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.