Sucre May 15 - 18

As is usually the case the bus journey took about an hour more than expected, but initially the bus was quite comfortable. The problem we had was that this bus didn't have a toilet on board and the driver did not want to stop to allow people their basic human rights! We stopped after about three hours initially and found a bush to go behind, but after this the driver refused to stopfor six hours until we arrived in Sucre! Not great when you are drinkingmore due to the altitude and heat, but I guess this is something we have to get used to!

In addition to this, the driver would stop and pick up people on the roadside for cash in hand at regular intervals. We realised that this was illegal when we passed the police and all standing passengers were told to get down on the floor - amusing to say the least, but not so much when they were leaning on Zara's head!

We eventually arrived in Sucre around 7pm, ran to use the toilet and were then greeted by a young Bolivian man who spoke English - very rare over here! His family owned a new hostal and he was there to try and get more guests. As we were in a group of four and had seen some info on the hostel we decided that we were safe and all got in his car and headed for the hostal. It wasn't right in the centre, but only five minutes walk away and the promise of hot water meant that we couldn't walk away! On arrival we realised that it was a really great place, huge rooms, big beds and most importantly clean! No complaints for four quid a night.

After settling in we put on some warmer clothes and headed towards the Plaza de Mayo for some much needed food. Zara and I hadn't eaten since the previous lunch bar a packet of biscuits! We found an awesome pizza place which unfortunately took ages to serve us, but after a meal and a beer we were all ready for bed! Crazy considering all we did was sit on a bus for the day. I'm just blaming the altitude!

Sucre itself has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991 and is considered to be the most beautiful city in Bolivia and so far I can agree with this. It is full of Spanish architecture and whitewashed buildings. Another plus side is that during the day there is gorgeous sunshine meaning the summer clothes are back out, then the temperature does drop at night time but this makes it easy to sleep (finally in pyjamas again after sleeping in clothes throughout the Salar de Uyuni tour)!

On our first full day we were awoken by the gang of street dogs but felt refreshed after having a nice big warm bed for the first time in a few days. Zara and I had a relaxing morning, then headed to the Mercado Central to peruse the stalls. We found ourselves eating the most amazing chorizo and salad bap for about one pound. I love the Bolivian prices! After looking at the various cuts of meat/animals on sale we wandered around the centre of Sucre admiring the whitewashed buildings and soaking up the atmosphere.

Later that afternoon we found ourselves walking up a steep hill to the viewpoint for the city. Once up there, there was a great view and there were lots of local children playing games outside the monastery. Unfortunately my camera didn't do it justice as the sun was too bright. We spent some time sitting in deck chairs in the cafe on the hill watching the world go by beneath us. It was the perfect place to spend sometime soaking up the sun and relaxing.

After a traditional siesta we were all ready for a night on the tiles - we even straightened our hair.We headed to one of the most popular backpacker cafes/bars hoping to make some friends and enjoyed some local food and beer. Unfortunately the night ended early as noone seemed to be enjoying the local nightlife and we weren't keen on being the only ones in the bar whilst five people tried to serve us!

On our second day we headed for the market once again and this time sampled the amazing huge fresh fruit salads that are in abundance all for 80p! Even though it was covered in yoghurt and cream it still felt like we were being healthy.

In the afteroon we headed out to Cretacious Park on the dino truck. Cretacious Park was discovered when the local cement company was digging up the ground - basically they found around 5000 dinosaur footprints from about eight species which they claim to be 65 million years old. We had heard mixed reviews of the park but thought we'd see for ourselves what the fuss was all about. On arrival we were told that we have guided tour included, but the whole place was just amusing. They had really bad models of dinosaurs dotted around the place, and then at the top you could see the wall of footprints from 150m away. The wall itself is now vertical due to tectonic plate movement, but when you look closer at the footprints it's kind of difficult to distinguish what they are from, in all honesty I wouldn't be suprised if someone walked across in snow shoes on wet cement! We had to see for ourselves though and luckily could make a joke of the couple of hours spent there!

On our final day we were once again woken by dogs, what more could we expect?! And after a lazy morning we headed to the Plaza de Mayo and sat admiring the Casa de la Libertad and various museums whilst soaking up the sun and reading books like a local!

It was nice to have some chill out time in Sucre as it is a really beautiful place and feels quite safe, we just hope that we get the Cama Suite on our night bus as promised and that it doesn't get too cold!