Samaipata

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Blackberries

Biggest rock in the world!

Where they kept their mummies

Ruins in Samiapata

Melissa and I at the ruins

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Waterfall outside of Samiapata

Samaipata, Boliva was beautiful! The trip was September September 12-14, 2014

I went with Melissa, who is an adventurer like me. We left Saturday morning at 7 am and took a taxi to another taxi place where we caught a taxi for 30 B’s (about $5) for a 2.5 hour ride. They packed that car tight with 3 in the front, the driver, Melissa and I squished together. 3 in the middle and another 3 in the back. There was a couple there with us that belong to my church. He had served a mission here several years ago and brought his wife back. It was fun to talk with them.

When we arrived in Samaipata we found a hostel to stay in… and it was cheap. Like 20$…only mistake we made. Ended up getting bedbugs. We went out exploring and found a yummy place to eat. The best chicken ever, and cheap! $5 for a big meal.

We found a little tourist shop and booked a guided tour to see the waterfalls and the ruins. We had our own taxi driver and personal tour guide. Here’s some info about the Temple/Ruins. It took about 2 hours to see.

Nearby is the pre-Inca ruin of El Fuerte de Samaipata. It is not actually a fort, but a temple. This is Bolivia's largest pre-Inca site. Declared a world heritage sites by UNESCO in 1998,[8] this archaeological complex presents pre-Inca (Chane), Inca, and colonial Spanish ruins. The temple was originally built by Arawak people most likely belonging to the Chane[9] culture that inhabited the surrounding valleys and the pampas to the East. The temple was carved on an enormous rock. The Incas also built a city adjacent to the temple and established trade and alliances with the Chanes to protect the territories from the constant invasions of warrior Guarani tribes that raided the region from time to time. It is believed that both Chanes and Incas were eventually defeated by the Guarani warriors, and by the time the Spaniards colonized the region, it was already dominated by Guarani tribes, and El Fuerte was already destroyed. The Spanish colonizers also built a town next to the temple, but it was later abandoned when the inhabitants moved to base of the valley.[10] There are several interesting features including a sloping ramp, pronounced by flying saucer enthusiast Erich von Däniken in his book "Chariots of the Gods" to be a launch platform for spaceships.

Then we headed to these beautiful waterfalls. It was getting late so we didn’t have time to swim, but want to head back there again in October.

When we got back into the city we had another yummy dinner and hit the sack…..To be eaten by bedbugs… at least I did. On Sunday we walked around the town and saw the market, had breakfast, and checked out where we wanted to stay the next time. Then it was back in another taxi and back to Santa Cruz.

When I got home I wasn’t feeling so good, so I immediately took a shower and noticed I had been eaten alive. I washed everything! In the tub, of course! I wished so much for a washing machine. But hopefully I didn't bring any bugs home! They became infected. I ended up having to go to a doctor, which I couldn’t have done without our wonderful music teacher taking me and Kelly (who was infected with bug bites). He prescribed some medicine and off we went to the pharmacy. They handed me a box with a shot in it and I’m like..what am I supposed to do with it? They said find someone to inject you, or do it yourself. So, I took it to school the next day and had the nurse give it to me. I'm just starting to heal a week later.

Samaipata was beautiful. Rolling hills, small town feeling, a very nice get away for the weekend.