Sucre is the constitutional capital of Bolivia and is a beautiful city. I arrived at night but immediately got the impression that it was going to be a magical place. I checked into a hotel which, for 4 pounds a night, was an absolute bargain. I had an en-suite, cable tv and an amazing view of the city as the hotel was perched on a hill. I awoke in the morning to a fantastic view which took in the cathedral and other important colonial buildings. Most buildings in the city are white colonial structures. I arrived a day after Bolivian Independence Day so the city must have been in its most pristine condition. President Evo Morales was in town for the celebrations so I assume that the local sweeps were out with their toothbrushes in the week leading up! I spent most days lazing around in the parks and plazas but also found time to visit a museum, art gallery and the massive central market. In line with the rest of the country, the food in Sucre is surprisingly tasty. Some of my best anecdotes from South America have come out of my week-long stay in Sucre. The funniest of which involves ten 12 year old boys (all perfectly legal). On our first day in the city, Niki and I decided to sit in the plaza. Before our bums had even touched the seats two shoe-shine boys were shining up Niki's walking boots and my flip-flops! The little beggers asked for 20 Bolivianos which amounts to just over a pound. I only had 18.50 so I got a 'deal'. I managed to sell the idea that 20 was a bit steep since my flip-flops had no toes to clean! We later discovered that 10 was the going rate! Over the course of our stay we spent a lot of time sat in the plaza surrounded by kids with shineboxes. We became freinds with the entire shoe-shine community and actually had quite a lot of fun with them. Every time we arrived at the main plaza we were pounced upon by up to 7 shiners! They would just sit with us for hours in a position ready to shine. Not all of them were as freindly as others. One boy spat at me. Another grabbed my jeans, tried to force a clean before calling me 'maricon' (gay) because I wanted to have dirty shoes! Anyway, by the weekend I was feeling like bringing the kids together for a photograph. I piped up with the idea that Don Shinebox go fetch 9 of his fellow shiners and we pay them each a sum in order that we can have a photo with them. We had 8 and I spotted 2 more wondering in the distance. Don Shinebox ran his little heart out to catch them. As they arrived back some other shiners made a break as they had spotted some other tourists! Don Shinebox had to go and fetch them as he was not going to miss out on what he probably thought was easy money. Finally we got the photos. During the second photo, mayhem broke out. All of a sudden there were about 15 shiners queued up for thier payday. Don Shinebox had already been paid but had tried to sneak another payment (most of the kids tried this trick) A small group of kids chased us down the road whilst some others started a riot. One shiner dropped his payment and a fight broke out! (Pushing, shoving and shinebox swinging ensued) Most of the 100 strong plaza audience were amused to the point of uncontrollable laughter! We tried our best to avoid the square until our exit from the city. It seems that my communist ideals were not appropriate with these capitalist kids. I was trying to be nice but I left Sucre feeling that I had caused ruptions within the local shinebox community! On my final day in Sucre I climbed a mountain for a good view of the city. At the top I met a local guy with a guitar. I played a bit of Oasis and he replied with some Bolivian folklore! I also went to a restaurant with live folklore music. The band were all youn guys and they were amazing. I made freinds with them at the end of the gig and bought a tape of their songs. Sucre was also the place where I managed to complete my 'Bolivian Challenge'. By this I mean that I met a couple of surprisingly attractive local females! Next destination is Santa Cruz. I have a flight booked - fingers crossed!