Touring Tarija

Departamento de Tarija

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Attraction | "Tarija, Tarija, Tarija"

Tarija Department Photo - Tarija, Bolivia

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First time I found that in a noticeable amount was in Thailand, where often a town, and the adjacent district and province share a common name. Denizens have no troubles; the context of the use clarifies the reference of the name. However, travelers crossing the area for a short period of time can find this confusing. Where is the museum? Is it in town, or forty kilometers from there on the province’s border? Later, I found that in other places as well. The characteristic shared by all was their being rural locations, where the town, district and province formed a single and tight economic unit. This can be se...Read More

First time I found that in a noticeable amount was in Thailand, where often a town, and the adjacent district and province share a common name. Denizens have no troubles; the context of the use clarifies the reference of the name. However, travelers crossing the area for a short period of time can find this confusing. Where is the museum? Is it in town, or forty kilometers from there on the province’s border? Later, I found that in other places as well. The characteristic shared by all was their being rural locations, where the town, district and province formed a single and tight economic unit. This can be seen also in Bolivia, where all departments – except La Paz – feature just one major city. La Paz has two, but they are adjacent cities and until the 1980s, they were a single one.

Tarija is a department and a city. To make things harder, Bolivia divides its departments into provinces and the last into municipalities. In such a way, Bolivian maps seem to be filled up with cities, when many municipalities are little more than empty, barren spaces; this is one of the most unpopulated large countries in the world. The best solution to this is studying how a specific country is divided administratively, at least the general terms, before beginning complicated trips to nowhere. In the Department of Tarija, the only city is Tarija; all the other settlements are just little towns and villages. The last are best reached with no intentions to stay there but the necessary minimum.

Tarija is quite unique in Bolivia, comparable to some extent only to Cochabamba and Chuquisaca. However, unlike the first two, Tarija is not on the Amazonian Basin; that’s the source of it’s unique food, which belongs to a different ecosystem. The department sits on the transition from the Andean high Plateau to the lowlands, meaning it is very difficult to move around. Settlements are scarce and far from each other; roads are bad. "We are poor," Bolivians invariably claim when confronted with this claim. Yet, the UN places Bolivia roughly half-way in the list of nations’ economic condition; it has all the potential to become a rich country. In contrast, Laos is widely considered one of the poorest countries on Earth. Yet, Laos features better roads – much better roads - than Bolivia. I say that to them and they smile mysteriously.

At times Tarija’s landscape is confusing. The peaks seem to converge into a plateau. Vast flattish formations, sometimes a bit slanted open place to deep valleys and basins. Despite the similarity, this isn’t the Andean High Plateau, but roughly two kilometers below it; yet it is also roughly two kilometers above the nearest ocean.

Awesome landscapes are not the only reason for reaching this remote area. Under the new Bolivian constitution people have the right to define their living areas as autonomous. Not surprisingly, this was done in Tarija, which is seen by most Bolivians as something else. It is different from the Altiplano and the "Media Luna" ("half-moon" Spanish term for croissant and the way the Bolivian lowlands are nicknamed). It’s too early to see where this experiment is going, but the traveler in the area has an odd opportunity to experience history in the making. In this case, it’s the creation of a post-colonial state – probably the first one in the Americas. Can you miss that and sleep peacefully?

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Member Rating 3 out of 5 on May 27, 2011

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Tarija

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Attraction | "Villa de San Bernardo de la Frontera de Tarixa "

Near San Francisco Church Photo - Tarija, Bolivia

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While approaching the city of Tarija, the landscape revealed is similar to the one while approaching Cochabamba, a town on a high valley surrounded by even higher mountains. However, within the city the situation is different, since in Tarija, the mountains are seldom seen. Tarija’s bus terminal resembles the one in Jujuy, ...Read More

While approaching the city of Tarija, the landscape revealed is similar to the one while approaching Cochabamba, a town on a high valley surrounded by even higher mountains. However, within the city the situation is different, since in Tarija, the mountains are seldom seen. Tarija’s bus terminal resembles the one in Jujuy, Argentina. However, the town is clearly different. It neither resembles Salta, mainly due to the Guadalquivir River splitting it and lack of nearby hills. Different but similar, all these obviously belong to an almost identical culture. A square central plaza surrounded by a regular grid of streets belonging to colonial times and a wider and irregular grid of post-Spanish times’ streets. After seeing a few of these you can almost guess where the nearest plaza would be. You look at the location: if close to a port or a major roads junction, denizens would not sleep siesta. Away from them? Long siestas.

