.

The city is constructed in a series of concentric rings, while only the inner ones are paved; during the rainy season (mainly from December to February) many areas of the city flood up. Most of the city attractions are within the well-cared inner ring, thus the floods are of secondary concern, but they should be kept in mind. Another point of concern is violence; Santa Cruz – as all other big Bolivian cities – has a serious problem with thieves. It is not recommended to walk around alone at night, especially so in the areas beyond the first ring.

Pay attention to the many Motacu palms around downtown, its fruits are small green balls - three centimeters in diameter - a kind of inedible mini-coconuts. Near the central plaza, one of those palms was attacked by a Bibosi tree; the tree roots can be seen growing around the palm. Several Asiatic fruits have been recently introduced to the area and are worth trying them. Especially so the Achichairu, which is a yellow version of the Rambutan fruit and is sold from small stalls all around the city.

The Centro Comercial Cañoto, on Cañoto Avenue, provides the best shopping centers in town and is relatively close to the central plaza. However, Santa Cruz is not a shopping center; a serious shopping spree should be kept for another place. Nearby, Monseñor Rivero Avenue is the best place in town to dine out and both can be combined in a late-afternoon visit.

Within the town there is an extensive network of buses, however with taxis charging around half a dollar for most trips with downtown and its vicinities, they are the best option even if in a budget.

Best Way To Get Around:

The Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz is the biggest in Bolivia; most of the flights to North America leave from here or stop at the airport in their way out. Hence, the place can be quite steamy and overcrowded; finding a place to sit among the counted coffee shops may turn to be a Herculean task. Shopping is not a real option there; it is better to buy souvenirs from Bolivia while in town. It is not a question of money; simply the options are very limited. Viru Viru offers the widest range of restaurants and the biggest duty free shops among the Bolivian airports. The airport tax for internal flights is 15BOB, but international flights, especially those leaving from La Paz and stopping here are heavily taxed; last time it cost me almost fifty dollars divided in various fees. Taxis to downtown from the airport cost 45BOB (almost six dollars), but next to the main airport entrance there are special buses doing the way for just 5BOB (sixty two cents). Flights within the country are relatively cheap.

The Bimodal Terminal serves buses and trains. The Ferroviaria Oriental trains serve three lines reaching the Argentinean and Brazilian borders as well as the Amazonian Basin: Guabira, just north of Santa Cruz, Yacuiba to the south and Quijarro, east of Santa Cruz. Maybe due to the wide illegal drugs’ production activities in the area, the terminal is full of plainclothes policemen; each time I sat there for a coffee, they approached me, asked for my doings and once they even asked for documents; but it never went beyond that. The terminal is also notorious for its cuñape shops; cuñape are a kind of chewy cookies made from manioc flour and cheese.

The international buses lines reach Asuncion in Paraguay, and several other locations within Argentina and Brazil. Moreover, the main cities in Bolivia can be reached from here. Since most roads connecting the main Bolivian cities are not completely paved; traveling by bus is not recommended.

Bus tickets prices can vary wildly in Bolivia; however, typical fares are:
Cochabamba, less than nine dollars.
La Paz, less than fifteen dollars.
Trinidad, less than four dollars.
Sucre, around five dollars.
Villamontes, around five dollars.
Asuncion del Paraguay, forty to fifty American dollars.
Quijarro (border cross to Brazil), less than fifteen dollars.
Parallel train tickets – where relevant – are slightly more expensive.

At sixty dollars (season and room depending), a night at Santa Cruz’ Continental Park costs almost as much as an average Bolivian salary. However, despite being at the very top of the local establishments, I left it utterly disappointed. It enjoys an awesome location, midway between the central plaza and Monseñor Rivero Avenue, where the main entertainment area is in Santa Cruz; that was its initial appeal.

The lobby was well-lighted and spacious, but the scarce coaches were not enough to answer the demand for them; since the main coffee shops in town were a bit far away - mainly around the main plaza or on Monseñor Rivero Avenue - that was a drawback whenever I had visits. Moreover, the receptionist – standing behind a nearby desk – failed several times to communicate me the arrival of such visitors.

Between the reception and the restaurant, was a computers room with internet service, which was included in the room’s basic price. However, the hotel personnel were very fond of it. That wouldn’t have been of concern if they had restrained their smoking habits; the small room was constantly filled with smoke. After I complained, their answer was that smoking is permitted everywhere.

The buffet breakfast was included in the price and it was rather good. It included a rich variety of pastries – European and local ones – and made justice to the glorious choice of fruits in Santa Cruz. Special dishes could be ordered from the kitchen.

