Sucre, Bolivia

Rachael and I have booked a day tour today to get us out of the city. Booked again through Condor Trekkers, with the morning at the Dinosaur Park followed by a hike to the Seven waterfalls. We are a group of 4, a French guy Eric, an Englishman called Reece, plus the guide. The company uses public transport, so we walk first to a bus stop to get the collectivo up to the dinosaur park. South America is full of well loved stray dogs and we have a lovely guy that follows us all the way to the stop. We hop on the bus and are soon stuck in traffic, making the trip up to Cal Orck’o take around an hour. The Parque Cretácico is the world’s largest paleontogical site. The Cal Orck’o limestone wall stands almost vertically as the result of tectonic plate activity. 65million years ago it was part of a river shore and the dinosaur footprints left in the mud then have been preserved by decomposing vegetation layers over time. They were drilling as part of the nearby cement factory when they hit a mineral that could not be used in cement. The natural erosion then uncovered these amazing footprints. There are over 12 thousand dinosaur tracks of at least 8 species. The 1500 metre long and 110 metre high wall contains 462 individual continuous tracks. The guide who shared this fascinating insight was really enthusiastic about dinosaurs and helpfully explained the difference between Sauropods and Teropods using toy dinosaurs. We then waited to get up close to the tracks and chatted to another couple of English people while we waited. The walk down to the cliff face was steep but it was cool to see these prints and imagine the huge creatures that left their marks. The walk out was tougher, but we were soon out and our tour got a taxi to the start of our waterfalls walk. The terrain was hilly but it was lovely to be out of the city. We went down several hills to the river and then scrambled over rocks as we wove our way up the waterfalls. The guys did have to help us a little with larger jumps but we were soon at the third waterfall which was our stop for lunch. Our guide pulled out a big pile of salad, bread, and created a mountain of avocado for us to feast on. It was a good surprise and we ate well before resting in the sun. Reece and the guide climbed up and on to view a couple more waterfalls but we elected to sunbath, saving strength for the climb out. Late afternoon sun and we scrambled back along the river, up out of the cleave to the village at the top. The waiting collectivo took us back to the city centre, quite a fun trip with different characters hoping on and off. The ride back was quicker and after a fresh juice at the Condor Cafe we headed back to the hostel. We were both shattered after our adventure, we even forfeited dinner for an early night and crashed out.

Sucre, Bolivia

We had Mango with our breakfast this morning, one of the surprises for me has been how plentiful and good the fruit is in Bolivia. The market has stacks of bananas, pineapples, melons and tropical fruit alongside traditional vegetables. The north and east of Bolivia is lush green and tropical, so I assume this is where they are farmed. I paid 70p for 12 bananas, and 20p for the best mango I have tasted. I don’t have school today as my teacher asked for a long weekend to travel, so I agreed to do extra hours next week….. I persuade Rachael to come with me to the gem museum, it is number one on TripAdvisor so I am hopeful it is more interesting than it sounds. Museo del Tesoro is one of the oldest buildings in Sucre, on the main plaza. It markets itself as a place to learn about the origin, technique and art of Bolivia’s metals and stones. We do a one hour tour with Herbert, a very passionate guide. Herbert tells us about the art of working with gold and silver and more on what life is like in Bolivian mines. We see geodes of crystals that are found encased in lava including a metre long one that makes our eyes light up with all its sparkles. There was one found in Uruguay last year that was bigger at 2m x 5m, the biggest in the world is in Spain and it is big enough to walk through! Herbert shows us some stones unique to Bolivia; a blue stone called Sodalita and a cool crystal called Ametrine. Ametrine is a mix of yellow citrine and purple amethyst. It is beautiful, but all carefully kept behind glass as they represent some of the most valuable gemstones in Latin America. We finish with the evolution of Bolivian jewellery from pre-Columbian times to the present day, showing key pieces from significant historic ladies. It is indeed a great museum and the jewellery shop at the end is amazing. A shame I am on a budget, and I wouldn’t feel safe carrying decent jewellery for the rest of my trip. Rachael is keen for another visit to the Chocolate festival, and enjoys a few more samples. The chocolate is excellent but I still don’t fancy putting too much on my stomach so I abstain. For dinner we enthusiastically head to the British pub in town, the Red Lion. It disappoints, half because of my stomach but mainly because the fish & chips aren’t hot enough. Probably a mistake to think it was going to be the same as home…

Sucre, Bolivia

After an interrupted nights sleep, I am feeling okay in myself and decide I can manage my Spanish lesson. It is tough going but I survive till the end and head back to bed once it is finished. I am annoyed as today the city has bigger parades with a full on military one this evening to celebrate the 25th of May. I manage to see a few groups on my way home, they come from every department in the country to take part. The president of Bolivia also comes and watches the days activities. I am much better once I have a sleep, just really lethargic so I eat the rice from last night mid afternoon. Spend the rest of the day in bed listening to the festivities and parades outside.

