Potosi - Sucre - Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Howdy everyone!!!

I made it into Santa Cruz this morning! And I discovered exactly what lonely planet said...this city is the most Brazilian city I have encountered so far!!! Aaaaaah, I miss Brazil sooo much. I have met so many Brazilians ....but each time when I am trying to talk to them, I find myself tongue tied....since I am getting myself accostumed to speaking Spanish.. I find myself speaking a mix of both, they are just like...huh?? well, I still really prefer Portugese and love Brazil...anyways.......

So basically, I left Potosi the day after the update, and arrived in Sucre yesterday and the same afternoon I took off for Santa Cruz.

I have to say that I wasn´t really impressed with Potosi... nothing against it, the only thing unique about it is that it is the highest city in the world (4060 m). Though I found Sucre much more entertaining!!

Sucre is a city ..... where you almost can´t walk around without a pair of good sunglasses! Everything in the city is white!!!! Pretty much all the buildings in the city is white, the school uniform for elementary/highschool is white, people like to dress themselves in white!! Other than the vast whiteness, not to be overlooked is the majestic colonial structures. I think that I prefer Sucre to La Paz as Bolivia´s capital really.

As for Santa Cruz, I just got in here today like I said. Really glad that I am finally reunited with one of my Korean friends, Son. A little interesting story for some of you... here goes:

I arrived in Santa Cruz earlier this morning around 6, didn´t really have any thing ($) on me, so I opted to walk from the bus station to the hostel (almost 1 km). While I was happily trotting down the street, I was met with a very friendly stranger, who commented on my cloth (it said "eu sou brasileiro"..a gift from a Brazilian guy I met on the Machu Picchu trail), and said that he had just came back from Brazil...travelling.

So we talked for a few minutes, walking, before long we were confronted by a "civil police"..dressed in plain cloth, insisting to check both myself and my new "friend" for fake dollars/money and/or drug...he kept on saying that this is normal for tourists. I found it a little fishy, something I read a while ago in the lonely planet came to my mind.... that real police here only dress in uniforms... well, they insisted on taking me to the police station, with a taxi that is! That made me even more suspicous. I got on the taxi anyhow. The "civil police" then wanted to see my ID and my money and check my bag even. My new "friend" complied without question and was encourging me to do what I was asked..showing him my ID/wallet for traces of fake dollars and drugs. Before long even the taxi driver started vouching for the "civil police".
My good conscious came to me and I insisted on going to the police office and THEN show them what they wanted. The "civil police" even made a few calls with a badge number - making it seem rather real.

After a few minutes of arguing, they finally gave up and was starting to drive me to the police station, at a street corner I saw two policemen in uniform, and I said "here! here!!", they drove on for another block or so, and said to me..here is the office, let´s go inside.

Then as soon as I got off the cab, they drove off!!!!!!!!

What a little experience I had, well, I guess they ended up getting the shorter end of the deal...I mean I kind of "bummed" a ride off of them...rsrs

At any rate, I am all good here in Santa Cruz.
I am very glad to be here...the weather is more friendly here..nice and warm with a little breeze.
Really reminds of me Brazil.........

Either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, I am heading to Vallegrande and then La Higuera for the Che Guevara festival! Really psyched!!!!!!!!

Until next blog (maybe when I am in Argentina or after I got back into Santa Cruz from the festivals!)

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