The room was well equipped, but it was rather small and the sumptuous bed seemed to fill it; having business meetings there was unthinkable. The closets were too big and being in front of the bed, they almost reached it and transformed the access to the wide windows into an almost Herculean task; however, since Santa Cruz is in a flat area and lowly constructed, there aren’t any interesting views from them. The television was connected to a local cables network and offered several channels in English. The air conditioner was an essential need, but it needed to rest from time to time to recover its capabilities; thus forcing me to take short walks outside at odd times.

The bathroom was luxurious and well equipped. It was kept spotless and would have been a positive part of this review if it wasn’t for the hot water issue - a recurrent problem in Bolivia. The water heater worked only during the early evenings; even then, it provided hot water only for short periods of time. In my long stay, I needed to notify the reception an hour before each shower I took; that’s not acceptable in a top-rated hotel.

I knew Alexander Coffee from my hometown. They had a huge presence there until they suddenly disappeared in 1996, maybe due to the violent events of that year in my country. Years later I arrived at Bolivia and found them thriving. The name, the sunny logo and the dates fit; with branches in La Paz, El Alto and Santa Cruz, Alexander offers now one of the best coffees in Bolivia.

At $3.5, Alexander’s American Breakfast was the most expensive set breakfast offered. It included three eggs, hash browns and bacon (or ham or a small steak) as the main dish. Accompanying it were toasts, bread or a croissant. The cholesterol rich part of the meal was good, and provided the much needed indulgence on the forbidden item at least for the following month. However, I asked for a croissant that arrived reheated in a microwave and resembled a chewing gum. A fruits salad (or a fruits juice) added a fresh and natural spark to the meal; the fruit salad was big and representative of the season – though it was presented in an unattractive fashion. The coffee offered with the meal was the local "destilado," I asked a short espresso instead, which turned out to be the best part of the meal. My companion chose a big cappuccino ($1.2), and a chocolate filled croissant (around $1). The coffee was excellent, but the pastry – again – was chewy.

The service was good – fast and professional. However, the billing was awkward. As soon as the food was served, the bill was put on the table in clear sight; in certain circumstances that may be uncomfortable.

A distinctive feature of Alexander’s branches is their attractive setup. Heavy furniture, dark colors, soft lightning and acceptable background music ensure a pleasant visit. Unlike most South American coffee shops, Alexander is divided into smoking and non-smoking areas, though the division is often ignored.

Alexander offers also Bolivian coffee bags, grounded or in beans. The beans offered are called "Madidi" and "Caranavi," names denoting the part of the country where the coffee was grown; both areas are in the tropics, north of La Paz. The Madidi turned out to be quite tasteless and acidic despite the very mild method I used to prepare it (French filter) while the Caranavi was acceptable. Both were certified to be organic and had a nice aroma but a weak texture. Claiming to use "Fair Trade" practices, Alexander sells them at premium prices (in Bolivian terms), a pound bag costing four dollars. A catering service of food and coffee is also available.

The first time I entered Bolivia, it was from Argentina through the Pocitos (Arg) – Yacuiba (Bol) border-cross and thus I got a very erroneous first impression of the country. Instead of seeing the mountainous, cold plateau where most Bolivians live, I found a lush tropical garden. Moreover, despite its popularity – and maybe due to it – this border-cross is cumbersome. Thorough checks by the Argentinean customs can cause significant and unpredictable delays. Luckily, there are two lines – one for Bolivians and another one for others. The second one advances much faster and custom officers walking around the place make sure tourists stand on the right one. A point to be remembered while crossing is that Argentina is an hour ahead of Bolivia.

Reaching Yacuiba from Santa Cruz is easy. Night buses leaving from the last arrive to Yacuiba in the early morning; the trip longs roughly twelve hours and costs around six dollars. The cities are connected also by trains that are slower, less safe and marginally more expensive than the buses. The railway station and the bus terminus are along Av. San Martin, by the edge of the town. While exiting or arriving to the cities – as everywhere else in Bolivia – the police checks the passengers’ documents; carrying passports at all times is essential.

From Pocitos (Arg) the best is to continue to (or arrive from) Salta – the main city on the Argentinean northwest. From Salta there are good buses to other main destinations in Argentina – including Buenos Aires.

If crossing from Pocitos into Bolivia, then the tiny Bolivian village next to the border is not Yacuiba but Pocitos Bolivia; even if crossing at night, staying there is a bad idea. Yacuiba is less than five kilometers away and a shared taxi to there costs fifty Argentinean cents or two Bolivian Bolivianos.