Sucre, Bolivia

Today is the start of Sucre Chocolate festival. I didn’t realise that there would be so many good chocolate shops in Sucre, and being here when they showcase for 3 days is a bonus. Visiting the festival even formed part of my lesson today, with us enjoying Spanish conversation over a dulce de leche stuffed churro. As we walked back to the school there were parades in the plaza of the kindergarten schools. One group looked super cute in a military style uniform similar to the foreign legion. Rachael met me after school and we went to the market for lunch. I was keen to try a chorizo burger from the 7 sisters stand and it didn’t disappoint. We both enjoyed the single sausage in a bap with salad and mayonnaise. The afternoon had to include another visit to the chocolate festival, Rachael is an committed chocolate lover and enjoyed chocolate fondant and alfajores. There is a great view of Sucre from the top of the building. By late afternoon my stomach is feeling a little unsettled. Rachael, Shivani and I head out to a Thai restaurant tonight. I am really excited to have Thai, it’s been ages. My stomach doesn’t agree however and as the main is put down in front of me, I make haste to the bathroom. It’s no good, I have to go home. I do take the meal as take away for when I am better and leave the girls enjoying their food. A night of bathroom visits follows. No plans to eat in the market again anytime soon.

Sucre, Bolivia

School again today, we actually take the lesson outside and go to the market. This is a safe way to practice some key phrases and also some food. Andrea introduces me to Toma which is a egg shaped fruit that tastes like passion fruit. I found a great ice cream shop near the plaza, so I enjoyed a scoop of chocolate and a rice pudding flavour post lunch. We had been told a great museum for Bolivian history was Casa de Libertad. Only 25bols to get in and a English speaking tour was just starting. The first room had lots of intricately carved furniture from the Jesuits. There was a bureau with secret compartments and several chests with scenes crafted using different inlayed woods. Our guide showed us a original map of the continent under Spanish rule. Sucre was a significant city that controlled the area. It was established because the Spanish needed a base near the silver production of Potosí where the altitude would not be an issue. The city has the oldest university and the students used to have to defend their thesis in the hall of this Casa. The museum focuses on the heroes of the revolution, Simón Bolívar who’s name the finally independent country took. Sucre is named for Antonio José de Sucre a great friend of Simón Bolívar, independence general and the second President of Bolivia. One of the most interesting characters for me is a woman called Juana Azurduy Padilla who was a Bolivian guerrilla military leader. Azurduy and her husband joined the Chuquisaca Revolution, which on May 25, 1809 dismissed the president of the Real Audencia of Charcas, Ramón García de León y Pizarro. This uprising ended in 1810 when the revolutionaries were defeated by the royalist troops. They were imprisoned but on release went on to fight for the freedom of Argentina and Bolivia. Juana was pregnant when during one battle her husband rode back to help her and was shot. She continued to fight, returning to the field shortly after giving birth and commanding a army of 6000 men in one battle. An amazing woman who is now a hero in both countries but who died in relative poverty and whose remains are in this museum. Tonight the girls are keen for a Salsa lesson, lots of laughs and a good workout! Note: there is no indoor smoking ban in Bolivia so my clothes stink of smoke.

Sucre, Bolivia

Today we move to Sucre, Vanessa & Shivani are still here but the others left yesterday. I am really excited about Sucre as I have heard great things about it. Right now I am mostly just wanting some warmth and a laundry. We eat breakfast and run errands, we have decided to get a taxi to Sucre as it is £20 for the 3 hour trip. I have to go to the pharmacy, not wanting to get too graphic but I can’t breath through my nose. I learn later that it’s common and the blood is from blood vessels bursting with the altitude…..it’s disgusting! Anyway, we say goodbye to Potosí and clamber into our taxi. The road has loads of bends that our driver speeds round, and he seems to prefer overtaking on blind ones but we make it to Sucre in one piece. He charges me an extra 20 bolivianos to drop me at a different hostel which annoys me after our agreed price but for £2 I just go with it. The sky is blue and it is about 5 degrees warmer which is lovely, I am already liking Sucre. We settle in to our respective hostels (Rachael from BA is joining me Tuesday, so we wanted a nicer place) and wander the streets a little. Sucre has a Unesco protected central area and is very beautiful with its white walled buildings and churches. We chance on a great restaurant for tonight, called Florin with a international menu and I have a great bowl of pasta.

