Blogs from Sucre, Chuquisaca Department, Bolivia, South America - page 12

Due to a roadblock between Sucre and Potosi, I ended up spending four nights in Sucre, and it´s without a doubt the jewel of Bolivia. It´s wealthier, warmer. and cleaner than other places in Bolivia and its colonial architecture is beautiful. If you´re planning on taking Spanish classes or volunteering somewhere, this is the perfect place to spend two weeks. The Casa de la Libertad is a must-see. It´s right in the main square (Plaza 25 de Mayo) and it´s only 15 BS, including a free tour in English. The artifacts are impressive, particularly for such a small place -- it has the first flag of Argentina, Bolivia´s declaration of independence, the bloody sleeve of Sucre from where he was shot in the arm, a painting of the king of Spain and his wife that the ... read more

Tarija is good entry point for visiting Bolivia if you’ve spent an extended period in Chile and Argentina beforehand. It’s unassuming, unknown, devoid of tourists, not too high, not too hot, not too big and not too different. Many Argentinians we spoke to about visiting Bolivia recounted with horror how they were forced to eat Chicken DAILY whilst there. However in Tarija they have cows, and furthermore “The Andalusia of Bolivia” is also the wine producing capital of the country, so we didn’t have to go cold turkey at all. Tarjia has more of a “white” population than that of the more popularly visited mountainous regions. It is one of the wealthiest regions of Bolivia mainly because it is sitting on large deposits of oil. We spent a month there living out of a charming family ... read more

2 months later and im preparing myself to depart Sucre. This beautiful city is the old capital of Bolivia, and remains the constitutional capital. This means that it remains a centre of colonial architecture with white buildings, beautiful churches, a beautiful central plaza and a grid ike layout in the central old city. It is in the central-south part of the country and has a beautiful warm climate whch suits me fine. No more hot sweatiness like in Santa Cruz, and not freezing like Potosi. It also feels amazingly safe, its like a little bubble- I really couldnt have picked anywhere better to stick around for the past coupe of months... I will literally cry on the bus this evening! Having finished work on Friday I have had a few days to just chill out and ... read more

Op onze tweede en laatste dag op de zoutvlakte zijn we op zoek gegaan naar het Zouthotel. Zoals de naam al zegt een hotel gemaakt van zout. Hoewel we een idee hadden waar het hotel zich ongeveer bevond, was het nog een hele klus om het te vinden. We zijn meerdere keren mbv het kompas in een zo recht mogelijke lijn in een bepaalde richting gereden. Maar elke keer zonder succes. Na ruim een uur zoeken, kwamen we eindelijk een andere auto tegen. De gids in die auto heeft ons toen de juiste kant opgestuurd waarna we het hotel eindelijk hebben kunnen vinden. Helaas bleek het hotel niet heel spannend. Vervolgens hebben we in het eerst volgende plaatsje, Uyuni, afscheid genomen van Bas en Jura en hebben we nog dezelfde avond voor 5 euro pp een ... read more

viernes, 14 de mayo Time to leave Potosi, its one tourist attraction well and truly exploited (just like the mountain). Before that however time to enjoy children dressed up in their best suits (or Dad´s in some cases) marching through the streets in honour of some bicentenary or other. One little kid tried to rob Jasper under the pretense of an interest in his home currency. He failed, the little sh*t. The bus we caught (still 9 of us in tow) was not the luxury we had become accustomed to in South America but a local one. The body of it was way too high for the wheels. Old ladies could not get on. At least not without crawling on their knees first. It was even more difficult for them outside the bus station where many ... read more