From the pool to the white city

Our stay in Santa Cruz is planned to be very short. Another night in a real bed and acclimatization (at 440 meters above sea level, pretty much at Zurich level) before heading to higher regions.

For the first leg from Santa Cruz - by the way, the largest city in Bolivia by far - to the capital city Sucre, we opted for the flight option. The around 15-hour bus ride at the beginning of the holiday and mostly during the night did not seem to be the most attractive option. So we had almost a day in Santa Cruz and set off to the "Biocentro Güembe", which is about 30 minutes away, a combination of a nature and leisure park where wealthy Bolivians and expats alike have fun.

The park is beautifully landscaped, includes a landscape with three large swimming pools, natural lakes where you can fish or go canoeing, a butterfly house, many beautiful green spaces and lounging areas, and as a highlight, the Aviarama, a gigantic bird cage through which you can walk on footbridges at a height of about 25 meters and admire the birds up close. The almost dizzying observation tower is also great.

Fortunately, we were very early on the way, as the crowds were still limited in the morning. Of course, the obligatory encounter with annoying individuals was also not to be missed there. After a magnificent toucan practically sat down on the railing in front of us and I was just happily about to photograph it, the idiot with the selfie stick came and managed to scare away the animal in a short time. However, I will no longer bore you with my tirades about the selfie generation and Barbie in Wonderland in the coming weeks. Just assume that we have encountered them everywhere. We then lazed around in and around the pools for another two hours and also admired Barbies and Jims there with great interest, who apparently compulsively pose for 10 minutes in advance at every opportunity...

So we continued to the airport, where a small jet of Amaszonas Air took us to Sucre in just 30 minutes. This time, we were surrounded by exclusively very pleasant and friendly people on the flight - note: all locals - and I hope they did not perceive us as a "cultural enrichment" this time...

The flight was exciting: Santa Cruz is located in a huge plain - an outpost of the Brazilian Pantanal - and there is no mountain in sight for miles. After takeoff, we soon disappeared into thick clouds and 20 minutes later, the spectacular mountain landscape suddenly appeared. Especially the approach to the new Sucre airport, located at an altitude of 3,100 meters, is special! The plane sinks and sinks and there is no airport to be seen far and wide, in fact, it is conceivable that there is somewhere for a runway. But it worked out smoothly and the airport in this high plateau is truly spectacular. So now we are in Sucre and looking forward to visiting the "white city," which is supposed to be the most beautiful city in Bolivia by far.