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Published: October 16th 2007
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Potosi
Casa de Monedas, old mule drawn coin making device. Since the mines things have not been quite as shocking, but every day is a new adventour in some shape or form. My last full day in Potosi, Hanu and I walked and hiked a little to a skyneedle looking thing on a hill overlooking Potosi, took some pictures and had a beer while checking out the city. Then we went to the Casa de Las Monedas, which is a museum for all of the money making devices that have been used in Potosi for 400 plus years because of the massive silver mine that is the heart of the city´s history. Also they had some native, geological, and artsy things from the area to complete the musuem. Besides waiting for long overdue Chinese food and internet, we did not do much our last day in Potosi. Although I did manage to feel the full effects of the altitude once as I tried to play my didjeridoo for some friends before bed.
The next day four of us took a cab to Sucre and bamm, here I am. Upon arrival was mainly getting settled in to the fabulous hostel that our friends from the hostel in Potosi brought us too.
Tarabuco Man
With his sweet hat. We did hike another good hill to get a good view of the city and a small temple with Christs statue on top. Also made some friends and had sushi, to make it more random it was a pack of gringo girls. Oh well can´t always be on the Spanish bandwagon. Sunday we went to a little town called Tarabuco which had a market. It was very touristy and very different as you watch the different people try to blend together in a mishmash of travelors and people despiratly trying to sell some things. I try to ride the middle, which kind of sucks, because it would be great to help everyone, but in reality this is not an easy thing for one man. But on the other hand it´s hard to ignore your humanity as I have been due to my culture, surroundings, and sheer ignorance.
Give some people some change, and they all want something more. Buy a man some soup, as Hanu brilliantly did, and the manager tried to make him leave until we said that we were treating him. Yet the lines of people walking up to the table trying to sell you bracelets and
Me
With the same sweet hat, who sports it better? purses are never ending. I bought a shirt, lunch, fare to and from the market in a small van ike the locals, and hopefully a piece of my humanity back. I don´t know how I will break out of my shell, but I can feel that it is necessary. I must find a way to give back, besides occasionally giving away coins or food or whatever little random thing that makes sense at the time. My mind is tired with contemplacion yet enthusiastic with prospects of things to come. I just need to find my outlet, any good thoughts are always welcome. I did not expect this journal to come out like this, but sometimes a man must pour forth feelings as events cannot explain everything. It is so frustation to meet good people, to be able to understand what they need, hear words that are worth answering and not be able to respond due to a language gap that as it gets smaller you realize how much bigger it really is. I have not doubts of my vigor though, I just need to find my focus and I can feel it coming.
As the weather has been nicer,
Hanu
At our sweet Hostal in Sucre so are my surroundings comforting and the possibilities for greater things abounding. I need to get outside. So what did I do Tuesday, went to see some Dinosaurs, or tracks and statues. I took a bus with some gringo folk and went to the cement factory on the dino bus. Basically they put you in the back of a funny looking truck that is open air with a roof and wooden rails, then take you to where the tracks were found, which is part dino museum and part cement factory as that is how the tracks where discovered while strip mining the hillside. On the tour my already large group of gringos got larger with the addition of two Dutch girls and so we listened to our guide, looked at the tracks and statues, then decided to get a view of the city. We went to the cafe Mirador, where Hanu and I were the first day, and had fruit smoothies and beer while watching the sunset over the city. In the evening I contiued my Dia de Gringo, and had dinner with the large group at Joyride, which is kind of the happening place in Sucre for food, drink,
Sucre
Another shot of the Hostel and booking day trips. I tried the local dish Pica de Macho, which is a large mixture of french fries, steak, sausage, veggies, cheese and probably some other things, needless to say I was stuffed. We continued the night drinking some Brazilian drinks at the hostel which is basically the type of liquor that I can´t remember with mashed fruit and sugar. We had so much fun that we where told to go elsewhere as we were being to loud, so onward we searched for good club or bar. This was not to be found on a Tuesday night, but we did find a drunken Irishman and a dive bar where we had one more round. I like trying new beers but at this bar I made a mistake, if a beer has a random color in the name that may be a bad thing. I tried the Angel Azul (Blue Angel) thinking it just had a wierd name, no it was beer mixed with some sort of blue soda and it was horrible. We ended the night wandering the city with a friendly stray dog, watching the Irishman be stupid, chashing the dog out of the Dutch girls hostel,
Dino Bus
And the rare gringo is spotted on its way to the dino musuem. finding fried chicken at late hours in the night, and eventually having to wake up the guy who kicked us out of the hostel so we could get in. This is about as good as it gets on a tuesday night in Sucre.
Wednesday we all had lunch at guess where? Joyride again, then basically me and Hanu checked out a Museum with traditional weaving and clothes of the area, it was pretty cool. I did not realize the work that people put into things, especially since a lot of this stuff you can buy on the street for nothing. So I may have to get something of this nature. Checked out a big cathedral and had dinner again with Dutch girls (Celine and Lidy for the record) and got some rest. Why rest, because I had to get up early on Thurday to go Paragliding, woohoo, with Celine and Lidy. It was basically an hour and a half out of Sucre in the mountains. We had a great view, saw some big birds while waiting, and when it was my turn (I was last because I was the heaviest) we caught a nice thermal and I had about
Sucre
The Gringo crew at the lookout point. ten minutes of fly time, where I got some aireal shots, traveled about 35 kmph and got a quick lesson on how it´s done. We landed on a farmers field, which the lady who owned it did not seem that happy to see, and that was basically all besides packing up and having lunch. It´s hard to describe, but definantly worth doing, this was through Joyride so we got a free drink at the end and I said goodbye to my Dutch friends. Went to my hostel, took a nap, packed up my stuff and headed to La Paz. The bus ride to La Paz was long and cold, but luckily I had company so it was not so bad. I left with Catherine my new Canadian friend and we arrived in La Paz at about 7:30 in the morning on Friday, so long Sucre la Linda.
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