Sucre - Capital of Bolivia Mon 10/3/2003   From research on the internet I had elected Sucre as a place where I wanted to continue my quest to master the Spanish language, at least to the minimal extent of allowing me to travel and get to know the culture. So after a very cold bus trip from Oruro (see Northern Chile Section) I finally arrived on a rainy Sunday morning in Sucre. The first impression of the city were mixed as the outskirts of the city were quite unsightly and poor, yet the centre was lively and it's colonial architecture very interesting and nice. Sucre is the constitutional capital of Bolivia, but right now almost all governmental functions have been usurped by La Paz (the de facto capital), save the Supreme Court which still convenes in Sucre. The town has a rich history during the colonial era it was the first to revolt against the Spanish rule, breaking free on the 25 May 1809, as the first region (Chuquisaca) in South America. Appropriately Sucre was the location where after some 16 years of fighting Alto Peru became the new Republic of Bolivia, a ceremony which is re-enacted every year on August 6th in the Casa de la Libertad. The school I had elected, the Academia Latinoamericana, is located close to the centre in a pleasant colonial style building. The head of the school, Sandra is very helpful and knowledgeable, however the quality of the education was in a different league from what I had experienced in Granada, some 7 months previously at the Escuela Carmen de las Cuevas. Most of the teachers were university students earning some money on the side or had finished university yet hat not succeeded in finding a job in their area of education. (Law, Engineering etc). The lectures mixed Grammar and Conversation, yet did not address written or oral skills, as no homework was handed in and no oral proficiency exercises, such as presentations etc were undertaken. Finally I was also rather disappointed in the comparatively poor value for money that the school offers, charging about US$150 per week. After a few initial days at the Hotel I decided to ask wether I could be placed with a family to experience the way of living in a middle/upper class Bolivian setting. The family lived in a very nice colonial house just up the road from the school, and was very helpful, friendly and accommodating. The home cooked food, some of the conversations at lunchtime and time spent on the sunny rooftop terrace made me feel quite at home and provided a welcome break from travelling and moving around all the time. One of the few things that I couldn't get used to was the Maid (Feli) who did lots of work in the house and was basically a servant in her own social class, not eating at the same table as the family etc. Sucre is a city that is difficult to get to know well. Especially the centre with it's Spanish colonial architecture has many houses with large courtyards within which are small shops, bars or restaurants tucked away from the main roads and hence hard to find and even harder to know what to expect from the outside. Of course along the main plaza are many options for food and drink but they tend to be rather mainstream and gringo focused. Apart from these difficulties there are many wonderful churches dating back to the 16th, 17th and 18th century and a variety of interesting museums, focusing on local traditions, clothing and crafts (Museo de Arte Indigena) or colonial and anthropological themes (Museo Universitario). The city centre is safe at night and the streets are full of locals and visitors in the evening looking around the stores, going out for something to eat or drink or simply wandering around soaking up the lively atmosphere. Finally it is almost impossible to not mention the Carnival which plays a special role in Bolivia and Oruro is probably one of the most exciting places to experience a traditional and extravagant 3 day non stop fiesta. Sucre appeared slightly more civilised but this seems a recent development, as in the past people often died during the Carnival due to alcohol or violence. It is hard to describe the whole Carnival concept but it basically consists of musical bands, with and without large figures on wagons, marching through