The last days of a revolutionary & our trip to South America

Arriving in Sucre, Bolivia's administrative capital, was a breath of fresh air. Mainly because it was only 2750 meters above sea level. We were no longer getting out of breath after walking up a flight of stairs due to lack of oxygen.

The Sucre's main plaza was a pleasant tree lined square ringed with bars and cafes which provided the perfect spots to watch the world go by from the sunny balconies over looking the streets.

Just out of town was a cement factory that had discover a massive fossilized mud bed whist digging for raw materials. This mud bed contained the tracks of over a hundred different dinosaurs, ranging from small chicken like creatures to massive 'saurus monsters. The tracks were so clear you could see herds of dinosaurs walking in lines like modern day elephants.

From Sucre we headed to even lower altitude, the small town of Samaipata, which sits at the point of convergence for three different ecosystems, due to its year round cool climate. The low green hills with small mountains raising up at the horizon reminded me of Wales.

The main reason for coming to this small town was to see the pre-inca ruin called El Fuerte that acted as a temple for thousands of years. The temple was carved on a enormous rock and featured carvings of eagles, snakes and pumas. Today the most prominent features are two parallel lines running along the rock, which some say is a launch pad for UFO's.

We spent much of our time exploring the hills and forests around the town. The thick rich vegetation meant we had to cut our way through with a machete at times but it was the only to see the giant fern trees that have remained unchanged since the time of the dinosaurs.

Tracy had been to Cuba the year before and was interested in visiting the various sites in the area where Che Guevara had been captured and killed by the Bolivian army. Our first stop was Vallegrande where Che Guevara was buried until his body was returned to Cuba. The Cuban government have now built a memorial at the site which was an unmarked grave for many years. Vallegrande is also where the body of Che Guevara was displayed to the world's press by being laid out on a concert sink. The sink is still there and has be covered in graffiti and socialist slogans writing by the visitors from all around the world.

From here we headed out into the hills and villages which should have been the ground zero for a Bolivian revolution but instead lead to the downfall and death of the poster boy revolutionary, Che Guevara.

We stayed in the village of La Higuera before exploring the surrounding country side were Che and his guerilla force were captured. Back in the village we went to the school where Che Guevara was held and executed.

With our time in South America running out we left Samaipata for Santa Cruz, caught the 'death train' to the Brazilian border and then took a bus to Sao Paulo. After a couple of days recovering from this mammoth 56 hour journey from Santa Cruz, and a false start when our flight to London was cancelled and we were put up in a five star hotel overnight, we boarded a plane bound for England.

---

---