Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cafe de la Jungla
Comercio and Vaca Diez.
For breakfast at least, there's no beating this
petite Argentine-owned café, with pavement-side seating to enjoy their nut-filled muesli. The
house speciality is hot chocolate with red chilli, and they also do gourmet sandwiches filled
with anything from teriyaki chicken to lentil burger. If you've carted along your laptop, they
also provide free wi-fi.
Mon-Sat 8am-8pm, Sun till noon.
Casa de Campo
Vaca Diez and Avaroa 7921 5612.
The best food in Rurre, served in a
herbacious garden-side setting by a wonderfully warm couple, Adela and Luís. It's perfect if
you're lusting after something more healthy and wholesome than standard backpacker fare,
with a menu of natural fruit juices, quinoa and pumpkin soups, salads and the most delicious
home-made croissants. There's also free wi-fi, as well as back copies of
The Economist
and
Spanish-language versions of
The New York Times
to leaf through, and don't miss the ex-
quisitely patterned little bowls fashioned from orange peel (smell it to believe it); at only
Bs25 each, they make for great value souvenirs. At the time of writing, a new branch was
under construction down by the riverfront past the plaza, though the original Avaroa branch
reviewed here will continue to operate alongside it.
Daily 7am-9pm.
Juliano's
AvSantaCruzandBolívar 73920088.
ThecombinationofexperiencedBolivian
dueño
(proprietor) Juliano and Israeli manager Gili Agmon makes for one of Rurrenabaque's
best restaurants, with a cosmopolitan menu and an easygoing atmosphere. As well as the
usual fish, meat and pasta dishes (in the Bs30-40 range), they also do hummus and falafel,
starters of fried cheese and other lesser-seen delicacies. The music isn't too shabby either,
an often great if erratic selection jumping between Bob Dylan and asinine pop.
Daily
6-10.30pm.
La Perla de Rurrenabaque
Bolívar and Vaca Diez.
A smattering of tables under two ven-
erable mango trees, with a wailing soundtrack of
triste-tropique
boleros, has long made this
place something of a local institution. A plethora of fish dishes - including house speciality
surubí
(river fish) in garlic - take up the bulk of the menu at around Bs40 a plate, and service
is friendly and sweet.
Daily 7am-9pm.
DRINKING AND NIGHTLIFE
Banana's Pub-Disco
Comercio.
Air-conditioned if sweaty nightclub - pretty much Rurre's
only one - spinning
merengue
, salsa,
cumbia
and
reggaeton
as well as more gringo-centric
rock and electronica. The crowd is usually a healthy mix of travellers and locals, and the
entry fee a mere Bs5.
Wed-Sun 9pm-3, 4 or even 5am.
Luna Lounge
Comercio, opposite Amaszonas 03 8922719.
Open during the day for de-
cent thin-crust pizza and a good variety of omelettes, this is more of a bar than a restaurant,
with bamboo walls and shell drapes. Forget the cocktails and sample one of their heavenly
papaya, strawberry, milk and yogurt concoctions instead. There's also a pool table and book
exchange.
Daily 10am-midnight.