the streets in the centre making lots of more or less melodic noise and drinking plenty of alcohol in due course. The onlookers throw water balloons at the procession and mainly opposite sex bystanders, the water balloons are often augmented by water pistols, foam spray, eggs filled with water, or simply buckets of water - so expect to get wet. In effect the whole thing is like a big water fight with lots of music, drinking, dancing in the streets and silliness. Just like after my time in Cape Town I think a list of things I enjoyed whilst in Sucre may be in order: Visit the Convento de San Felipe Neri (Nicolas Ortiz, crn. Azurduy), guided tours start at 5pm and last for about 1.5 hours, costing 10Bs and affording incredible views of the city from the roof of the church. Visit the Sunday market in the small town of Tarabuco some 65km to the East of Sucre. Take a flota No5 to the plaza from which all transport to Tarabuco leaves and get a ride in a taxi collectivo for 7Bs each way. (Expect to see some tourists) Visit the cemetery (cementario) with a local guide for 5Bs showing you around this amazing place which resembles a park more than a cemetery, and has lots of interesting stories to tell about the people buried there. Go to the Museo de Arte Indigena (San Alberto, 413) and marvel at the incredibly un-structured Jalq'a (pronounced chalka) woven tapestries and many other nicely displayed local artefacts, for a rather steep Bs15 Take a flota or tour out to the "Huellos de los Dinosaurios" (petrified dinosaur footprints) and marvel at the largest Paleontological site in the world.	Grand Hotel, Aniceto Arce 61 - Ph: 064-52461 Arco Iris (Suiza) Nicolas Ortiz, Sucre Serves great pasta at a fair price (unlike it's neighbors), good beer on tap. Bibliocafe Nicolas Ortiz, Sucre Join some language students for drinks, food is neither outstanding nor cheap. Kultur Cafe Berlin Calle Avaroa 326, Sucre Evening meals at an alright price, and you'll get to read "Der Spiegel" if you're into German news. Joyride Nicolas Ortiz, Sucre Meet other gringos here. Has a reasonably priced tasty salad, otherwise expensive. Cafe Mirador Plaza de la Recoleta, Sucre Relax and enjoy the excellent view of the city, slightly pricey but worth it once in a while.
Plaza 25 Mayo Grand Hotel Courtyard Iglesia San Felipe Neri Cementerio Crypta Cementerio Crypta Mercado Tarabuco Jalq'a Techido Madre y Hija Mercado Tarabuco Universidad de San Francisco Casa de la Libertad Palacio del Gobierno Corte Suprema de Justicia Museo de Arte Indigena Jalq'a Techido sin Vacios Info Jalq'a Techidos Universidad San Franciso La Glorieta Puerta Salon Principal Sala Principal Primero Piso - Arabe La Glorieta - Fachada Torre - Arabe Torre - Byzantine La Glorieta - Puerta Las Siete Cascadas Las Siete Cascadas - Grupo Las Siete Cascadas - Alto Vista de Terraza Santa Clara antes Tormenta Santa Theresa Pano San Lazaro San Lazaro Atardecer Sucre Atardecer Montaņas Academia Latinoamericana Plaza la Recoleta Cerro con Jesus Pano Sucre Convent San Felipe Neri Convent San Felipe Neri Techo San Felipe Neri Techo San Felipe Neri Torres Iglesia San Felipe Neri Pano Techo de Iglesia Techo San Felipe Neri Interior de Iglesia Habitacion en Familia
Travelling Restarted Wed 12/03/03   Time to say goodbye to Sucre and get back into the travelling mode - felt exciting to get going again! In the morning I quickly went to my favourite internet cafe (Cybermani@) and uploaded some more pictures, after which I quickly said good bye to my hostfamily and caught a caught a taxi (3Bs) to the Terminal de Autobuses. From there I got the Real Audiencia bus to Potosi for 45BS (price all the way to Uyuni) and after some dangerous driving arrived in Potosi at 4:30. Based on advice from the taxi driver I checked into the Casa de Huspedes "Maria Victoria" at the same time as a mixed group coming from the Salar de Uyuni. Got talking to some of the people in the group and we arranged to meet up for dinner later that night. I quickly changed my ticket, leaving the next day for Uyuni in the evening rather than the morning, so that I would be able to go for a tour in the cooperative mines in the Cerro Rico, the "rich mountain" sitting behind Potosi. Once back in the town centre I climbed the Torre de la Compania de Jesus (10Bs) and took some pictures of Potosi from above. Then met the other group at the hostal to go out for dinner at a pretty much locals only pub called Doņa Maria, serving huge portions of chicken with rice. Meandered on into a bar above the main plaza and tried a Chuflay which I didn't like that much before heading back to the hostal.	no map Casa de Huspedes "Maria Victoria" Chuquisaca No. 148 / Ph: 062 22144 Bed in Shared Room 15Bs Doņa Maria 87, Matos 18 Bs Large Dinner 10 Bs for 1l Potosina