Nowadays we look at the leftovers of a vanished foreign empire that violently imposed its culture and political system on native cultures. Names of places either refer to the conqueror’s home or are based on older, native ones. If the last is the case – as with Tarija – then the original meaning and source are often lost. The result is odd, a sugar icing over a cake of unknown flavor. Even the independence struggle from Empire ignored native people and customs. Empire 2.0 was born.

Despite the ongoing talk about the post-colonial state and recent structural change to the state, Tarija has remained basically a Spanish colonial town. The main statues feature Spaniard-looking people, with thick, foreign moustaches. There is no significant acknowledgment of native cultures. That happens everywhere in Bolivia, one of the main monuments in La Paz is oddly dedicated to Columbus, that in a place claiming to be a post-colonial society.

This is part of the South American tragedy. Lowland cultures were almost completely exterminated, reversing the process now may be possible on the Altiplano, but not on the lowlands. Names like "Tarija" and "Chapaco" are related to native cultures, but nobody knows anymore to which or what do they mean.

Ignoring the ongoing social discourse, Tarija is green and beautiful. Narrow streets surrounded by tastefully restored buildings. Wide avenues – untypical of Bolivia – feature complex and unexpected traffic rules characterize the entries and exits to downtown. Public transport features orderly stops; a mini-miracle in this often disorderly society. As other Bolivian cities, Tarija is a network of neighborhoods (called "zonas") arranged in a complex network of committees and unions. Each neighborhood features a market, with around a dozen of them in the downtown area; recently I reviewed the central market. They are of little interest and occasionally dangerous. The most remarkable one is the Thieves Market (Mendez corner La Madrid, about four blocks east of the central plaza). Visiting it alone is definitely not recommended. Bolivian cities always feature such an establishment, giving thus an odd testimony of local practices.

The conquerors found this part of their empire similar to their semi-barren highlands, thus their brought their favorite crops and fruits in a futile attempt to create an exact replica. You walk down the street, see a green tree and ponder: is this the icing or the cake? Is it Asian quince or local pakai? They placed the town next to a river that reminded them of the Guadalquivir one back tat their home. High altitude rivers seldom have enough water to be attractive. If flowing through a significant slope, they turn white and provide interesting sights. However, the Guadalquivir River – which splits Tarija – flows languidly through a wide valley; it doesn’t have enough water to fill up its riverbed. Oddly enough it is named after a river in Spain.

Secondary streams crisscross the town; you seek for the small bridges crossing them and then, looking at another piece of, oddly placed, foreign art you realize modern Tarija is just the icing over an non-existing cake.

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Member Rating 3 out of 5 on May 27, 2011

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Eli's Pizza Express and Fast Food

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Restaurant | "Fusion Fast Food"

Eli's Photo - Eli's Pizza Express and Fast Food, Tarija, Bolivia

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All travelers who had been in Bolivia and read my entries probably noticed I’d missed reviewing Eli’s, despite its prominence. In my defense, I must say that also most other travelers didn’t review it. In our mutual defense that’s probably because it is very hard to decide how to review such a place.Pizza Hut running a McDonald’s branch? Subway selling Bolivian food? Eli’s began as a pizzeria and then expanded into almost anything Bolivians would eat, m...Read More

All travelers who had been in Bolivia and read my entries probably noticed I’d missed reviewing Eli’s, despite its prominence. In my defense, I must say that also most other travelers didn’t review it. In our mutual defense that’s probably because it is very hard to decide how to review such a place.

Pizza Hut running a McDonald’s branch? Subway selling Bolivian food? Eli’s began as a pizzeria and then expanded into almost anything Bolivians would eat, making any description of the place partial unless you are ready to write a book about it. It would be fair to describe it as a cheap fast food joint selling at premium prices. Not a recipe to attract those who have seen better.

The few times I visited Eli’s was when invited and even then I agreed reluctantly. I always offered going to a better place. Then, I found myself in Tarija and hungry. Then, Eli’s opened a new branch just where I was walking; lucky me. Entering – just for this time – was unavoidable. If seen, I could say I needed the entry for this journal.

One of the problems at Eli’s is deciding what to eat. The menu appears on large signs along the walls; looking at it can be almost as tiring as a trek on the Himalayas. You can order single items, combos or set meals. You place the order, pay and wait for it near the counter. Then you can choose any of the myriad of cheap tables in the large dining rooms that characterize the establishment. Invariably, most combinations would end up costing twice or thrice a regular set meal in Bolivia.

The pizzas looked tired and obviously suffered an acute case of hypothermia. They were to be reheated with a microwave oven before being served, creating a viciously viscous bubble-gum (starch molecules tertiary structure is destroyed by microwave radiation). Meat sandwiches were equally unappealing and I wasn’t there to order overpriced Bolivian food. I settled for one of their special pizzas, the "pizza rellena" – filled–up pizza.

