Blogs from Chuquisaca Department, Bolivia, South America - page 12

With only two hundred thousand inhibitants the juridical capital of Bolivia and till 1899 was also the governemental capital, but it lost "La guerra civil" against La Paz. In 1825, Bolivian's independence was declared here on the Plaza 25 de Mayo. For me it is the most beautiful city thinking about it's nice colonial architecture, many old buildings, churches and convents (La Paz is more impressive with its extreme location in altitude around 4.000m and surrounded by many six thousand peaks). And, I have to say that Chorizo (sausage) with salad, Sucre's typical food is really delicious ;)... read more

Rant alert! As you can hopefully tell by the tone of our blog we are having a fantastic time. However, I (Steve) feel that I must rant about our bus trip from Uyini to Potosi. We were on the bus in the mountains between the two cities when we stopped in a village and picked up a yokel. As she walked towards us her stale and sour stench filled my nostrils. However I reminded myself that I am a visitor to her country, that there are different social norms and acceptable levels of hygiene, this is Bolivia, this is what I came to see, hear and smell. I reminded myself of all this again as she sat in the seat behind me. However there is a line and what the Queen of the Great Unwashed did ... read more

My first stop after leaving Santa Cruz was Bolivia’s third city, Cochabamba. The bus ride from Santa Cruz has to rate as one of the worst ever, just because the bus was so ridiculously hot and cramped. The road itself was surprisingly good. If I hadn’t just had 2 night buses in a row, I would have probably only stayed in Cochabamba for 1 day and then left in the evening, but a third consecutive night bus was not that appealing. And I did manage to fill up my two days in Cochabamba without too much difficulty. The city is situated in the Andes, at a mere 2800m above sea level (not high at all for Bolivian standards), so it was much cooler than stifling Santa Cruz. Probably the most famous attraction in the city is ... read more

Due to a roadblock between Sucre and Potosi, I ended up spending four nights in Sucre, and it´s without a doubt the jewel of Bolivia. It´s wealthier, warmer. and cleaner than other places in Bolivia and its colonial architecture is beautiful. If you´re planning on taking Spanish classes or volunteering somewhere, this is the perfect place to spend two weeks. The Casa de la Libertad is a must-see. It´s right in the main square (Plaza 25 de Mayo) and it´s only 15 BS, including a free tour in English. The artifacts are impressive, particularly for such a small place -- it has the first flag of Argentina, Bolivia´s declaration of independence, the bloody sleeve of Sucre from where he was shot in the arm, a painting of the king of Spain and his wife that the ... read more

Tarija is good entry point for visiting Bolivia if you’ve spent an extended period in Chile and Argentina beforehand. It’s unassuming, unknown, devoid of tourists, not too high, not too hot, not too big and not too different. Many Argentinians we spoke to about visiting Bolivia recounted with horror how they were forced to eat Chicken DAILY whilst there. However in Tarija they have cows, and furthermore “The Andalusia of Bolivia” is also the wine producing capital of the country, so we didn’t have to go cold turkey at all. Tarjia has more of a “white” population than that of the more popularly visited mountainous regions. It is one of the wealthiest regions of Bolivia mainly because it is sitting on large deposits of oil. We spent a month there living out of a charming family ... read more