El Chapare

Last weekend I travelled to the Chapare, a part of Cochabamba about four hours from the city which is heavily forested and closer to sea level than the city itself. We spent about two days there, arriving on Friday, and the next day we visited two national parks, Parque Nacional Carrasco, and Parque Machia. In the first, we visited some caves which had bats, both carnivorous and herbivorous, and guacheros, a type of nocturnal bird. After that, we went to Parque Machia, where volunteers help to rehabilitate various types of animals to re enter the wild. There we saw a variety of birds, monkeys, a puma and a bear. The monkeys are so acclaimated to human presence that they were climbing all over us and, if you bring anything in your pockets or wear jewelry, the monkeys will take it from you. The views from the park were magnificent as well, and after hiking for a few hours, we went swimming in the river. The next day, we returned to Cochabamba.

Yesterday I went to my first soccer game in el Estadio, where the two Cochabamba teams, Aurora y Wistermann, played each other. This event, known to Cochabambans as ¨El Clasico¨ was the worst display of soccer I have ever seen, excluding only my high school soccer team. Aurora ended up scraping out a 1-0 victory with an own goal from Wilstermann. While the soccer was uneventful, the crowd provided more than enough entertainment. The ´Zona Roja´, where the Wilstermann faithful sit, was cheering the entire game, and throwing firecrackers out onto the field, along with all other types of trash. Their signs held messages such as ¨si jugarias en el cielo, moriria para verte¨ or ¨if you will play in heaven I will die to watch you¨. So while the game was disappointing, I´m sure that I will return to see more of these fan´s exploits.