Tarija, Bolivia

Our first stop in Bolivia was the center of wine and food for the country. Bolivian wine?? We were actually very impressed with the quality and the price (~ $4-5 for a very good bottle of local Tannat).
Tarija is very quaint and seemed fairly affluent given the cleanliness, quality of buildings and the fanciness of the cars driving around the town. It was a nice town to wander around, especially after siesta when the town’s squares are packed with school kids and office workers grabbing a quick bite before returning to their long day. We can’t imagine breaking up the work or school day this way, but apparently it gets too hot to do anything during noon-3 in the summer (though it’s winter now and very chilly given a total lack of heating in any of the buildings). The food was also good and we even enjoyed some delicious street food here (we tried quesadillas and churros – Mexican food is popular). One of the things that impressed us was a new, 3-story central market the town had built that contained fresh produce and meat on the ground floor, little kitchen stalls rented out for restaurants on the 2nd floor, and a 3rd floor that rented out stalls to vendors selling clothes, soap, etc. It was a very lively place and such a great model to encourage small businesses.Read more