Sucre

The true capital of Bolivia. This colonial city has a lot of Spanish architectural roots, but the local population has transformed it into something of their own.

We spent five days in Sucre, wandering around the city, cooking for ourselves, and just generally enjoying a relaxed pace, before the adventures fully kick up again. The city is very lively. We are quickly learning that Bolivians love their festivals and dance, and we saw numerous examples in Sucre.

Our first day was a Sunday. In the main square, we watched a bunch of traditional dance groups, with ages ranging from 6-60, perform dances for a crowd that had gathered. I guess this occurs every Sunday. The kids were adorable, the costumes were well designed, and the whole thing was a lot of fun. Afterwards, we attended to a bunch of tents with medical school presentations on addictions. We got lectured in plastic surgery and work addiction, but there were many more options available.

We also witnessed a Halloween parade. We’re not quite sure what is was about. A bunch of elementary school classes with chaperones were all dressed up in themes, like garbage people, plants, and zombies. They all carried political signs, with each class dedicated to a different cause. We think it was a school exercise in protest, but were honestly unsure. It was cool to see though. This was at the tail end of a different main square event, where 15 groups of 20 or so middle aged women all dressed in coloured costume were gathered together. No idea what was going on there.

We cooked a lot or ourselves in Sucre. We found a wonderful clean grocery store, and cooked some tacos, stir fry, and breakfasts for ourselves. We also took a cooking class to make Papa’s Rellenas. That is a whole separate blog of fun!

Perhaps the goofiest thing that we have done all trip was Parque Cretacio. At a limestone quarry just out of town, the limestone company accidently discovered the largest set of fossilized dinosaur footprints in the world. They left it for a few decades, before deciding that area didn’t have any good limestone anymore, and handed it over to paleontologists. There’s a part with a bunch of model dinosaurs beside it too. We took a walk around the park, checked out the footprint wall, and went back to town. The whole thing felt a little absurd, but it was good fun.

Walking through Sucre, you find many beautiful buildings and parks. The downtown core is carefully maintained, and the buildings and sidewalks are all cleaned, with the exteriors are refurnished regularly. This creates a very regal appearance in the city. There is a nice lookout that we went to, to watch over the city. Also watched a bunch of kids play some soccer. Their positivity shines and brightens the area around them.

Sucre, between all of the parades and dancing, and all the kids having fun, makes for a very vibrant and positive city. It seems the whole city is outside walking around at night, hanging out in parks, chatting, socializing with each other. It was a nice environment to exist in for a few days. Its been a lot of chill city for a while now though, and were about to change that! We will see you soon!