Blogs from Chuquisaca Department, Bolivia, South America

After taking a very crappy night bus (completely different standards to Peru), we arrived in to Sucre, known as the 'White City'. The further south you go in Bolivia, the more Country Western the landscape becomes. Again, like Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, Bolivia is a country with an amazing range of diverse climates... except an ocean climate, and that's a sore point in the countries history! It was nice to be back out of the big cities and we spent the first day (after catching up on some lost sleep) effectively people watching in the main square, watching photographers trying to drum up business when everyone has camera phones and wondering why the old lady next to us on the bench was yelling out 'Edgar!!' When no one was around. Sucre is a university city so ... read more

Suzanne here... I was not looking forward to the flight to Sucre as I was still feeling really ill. I suspect food poisoning, but am not sure enough to point the finger of blame. In any case, before the flight I made sure I was dosed up with loperamide (Imodium) and in possession of sick bags, and luckily managed the short flight without shaming myself. As per usual, we tried to avoid getting a taxi at the airport. Luckily there were minibuses (some were Amazonas branded, but available to everyone) outside arrivals for 8Bs each. After a short journey, and a little bit of a walk, we arrived at Hostal CasaArte Takubamba. Quite backpackerish, but our room was quite nice, the bed was comfortable, and there was hot water. Much as I could have just gone ... read more

Du 9 au 12 avril 2016 Une fois n'est pas coutume, un article rapide sur les quelques jours que nous avons passés à Sucre. Une jolie ville remarquable notamment pour ces nombreuses églises et bâtisses toutes blanches construites par les colons espagnols. Elle est aujourd'hui agréable à vivre et assez jeune. C'est la capitale constitutionnelle du pays, c'est là qu'a été signé le traité d'indépendance de la Bolivie en 1825. On y trouve donc la meilleure université de droit du pays...un cadre magnifique ou nous avons croisé le vice-président de la Bolivie. Nous avons fait un petit déto ur également par le...cimetière ! Ici, les gens viennent très régulièrement fleurir les tombes de leurs proches, nous avons été frappés par le monde qu'il y avait en pleine semaine. La plupart des tombes sont en fait rangées ... read more

"Oh no, not another bigger shithole." Those were the words of Theo as we pulled into well, another bigger shithole. Luckily it wasn't our final destination, Potosi. Well, actually it was. Shit. But it was just the outskirts of one of the highest city in the world, thankfully. I had expected Bolivia to be poor, but not this poor. I hadn't seen this amount of crumbling, incomplete buildings since Egypt. Poverty is always sad to see though and it constantly serves as a reminder of how lucky we in the developed world are. I think my Spanish has improved - and it also helps that Bolivians speak more slowly and clearly. I can actually understand the people here. This became apparent at the bus station we arrived at in Potosi, as I got the lady collecting ... read more

Bolivia takes your breath away, whether you are admiring the wonderful and spectacular scenery of the Altiplano, are walking the heavily polluted streets of the once famous silver mining city of Potosi or are simply hurtling down the most dangerous road in the world on your pushbike. Bolivia has far surpassed my expectations. It really is a country of contrasts, with dry desert conditions in the south and the rainforests of the Amazon to the north. The population is equally interesting, with indigenous ethnic groups and particularly the women dressed in bowler hats and apron style traditional dresses, mixing alongside others dressed in modern European style clothes in the larger cities of La Paz, Cochabamba and Sucre. From San Pedro de Atacama, in Chile we hired a car to take us and our bikes, the 45 ... read more