Villa Imperial de Potosí, Bolivia

This hostel is great but still very cold. The city is at 4,090m elevation, so it’s not a surprise. There is plenty of hot water however and for 20p we can enjoy a bounty for breakfast including scrambled eggs so I am happy sat by a gas heater. Potosí lies at the foot of the Cerro Rico (rich mountain) which produced 60% of all silver mined in the second half of the 16th century. It was at this time one of the worlds largest cities and bigger than London. The Spanish crown became very rich from the spoils of this mountain and forced indigenous people to work in Potosí’s silver mines through the traditional Incan mita system of contributed labor. Many of them died due to the harsh conditions of the mine life and natural gases. At such a high altitude, pneumonia was always a concern and mercury poisoning took the lives of many involved in the refining process. Once this became an issue, Spain sent thousands of African slaves to work in the mine who also met a similar fate. In today’s mine the men work as cooperatives but it is still very manual and a dangerous occupation. The final silver is due to run out in 7 years and with 60% of the men still working in the mine, I wonder about what the future holds for this once majestic city. You can do tours of the mine and Shivani has signed up for one with an ex miner this morning. I don’t doubt it will be interesting but it’s not something I want to do, so Vanessa and I are going to stroll the key highlights of the city. We wander through the central plaza, noting that alot of the houses have external wooden balconies on the upper floor which is a new style. It is always interesting to view the central market but we were less keen on seeing the meat sellers who were busy sawing a carcass. It didn’t look like a very hygienic area, so I will perhaps stick to vegetables here. There is a pretty church sat behind the market, San Lorenzo. The guide is happy to let us in for 10p and also lets us go up and view the city from the roof. We have a great view of Cerro Rico as a backdrop as well. Shivani is back for lunch, proclaiming that the tour was an eye opener but she’s not in a hurry to do it again. Our plan for the afternoon is to visit the Casa de moneda, what was once the national mint of Bolivia. I can’t remember the numbers but this was one of 8 mints that produced coins for the Spanish crown. In the 16th century this mint created millions of silver coins and they were shipped over to Spain, as the men toiled in very manual processes and poor conditions. The museum is interesting, lots of examples of early coins that were hand stamped and erratic shapes through to the later rounded coins. The Potosí mint stamp was made up of overlaying the letters PTS & I from the city name. The story we were told was that the US dollar symbol evolved from the S & I being overlaid. The museum still has the old machinery that was powered by mules walking a drive on the floor below, all made of wood. We also view later machinery powered by steam until the final electric machines which were from the US but only used for around 20years before production was closed down. Bolivia’s currency now comes from Chile and is made from nickel. We found a great restaurant for us tonight, enjoyed a mustard pork dish in a lovely warm room.

Uyuni, Bolivia

Today the whole hotel is up by 6am, full of excited tour groups ready to set off for the salt flats. This is except Yuval who is properly ill, to the point he wants to stay in bed but can’t due to the schedule. We pile him into the front of the jeep after plying him with a mix of medicines and head out in the dark ready for sunrise on the salt flats. The Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flat at over 10,000 sq km. It was formed as a result of transformations between several prehistoric lakes. It is covered by a few metres of salt crust, of which the flatness has little variance in elevation making it perfect for perspective cheating photos. The sunrise is amazing and seeing the salt flats revealed, the hexagonal tessellations is once in a lifetime moment. We drive on to visit Isla incahuasi (fish island), one of 33 random out of nowhere islands that exist within the salt flat. The island is apparently the top of the remains of an ancient volcano, which was submerged when the area was part of a giant prehistoric lake, roughly 40,000 years ago. The cool part is that it is covered with gigantic cacti. These apparently grow at a rate of 1cm a year, so are pretty old. The still rising sun creates some magical views across the flats. We have a traditional cake for breakfast, of which I manage 3 slices. We then go back onto the salt flats for crazy pictures and videos that are heaps of fun. Yuval is still unwell, and I cannot imagine how devastated he is in missing this highlight. We stop briefly at the Salt museum and more interestingly the Dakar rally monument & flags that look great flying above the flats. I imagine rally racing across the flats would be a lot of fun. Our final stop is the Train cemetery just outside Uyuni. Trains were once a big deal in transporting minerals and in early 19th century they were set to expand this until fractions with Chile stopped the project. Most of the abandoned trains that can be found in the Graveyard date back to the early 20th century and were imported from Britain. The salt winds that blow over Uyuni, have corroded all of the metal and there is a lot of vandalisation. We clamber over and through the engines regardless, getting a few arty photos. Lunch signals the end of the tour, and the stewed steak reminds me that I won’t be having Argentinian steak again. The whole group has been discussing next moves for a couple of days and it makes sense to get out of Uyuni on arrival as there is nothing there, Potosí being a good logical stop that isn’t too far. We all get on a local bus to Potosí with Yuval propped near an open window for fresh air. Potosí is four hours away and I am grateful I went to the loo before I got on as it is a bumpy ride with no facilities. We pull into Potosí the highest city in the world and it feels more vibrant than Uyuni. There are two British guys that we have been chatting to, Gerry & Paddy and we all set off by taxi up the hill to the hostel. The group ends up in separate hostels but all meet for dinner in town. The area is very interesting and the main plaza (10th of November plaza) is lit up in different colours. I select trout for dinner as it’s the house special, not sure where it would have been fished but it is very tasty.