Blogs from Sucre, Chuquisaca Department, Bolivia, South America - page 19

Etter noen kalde dager i Salar de Uyuni var det deilig aa komme til Sucre. Vi hadde egentlig tenkt oss innom gruvebyen Potosi paa veien, men det er blitt omlegging i planene og vi proever aa spare inn tid. Sucre ligger hoeyt, men har et betydelig bedre klima saa det var bare aa finne frem shortsen. Sucre er en betydningsfull by i Bolivias historie, det var her de erklaerte seg uavhengige og loesrev seg fra Spania i 1825. Saa det blir paa en maate Bolivias svar paa Eidsvoll da kanskje... Vi spanderte paa oss litt komfort i hverdagen, og tok inn paa et straalende hotell i en gammel kollonialbygning. Greit aa slaa paa stortrommen naar det bare koster 200 kr natten. Siden vi hadde et flott hotell ville vi gjerne benytte mest mulig tid paa hotellet. ... read more

Bolivian politics. Best visualised by a game of rugby/gridiron. One side is given the ball, and run where they want to with it. The rest of the field is in a state of carnage. * three distinct regions, with three distinct languages (plus Spanish) * overlaid with the legacy of a colonial hierarchical privilege and race driven structure * carefully placed natural resources (incl. natural gas en masse) sitting under some of the population - as it happens the wealthier group * add the first ethnic president (ever) pushing for change, combined with his anti-US tendencies regardless of pragmatism. And now you have a crude appreciation for some of the complexities exploding in this, the poorest Latin American country. So as we entered Bolivia via the remote back blocks of the spectacular Uyuni salars, we were ... read more

Well, it's been quite a while since I last blogged, so heres the latest installment. I last wrote as we boarded the bus from Rosario to Cordoba in Argentina. Here goes: Monday 07th July Chilled in Cordoba. Bought Steak from supermarket for tea. It was AR$9 (1.50 quid) and would have fed about four of us! It was fab! Tuesday 08th July Did Cordoba's sights. There's lots of nice buildings, but we've seen loads of nice buildings already! We saw the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de la Mercad, Cabildo Iglesia Catedral, Iglesia de la Compañia de Jesus, Iglesia de Snta Teresa y Convento de Carmelitos Descalaz de San Jose, Museo de Arte Religioso Juand de Tejeda, Plaza Velez Sarsfield, and the Plaza de la Independencia where the Falklands Memorial is. Wednesday 09th July Argentine Independance Day! ... read more

Sometimes the linguistic barrier can be broken down by the simple expedient of using the language of love, as perfectly demonstrated by the taxi driver who took me to Potosi bus station to catch the next service to Sucre. He asked me where I was from then mimed sexual intercourse when I said I was English, then made further shagging motions when I said that I liked Bolivia, and once again when I said I had met lots of Americans in South America. I was unsure if he was implying that he had been there done that or questioning whether I had. The trip to Sucre was as boring as any journey on a paved road can be, and I emerged from the bus into a city so different to Uyuni and Potosi that it was ... read more

Jake: Sucre was, as it turned out, a lovely city. Only as much brown as the other colours of the spectrum, as many taxis as people that actually wanted to ride in them and as many town squares with actual living trees and plants as the austre blocks betwixt them. In the pages of our much loved, worn and beaten ´lonely planet´ we found a review of the ´joyride cafe´, a self confessed ´gringoified´ cafe beside the main square and it was there that we came to spend a good deal of our time. It was cosy, pretty, friendly and most importantly cheap, which is a good thing because we still had next to no money due to the palava with our card. I will say again and I´m sure it wont be for the last ... read more