Yacuiba is surrounded by low hills, which are densely covered with lush forests; on one side of the town the hills are much higher. Many of the streets are not paved, and give the place a feeling of being an ephemeral place on the move, which accurately portray its border-cross nature.

The town is a travel hub in Bolivia, but nothing more. The best would be not to stop there in the way to or from Argentina. However, if arriving late and the border cross is closed, a few guesthouses cater for travelers in the immediate surroundings. All of them are very basic. Residencial Dieguito, at Calle Comercio 1018 between Sucre y Crevaux, is suitable for such a forced stop. By the central plaza there is a hotel (which was apparently closed at the time of my visit) and a close approach to a pub-restaurant called Bulldog.

Yacuiba Central Market looks similar to its Asian counterparts, though it is distinctly less clean. A "café con leche" (milk coffee) costs 2BOB, and is prepared with rather fat milk and weak coffee. The "pastels" served together with it are a thin fried pastry filled with a bit of white cheese and are worth a try. Fricase (a typical Bolivian dish in which a tasty slice of pork meat swims in a rich, oily and spicy broth) is served there from the early hours for less than one dollar. Even outside the market, Yacuiba streets feel like one endless market, with stalls selling endless knickknacks on every free spot. Semi-automatic orange peelers consisting of a knife attached to a screwdriver are used to prepare fresh juice and add a surrealistic angle to such a simple experience.

First time I entered Bolivia, I crossed Santa Cruz in my way to La Paz, the main city in the country. Neglecting to check which cities were in my way, I failed to recognize Santa Cruz as the second biggest city in the country and its main economic centre. That was quite understandable, since it has a dilapidated look with very few tall buildings; people seemed to be in a perpetual state of siesta. Only later, I visited it several times in a more orderly fashion and discovered a colonial town within lush, green, semi-tropical surroundings that offer a blessed break after a while on the cold high Andean Plateau.

Downtown Santa Cruz can be easily explored – and enjoyed – in a relaxed day walk. Despite its huge extension (the city is divided in eight concentric rings) the main attractions are all within the first ring. Beyond that, the only point of interest is the Monseñor Rivero Avenue, where the main restaurants are.

The city was related to the Jesuit Missions since its foundation in 1561 (further east from its actual location). The almost perfect grid that characterizes colonial towns holds in Santa Cruz roughly until the first ring and makes finding the way among the attractions a breeze.

Its central plaza – called 24 de Septiembre - has a distinctive colonial look and is the city focal point. The plaza’s look has not been spoiled by the phenomenal growth of the city in the last decades. The beautiful spot reminds very much of the central plaza in Salta, Argentina. On the plaza’s southern side is the Basilica Menor de San Lorenzo- known also as Catedral Metropolitana - the main church in the city. It was founded in 1770 and reconstructed in 1838 in an eclectic style by a French architect and is well worth a detailed visit. Next to it is the Museo Catedrático de Arte Sacro, which includes the biggest collection of silverware from the 17th and 18th centuries in the country. Liturgical items and old paintings complete the collection. Other attractions in the plaza include the Municipality and the Santa Cruz Department administrative center, the Culture House and several galleries.

The Zoológico Municipal – the local zoo – is considered to be one of the best in the country and displays an extensive collection of animals from the nearby tropics; the related Botanic Gardens are relatively nearby. Due to their location, they are better reached by taxi. Costing half a dollar from downtown to the main attractions, taxis are the best way to explore the city.

On the western edge of the city is the Pirai River, and by the end of the Roca Coronado Avenue, there are several huts were local dishes can pleasantly be tasted, especially during the hot summer afternoons while looking at the slowly flowing river.

The Jesuit Missions are outside the city and can be reached through buses from the terminal or with the help of the many travel agencies around the central plaza. The Bimodal Terminal is a huge terminus for trains and buses, and the many restaurants surrounding it offer a huge variety of local dishes.

Among those dishes is the Locro, a soup of rice and dried meat. The denser Majao is a generously spiced dish of dried meat and rice. Plato Cruceño – the Santa Cruzean dish – is prepared with rice, fried eggs, fried platano and a green salad. The Fricase consists of pork meat chunks swimming in a spicy and rich broth. However, the city is known as being the national center for beef; this meat is by far more popular here than elsewhere in Bolivia. In the streets around downtown, vendors offer unusual tropical fruits, some of them of Asian origin and in the process of being introduced to the area.

The Monseñor Rivero Avenue hosts the up market options for dining out; yet the choices are surprisingly small for such a big city. Dumbo offers the best deals, with many national dishes to choose from. Alexander coffee is the best coffee shop in town, and Rocky offers the best steaks in town. A complete meal in any of those would cost less than ten dollars per person.