Sucre had never really been on our itinerary but after hearing so many rave reviews of the place from other travellers we thought we would check it out on our way to Uyani and the Salt Lakes. You can’t really pass over a city with four names (Sucre, La Plata, Characas, and Chuquisaca) quickly so we spend quite a bit of time here. We ended up staying a week enjoying the warm weather, change of pace, being able to cook for ourselves, hot chocolates and exploring the beautiful museums and churches that the city is famous for. Most of the inner city of Sucre is a UNESCO cultural heritage sight and the architecture is pretty impressive. Sucre was founded by the Spaniards in the 16th century with lots of Spanish colonial influence in the grand buildings and churches. The white wash walls typical of the historical buildings are very clean and we saw more than one building being repainted to keep the effect. I would assume with it being a cultural heritage site there would be some pretty strict criteria around this though. The city is also very important as it is where the freedom movement for Latin America began and continues to be of significance to Bolivia today as the constitutional capital.
After our bone-shaking bus ride from hell we arrived at our hostel, Travellers Guesthouse, and crashed out for the morning. Small, spotty blood stains on the bed sheets were pretty gross and is also a classic sign for bed bugs so we moved all our luggage away from the beds. We have both experienced bed bugs before and it is not pleasant. Having already payed for our room and being very tired we wrapped up in our silk liners and lay on top of the beds hoping to be protected. Luckily we didn’t seem to come away with any bites but there was no way we were going to stay here long.
After a quick nap we met up with the German/Indian couple we had met on our pampas tour. Jake and I enjoyed a freshly squeezed juice at the market and looked on enviously at our friend’s fruit salad. We would definitely be back here later for breakfast fruit salads and juices.
Enjoying the mild climate we spent the morning walking downtown to Sucre’s general cemetery. Seeing as it was Sunday the place was busy with lots of people selling gorgeous, bright flowers. The front part of the cemetery is quite amazing with large shrines, sculptures and grand mausoleums housing some wealthy people. Never really thought of a cemetery as somewhere to check out in a city but in Sucre, on a Sunday, when the place comes to life with massive displays of flowers, relatives paying their respects, students studying and other people strolling through, it is worth a visit.
After a quick nap we met up with the German/Indian couple we had met on our pampas tour. Jake and I enjoyed a freshly squeezed juice at the market and looked on enviously at our friend’s fruit salad. We would definitely be back here later for breakfast fruit salads and juices.
Enjoying the mild climate we spent the morning walking downtown to Sucre’s general cemetery. Seeing as it was Sunday the place was busy with lots of people selling gorgeous, bright flowers. The front part of the cemetery is quite amazing with large shrines, sculptures and grand mausoleums housing some wealthy people. Never really thought of a cemetery as somewhere to check out in a city but in Sucre, on a Sunday, when the place comes to life with massive displays of flowers, relatives paying their respects, students studying and other people strolling through, it is worth a visit.
That night we took advantage of the 2-for-1 deserts at Joyride although the cakes felt like they had been sitting in water they were so moist. We also enjoyed the happy hour beers and celebrated Brazils win over Spain in the federation cup with the rest of the bar. It was an exciting match and our second game for the day (the most I have watched in one day) after also earlier watching the final nail-biting moments of the Italy and Uruguay game (go Italy!).
Over the next few days in Sucre we enjoyed some good food (finally!), coffee, chocolate and checking out the sights of Sucre. We booked into one of the nicest places we have stayed in South America, La Dulce Vita and amazingly it was super cheap (especially by Sucrean standards which can be a bit pricier for accommodation). A lovely Swiss family runs the place and as well as a pleasant courtyard, massive lounge area and well equipped kitchen for our use, the bedrooms are themed and decorated to a particular region of Bolivia. We had Beni which is the region where we had spent the previous week. La Dulce offered us a bit of indulgence and was definitely what we needed after a week in the jungle.
Over the next few days in Sucre we enjoyed some good food (finally!), coffee, chocolate and checking out the sights of Sucre. We booked into one of the nicest places we have stayed in South America, La Dulce Vita and amazingly it was super cheap (especially by Sucrean standards which can be a bit pricier for accommodation). A lovely Swiss family runs the place and as well as a pleasant courtyard, massive lounge area and well equipped kitchen for our use, the bedrooms are themed and decorated to a particular region of Bolivia. We had Beni which is the region where we had spent the previous week. La Dulce offered us a bit of indulgence and was definitely what we needed after a week in the jungle.
