After our stop in San Jose de Chiquitos, we were only halfway on that 830km day trip. There were two more things to do so we had to hurry a bit to get to Chochis - our next stop.
The plan was to arrive at some restaurant and have lunch and then walk to the waterfall close by: Velo de la Novia, to check out some jungle part of the country and explore the fauna and flora there.
The landscape around Chochis was pretty special. It was pretty warm and humid outside and at the same time, we could see some mountains in the back. Our guide told us that the mountains are super close just fifteen kilometers east of the village. It is a rocky plateau almost ten kilometers long and rising to 1200 meters. Also two kilometers north of the town there is another small mountain called "La Muela del Diablo" - The Devil's Tooth. It is a rocky pinnacle of reddish rock that rises 350 meters from the surrounding landscape.
We parked at the restaurant's place and were surprised that the owners were from Austria. For lunch, we had real Schnitzel with fries! - What a pleasant surprise. At that time I hadn´t been to Germany in almost 5 years and a great Schnitzel reminded me of my home. Also, the past days have been very long and exhausting and a dish like that really recharges your batteries! - Britta took the chance and relaxed a little bit in the hammock before we left for the hike.
Meanwhile, Britta was taking a little nap in the hammock, I explored the place. A really nice restaurant like a small finca in the middle of the green. - It was pretty hot and humid here and the owner was super nice.
He told me that Chochís is part of the province of Chiquitos and is the second-largest town in the municipality of Roboré. The town is located at an altitude of only 436 m next to Río Chochís, which flows downstream into the Río Urucu, which flows to the Río Limoncito.
For me, it was very interesting that the name Chochís refers to a plant that is used to obtain textile fibers. I had never heard before that a village or city was named after a plant before!
The town of Chochís grew out of a camp set up for the construction of the railway between Santa Cruz de la Sierra and the Brazilian border around 1940. The train is still going there so no wonder we could see the rails and old stations everywhere on our way.
Because of its historic importance in the country, Chochís has been declared a cultural and natural heritage site of the department and is currently in the process of being declared a national heritage site.
After we had survived the food coma (with some help from coffee), we decided to go on and check out the waterfall not far from the restaurant. So we hopped on the car again and drove to the parking lot. At the entrance, we could read the name: Velo de Novia (bridal veil).
Now it was super hot and humid so not that easy to walk through the jungle. We were sweating and the shirt was stuck on our skin already. - The waterfall sounded promising though so we kept walking and hoped it wasn´t too far.
Already during the walk we passed by the small river and some water holes that looked quite nice. The water flows incessantly, and colors of stones, trees, mosses, and flowers mix forming a picturesque landscape with giant rocks embraced in a whimsical way by tree roots.
We felt just like Indiana Jones crossing the river, climbing up the giant rocks covered in plants and discovering the waterholes named like: Pozo de la Sirena
My favorite trees there are the Ceibas and Bejucos. Ceiba is one of the largest trees of the rainforest, with impressive dimensions (height up to 75 m, diameter often over 2 m). But I love it because the tree has had a deep mystical meaning for the indigenous peoples of Central America and the Caribbean since ancient times. Back in Mexico I already learned that in Mayan mythology, it was considered a world tree that symbolized the connection between heaven (canopy), earth (trunk), and the underworld (roots).
The Bejuco is a climbing plant. It gets stuck on rocks and other trees and like that, it looks like it's eating it up. Slowly the underground disappears by being hugged by a tree.
Luckily the hike wasn´t very long with only 1,5km lengths. It only took us about 20 minutes to reach the final spot. At the end of the path, we found ourselves in front of a large waterfall - La Vela de Novia!, where the falling water really did look a bit like a Bridal Veil.
All the way here and also at the waterfall itself we had been all by ourselves. I couldn´t believe that there was a beautiful place like that and nobody was around! We were so lucky! - The atmosphere was a bit mystical but with very good vibes!
In this place you just breathe nature, you cool off in crystal clear waters, and you enjoy the harmonious sound of the river and the sweet song of the birds.
So of course we jumped into the water! It was the well-deserved cooling off after driving over 400km and walking a long time to get here.
The water was surprisingly cold, so it took Britta a while to get in.. as a bavarian mountain girl I didn´t have any pain with that :D - I jumped in anyways, swam right to the waterfall, and enjoyed the cold and fresh water, the sounds and the air. Diving into nature. Once she entered as well we went together to the waterfall and talked for a bit. - we didn´t want to go out in the heat again 😅 it was just so nice and cool in there.
At the entrance to the waterfall, there was a little cabin to change clothes and a tree trunk to put things down without them getting wet. The tree trunk had various patterns carved into it. It was mostly animals and plants and looked pretty nice.