Sumaj Orcku - Cerro Rico Torre de la Compania de Jesus Torre de la Compania de Jesus Panorama View Potosi Casa de la Moneda - Entrada Casa de la Moneda Casa de la Moneda Iglesia San Lorenzo Iglesia San Lorenzo - Interior Iglesia San Lorenzo Catedral de Potosi Plaza 10 Noviembre Atardecer en Ciudad
Potosi am - Uyuni pm Thu 13/03/03   Started the day with a breakfast at the hostal after which went on a visit to the cooperative mines with Southamerica Adventure Tours. (The tour was basically 2 people with two very helpful guides and friendly guides 50Bs). During the tour we met Don Juan who with 61 was only one of a handful of people who at that age were still working in the mines. He had been working there for 41 years and was only getting 50% pension after his last health evaluation, which means he was still in pretty good shape (from the cooperative miners pension fund), but said he had never smoked. Explored the mines at different levels of depth for almost 3 hours and saw two shrines for the miner gods (Supays) who are visited at the beginning and end of each shift and on the first and last Friday of the month are given small presents. In the former case to ask for good luck in the month to come, and in the latter to thank for the findings in the month passed. Presents usually include cigarettes which are "smoked" by the statue personifying the deity as well as coca leaves and alcohol. This is poured on the arms for strength, on the feet for good luck and on the penis for fertility. Talked to some more miners and helped out filling one large bucket with ore, hard work at 4400m of altitude I thought. (The top of the mountain is 4860m) Potosi is one of the only places on earth where you can go into a shop and just buy a pack of ammonium nitrate and some sticks of dynamite including the ignitors and fuses. Of course I had to buy such a pack for 8Bs and at the end of the tour we tried to blow it up outside of the mine but the fuse did not work properly and I didn't get to see and explosion - shame. Caught a ride back into town in a minibus and went for lunch in the Sumaj Orcko which was very good value for money and decent sized portions with many locals eating there. In the afternoon visited the Casa de las Monedas (mint) on a tour consisting of two parts, one focusing on the local mainly religous art which is on display in the building and second on the production process of silver money for the spanish crown, made from silver extracted from the Cerro Rico in the 16th, 17th and 18th century. The various rooms housed a furnace to extract and purify the ore, as a mill where the silver was rolled into 2-4mm thick and narrow plates, from which the stamped money was then cut or stamped out with stamps conforming with the spanish monetary standard. Quite amazing the huge variety of different shapes and motives of coins produced during that era. In the late afternoon picked up my stuff from the hostal and headed to the bus stop to take the evening bus to Uyuni, which turned out to be a much smoother ride than I had feared. There I arrived quite late at 1:30am, owing to our late departure, and checked into the Hotel Avenida, which is a super clean and friendly place at an excellent value for money!	no map Hotel Avenida - Uyuni Av. Ferroviaria 11/ Ph: 0693 2078 Single w shared Shower 20Bs Sumaj Orcko 46, Quijarro / crn. Bolivar 10 Bs Lunch
Las Minas - Don Juan Las Minas - Ricardo Las Minas - Supay Casa de La Moneda Casa de la Moneda - Stamp Room Casa de la Moneda - Stamps Casa de la Moneda - Rolling Machine Casa de la Moneda - Rolling Room Casa de la Moneda - Rolling Room Panorama Read about the Salar de Uyuni in part 2.