Our lovely host, Jacqui, pulled out a map and circled all the must see’s in Sucre as well as adding in a few of her own. As we hadn’t really though much about what we were going to do in Sucre it was good having the map to lead our way through some of the historical and cultural sites of the city. It’s a pity there is no walking tours here like there have been in some of the other places we have been although you can pay quite a bit of money to do a private tour by car. The first stop for us was the Ethnographic Art Museum which although small (and free!) was probably one of the museums we enjoyed the most. It has a dark hall full of masks used in celebrations and rituals from tribes from all the regions in Bolivia. Some were very elaborate and others very basic but each region seemed to have somewhat of a common theme and between the regions the themes and masks were very different. Although no cameras were allowed Jake managed to take some sneaky photos on the phone.
Inside San Felipe From 3- 6pm people may visit the San Felipe Neri Convent where you can get out onto the roof top for a spectacular outlook of the city of Sucre. It’s a bit tricky to find the right door and you do need to knock to be let in but it’s worth it. Inside school girls were hanging out after their daily lessons and a few nuns were walking around the large courtyard. We spent a good hour checking out the church, courtyard and rooftop, taking in the last moments of sunshine for the day, enjoying the views over the rest of Sucre and messing about with our camera.
The one chore we had in Sucre was to try and extend our Bolivian tourist visa as our 30 days were fast nearing an end. We only needed a few extra days so we didn’t risk being over-stayers and having to pay a fine at the border. Of course we forgot that almost everywhere in Sucre has a siesta, closing from 12-2.30pm to spend with family as lunch is the main meal of the day. So instead we climbed up to a great mirador over Sucre. We spend a few hours nibbling and drinking at the café located there appreciating the wider views of the city and beyond. It is also popular for tourists coming up to practise their Spanish lessons (maybe also because it’s one of the few places open over the lunch siesta). Sucre is the place to be
in Bolivia to learn Spanish with many different schools offering cheap lessons. It’s the perfect city for studying because of its relaxed atmosphere and student vibe (it is a university city). If we had more time then I would have liked to have
started here and taken a few weeks of lessons before travelling.
in Bolivia to learn Spanish with many different schools offering cheap lessons. It’s the perfect city for studying because of its relaxed atmosphere and student vibe (it is a university city). If we had more time then I would have liked to have
started here and taken a few weeks of lessons before travelling.
Once the siesta was over we checked out La Recoleta, a convent and museum near the viewpoint. After handing over a few bolivianos a lady attended to us to guide us through in spanish. It was nice to be given a guide and she did speak super slow but even then I was only getting half of what she was saying. The convent was quiet, the gardens were pretty and the coin collection was pretty interesting to checkout. However, Jake and I are not the biggest fans of gruesome artworks and sculptures of Jesus dying on the cross so we hurried the tour along pretty quickly.
After Sucre we plan on heading to Potosi for a night to check out the mines in the mountainside. The Joyride café actually has South American movies showing every night for a small fee and one movie advertised was about the Potosi mines. Our hostel also had a copy of The Devils Miner so we decided to watch it in the comforts of the hostel lounge. It is about a 14 year old boy working in the mine with his 12 year old brother in order to provide for his family. The Devils Miner is a pretty intense movie and has me questioning whether I will actually join Jake on the tour of the mine when we get to Potosi. It is quite thought provoking and sad and I definitely recommend people watch it if you are visiting Potosi.
A visit to Sucre isn’t really complete without checking out Casa de la Libertad where the Bolivian declaration of independence was signed in 1825. We weren't able to take any photos here because it was quite busy so there were a few guards roaming around and we hadn't paid the extra for the privilege of taking photos. Casa de la Libertad now houses a replica of the declaration as well as a massive wooden head of Simon Boliviar, who was instrumental in the freedom movement in South America and is who Bolivia is named after. It also has plenty of portraits of past presidents and people of political significance as well as some small scale strategic war maps however there is not really much else to this museum apart from being a pretty building. Or maybe Jake and I had just seen one to many museums and churches this week. After four days of relaxing it was time to do something a bit more exciting and adventurous. Although Sucre is a lovely place to chill out it also offers a lot of activities in the surrounding countryside for those wanting a bit of a thrill from climbing, trekking and biking to horseback riding, quad-bikes and paragliding. Jake was keen on quadding so we booked in for a tour for the next day to get our adrenaline pumping again.
Next time: Bolivian belly and quadding