Advertisement
Published: April 4th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Bolivia is a country that is continually exceeding my expectations. After experiencing Bolivia´s stunning natrual scenery in Tupiza and Uyuni we moved on to explore some of the more cultural aspects of Bolivia by visiting two of its important colonial cities, Potosi and Sucre. Visiting these places took us a little further from the "gringo trail" we had encountered in Uyuni and gave more chance to engage with the locals (see my social comment at the end!).
Potosi
During the 16th century, Potosi was the biggest city in the Americas, and far bigger than London or Paris. This was mostly due to the large Cerro Rico towering over the city which is a rich source of minerals, in particular silver. The Spanish realised the potential for mining and Potosi grew as a result. I was worried that Potosi might therefore be an ugly industrial town but my fears were quickly put to rest as it emerged as a lovely colonial city with an impressive mountain backdrop. Potosi is the highest city in the world (at an altitude of over 4,000m above sea level) and so we had to take it easy as climbing the stairs in our hotel was
sometimes a respiratory challenge.
Despite the altitude (and a spot of a stomach bug for me) we spent a few days enjoying Potosi's sights. This included a visit to the Casa de la Moneda, where most of the world's currencies were once minted. The tour was a bit long, but gave a good idea of the importance that Potosi once held. We also popped into a few churches and climbed a tower with great views over the city.
The best part of our visit to Potosi though lay in another mountain climb. Some visitors to Potosi opt to go on guided visits of the co-operative mines in Cerro Rico. Neither of us particularly fancied the prospect of crawling into a mineshaft where working conditions are apparently Victorian, and so we decided to climb to the top of the outside of the mountain instead (we just can't resist these high summits!) to a dizzying altitude of 4,840m. The hike up Cerro Rico is relatively simple, you can walk from the centre of the city - just aim for the mountain and head up its left-hand side. The main dificulties are the altitude and the last 200 metres or so
which involve scrambling over loose scree. However, the views from the top are spectacular and it is well worth the couple of hours struggling. I like to think that we still experienced some aspects of the mines (we passed lots of miners on our way up and saw abandonded mine shafts near the top), but not many people make the summit and they are really missing out on a great experience.
Sucre
We had a very enjoyable few days exploring Bolivia's historic capital city (actually, it shares its capital city status with La Paz). Sucre is home to some wonderful colonial architecture as well as some great restaurants and bars. Our cultural hits came from various sources, including the well-laid out museum on the main square - the Casa de la Libertad, which gave a good background to the development of Bolivia as an independent nation. We also visited the museum of local textiles which turned out to be surprisingly interesting. The designs woven are so intricate and tell important stories which makes them into so much more than simple "pretty patterns".
A lot of our time in Sucre was spent enjoying good food and drinks (especially
as it was Barry´s birthday). Some particular highlights included: the Cafe Mirador, with great smoothies, deckchairs and wonderful views over the city; the Joy Ride Cafe with cocktails to blow your socks off as well as good food and good music; El Germen for healthy good-value set lunch; La Posada for a gorgeous 3-course set lunch and finally (and probably best of all) La Taverna, the restaurant of the Alliance Francais Institute. We went there for Barry´s birthday dinner and enjoyed some of the best steak we have had in South America with great Bolivian wines.
Now, I am no Karl Marx, but....
And now I come to the more challenging aspect of travelling in Bolivia, which may seem especially incongruous after a run-down of the best places to eat in Sucre. But it is not possible to travel here without witnesssing grinding poverty and I think it needs a mention in my blog even if I cannot quite put my feelings into words. This really hit home when we were sitting in the Joy Ride Cafe in Sucre, enjoying a substantial meal with a good bottle of wine and were confronted by a woman pulling along an
8 year-old child behind her who handed us a small postcard and a piece of paper on which was written:
Hello, excuse me. I am deaf and dumb and selling these cards to be able to help my daughter. Plesae help me with 1 Boliviano. Many thanks and may God bless you
(my translation from her Spanish)
One Boliviano equates to six and a half British pence. Nothing brings you back to reality quite like that. I know that people are hungry and struggling in many parts of the world, but sometimes it takes a personal encounter to really remind me. On other occassions in Sucre we also had a chance to chat with the local kids who work on the street as shoe-shiners or selling chewing gum and sweets. Desite their young age and lack of full-time schooling some of these kids were more intelligent and savvy than I would ever have expected. Indeed they had picked up a few different languages and one boy Mario had learnt the heart-rending phrase in English: "buy me food".
I think I should leave it there for now before I become the new Che Guevara...
Advertisement
Tot: 0.097s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 9; qc: 28; dbt: 0.0492s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
barrygahan
Barry
Strong cocktails...
They may have blown your socks off but I felt fine!