Second week in Tarija, getting my life on track.......

It has been awhile since my last update. The reason is that work has started and that I got a bit sick due to some bad food and weather change. Temperatures dropped from low 30 C to low 20 C and even once 15 C. On top of that, I believe the jet lag and change climate/culture/food has caught up with me. I have a slight cold right now, have little energy and my stomach is not 100%. I hope that I am feeling better before the weekend, as I have several plans and invitation.

So far, I have been quite busy; here is a short update……

-          some colleagues from work showed my the big lake and dam just outside of Tarija. It is a wonderful drive (only dirt roads) and midway we stopped at some little street restaurants to eat deep fried fish and little river lobsters (see photo)

-          worked out in the gym (see photo) a few times and had lunch and dinner with Monica and Christian.

 

-          With the help of Monica, I found an apartment at Parque Bolivar (put these coordinates in google earth and you can see my apartment). The apartment building is brand new and I can move in on May 1^st. Photos and more on my apartment of course later.

-          Still having lunch and dinner at the plazas almost every day. And guess what, my favorite restaurant so far, Gattopadro, has great chocolate mousse!!! Another favorite dish at Gattopadro is “Tacos Mexicanos” (see photo, the whole dish for just 3,50 euros)

-          Still working on my paperwork to get the Bolivian driver’s license.

-          Had 2 meetings with my colleagues from Broederlijk Delen, Belgium. They are here to visit Bolivia and the projects and people that the NGO is supporting. It was nice to meet once again with my colleagues, and during the meeting with my Bolivian employee (Cetha Emborozu ./ APROCA) we filled in some of the missing project details. The project has become an even bigger challenge, as more responsibilities and work now lays with me and my colleague Lourdes. She too is a food technologist, and the both of us will be working very closely together on this project. We know meet daily at the office or the production plant to revise the project plan, start cost calculations, break even point calculations, talk to suppliers and contractors, etc. The building of the plant and its facilities progresses slowly. We had a business lunch and meeting on Sunday at the place below......

-          We visited Christian's farm, just outside Tarija. From his farm you can see the production plant where I will be working (green building in the middle of the second photo). The farm includes a vinyard. Tarija is famous for having the world highest vinyards.

-     I have started Spanish lessons on a daily basis, during my lunch break. I am getting private lessons from a teacher who teaches at the American School in Tarija (CBA). It has been a long time since I had homework on a daily basis ;-)

-          Furthermore, I have spent time with Christian and Monica, who are of great help with a lot of things, plus they are great company. Monica toured me around to some small tourist town just outside of Tarija during the weekend. Besides them, I am starting to meet more and more people. One of them is Aline, from Belgium. She is in Tarija for one month. Following a dinner at Gattopadro last Saturday, she invited me for dinner at her place last Monday, where she served me her first-ever cooked risotto. It was good and we had another fun night.

-          Besides work and Spanish lessons I am busy with looking for a car, furniture for my apartment and everything else from towels, cutlery, cups, pans and pots, a fridge, stove, washing machine, etc.

After 2 weeks in Tarija, I have to say I like the city and it’s atmosphere. As I am just starting to get to know the people and the language, I am sure things will get so much more interesting, challenging, fun, etc. over time.

Some more photos from Tarija: (left) a car waiting for the newly wed couple, (right) hotel Ceibos, the hotel of Christian's parents

This coming weekend is already completely scheduled. I hope I feel better soon, so I don’t have to cancel anything. Friday night or Saturday night I will go out with Mauricio and some of his female friends. Saturday afternoon I have a barbeque with Christian and Monica and some people from the gym. People from work invited me to go out dancing with them, but I had to postpone that to the next weekend. Saturday morning, Christian and I go hiking outside Tarija, to see some waterfalls. In between, I have to move the little stuff I have into the apartment. Soon I will go and get my box from La Paz, with my B&W ipod dock, my PC, my motorcycle helmet/boots/jacket, and some other stuff. Can’t wait to have my own place, as I am getting a bit tired of my small room at Hostel Carmen.

Weekend in Tarija

On Friday, 16 April, I visited the office of Cetha Emborozu and Aproca in Tarija, to make acquaintance with some of my new colleagues. After that, we went to the production plant just outside of Tarija. The plant is under construction, and is to be finished within a few weeks. After viewing the plant (see photos) and giving some points for constructional improvement, we headed back to town.

 

Since the plant is not finished yet, I have some time to get to know the city, look for an apartment, get my Bolivian driver’s license, get a car, etc.


With the weather being sunny, 30C, blue sky, low humidity, I headed off to the plazas, the main spots of the city’s center. At plaza Sucre, a lovely Latin plaza with palm trees, a lively atmosphere, I found my first favorite spot; Thai Kaffee, a lunchroom. And guess what, they have chocolate cake on the menu… so in the hope to continue my tradition of coffee and chocolate cake, like at Napoleon in Venlo and Coffee Lovers in Maastricht, I ordered a double espresso and a big piece of chocolate cake…… and to my great surprise and happiness, the chocolate cake and coffee were great! Extra kudos for Tarija!!

