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Published: June 13th 2006
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Es mi cumpleaños hoy!
Laura clings onto her youth whilst playing on the tree swing on her 25th birthday. First of all, THANK YOU to all of you lovely people who got in touch to say Happy Birthday to me on the 7th. Tom promised me a 3 day birthday celebration (possibly because our English pounds go three times as far here) so here´s what we got up to.
Tuesday, 6 June After a very bumpy overnight bus journey we descended into Bolivia´s official capital city, Sucre. At a lower altitude than La Paz, we noticed the warmer climate as soon as we stepped off the bus and eager to soak up the sun began peeling off the layers. After T gave me orders to choose a hotel out of the "Expensive" list, I of course plumped for a four star hotel with a great view from our bedroom window and a pool, which we swiftly planted ourselves next to for most of the day. Ahhhhh... We did manage to drag ourselves out of the hotel to check out Sucre´s perfectly painted architecture such as the Supreme Court, the mock "Arc de Triumphe" and of course the Cathedral. The streets seem to be perfectly paved here and the roads lack their usual potholes - ideal for the
well-heeled Solicitors and Government officials who earn their crust in this pretty town. Worth a mention is the Joy Ride café, visited by many a gringo for two very good reasons; the massive and interesting salads washed thoroughly in safe water and the Pique Macho dish - an earth´s crust of chips loaded with steak, chorizo sausage, chicken, boiled eggs and capped with molten lava, red chilli peppers. Of course Tommy enjoyed his non-carne salad!
Wednesday, 7 June Es mi cumpleaños hoy! was the sound that rang out from suite no. 26 at 9 am. I think its still important to be excited about your birthday - even when you get to the age of 25. After opening a card and pressies from Abi and Nell (THANK YOU), Tom let me in on the secret of the day´s activity. We were going to be whisked away to La Hacienda de Siete Cascadas, a countryside retreat close to Sucre and near to 7 waterfalls (hence the name). When we arrived, we realised that the only people inhabiting the 10 bedroom Hacienda would be us, the cook, Delia our own personal maid, Carlos the gardener and a kitten called
Mocachina! In between checking out the chilly pool, relaxing in the hammocks and having a go on the kids swing and monkey bars, we were treated to pre-lunch cerveza and snacks, a 3-course lunch including a full breaded salmon, afternoon tea with homemade cakes (still warm) and of course a birthday dinner. Stuffed! Tom also managed to make the occasion just that little bit extra special by opening the bottle of champagne that he had been carrying with him since we left England, 7 weeks ago. Brownie points well deserved I think!
Thursday, 8 June After the previous couple of days rest, it was time to get active. First thing in the morning, Carlos guided us on the two-hour trek to see the nearby waterfalls. As he led us along the dried up river bed, we got the impression that the falls would probably be mere trickles. Indeed, in the dry season the falls aren't impressive but they do leave beautiful, blue rock pools. We also enjoyed the challenge of reaching falls 5 to 7, which require a bit of rock climbing expertise or the help of Carlos, who was prepared for us to use his knees
when we couldn´t get a foothold in the rock face. Rookie! After saying our goodbyes, we were transported back to Sucre in time to catch the Dino Truck. In explanation, Sucre is now famed for having the world´s largest collection of Dinosaur footprints, discovered by a local cement company when they were chipping away at a rock-face. Thankfully, the company realised the significance of the prints and now allow paleontologists and organised tours like The Dino Truck, to come into the site to take a look. Our guide explained that before the disruption of the tectonic plates of South America and Nazca, the rock-face in front of us would have been the muddy shores of a lake at the foot of a volcano. When the volcano erupted, fallen ash landed on the surface, creating a protective crust over the footprints. We were even allowed to walk up to the wall and compare the size of our handprints with the foot of a bi-pedal carnivore like a T-Rex. A fascinating end to the 3-day celebrations.
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