A 10-12 hour overnight bus ride and a late night random hotel check in later, we finally headed to Samaipata after spending possibly too long in Sucre. To be fair we were enjoying its pretty town and square and taking in the festive celebrations of Guadalupe that only happen once a year.

High above the town, the closest Mirador
High above the town, the closest Mirador

Reading online about Samaipata there is many mentions of it being a charming, bohemian like town, one where you can truly slow down. 
Now, usually we would embrace such a thing, but having just spent ten days in Sucre it turns out we didnt need to slow down just yet.

Pretty streets of Samaipata
Pretty streets of Samaipata

We booked four nights here thinking we would check out the waterfall, the main fort and whatever else we found. 
Turns out the waterfalls are closed for some reason (on private property). 
Also turns out the costs in Bolivia have been annoying us a bit. 

After Chile we thought things would be much cheaper here. Not only is there a few different exchange rates going on, but accomodations sometimes also try and charge a 13% tax on top of that, which is supposed to be only for Bolivian residents.

Street art adorns many corners in contrast to typical Bolivia
Street art adorns many corners in contrast to typical Bolivia

With that and the seemingly random exchange prices, you never know what you will be asked to pay on the day. To combat this we have started messaging on Whatsapp first to the accomodation directly asking what rate they use and for a total cost. 

Main square Samaipata
Main square Samaipata

Over the next few days we check out what we can without joining any expensive/long tours. We climb to the top of the closest viewpoint, a fairly steep 150m at the end but with a rewarding view.

We try out a few of the pubs around town a couple of evenings, and Boheme became our favourite. Great vegan burgers there too for those of you plant inclined.

We also visited the local Animal Rescue/Rehabilitation centre, deciding to see for ourselves after reading mixed reviews online. To me it seemed like they had the right idea and are obviously working with limited resources. 

You do get to walkthrough and interact with a fair few animals, with birds landing all over you etc. The only question mark was that you can buy food to feed them which was seemingly half human biscuits, didnt seem entirely nutritional for wild animals. Recommend you go and make up your own mind if you find yourself in Samaipata anyway.

Overall we did enjoy our time here but with the waterfall closed and not much else to do in off peak season it was just not what we needed at the time, so, onwards to the next location!