Sucre Bolivia

I leave Uryni a little later the day I arrived there and decide to head to Sucre; the capital city of Bolivia... though Bolivia has two... La Paz being the other!

The sun is setting as I wait for my bus... and what a far cry from the Argentinian buses the Bolivian buses are; whilst the roads... well; are just dirt tracks! Given I am now about to endure a 12 hour journey on a battered bus on rough roads! The seats do recline a little; but mine fails to; or does just a few degrees; whilst I am sat next to the window; that shudders open over the rough terrain; its dark and rather dusty outside! I manage to pull the curtains every so often; along with shutting the window; in particular to save my lungs; but also that of a bundle of a Bolivian baby boy that I have on my lap!

To rewind a little; when I booked my ticket; I had the last seat but one on this bus; the last seat was to be the one next to me. On embarking at Uryni; I notice a few more people are on the bus than there are seats! Most of whom have stopped at the aisle at the front end; but a lady with a baby on her back, and her little girl came towards the back and she sat down next to me. She carefully brought the baby to her lap, whilst the little girl stood beside her. At this point, I also notice I am the only gringo on the bus; others seem to be locals or are at least of south american origin; as I am the only white westener on the bus! I am also aware; we are on a 12hour bus journey in an overcapacitised bus... if that's a word! It wasn't necessarily overcrowded; but a few did not have seats, including the little girl. So, I offered to carry the baby for the lady and the little girl could sit on her mother's lap!

He must have been 8-10 months old. Wrapped up in the traditional colourful woollen blankets that many Bolivian women carried on their back. Some carrying their offspring whilst others carried their shopping or their trade. He was a quiet baby; stretched across my lap; very warm he was too, sound asleep; oblivious to the sounds of the clatter of the bus rolling on every rock beneath. However about 20 minutes into the journey; the bus stopped and a lady came on and claimed the seat next to me! The mother had to give up her seat, so as did her daughter; but I kept hold of the baby; which she was grateful for! It dawned on me; this baby could be on my lap for 12 hours!

I was quite comfortable with the baby on my lap; he was warm and kept me warm. I had some shuteye time; given this was an overnight bus; though was not able to sleep; but had some rest; inbetween closing the window and the curtains! A couple of hours into the journey we stopped; the lights came on and I realised I could not see the mother or little girl! I had the baby, still fast asleep on my lap and alarms bells started ringing! Where were they? How am I going to explain that I have a Bolivian baby... chances are - noone will understand English and my Spanish vocabulary was limited to asking for a cup of tea and an empanada! Quitely, in my head, I started to worry; but kept reassuring myself that she would not have abadoned the baby with a stranger on the bus! Being a little weary and a lack of sleep put the imagination into overdrive, however, a little while later I spotted the mother and after another couple of hours; the lady, little girl and the baby were dropped off.... somewhere in the middle of Bolivia... in the middle of the night!

We stopped in Potosi en route; but only to change buses, before heading on towads Sucre. At this point, the bus had improved; a little more luxury; with reclining seats, though not close to the standards of Argentina! A lady, who I guess was the partner of the driver, did come around with some snack and bottles of Coca Cola! Just a few hours longer on the bus and I arrive in Sucre; arriving at daybreak - very weary!

I get a texi to the hostel and eventually manage to check in; to my twin en suite room of which I had sole occupancy! Bliss!! The hostel was very quaint; though more of a guesthouse than a hostel. It had a couple of open air courtyards and was idylic especially when bathing in the warm sunshine. The city itself is rather quaint. It was an old style town; beautiful buildings, most of whom were white; it had a sense of importance in by-gone years.

It was a great place to relax and have enjoy a stroll or two. It is also the location of the dinosaur park. A few years ago, workers at a cement factory came across dinosaur footprints along a cliff face, whilst blasting at the rock surface. By today; the rockface is protected, though is not protected from the blasts of the dynamite used in the surrounding area to extract rock nor is it protected from the elements; thus slowly the surface breaks away and footprints are lost; but on the plus side.. it also reveals new prints! The park itself is located in a building across from the rock surface; thus the prints can only be seen from 10+ metres away. The park however have reconstructed and made casts of the prints; thus we were able to see closely the size of the creatures in question. What baffled some, was the fact we were looking at footprints along the rock surface - vertical prints! The formation was as a reault of plateaus colliding and creating a hill; hence what was flat where dinosaurs once trod, was now part of a mountain side!

Sucre did have an abundance of markets too; with locals selling plenty of potatoes; eggs, fruit, veg and flowers; along with plenty of meat... that resembled the carcass of the animal... there was no mistaking a pig - when the head was in front of you! The fruit smoothies were divine and yet again, Bolivia pleased the pallet, given the opportunity to devour much fruit and veg which was rather lacking in parts of south america, in particular Argentina!

After a few chilled out days in Sucre; where young lads, some in balaclavas frequented the streets and park, offering to polish your shoes... even my trainers, I was off next to La Paz - the highest capital city in the world! Just to mention, the balaclavas are worn; not because they are thugs, but because they do not want to shame the family by the fact they are having to be out earning a living! Sad, but true.

I head off to Le Paz on yet another rickety bus over rough terrain, but the bus was not too bad. An overnight bus, arriving in Le Paz at day break. Spectacular scenery, given we were at high altitude and snow capped mountains were at eye level.. we were defintely up high.

Le Paz was yet another opportunity to take in Bolivian culture, this time, a busy city, not as relaxed or as picturesque as Sucre. A city in a valley up in the mountains, so every street was on a slope; some a little more vertical than others. Many Bolivian women frequented the streets, in their bowler hats, big think long skirts and with slings on their backs. A beautiful sight to see. Long plaited hair with feathered accesories keeping the braid in place.

My hostel was not far from the Witches Market, amongst other market stalls and plenty of shops that lined the cobbled streets of the city. Colourful stalls, plenty of woolly hats, long socks and shawls. It also was home to an Irish pub, where I had my first Full English for a long time! Meeting up with travellers I had met previously en route and enjoying a couple of drinks along with learning a card trick or two.

My next destination is in fact Ecuador! Whilst Peru was on the initial agenda; unbeknown to family and friends, except my brother and sister and one or two people who assisted on the way; I had plans to return very soon and return in time for a family wedding; that of my Peruvian born cousin, who was adopted as a baby. So I fly to Ecudaor from Bolivia and by this time.... I have overcome a few hurdles and will face a few more, before I finally reach my destination!

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