Five Places to Sit Quietly in Cochabamba

I am a creature of habit. If I organize my day well, it begins with my leaving home by 6:30 am, with my two dogs in tow, for an hour and a half hike into the rocky slopes above the city. A day opened in silence, I have found, is generally a better day. So, since it is the weekend (pretty much) here are my five top choices of where one can sit quietly in Cochabamba. If you live here or plan to pass through, you might check them out.

1. Parque Tunari

The steep slopes that rise above Cochabamba and turn into a mountain range that stretches up to the altiplano, are actually part of a vast national park, Parque Tunari. I have been exploring those slopes for ten years and have a variety of secret spots I would never spoil by sharing them on the Blog. But the park itself is a great place to rise above the city noise. Take the Micro "G" bus to the end of the line and head upwards.

2. Plaza Colon

This is my favorite among Cochabamba's wealth of very nice public plazas (Note to US planners: We could do with some plazas of the type found in Latin America.). It is an appealing patchwork of green lawns, a pond in the middle (look for the mermaid painted on the bottom) and a small footbridge. I personally follow the Cochabambino rule about where to sit – even though sitting on the grass is technically prohibited, find a shady spot there anyway and stay until you are kicked off. There is a particularly nice spot on the south side where two trees of different species have wrapped so tightly together from the trunk up that most people probably never notice it isn’t just one tree.

3. Iglesia del Hospicio

I thank the Catholic Church for creating so many fine public spaces in which one can sit in quiet (praying or just pretending to). The Iglesia del Hospicio, just across from Plaza Colon, is my favorite. Its interior is light, with a genuine feeling of expansiveness that is much better than the usual darkened capilla. It is open pretty much all day. I go there to sit for 15 minutes or so on my way to work in the morning. As I do, I enjoy watching the movements of the humble caretakers – the male guard who watches over the door with audio earphones piping something into his ears, the gray haired woman in the matching gray smock who carefully sweeps the floor from altar to door (and mops on Mondays). If you go, do leave an offering in the box on your way out.

4. Casablanca

I am a coffee addict. More precisely, I have to have a cappuccino every day by 4pm or my work suffers greatly afterwards (fortunately this is an addiction much more affordable in Bolivia than in the US). For a quiet place to drink some of the best coffee in town (okay, quiet until the staff starts making the music blare in the late afternoon) visit Casablanca, a café on Calle 25 de Mayo, a block south of Plaza Colon. The owner is a friendly Italian transplant named Elio who likes to name his establishments after movies.

5. Jardin Botanico

Lastly, on the slight outskirts of downtown, sits the always-green Jardin Botanica, a large landscaped field that also has a display of Bolivian native plants. It also seems to be a favorite make-out site for Cochabambino teenagers, who kindly leave enough room for anyone else who cares to, to sit down for a quiet break.

If readers have other similar favorites, in Cochabamba or elsewhere in Bolivia, feel free to add them here as comments.