Back to the blog...

Somehow three weeks went by without us posting anything! How terrible! There's been loads happening the last three weeks, we went on a couple of side trips, moved into a permanent apartment, and have been busy getting settled. There's lots to blog about and we have tons of photos and videos to share. So check back here often and leave comments, we would love to hear from you guys!

Michael and Samantha

Scenes from Tarija, Part I

Here's a few shots we've taken around town recently... Click one of them to open a slideshow!

"That's a furry dog... Wait that's a sheep!", Samantha said

Reward: One lost burro. Likes weeds and grass clippings. Last seen picking around outside our building. 

Here's what the micros (buses) look like in Tarija

Storm coming... Check out how the clouds pour over the mountains like a river—awesome!

There's an old Spitfire in the roundabout down the corner from us... I have no idea why!

Parque Bolivar—Tarija's answer to Central Park

Chilling mid-day in Parque Bolivar

An advertisement for Kohlberg, one of the local wines produced here in Tarija—don't bother looking for it at Trader Joe's or K&L, Bolivian wine isn't being exported to the states yet

A "cholita" woman in traditional dress moving her ice cream cart

This old Dodge has seen better days, but it's having a big part in paving the road outside our building

Salteñas—Bolivia's Best Kept Secret

One of the best features of Bolivian cuisine is the salteña—a baked empenada filled with a savory chicken or beef stew. Bolivians from all walks of life eat these as mid-morning snacks. They are delicious! We've been eating them several times a week since we got here.


They say that Salteñas originated in Tarija, although they've become a national dish and every city has their own variation. In Santa Cruz for example, the salteñas are huge—eat one and you're full. In Sucre the salteñas are absolutely delicious, the best we've had in Bolivia.


In Tarija, salteñas are served in a variety of places. You can enjoy them in the posh cafes around plaza Luis de Fuentes y Vargas, on the street handmade by food vendors (you can, but I wouldn't recommend it), or in specialty shops called salteñerias. The salteñerias are only open from 9am-noonish, and only serve salteñas and bottled drinks. It's not unusual to walk by a salteñeria around 11am and see office workers, families, schoolkids, and retirees all enjoying them with a coke or fruit juice.


We've yet to try making them on our own... Stay tuned for a future posting on that!

Mercado Campesino—Tarija's Outdoor Farmer's Market

Back home in California, farmer's markets are very popular. Just about every town has at least one, and they are a great place to buy fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, and other local produce. However, in California there are a few things that prevent people from doing all their shopping at these markets:

• They are usually only open one day a week—sometimes just for the morning or afternoon
• You can't find everything you need, so it's still necessary to visit a regular grocery store
• Things are almost always more expensive at farmer's markets

In Tarija, it's the exact opposite: The farmer's market (or mercado campesino) is open every day of the week including Sunday, they have everything you can possibly imagine, and everything is always cheaper than at supermarkets or grocery stores!

We tend to visit the mercado campesino two days a week. It's outside of the city center, so we need to take a public bus to get there. Sometimes if we've got tons of bags we grab a taxi back.

The mercado campesino has a huge selection of fresh fruit and vegetables. Lots of times the vegetable roots are still attached so you know they just pulled them up the day before. 

Everything is seasonal at the mercado campesino, unlike in California where out-of-season produce is imported from all over the world so you can get apples all year. It's like part shopping, part treasure hunt—you never know what you are going to find. Just recently we started seeing fresh cilantro (hooray—salsa!) and passion fruit, indicating that the season is starting to change. We've heard that figs are up next... Sweet.

Here's a list of some of the prices we've been paying (prices converted to US dollars)

• Head of green or red lettuce — 10 cents
• Bunch of parsley or cilantro — 15 cents
• 1 lb plums — 50 cents
• 1 dozen bananas — 80 cents
• 1 lb tomatoes — 22 cents
• 1 lb onions — 10 cents
• 1 lb of rice — 35 cents
• 1 lb strawberries — 65 cents
• 1 lb locally produced cheese — $1.50
• One large papaya — 90 cents
• One passion fruit — 20 cents (if you can even find these back home they are $2-3 each!
• Nice bunch of flowers — 35 cents to $1.00

On the F bus to mercado campesino

Old-school and new-school Bolivians working side-by-side at the mercado

Here's part of the vegetable section—the entire market goes on for acres and acres

Sam scored some nice flowers for about $2 US

"Welcome to the farmer's market... Center for agricultural products"

Eye saw u lookin at mai plumz!