Adventures of a South America Nomad: Tarija

The wine country of Bolivia is found in the south. I took a flight down here because I wasn't allowed to fly directly into Buenos Aires without and onward ticket if I came in on a Bolivian airline. I don't understand these crazy rules. What it means is that I'll be traversing northern Argentina by bus.

I've gotten too used to the state-run airlines in Bolivia. They are just so cheap. It's $50 to get anywhere in the country. And that's way better than a 14-18 hour bus, even though they are $5. Ah well. I'm a travel snob, what can I say.

The hostel owner is a really nice guy and was telling me about all this stuff to do in Tarija. I didn't have the heart to tell him that my visa was expiring and that I had to leave the next day. When I went to the bus station, I got some bad news that there were no buses leaving that day! Only on Sunday and Thursday. It was Monday. Seeing as my visa was going to expire, I found another option. A (semi-) personal van. When I went to their offices, I learned that two people had just cancelled. So I got the last two spots for me and my friend! Things always work out.

I walked around Tarija and took in the town in an afternoon like the hostel owner said I would. Saw the gold house and the blue castle and the dinosaur bones on display. They were real...not resin replicas like in the ROM. And there was nothing stopping you from touching them except a little sign saying, "No tocar" (do not touch). It was really cool. I love the archeological stuff. Enjoy the pics below.