Sucre, Sucre, Sucre

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Across the road from the central market , we were in the thick of things....the way we like it. We stayed in Charcas & so had quick access to all the fruits & shakes, cakes & popcorn, ice-cream & bread that took our fancy!! As you walk into the market you can see a stand with about 20 different sized cakes decorated with white icing with a lady doing the finishing touches or swatting away the flies & on the other side of her, rows & rows of women with blenders & a variety of fruits, ready to make up whatever concoction you desire. Around the corner will be countless stalls of fruit & veg.......with salewomen eager to better their neighbour & sell you at least one of every fruit before you leave......they would sell you their toenails no doubt.....they are very persuasive women indeed!! Just as you step away you are handed something else to try..."Try this señorita" & you end up coming away with much more than you intended.....maybe less than the salewoman intended because by all accounts I think they want to sell you everything!! It has a great market there & in retrospect we should have done a bit of shopping......you know, updated the wardrobe a bit....starting to look more like a vagrant these days than anyone else around!!! There is definitely no fear of me being robbed for my riches!!

We stayed in Sucre 2 nights.....it´s a beautiful city....well worth a look with a really pretty square & hills that you can climb to get spectacular views of the city & the surroundings. What it so amazing about Bolivia is how cities develop in the hills.....well these aren´t actaully hills...they are the peaks & hollows of mountains....but everything in Bolivia seems to be set at about 3000m or so above sea-level, its the nature of the landscape, but nonetheless they still manage to construct marvellous buildings.

Anyway it was only a short stop there. From Sucre, we moved on to Santa Cruz......another city but set at a much lower altitude......about 400m I think.....which means it was much hotter. Not that we can complain because Sucre was very comfortable too. But this was the type of heat that would fry an egg on the bonnet, which was good because this was Grace´s last stop with me before we parted company & a suntan was on her final wish-list......so we were well catered for here!! Santa Cruz was very different from the other cities. There aren´t as many indigenous people about as in other places & there definitely seems to be a lot more wealth here. Apparently Santa Cruz has been seeking independence as a separate entity to avoid handing over its taxes to Mammy Bolivia......or so the local people tell me. There were loads of ice-cream parlours dotted on the streets so I was well looked after. Although the markets don´t offer shakes, cakes & other delights that we´ve some to expect & chase down everywhere. Four nights in Santa Cruz was easily had.....between finding a nice pool in town & sucking up the UV rays & all it´s damage, time flew by!! I had a return of the dodgy travel tummy but thankfully my radar is finely tuned since after my spell in Asia so it was detected early & mananged accordingly!

The day came & went quickly. Grace & I parted outside Amazonas Hotel in the center of town....Grace leaving for her plane & me for my bus onwards. As the true friend that she is....she softened the blow & left me with a box of chocolates.....most of which I ate even though I was meant to be fasting....& perfume to attract the boys so I´d never have to travel alone......only messing.....as a present for my birthday. I was really sad to see her go. But all good things must come to an end. It´s the comfort of having someone there to chat to & laugh about things & I´m really missing that.......especially cause there are so many muppets about that are driving me insane. Although I´m glad too that I´m doing some travelling alone because if you had asked me a year ago or even 4 months ago how I felt about it, I was petrified!! No joking. But thankfully once you arrive somewhere, find your feet & forget all the horror-stories that people tell you, life is as easy as you want it to be.

So on that note I went to catch the bus to La Paz, fully prepared for the trip or so I thought......the liter of yogurt & bread (still trying to keep the menu simple) on hand. About 30 mins before I boarded I looked in my bag to find the liter of yogurt all over the place; the little bit left in the bottle fermented.....& the socks for the journey nicely coated too. After a quick clean-up I boarded.......to meet my new travel companion who was a nice man.......so thankfully my first all-nighter alone wasn´t too traumatic. Although I still have difficulty doing as the locals do..... as they bustle off the bus in the morning to relieve themselves at the side of the road. While we wait in traffic or at a bank in the countryside, you´ll see a mass of people in various states of undress......ladies squatted down nicely with their skirt & petticoats offering ample cover for the job at hand & men creating their own little rainbows of urine in plain view all around. Maybe if I had the skirts I´d partake but for the moment I´ll limit myself to just a few sips of water to avoid the situation. And even though the natural toilet seems to be really popular, invariably there is always a stench of urine in the bus after the episode....sometimes before too if things are bad. I´m not sure if I mentioned the fast-food option on the buses either so I´ll tell you now.......whenever the bus slows down at a small village at the beginning of the trip.....3 or 4 people with a variety of snacks, drinks, cooked food (that never ever looks very appetizing) hop on & do business. It´s a funny spectacle......but sometimes the smells of the food can be as offensive as the other smells already there. Don´t get me wrong, I´m not complaining about Bolivia & its bus service; I just want you to appreciate that it´s very different from home & bus travel is a big part of any trip here in South America so it deserves comment!!

That afternoon on the bus, the heat was sweltering as we left Santa Cruz but the night brought on freezer-like temperatures as the altitude increased.....meaning sleep was nothing but a dream. Even though the seats were comfy, the cold was bitter & despite the layers.......I was without my yogurt-covered socks so the feet were like blocks of ice. Feck it for preparation & sleep!! Who needs it?? Bring on La Paz & a bed!!

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