So totally refreshed we decided to move on to our next stop and walked back all the way to our car through the jungle passing all the big rocks and crossing the river 😎
Of course, again I searched for videos to give you an idea of the vibe there - Enjoy :)
I was a bit disappointed that we hadn't seen any monkeys or exotic animals on our way here.. I mean that was the reason why we drove so far right? - but the place was still super special and a real highlight and we still had one more stop on that day trip ahead of us. I will tell you all about it soon - so stay tuned ;)
Cheers,
Liz
Toller Beitrag und wirklich schöne Bilder! Wow, eine Tagestour von 830 km - das ist wirklich sportlich, Respekt! Und dann noch Schnitzel mit Pommes in Bolivien von einem Österreicher zubereitet! Sogar meine Katze hat am Monitor gekratzt, als ich das Bild ansah. Faszinierend, wie sich Ortsnamen manchmal bilden - da kann man schon ins Grübeln kommen. Und was die Affen angeht: Sie scheinen überall zu sein – manchmal muss man nur genau hinsehen. 😉 Ich freue mich schon auf deine nächste Etappe. Danke, dass du uns auf diese spannende Reise mitnimmst!
Das war wirklich sportlich. Wir hatten leider nur einen vollen Tag in dem Teil des Landes. Rückblickend hätte ich dort gerne viel mehr Zeit verbracht. Ich habe später gesehen, dass es noch viel mehr Wanderwege und Wasserfälle in der Gegend gegeben hätte. Dort ist es wirklich 0 touristisch gewesen, sehr cool wenn man alleine die Natur genießen kann ☀️ - Haha ja, manche Arten sieht man mehr als andere 😅😜 Danke - Ich werde mein Bestes tun, um von den nächsten Orten zu berichten. Vor allem Uyuni war ein echtes Highlight. Aber dazu komm ich ja bald ☀️ Danke fürs Vorbeischauen 😘
Gerne. Das klingt nach einem wirklich intensiven, aber tollen Tag! 😊 Spannend, wie viel man im nachhinein noch über eine Gegend erfährt - solche Entdeckungen machen die Erfahrung noch wertvoller, finde ich. Uyuni klingt sehr interessant, ich bin gespannt auf deine Eindrücke und freue mich, mehr darüber zu erfahren.☀️
Das stimmt. Für mich ist es oft als würde ich nochmal an den Ort reisen wenn ich darüber schreibe und ab und zu noch zusätzlich Hintergrundinformation recherchiere. - Man sieht den Ort nochmal mit anderen Augen. Das ist sehr bereichernd ☀️
What a stunning place right in the jungle. Nobody around… wow.
It was worth going over rocks and rivers to get there.
Oh after such a long time comfort food from home is very welcome. I so know. Cool they were from Austria and really nice.
The waterfall is stunning. The cold must have been lovely in such a hot and humid climate. 😁
Beautiful walk.. so great to hear the sound of the waterfall 😎
A shame indeed you didn’t see any monkeys or other animals around.
Thanks for sharing this beautiful hike.
Have a lovely day 🤗😘
Awww, thanks for stopping by Jackie!
Yeah totally worth it. It was sooo nice to jump into this cool water after sweating so much 😅😅 A very beautiful place.
It was a shame that we didn´t have much time for that part of Bolivia. This was all in one day.. I would have loved to explore the area a little bit more. Now that I searched it on the map I saw that there were many more hiking trails and waterfalls around that place. 🤷♀️ Glad I could share it with you. You too have a lovely day 😘😘
You are welcome Liz 😊
Oh I know that feeling. Just one day to explore… (You did see a lot though)…at home finding many more places you could have seen or gone. The world is just too vast and beautiful. We will never explore it all haha
We sure can try though!
Thanks a lot.
Enjoy your Friday 👋🏻
Yeah, we sure did see a lot! and it wasn´t that easy as my friend only had 2,5 weeks to explore the country. I was on a longer travel time, so alone I for sure would have taken the time. - You can not have it all :D - Maybe one day I go back and explore even more. I am sure that this part of the world still is not very touristy 😎😘 - Booked the camper today for May-June (5 weeks). We are very much looking forward to exploring Scottland.
2,5 weeks is not a lot, a shame she couldn’t get more. But like you say…. Maybe one day you are back.
I like places that are not very touristy. Maybe something I should check out before it gets too busy for me.
Awesome, 5 weeks. That’s great. Also an own camper, it allows you to be anywhere you want. Even cook yourself and sleep.
I can imagine 😁 have fun with all the preparations.
We are looking at going to France this spring, driving around a bit 😎 nothing concrete planned yet…
Have a lovely day 🤗😘
When do you go? Well for France I can also give you some suggestions as I was living there for some time ;) - Maybe I should post about my France roundtrip next after Bolivia then to give you some inspiration haha <3
We love last minute decisions hahaha it could be already in a few weeks. Probably February. Who knows 😇
We are thinking the south west around Bordeaux and then inland maybe up to Poitiers or east towards Limoges. That is all we have in our minds for now. Maybe visit the town I was born in. That’s under Bourges.
That would be great, have you visited the above areas?
Good evening ♥️
What an amazing hike, I was amazed by the existence of the railroad tracks right under the mountains (Chochís)
And the waterfall that has very clean water, and this is also a satisfaction in itself after going through this long journey, I can see your happiness from some of the photos you share. this is really amazing.
