When I arrived at Tarija there were no buses to Entre Rios for that day. A bus did leave at 8pm that night, but as it was a 4 to 6 hour journey the idea of arriving in the early morning did not seem very good. Instead, I stayed over at the local YWAM base.
The YWAM base in Tarija, Bolivia.
Located in the middle of a poor neighbourhood, the roads to the base are anything but good. During my overnight stay there, I saw a semi-trailer truck and my taxi both get stuck in the same section of road. Other sections were just too severe to even contemplate with anything less than a good 4wd truck. With all of the recent rain here it may just be that they have washed out badly. In any case, it was bad.
This truck moving earthmoving equipment under powerlines had to return under them again when it got stuck further up the road.
Later in the day I headed out with Mercedes, the base leader, and her friend to visit one of the local markets. Ironically it was the "Argentine" markets, so there was very little Bolivian products on sale. We went by bus, or mini-bus really, where you climb aboard and pay on the way out.
Heading to the markets on the bus.
Later on, I headed into the city centre to look around. The place had very few commerical shops and dozens upon dozens of small shops cluttered with every sort of item. Most were very varied. They did have their specialities however, with Hairdressers, music stores, and food being the most obvious. The rest were a true mixture.
The hairdresser shops stood out clearly.
The taxi I took back to the base got lost and we had to call for instructions a couple of times to find our way. The same as when I had to pay for a faulty telephone connection at the Telecabin shop, I also had to pay for the extra mileage of us getting lost and going around in circles. Welcome to Bolivia.
A variety of spices for sale at the markets.
In the morning, I climbed onto my bus at 8am and we left shortly afterwards. Next stop, Entre Rios.
An old lady with a pet parrot walking around town.
One of many stands of pirated and copied music and videos.
Coke advertising is virtually universal.
A street in the better "suburbs" of Tarija.
Construction in progress.
Mobile hot-dog stand at the markets.
An old, raggard man sleeps where he can.
The central main street of the city of Tarija.
A city of many churches.
A mobile stand for making "Liquados" fruit drinks.
Local council chambers for Tarija City.
A barber shop with only one seat is very common here.
City centre Catholic church.
Park benches outside the government buildings.