Advertisement
Published: August 5th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Bell tower
Museo-Convento Santa Clara 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 a stretch to believe that all 3 were in the same country. Apart from its size, Sucre had significantly more signs of affluence, with suited businessmen not an uncommon sight as well as a number of beggars. There was plenty of colonial architecture to attract the eye, with a church seemingly every other block. The climate at this lower altitude consisted of T-shirted days
Palm shadow
Iglesia La Merced and 1-blanket nights.
Sucre was the capital of Bolivia under Spanish rule and is still officially the constitutional capital, though it's a hollow honour as La Paz has superseded the city as the political and economic centre of the country. There is a great deal of pride in Sucre's heritage, and building regulations have meant the heart of the city has been largely untouched by developers. The numerous benches of the central plaza were occupied by a cross-section of the population, enjoying the spring-like climate. Though shoe-shine boys usually descended on me within seconds of taking a seat, I also met a local musician, a member of the Quechua tribe that's dominant in this part of the country, who wanted to practice his English. We took a couple of walks around the city, both improving our Spanglish as we went.
I did nothing in Sucre except potter around. My favourite place was Plaza Pedro de Anzunes, reached via an uphill hike and lined on one side by a colonnade providing panoramic views over the city. At dusk, it was possible to watch the sun's light gradually leached out of the air and replaced by that of a million
electric bulbs and, eventually, stars.
Like in Potosi, there was a tangible influence from various outside countries. I saw a bus that had originally belonged to an Okinawan swimming club, and one of the local schools had German backing to the extent that the students were all kitted out in what appeared to be the German national football team's tracksuit tops.
Foodwise, Sucre is known for its saltenas, empanada derivatives but with a spicy kick to them, however I was more taken by a Chinese restaurant that I chanced upon, where I had the best wonton soup I've ever been served. This was all the more surprising in that every other punter in the place was eating fried chicken and chips (the Bolivian national dish, going by the number of restaurants that specialise in it). Another oddity I encountered was that plates of chips were served as a veritable hedgehog of toothpicks, as though neither a fork nor just one toothpick would suffice as a tool with which to consume the food.
I've heard so much 80s and Italo Disco music in different parts of the world over the last 3 years that I've had to think
again about my initial view that both genres had fallen from grace globally. In fact, I think it's the UK and the US that have a level of musical snobbery that means 80s and Italo have only a niche status and, as those countries are where I've spent most of the last 15 years, I'd been brainwashed into thinking that that was the status they deserved to have (and hence my music collection generated much embarrassment). The sad times we live in. In Bolivia I've also seen more Rubik's cubes than I'd set eyes on for 2 decades. Bolivia may well be the poorest country in South America, but culturally it's preserving some of the richest offerings that human history has produced.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.061s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 9; qc: 23; dbt: 0.0418s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Ralph
non-member comment
Sucre
Love your photos - glad to see Sucre is in a better shape then when we were last there and we were caught in a full scale riot!!