The odd contraption was made by placing a pizza dough atop another one, while the regular pizza topping was in between them. Also this was prepared beforehand and reheated with microwave. Yet, after the bus trip that began the previous Tarija journal, I thought that things could only improve. It looked like an attempt to industrialize a quiche. Dough-cheese-dough. Everything calculated down to the millimeter. Colors to even to be natural; lines to straight to be food. The heating – as often happens with old microwave ovens – had not been even. The cheese had melted only on one of the perfect rectangle sides and was flowing freely into the plastic plate. The yellow molten lava slowly revealed the boiling bowels of this artificial volcano: reddish ham and greenish bell peppers. The thin dough resembled badly burned cardboard. The cheese was unmistakably Bolivian; except for its excessive saltiness it was quite tasteless. What made this snack unusual was the amount of cheese used; seldom is that seen in Bolivia; that was what had convinced me to try it in the first place.

I had troubles beginning this review and the same holds for its end. If you go to the cheapest market, you don’t expect getting a silk serviette. If you go to a fancy restaurant, you expect a substantial bill. What happens when you find the worst of both extremes in one place?
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Member Rating 2 out of 5 on May 27, 2011

Eli's Pizza Express and Fast Food
Padilla At Zamora
Tarija, Bolivia

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Yacuiba Border Crossing

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Attraction | "On Barbed Wire and Sniffing Dogs"

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To travelers, border crossings are of special charm. Nowhere else the differences between neighbor cultures are more evident or more insignificant. There, the fact we are all the same despite the use of different languages and different customs is obvious. Yet, sometimes borders can be complicated and dangerous. Unluckily – apparently for PR reasons – seldom is the traveler warned beforehand.Only once in the site, the situation becomes clear. Long lines and barbed wire surrounding the crossing facility are bad signs. Then it’s often too late; traveling to a friendlier crossing would take longer than waiting. I’ve never seen a better example of this dichotomy than in the difference between ...Read More

To travelers, border crossings are of special charm. Nowhere else the differences between neighbor cultures are more evident or more insignificant. There, the fact we are all the same despite the use of different languages and different customs is obvious. Yet, sometimes borders can be complicated and dangerous. Unluckily – apparently for PR reasons – seldom is the traveler warned beforehand.

Only once in the site, the situation becomes clear. Long lines and barbed wire surrounding the crossing facility are bad signs. Then it’s often too late; traveling to a friendlier crossing would take longer than waiting. I’ve never seen a better example of this dichotomy than in the difference between Villazon and Yacuiba, both border crossings between Bolivia and Argentina. The first is on Andean High Plateau, the second on the lowlands. The first is open and friendly, the second on the very verge of scary.

Despite Yacuiba being in Tarija, the closest major city and recommended destination – or point of arrival - is Santa Cruz.

Reaching the area from the Altiplano is unexpectedly difficult. The roads crossing the high valleys connecting both areas are convoluted and of low quality. The travel is slow and delays often occur, even if traveling around, via Santa Cruz. See the first entry of Bolivia’s Bitter Valleys for a typical example. In contrast, reaching Villazon from anywhere on the plateau is a breeze, the crossing is simple and without harassment and descending from the plateau on the Argentinean side is easier. A point to keep in mind is that even if crossing through Yacuiba, the fastest way of moving within Argentina once in San Jose de Pocitos would be reaching Salta, the nearest major town. That means traveling backward to a place better and faster reached from the Altiplano.

Yacuiba is a difficult border crossing. The problems are the result of illegal drugs trafficking in the area, which ironically it is never done through the formal crossing. Innocent travelers pay the price, with their entire luggage thoroughly checked.

The best is reaching the crossing early, especially if crossing into Argentina, where an hour is lost. Then avoid bringing food, including snacks and drinks, into the fenced areas of the crossing. Eat and drink well before approaching the crossing, the delays may be substantial and once within the fenced area there are no facilities and no options but to wait. Leave them behind and buy new ones at the other side. Don’t bring sealed gifts or packages, they’ll be opened. Get ready to be sniffed by mean looking dogs carried around by mean looking people. Exchanging money – in either direction – is easier and often also better on the Bolivian side.

If planning to stay overnight in the area, then the Bolivian side is better since Yacuiba is larger and better equipped than San Jose de Pocitos in Argentina. Note that the border is three kilometers south of Yacuiba, on the Bolivian part of San Jose de Pocitos, little more than a single street of shops. The place to stay overnight is Yacuiba; shared taxis connect both locations regularly. Given the unfriendly circumstances, using an international bus to cross the border is foolish. If a single passenger gets delayed, everybody suffers.

