Sucre

The Santa Maria convent is a great visit

It’s funny how after some time traveling around you immediately know when you’re going to like a place or not. For Sucre we knew we’d like it on the way from the airport. When we got to the hostel, Vincente (actually Vincent from Lille, France) welcomed us with a big warm smile. His hostel is beautifully set in an old colonial house with an interior patio which is abundantly blessed with sun. He showed us around the place, we have a nice clean kitchen to share with the other guests and the bathrooms are clean and spacious. He has got a nice TV and hundreds of DVDs. He readily tells me it’s absolutely ok (and even keenly encouraged) to watch the Premiership football or the Rugby World Cup even if it is at 4am. Yep I heard that loud and clear!



On the Convent's roof

José de Sucre amidst the Bolivian and provincial flags

After Vincente explained what could be done/visited in Sucre we headed out to discover this beautiful little colonial town. Sucre is a very important place for Bolivia and South America. Simon Bolivar and José de Sucre (hence the name of the town) actually dealt the final fatal blow to the Spanish army close by and sealed the independence of Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Bolivia from the dominion of Spain. It is also here that the independence of Bolivia was proclaimed. Sucre remains the capital of the country as according to the Bolivian constitution even if the seat of government and financial power were transferred to La Paz. The judiciary power stays here in the form of the Supreme Court of Justice.

Mausoleum belonging to a powerful family

Sucre has a great climate: it’s sunny and warm but not too hot - temperatures hover in the mid 20’s. The sky is blue and you can feel that there is so much less pollution and hassle here as compared to La Paz. The white buildings are a testament to Sucre’s past as capital. There are big parks and open spaces and the squares are beautiful. Even the cemetery is well worth seeing. Sculpted trees and hedges and beautiful mausoleums.

On our way back we stop by the supermarket and buy a lot of provisions for our stay in la Dolce Vita (a truly appropriate name for our hostel). We buy eggs, bacon, oil,  freshly made bread, cheese, tacos, meat, veggies, Bolivian wine (good, easy to drink and cheap), some dark beer and some lager.  And then what do I see there lying casually on the shelf starring right back at me: PEANUT BUTTER!!! They’ve got it all: classic recipe, crunchy chunks and smooth & creamy! It’s official, I really LOVE this place!



The beautiful theatre building stands high in Sucre



Yummy fruit juices

Closer to home we fling by the market. It’s great, all the fruits, the dairy products, the vegetable, the meat and chicken. It’s as colourful as in Mauritius. There are vendors selling sandwiches and hot food. In a corner, a lady is selling ice cold milk coloured with rose syrup … if it had agar agar in it I would be tempted to yell at her: “Ene gros verre Bhai Cassam!”. Then there are the fruit juices : there are all the fruits you can imagine and some more, plus carrots and celery. You just make your choice and ask the lady to blend your juice. A vitamin supershot.

Relax and Enjoy the view

We also climbed up to the old parts of the city on the hills. From there we had a really good view of the city lying down in long chairs and enjoying a cold juice. Roxana chose the winning combination : melon, strawberry and orange fruit juice to be enjoyed in a long chair.

Another great sunset from Dolce Vita's kitchen

A great night out on the town

Following Vicente’s advice we went to the best show in town. A professionally choreographed folkloric dance spectacle. It was superb, much better than anything of this sort we had seen so far. And we really liked the meal while enjoying the show. The food is prepared by the same chef who owns one of the best restaurants in town : La Taverne (French cuisine). For more pictures on the show : Origenes Folkloric Dance Show



Catholic Boarding School in Sucre - co-ed

 

Roxana humbled by a 30 metre Brachiosaurus

On the second day we took the “Dino Bus” to visit one of the most spectacular dinosaur sites anywhere in the world. It is a huge quarry where in 1998 they discovered by pure luck thousands of dinosaurs tracks. There was a big earthquake in 1979 which destroyed a lot of Sucre and the government immediately started to rebuild. The needed a lot of cement and they gave permission for this huge cement plan to start extracting their raw material from this area. That’s how they stumbled, so to stay on these dinosaurs’ tracks. It was amazing to think that we were seeing footsteps left behind by animals dead close to 100 million years ago.

A voter reading the protest campaign

Sunday was election day in Bolivia. For the first time in history the Bolivians have to elect their public prosecutors and chief judges etc. This election which should have been a minor one, has been blown out of proportion by both the government and the opposition(s). The president Evo Morales wants to put on a display of how democratic Bolivia is and wants to redeem himself somewhat in the eyes of his once huge indigenous supporter base. The latter feel they have been betrayed by “their” president (who also is of indigenous descent) who broke some electoral promises (first time I hear that!) and especially a very controversial development project in the middle of a sacred forest.

"Roxana lost for words as alcohol sale banned"

There has been a huge march for weeks within Bolivia arriving in the capital city the day before the elections. The people want to make sure Morales knows they’re not happy. And they  did achieved it. The government decreed that no public transport would operate 48h before election day. Alcohol sale stopped on Friday night leaving all the tourists in Bolivia baffled! Fortunately Vincent had told us and we stocked up. I don’t want to be caught "dry" for NZ vs Australia or Liverpool vs ManU (yeah I know it’s 4am here but so what?). Anyway that was the most surreal weekend we’ve spent in South America so far. No cars, everything closed and people just walking in the middle of the streets. Election day came and went and the driver of the taxi we took to Potosi tells us that the Preseident’s party lost. He seemed very happy so I know who he voted for.

Next stop the Silver mines of Potosí. 

For more pictures of Sucre