September 28th 2015
After our visit to Patcha falls my appetite for waterfalls has been well wetted, and while today is also a sad day since we are bidding goodbye to Nico, Lillians and Thea, I know that a visit to the much nearer by and often more crowded Las Cuevas will help ease the pain.
We all share a nice breakfast together in the cluttered but pretty courtyard of Andorina Hostel (dorm 60 Bolivianos) and then walk our new friends down to the corner of the highway and help them find one of several mini buses leaving to return to Santa Cruz where Nico is having more dental work done.
Watching them speed off into the distance we head back into town and have a quick early lunch before hiring a taxi to take us to Cuevas waterfalls some 30 minutes outside of town for 100 soles return including just over two hours of wait time.
We pay the small entrance fee (I think 10 Bs each) and are let in through a gate to walk along a well manicured path in she shadows of the mountains surrounded by lush and bright tropical gardens and what looks like a few very fancy vacation cottages. We’ve been told on weekends this place gets flooded with folks from Santa Cruz looking to beat the heat, so we’re glad it’s monday, and on the path at least we’re alone.
We get to a small camping and picnic area just before the first falls after an easy 10 minute walk and find it crowded with young Peruvians, surprised to see so many on monday. We take a seat on the one free bench and chat a bit as we put on sunscreen only to find that by the time we’ve finished every single one of the thirty or so people have disappeared back down the path towards the highway, transforming the crowded scene to a tranquil one and leaving us utterly alone with the falls. What timing!
We head down to the pools and are a little disappointed at first by the relatively small set of cascades, but that disappointment quickly fades as we climb into the water and get into the waterfalls.
We spend a long time hanging around the small but beautiful sets of falls before finally deciding to head up one or two of the trails above the falls hoping for some nice views of the mountains so reminiscent of our time in Amboro National Park. The climb up is short and not too difficult and certainly yields some impressive mountain views, and something else quite unexpected, as we stumble out onto the river above an even bigger set of falls.
To get to the base of the other falls we have to backtrack and cross the river again taking the path up on the right of the first set of falls instead which leads us to the bottom of these much bigger and more impressive falls, both of us still glad to be entirely alone.
Sara decides she’s had enough swimming but I can’t help myself climbing into the cool and refreshing water and swimming over to the first of the three falls. I work my way from left to right enjoy each individual cascade fully, even though our time is running out. It’s scary to think how close we came to missing this second set of waterfalls.
As we hurry back towards the main road and our waiting taxi huge birds soar above us and we both take turns testing out my new camera’s zoom and capturing what we can.
We head back to town and spend a few hours playing cards and hanging out around the Plaza de Armas and Andorina’s hostel common spaces, waiting for our night bus to Sucre. The bus can be difficult to book in Samaipata as they pass only by the main highway stopping at a hotel for dinner, where you can join them if you’ve arranged ahead of time through the restaurant/hotel. You need to book ahead of time if you want a seat for the roughly 12 hour ride (100 BS for supposed Cama Bus but beware the road is rough and so are the buses).
We head there around 730 in plenty of time for our bus which is due to arrive between 800 and 830. We’ve paid for a cama bus so it should be a comfortable 14 hour ride to sucre. We fill the time by playing crazy eights but sadly 730 turns to 830 which tours to 930 with no sign of our bus. Crazy eights is a great game but I don’t think either of us want to play it ever again.
Almost 2 full hours late we’re hustled onto the back of a bus which is anything but cama. It’s dirty, foul smelling, and Sara is sat beside a man who keeps spitting everywhere. Oh well such are the wonders of travel and we arrive in one piece to Sucre. Still if you are looking to make the trip from Samaipaita make sure you are clear on what bus company is yours and refuse to blindly get on a bus that doesn’t match the description you’ve been sold.