To travelers, border crossings are of special charm, at least most of them.
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Member Rating 1 out of 5 on May 27, 2011

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Ibibobo Border Crossing

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Attraction | "On the Strangest Border Crossing and Shrubness"

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One of the strangest events in this strange continent during the odd 20th century was the Chaco War. Forced on Bolivia and Paraguay by Northern Atlantic oil companies, it cost thousands of lives sacrificed for nothing. Almost a century later, the border between the countries is as desolated and void of activity as it was before the war. One of the few vestiges of the war was the introduction of Paraguayan-styled mate to the surviving soldiers. Nowadays, this oddity can still be seen – though rarely - in La Paz, where "mate" means just tea-like infusions.Na...Read More

One of the strangest events in this strange continent during the odd 20th century was the Chaco War. Forced on Bolivia and Paraguay by Northern Atlantic oil companies, it cost thousands of lives sacrificed for nothing. Almost a century later, the border between the countries is as desolated and void of activity as it was before the war. One of the few vestiges of the war was the introduction of Paraguayan-styled mate to the surviving soldiers. Nowadays, this oddity can still be seen – though rarely - in La Paz, where "mate" means just tea-like infusions.

Names are often misleading. A bit to the south – in Argentina – there is also a region called Chaco. Despite sharing a few characteristics in common with the Bolivian-Paraguayan one it is very different. Those willing to experience a bit of out-worldly South America are strongly encouraged to try the northern path – or maybe both – but not just the southern one. Due to the difficulties of this path, this is better achieved within a journey around South America, being one of the most unpleasant crossings, it is best planning it as a single event. Cross it in one direction, enjoy the views and never ever return.

One short look at the Ibibobo border crossing tells even the unaware traveler that something is wrong here. There are no border towns. On the Bolivian side you can buy some snacks from improvised stalls. The sellers arrive daily from the nearest town. The area just next to the crossing belongs to the Gran Chaco Province, one of the poorest in the country and one of the areas that in 2009 decided to become autonomous under the new Bolivian constitution. The Paraguayan side is empty all the way to Filadelfia, roughly at the geographical center of the country. Even nature is odd: large shrubs growing on sand fill up everything. All the shrubs together aren’t worth the blood of a single war victim. In most Bolivian border crossings you see a lot of activity: traders buying, selling and moving goods. Foreign travelers are there a clear minority, mostly ignored by anybody else. Yet, in Ibibobo, they become the vast majority. Bolivians and Paraguayans do not approach this place.

To some extent, this is good. Crossing it feels like a serious piece of travel, defeating nature on a clearly hostile point. However, it’s also unfriendly. Reaching the border independently is possible, but the traveler would get stuck there. International buses do not collect passengers and there are no other options; walking with no water sources available is not fun. Renting cars across the nations is not possible; these are kind of 19th century cultures. That means the almost only way of crossing the border is with direct long distance buses connecting major cities; hardly an exciting prospect. Yet, the border is there to be crossed.

Not everything is bad. International buses serving the line are of much better quality than the usual in both countries. Meals and conditioned air, coffee and toilets, make the experience easier, especially while crossing the adamant Chaco. Due to the nature of the travelers, the buses do not get crowded, dirty and noisy as invariably happens in local buses. Overall, this is a sufferable trip for the sake of crossing this vast shrubness.

This is one of the places were South American corruption problems become evident. The regular script is an officer finding an imaginary problem and delaying the passport stamping. At certain point he would mention a receipt-less fine or a "regalito," a "little gift" in Spanish. I experienced that on the Paraguayan side. If standing firm and showing each of the officer’s claims is false, then they’ll eventually give up. If there are several officers attending the line, avoid officers with no name tags and memorize the name of the one serving you. Just in case. However, do not photograph them before getting the stamp; if there were problems, you can photograph them afterwards from the distance and without using the flash light. This is vital if wishing to make later a formal denounce.

Due to this nuisance, knowing the specific requests by local authorities from your nationality is imperative. Check that out before reaching the area at the nearest consulate; most travel agents can also help with this. Then, if harassed, just say: "but the consulate said that…" They’ll try saying that’s impossible, that regulations have changed, that the skies are red and the moon is green. Repeat. Then, repeat again. If you are accurate in the details and stand firm they have no choice but let you pass. If you pay the requested bribe, you may become the target of a sequel harassment event because they’ll claim you are obviously hiding something.

One of the strangest events in this strange continent during the odd 20th century was the Chaco War; it created one of the strangest border crossings. As such, the place is unavoidable.
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Member Rating 2 out of 5 on May 27, 2011

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