196 CultureShock! Bolivia
features an overview of the region’s ancient animal heritage,
a prelude to treks in the Tarija ravines and badlands, with
their profusion of prehistoric animal fossils.
Should you make a discovery of consequence, the
Archeology and Palaeontology Museum should be advised.
Access to prehistoric fossils is much less complicated here
in Tarija than it is in Cochabamba and Sucre. The dinosaur
tracks at Torotoro are 120 km (74 miles) from Cochabamba
while the Fancesa Cement Factory’s dinosaur quarry is not
far from Sucre. Meanwhile, a taxi ride to Tarija’s fossil areas
costs only US$ 1.
Tarija’s wineries may be worth a visit for connoisseurs.
Most Bolivians swallow their national pride and drink wines
from loathed Chile, but a few of Tarija’s delicate wines deserve
more credit.
Tarija’s main liability is its remoteness. Cowboys are still
found amongst the Chapacos, and Tarija’s tidy streets will not
evolve into cosmopolitan pandemonium for years to come,
in spite of the laments of Dr Zubieta.
In recent years, moneyed interests in the gas-rich Department
of Tarija have formed a united front with those of Santa Cruz,
with Prefect Mario Cossio expecting to negotiate energy
integration agreements with neighbouring Argentina, Paraguay
and Chile. Both Departments were informed by the central at
the end of January 2006 that natural gas is a federal resource
and only the government can negotiate its exploitation.
Once in Tarija, you’re not far from Tupiza, a small but
cultivated railroad town at nearly 3,000 m (9842 ft) above
sea level surrounded by rough and colourful badlands.LOWLAND CITIES
Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz is Bolivia’s gateway to the sparsely inhabited
tropical lowlands, various protected national parks and the
Chaco plains. With 1,140,000 inhabitants this cosmopolitan
city on the edge of the wild has about a sixth of Bolivia’s
population. The combination of its low altitude and
proximity to the equator should make for sultry weather
year round. But in Bolivia’s May-through-October dry