Sucre

After a not very comfortable bus ride and with very little sleep, I arrived at Sucre Bus Terminal at 5 in the morning. I had agreed with my hotel that I could get a room from 7.00 am so I waited with one of my travel companions from the trip until it was time for us to take a taxi into the city center. We said goodbye not expecting to see each other again, but Sucre is not that big and we actually met each other again twice just by coincidence.

Sucre – The White City – is a very nice and very well kept city with many beautiful houses dating back to the time under Spanish rule. Sucre is officially the country’s capital, but La Paz is the government city and the primary place for political and business headquarters. Sucre is a university city and today also known as “the city of chocolate”.

The city is at 2800 m altitude so it is a good place to acclimatize before or after a trip in the heights. However, you still have to take it easy and drink a lot of water, it’s only when you get under 2500 m it gets a little more normal. I unfortunately forgot to keep drinking water and was off and on hit a little by post by altitude sickness.

Sucre – The White City – is a very nice and very well kept city with many beautiful houses dating back to the time under Spanish rule. Sucre is officially the country’s capital, but La Paz is the government city and its headquarters for the most part. Sucre is a university city and today also known as “the city of chocolate”.

The city is at 2800 m altitude, so it’s a good place to acclimatize, before or after a trip to high altitudes. You still have to drink a lot of water. It’s only when it’s under 2500m, it’s getting a little more normal. Unfortunately, I forgot to keep drinking enough water and was slightly affected by post altitude sickness.

You can spend some time in the city just to look at the many beautiful buildings that exist around the square and the adjacent steep and narrow streets. You also have to remember to look through the gates, as many of the houses have some lovely courtyards.

The city also has a fairly large daily market where you can find the local population on purchases.

A must see is a walk up to a square on top of the steep streets to get a beautiful view of the city and the surrounding countrys

Tarabuco

About an hour from Sucre is the city of Tarabuco, where there every Sunday is a big market. On the square in the citycenter there were lots of stalls with local handmade products while in side streets there were also much else for sale, not just from Bolivia, including loads of shoes from China I noticed. while walking around you can meet the locals coming from the surrounding area and mostly are indigenous people. They are colorful dressed in traditional dresses, which also helps identifying who they are and hats seems to be a very popular part of the dress.

The journey from Sucre goes through a beautiful landscape in a very hilly terrain. Even if you do not plan to buy anything at the market, it is worth a visit. Not only because of the scenery but also to experience another side of Bolivia than what you see in Sucre, but you have to arrive early as the market takes place in the morning and closes around 2 p.m.

It is easy to take a local bus from Sucre, but there are also organized tours from the square in Sucre. On such a tour, we were given the opportunity to see some local entertainment with dance in some very special footwear. We also had the opportunity to buy food and drink before returning to Sucre, but there were also plenty of options for buying food in the market.

Santa Cruz

My last stop was Santa Cruz. Because this is where Bolivias International Airport is located, and from where I had a flight back to Europe. I did not see much more than the city center. Here was a beautiful square with lots of life and surrounded by a very large church. Sunday evening there was a party after the mass with many happy children, young and old.

An amazing trip had come to an end but I hope I can return in a couple of years and continue from Santa Cruz to La Paz and from there to Peru and Ecuador to see the part of the trip I skipped this time.

An amazing trip has come to an end, but I hope I can return in a couple of years and continue my trip from Santa Cruz to La Paz and from there to Peru and Ecuador, to see the part of the trip I skipped from my plan this time.