Sucre—Here we go again!

July 28, 2009

Despite consuming a copious amount of alcohol the night before, we got to bed at a reasonable hour and intended to have a full day on Tuesday. However, those plans came to a quick halt as we dealt with the hotel’s finicky shower. (You must turn the knob as slow as possible for it to trigger the hot water, then listen for the humming in the wall, to know that it worked.)

We ended up accomplishing everything, making a convoluted trip to the bus station (our guidebook instructed us to hop on a bus, and for a good reason—their maps were totally useless!), then catching the Dino Wagon, just as it was pulling away from the curb.

The first attraction of the day—dinosaur footprints at the Cal Orck’o Parque Cretacico. Apparently, they were big, we weren’t allowed within 2,000 meters of them, but we did get some photos. Rather unimpressive from this angle, they measure over 1,000 meters in either direction. Yes, people are just a speck within them.

We lunched on pasta at the Bibliocafe then went to visit the Iglesia La Merced. Charging a hefty 10 bolivianos to enter, the church had a beautiful rooftop terrace, and an interesting altar featuring syncretism. We were first made aware of this phenomenon at the Pajcha in Salta. The indigenous people who were conscripted with the construction of churches often incorporated their own traditional beliefs in the buildings, much to the dismay of the Catholic church. Pregnant angels (symbols of fertility), hearty crops, and sacred animals are particularly prevalent in the north of Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru.

After soaking up some rooftop sun, we headed to an internet cafe for a bit of research, then did a bit of shopping. I found a fabulous handmade alpaca sweater for my dad.

We had some wine in the plaza and then headed to dinner. The restaurant we were looking for wasn’t there, so we opted for the equally touristy-looking joint in its place. The only vegetarian option was a “Mexican lasagna” which was only Mexican in its use of tortillas in place of pasta. However, it was tasty with eggplant and goat cheese. Once again, we called an early night for the sake of our early morning.

Sucre—Day 1

July 27, 2009

We arrived bright and early Monday morning and set out for breakfast. We found the tourist-oriented Joy Ride Cafe, which offered some eggs-and-toast American options, but I opted for the Bolivian sampler plate. There was a great cheese empanada, a ground beef empanada (oops!), a mil hojas cake (similar to those in Argentina but with a lot more cake and less dulce de leche), and a rock hard roll that was salty with cheese. And coffee and juice.

It was a ton of food, I would have been good with just the first empanada, but it was fun. Fortified, we hiked up to the mirador and Iglesia and Museo de Recoleta.

The view was great, but even more interesting was the central plaza filled with foosball tables. It seemed they were setting up a fair/carnival and these tables were first out.

The museum visit came with a guided tour, which was nice, and featured the property’s 1,500-year-old massive cedar tree.

Next up, gluttons for catholic relics, we visited the Cathedral and Museo Cartedralico. The museum was interesting, featuring an incredible quantity of silver and jewels, but filled me with some typical catholic-style guilt in having paid a church $20 bolivianos ($3.30) to see their riches, as people slaved outside for just one single boliviano to buy a bit of food.

We lunched on burritos at Locot’s (I tried to order a traditional fried egg and potato dish with peanut sauce, but they were all out). The burritos were delicious, though unconventionally shaped.

In the afternoon, we visited the Museo de Arte Indigena (Textile Museum), part of a fabulous anthropological project aimed at revitalizing the art of weaving in indigenous groups in Bolivia. Lead by scientists, the weavers were educated in the more sophisticated weaving techniques employed by their ancestors while encouraged to create new works using their own personal experiences and interpretations of beauty.

Then, we returned to Joy Ride for cerveza. At 7 they were showing the film, “The Devil’s Miner,” a film about the silver mines in Potosí—which is where we were headed next! We figured the film would give us a great for our Wednesday visit.

However, during the film, we downed 2 more pitchers of beer and were in no shape to go anywhere else for dinner. I enjoyed a delicious Joy Ride Salad (yes, even after two pitchers, I was trying to watch my pizza and burrito-bloated figure), which was an enormous mound of lettuce, carrots, radish, bell peppers, croutons, and cheese topped with a honey mustard dressing. Did I mention we’ve been eating well?