Later, I found a gym close to my hostel, and I went in to check it out. There I met the 2 owners, Christian and Monica Beccar. They both speak English (most people in Tarija do not or hardly), so we talked for a while, as they gave me some input and information about Tarija. Chrsttian studied Food Science at the University of California in Fresno, so basically, we have the same degree/profession. Wanting to continue working out in a gym, as I did in Holland, I joined the gym (Nivel Fitness on Calle R. Rojas, Tarija) During the rest of the weekend, Christian and Monica helped me look for an apartment, a car, get information for getting my Bolivian driver’s license, etc.

On Saturday night, the three of us had dinner at restaurant Buffalo at Plaza Luis de Fuentes (or also called Plaza Principal). There we had the best paella of Tarija, and it truly does deserve it’s name and fame.

On Sunday I was invited for lunch at a colleagues house. In between everything, I had lunches and dinners at Thai Kaffee and Gattopadro restaurant. At Gattopadro, a very nice restaurant with a great interior and atmosphere and a European style terrace outside, they serve delicious argentine steaks and already one of my favorites, Mexican tacos.
All weekend, needless to say, the weather was just perfect, sunny, around 30C and humidity around 40%, with temperatures at night cooling off to around 15C.

Thursday April 15th: arrival in Tarija

Upon arriving at Tarija airport on Thursday April 15th, I was picked up by my colleagues from Cetha Emborozu. Upon arrival to the city from its Oriel Lea Plaza airport, one will be greeted by a sign that reads, "Tarija, La Capital de la Sonrisa" referring to the city's purported, warm hospitality and friendly inhabitants. During the drive to the center of the city, I saw many parades, as the Tarijenos (people of Tarija) were celebrating the 200th year anniversary of their victory over the Spanish. After a lunch in a typical local big lunchroom, and my first of many bolivian meals to come, I was put up in hostel Carmen. After settling in this cosy hostel, which as I already knew from my google preparations on the internet, I went to explore what will be my new city for the next 2 years…. TARIJA.
Besides the beautiful warm weather, I was charmed by this lovely little city’s center (ca. 200.000 inhabitants). The streets are narrow, with picturesk old houses. The streets are clean and the roads are well maintained. Quickly I found the 2 most important plazas, Plaza Principal and Plaza Sucre. Both plazas offer a good selection of restaurants and cafes. Both plazas are lively and full of people, palm trees and a warm pleasant atmosphere.
After having a very good coffee and believe it or not, a very good and big piece of chocolate cake, my jet lag felt less severe for a moment. A moment to cherish, sun, palm trees, lively latin plaza, good coffee and great chocolate cake…. Needless to say, my first impression was good. Only to be solidified by an even better dinner at restaurant El Gatopardo at plaza Principal that night. Life felt good, and so did the jet lag and the altitude of 1800 meters, that put me directly to sleep a little later that night.

On my way to Tarija, Bolivia

The flight from Düsseldorf to London and from London to Miami went very well, as only later I found out that 2 days later all air traffic in northern Europe was grounded due to the volcanic activity in Island. During my 10 hour layover in Miami, I went killed some time with heading to a near by shopping mall, having some lunch, watching a movie and buying a new pair of Maui Jim sunglasses. So far so good.
However, on the flight from Miami to La Paz, we experienced technical problems above Cuba, and had to return to Miami. We were told there was a minor technical problem, but upon landing in Miami, there were fire trucks and ambulances waiting for us on the runway. Guess the technical problem was not that minor, and it looked we got away lucky. At Miami International Airport, we had to wait all night (9 hours!), only to leave again at 8 am in the morning.
Upon arriving at El Alto, the airport at La Paz, Bolivia (also the highest big airport in the world, at 4100 meters above sea level) the custom clearance went quick. Gasping for air (high altitude), I made my way to the luggage belt. Only to find out that American Airlines had lost one of my luggages. Due to the delayed flight, I also missed my connecting flights to Cochabamba and Tarija: so I called it a day. Having traveled and hardly slept for 40 hours, I told the American Airliines representative to book me a hotel for the night. They wanted to book me on a late afternoon flight to Tarija, but without my missing luggage, I wasn’t going anywhere. So I stayed the night in La Paz, and enjoyed the amazing panorama of the city of La Paz, as the taxi drove down from El Alto (4100 m) to La Paz city (3600 m).
After checking in in hotel Europe, I had dinner with the representative of Broederlijk Delen (the belgian NGO I work for). Over night, the slight altitude headache went away, with some help of a few cups of coca leaf tea.
The next morning, my lost bag arrived with the morning flight from Miami and I caught my 2 inland flights, La Paz – Cochabamba, Cochabamba – Tarija. The scenery is breath taking, Andean snow covered peaks (upto 6800 m) just below the plane’s windows. Tarija was finally almost in sight. My Latin adventure has started and as the representative of my NGO told me, during dinner, I right away I got a taste of what is coming me for the next 2 years……