I am very entertained, of course, have a nice day ♥️
You're welcome, keep up the good work 💪
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What a magical place, full of all the splendor of nature, the water itself looks frozen, an excellent tour and the restaurant's food looks very appetizing.
Well, new opportunities will come 😘
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This hike looks really good! share with the natural always help 😀🎉
The white clouds on the Devil's Tooth mountain give the impression that you should focus on me first, before seeing the waterfall. After the energy you get from the restaurant and a short nap, it is best to hit the road...The train ride in that beautiful region is also very enjoyable. After the hot and humid weather, it was really nice to get into the sparkling water. I don't know how deep it is, but it would be nice to get on the rocks and have a jumping show together. The song “Me and My Shadow” was a good choice for the video you made. You all look so beautiful and fun. I am following you. Love to you 🤗🌸😍
Oh yeah, you are right! I would have loved to hike that tooth :D I am sure you have a great view from the top!
yeah, a jump into the water would have been nice, but it was not very deep. - The most important was that it was cold haha—very nice cool-off. Thanks for watching the video as well. 7 years ago my video qualities were not that good haha, but I still like to show a little bit to get an idea of the vibe. Thanks for stopping by. It's great to share my experience and motivate me to get feedback on it.
We have this running joke in our family. Basically, if someone is visiting somewhere awesome, we ask if there is space in their backpack for them to pack us in to join them. So, do you have space in your pack?
This looks amazing and your photos are all amazing! Thank you for the share.
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So beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Nice place! It looks like the waterfalls that are in the Gran Sabana, in Venezuela, by the way there are several Velos de la Novia around here, it seems that there is not much creativity in naming places 😂
Haha really?! Some day I want to go to Venezuela and check it out. I have heard about so many great places to see and visit there and all the people I know from there are so friendly!! hahaha yeah, it's always the same names 😅😜 - It probably has been men giving them 😆
Surely they were men 😂...
See a Velo de la Novia in La Gran Sabana 😃.
You will love Venezuela! Great diversity of landscapes, good food and cool people! 😉
Oh great I saw it now. Thanks for showing me!
I am sure I would love it a lot!! those are the top 3 things that matter. I felt the same in Colombia and Costa rica. The nature was just stunning, the food great and the people 😍
I agree with you! Those three things are top on a trip ♥️.
😍☀️
whoo the place is so beautiful and relaxing its more fun for adventures do to hiking and most the water is clean nice and natural from the mountain great share have a good memories in that place xoxo
Seems like an awesome hike! I'm a sucker for waterfalls, especially if they're deep in the middle of nature, the greener the better! !BEER
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BEER.wow!!! I really love the nature and the place:)
I understand your disappointing but, as you said, the travel itself was worthy, for the places you saw, the special meetings, the good relationship with Britta and the fact itself that we are now talking all together about this adventure. You reminded me of a poem, "Ithaka" by Konstantinos Kavafis. If you don't know it, I recommend you this reading 😊
Also, I want to ask you something if it doesn't sound indiscreet. So, you were born in Germany? I knew you were related to Germany, I've read it in previous posts, but I had no idea if you were born or just moved there for other reasons :)
Just curiosity, after a long time reading your posts 😊
I can understand you, I have the same problem with Sardinia and Italy, being honest. My presence is needed here in this moment, but the world is calling me. We will see how it goes 🤷♂
I lived in Mexico for 5 years and traveled 1 year in Latin America. The plan was to visit family and then go on traveling in Asia and Africa after. But then I was living in Paris for 8 months (fell in love so I stayed). After such a free life Paris was hell haha. So I came back to Germany and fell in love again and stayed. Now I live here, I am married and have my own company. But so many countries are still on my list 😱☀️😅 - I am happy I saw so many as well already. I came around quite a bit. - On my worldmappin map you can not even see half of it - still a lot to write about. Just like that Trip to Bolivia that actually happened 7 years ago 😱☀️
Where would you like to go? Any ideas?
Wow, amazing story. Thank you for sharing with me, it was nice, I appreciated a lot 😊
About me, I don't know yet. It seems things are changing in Europe, maybe it's time to explore some other continent, like... Antarctica 🤠
Jokes aside, I was thinking about Germany or Switzerland, or maybe Spain because of the lifestyle.
But for now reality is that I have no concrete hopes to leave. Maybe around summer or before the end of 2025. I will let you know 😁
Haha Antarctica is very nice 😎😂 gets warmer every day 😅
I see. Yeah we were thinking about moving to Italy as my wife is half Italian... but because of politics we didn´t. But lifestyle here is not much better and things are moving in a wrong direction as well.. not sure if you have the right idea about it 🤷♀️ - so maybe it is another continent?!
Yeah, let me know.
I know something and in general I can imagine, I see the conditions are changing a bit everywhere. The problem is that it's hard to realize precisely what is happening from economical point of view, things are changing very fast and in this moment I'm stuck in Sardinia - we could say "out of the world".
I wish I could go very far for some time, but things aren't going well in my family and in this moment I'm somehow forced to be here 😬 we will see how it goes. Maybe also a remote job could be great, in order to move from a place to another, and be here if my presence is needed :)
Very beautiful view❤️, hope you have a nice