September 27th 2015
We’re all pretty tired from our hike through Bolivia’s incredible Amboro National Park yesterday, and sadly Thea is sick, but we’re all still determined to make the most of our brief time together in Samaipata, so with this in mind I wake up early and head to the plaza de armas to talk to some taxi drivers. The one I know who goes to Patcha falls, a little more than two hours of rough rally roads from town, is sadly on other business in Santa cruz, but quickly enough the standard drivers find me a nice young man who drives vans for tour companies who is willing to take all 5 of us there for 400 bolivianos including 4 hours of wait time. Cheaper than the 600 I’d first been quoted.
I head back to Andorina Hostel (dorm 60 Bolivianos incl. breakfast) where we enjoy a tasty breakfast of fresh fruit, nice bread and good jam, and the friendly staff even makes Thea a special tea to soothe a stomach and then we buy some snacks and our on our way, meeting our driver in the plaza at around 10:00 am ready to go the biggest accessible waterfall near Samaipata.
The road is long and far from smooth, as is often the way with the best travel experiences. The rest catch some z’s and relax while I spend most of the drive chatting with our driver and admiring the spectacular scenery of the eastern foothills of the Andes Mountains. Our driver tells us that every year there’s a big rally car race along these roads and as we putter on at maybe 25 kph it’s hard to imagine people navigating the roads at 100 +. We pass through charming little Bolivian towns with smiling locals and wind up and down mountains until civilization is the last thing on any of our minds.
Near the end of the winding and bumpy road an old man flags us down and we tell our driver of course he cans top and pick the guy up, since the van has a few extra seats and none of us gringos would want to be out walking these mountainous roads. He thanks us and climbs in and we let him off in the middle of nowhere just a few minutes before the waterfall which ends the road. He lives there, a good 2,5 hour wlak from the closest village, with his family living the farming lifestyle in almost entire isolation, so, at 60 something years old he was very glad for the ride.
Waving our goodbyes to him we settle in for the last 5 minutes until the dirt road suddenly comes to an end with one small camper van parked and a single family cooking up some grub over the campfire, but I’m out of the car quickly and can already hear the rush. Up ahead I catch a partially obstructed glimpse of Patcha and I’m too excited, hurrying up the trail and around a single bend to a truly beautiful scene. The waterfalls is big, but not too big, with a giant pool of cool refreshing water perfect for swimming, and a surprisingly clean and empty golden sand beach on one end. The only person there isn’t a person at all, but a big cow, who looks unimpressed to have his solitude interrupted.
The sun dazzles down on the beach as the others join me, but I’m just staring at the waterfall and testing the waters, which are chillier than expected but nothing to stop me. As the others set up camp on the beach I work my way into the water, no doubt over exuberant to get under the falls which look big enough to hurt, but small enough to be more or less safe.
I was right, and the rush is incredibly euphoric and liberating, cleansing me of any remnants of the sickness I had in Santa Cruz and leaving me utterly exhilarated. I eventually leave the icy cold waters to try to persuade some of my friends to join me. Thea gets a free pass because she’s really sick, but the others do not and one by one I get them in to the water, Sara being the last holdout and requiring over the top peer pressure to go in. In truth I’m almost ashamed of how far I went, if it we’re anything other than an awesome waterfall I’d probably need to beg her forgiveness.
After lots of time in the Waterfall Nico and I end up playing some beach soccer with a ball left by the family, it’s so nice to grab the brief chances I have at sport on the road, since it is one of the things I miss most about being at home, and As a Canadian I’m proud when I even manage to win one of the shootouts against my Italian friend. While We do this Lillians and Thea relax on the beach reading, basking int he tranquil side of the waterfall while Sara makes some incredible sand art I will need to get a picture of from her to add to this entry. And of course every ten or so minutes I re-immerse myself in the falls to wash off all the sand from my countless incredible diving saves. (yeah right).
Nico and I can’t keep from glancing up towards the cliffs around the waterfalls though, and soon enough we’re clambering up a steep path into the jungle, stupidly both not bothering to bring our shows, in an attempt to get to the top of the waterfall and what looks like another impressive cascade.
We pull ourselves up, scrambling on hands and knees through jungle mud and brambles and eventually emerge out to a viewing platform of the falls, most of the way up, but sadly not all the way, and the rock face is too sheer and slippery to make it up to the second cascade without equipment or more expertise than we have between us. Still it’s nice to wave to the girls below and get a few photos taken up there before descending for more beach soccer and of course more waterfall.
Eventually we decide it’s time to pack up and head back to Samaipata. The drive back passes more or less uneventfully and we climb out in time to go get dinner, again opting to eat at the local Pizzeria, which is not special but tasty enough, and has a wide range of soups for Thea’s ailing stomach.
As we head out of the hostel we’re stunned to look up and see a huge full moon glowing Orange at the edges and already mostly blocked out, in what is a very rare astronomical event: the lunar eclipse of a super moon. We marvel at it for a long time, Sara, Nico and I even finding a rooftop terrace at Andorina hostel to keep watching it. Sadly I’d find out two days later my camera has a mode dedicated to shooting the moon, but here’s a few best attempts at the photos.
This beautiful night sky in small town Bolivia is the perfect ending to our time together. The next morning our three friends will go back to Santa Cruz for Nico to finish some Dental work before heading towards La PAz. Sara and I will go to Sucre the next night, but not before one more adventure in Samaipata. Still I’m certainly hopeful our path’s might cross again in the next few months, perhaps at a waterfall even more impressive, nestled between Argentina and Brazil. I guess we’ll see.
