Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
water company to US giant Bechtel in order to provide financing for a tunnel that would
bring water from the other side of the mountains. The resultant price rise brought hun-
dreds of thousands of citizens out in protest, eventually driving Bechtel out.
Politically, Cochabamba is suspended somewhere between the pro-Morales Altiplano
and the pro-autonomous lowlands. In January 2007 pro-Morales trade unionists and coca
growers set up a parallel local government that demanded the resignation of the pro-
autonomy governor. The resultant clashes left two people dead.
Sights
Cochabamba is Bolivia's biggest market town and shopping and gastronomy are what
draw in the locals. The town is also blessed with a couple of interesting mu- seums and a
number of attractive churches, though the latter are usually open only during mass. A con-
venient
tourist bus
(
450-8920; per person B$25)
leaves from Plaza Colón at 10am
and 3pm and visits all the city sights.
Convento de Santa Teresa
(Baptista & Ecuador; admission B$20; tours hourly 9-11am & 2:30-4:30pm Mon-Fri,
2:30-4:30pm Sat)
The most interesting building in town is the noble, timeworn
Convento
de Santa Teresa
.
Visits to this gracefully decaying complex are by guided tour only and
provide a snapshot of the extraordinary lives led by the cloistered nuns that inhabit it. You
see the peaceful cloister, fine altarpieces and sculptures (from Spanish and Potosí
schools), the convent church and even get to ascend to the roof for a glorious view over
the city. The convent was founded in 1760 and then destroyed in an earthquake. A new
church was built with an excess of ambition, but was too big to be domed. The existing
church was built inside it in 1790. There's still a Carmelite community here, but its hand-
ful of nuns are now housed in more comfortable modern quarters next door. It's a fascinat-
ing visit; pacing the convent's corridors, you could be in a Gabriel García Márquez novel.
CONVENT
Palacio Portales
(Potosí 1450; admission incl guide B$10; gardens 3-6:30pm Tue-Fri, 9am-noon Sat &
Sun, English tours 4pm & 5pm Mon-Fri, 10:30am & 11:30am Sat, 11:30am Sun)
The
Palacio Portales in the barrio of Queru Queru provides evidence of the extravagance of tin
baron Simón Patiño. Patiño's tastes were strongly influenced by European styles and
though he never actually occupied this opulent mansion it was stocked with the finest im-
PALACE
