Hello all.. I am debating whether to head to Santa Cruz as I had planned to find some voluntary week for 2 months, or stay here and do it in the enchanting La Paz.
With 8 weeks left here in Lat America and a desire to get off the tourist route, my plan was to leave La Paz where I am and head to Santa Cruz where a friend will hook me up with his pals and family so I can get to know some Bolivians (hard to do on the gringo route! and consolidate my spanish.
However, I find La Paz amazing. The colour of the streets, the people everywhere, the million little businesses everywhere, the noise, smell etc..
I am having second thoughts about heading to Santa Cruz, which I am worried shall be a less fascinating city. At the same time it is hard to get to make friends from a local place in just 6 to 8 weeks, which would be a huge advantage of heading to Santa Cruz.
Could anyone shed some light on how is Santa Cruz? Is it an interesting place and does it feel like real latin america? Thanks a lot for any responses....
Dombelle
Hi.
Have just been to Santa Cruz and I liked it for the lovely climate. La Paz is cold and too hectic. Santa Cruz is a strange mix of colonial and modern. The good thing about Santa Cruz though is there are so many great things to do fairly close by and definitely many opportunities to meet locals and volunteer. I met a volunteer in Santa Anna, which is on the beautiful Jesuit mission circuit. He´d been there for months and was helping local people set up handicraft workshops and teaching some English. The Jesuit mission towns are worth visiting and spending some time there, as is Samaipata or Buena Vista, where you could volunteer in the Amboro National Park. Enquire at tour agents - Ruta Verde in Santa Cruz and Ben Verhoef in Samaipata are good ones.
I think that La Paz is one of the most amazing cities I have ever been to. It is so different from anywhere else in Latin America, so distinct and exciting. That being said, it is cold, a bit dreary, and is a huge culture shock for many visitors. They is so much poverty there that perhaps volunteer work is needed there more than just about anywhere in Latin America. I think that if you are feeling La Paz, perhaps stay and help out the Pacenos a bit.
Santa Cruz is a whole other world. It is warm and the climate is way more welcoming than that of the Altiplano. It is more modern and there is much more wealth in the city itself. The people are friendly, and the nightlife is GREAT. The people don't look like the typical Bolivian that you encountered in La Paz. I think there would be some great volunteer opportunities in Santa Cruz as well. I was dismayed at the amount of runaways in Santa Cruz. If you go to the outsides of the first ring you will see many children, many of them with babies, addicted to glue. It didn't seem like anyone really cared but it would be great to see if there were any groups that dedicate themselves to helping these children.
Thanks guys. I am going to head to Santa Cruz, meet some people and then make a decision from there. As nice as La Paz is, Im interested in meeting these people in Santa Cruz, and if I really prefer La Paz, Ill come back!
Mushroom, thanks, but volunteering for a travel agency is certainly not what I am interested in doing!
I love the post by jonathanu about La Paz vs Bolivia - its very true. You could also check out mynew project at volunteer.backpackingsantacruz.com for some ideas - we are trying to add new projects every few weeks and would love for some volunteers to come and help us get these rojects up and running!
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