Wednesday 17 to Friday 19 September 2014
After a frugal breakfast…
… we enjoy a hair-raising journey by micro…
to Potosí’s new bus terminal…
… from where we take a bus to Sucre
Impressions from the road –
The 158-kilometre journey along the well-paved Ruta 5 takes just over three hours. As always when we arrive somewhere, the first thing we do is organise our onward journey – here in Sucre we find a very helpful overview of all connections available:
Sucre is the constitutional and official capital of Bolivia, while La Paz is the seat of the government – which is still a sensitive subject between the cities and causing confusion in the rest of the world. Due to its well-preserved colonial buildings and structures painted in white, Sucre is also called La Ciudad Blanca – the white city – and has been declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 1991.
When I came here in 2010, I found Sucre beautiful, vibrant, with a pleasant climate at 2,810 metres altitude, full of friendly people, lovely parks, colourful markets and lots of interesting corners. All this I’m eager to show Johannes as well.
We find accommodation in the Grand Hotel where I’ve stayed before and are offered a suite again –
Some times it pays off to travel with your dad…
A great view is included
We are just a few metres from the Plaza 25 de Mayo – the main square
The cathedral in the background
Street-sweeping Bolivian style
Palacio del Gobierno Autónomo Departamental de Chuquisaca – previously the seat of the national government before it was moved to La Paz
San Felipe Neri
On the first evening we have a deluxe version of Pique Macho, this time with beef, pork, chicken and chorizo, home-made salsa, the best chips in town and a fresh salad
Our second day in Sucre is mainly dedicated to resting and the more mundane traveller chores: laundry, sewing, posting, writing postcards etc…
We start with an excellent breakfast
I need a haircut
Then we browse the huge Mercado Central for bits and bobs
You can get the most amazing fruit juices – freshly made to order
Bolivian honey jars – we think there’s room for improvement in the marketing and presentation departments…
The Zebra Brigade – making road crossings safer and life in the community better
There are strong relationships between Bolivia and Germany
Here we build a culture of peace
… this also involves culinary interchange
In the ‘Kultur Café Berlin’ we enjoy Apfelstrudel with vanilla sauce
The mighty micro, the main means of transport in Bolivian towns
We are still so full-up from our Apfelstrudel escapade that we skip dinner that day – so no further mouth-watering Pique Macho photos for you, sorry.
On Friday we have booked an overnight bus to La Paz that doesn’t leave until 19.00 hrs; so we still have some time to enjoy Sucre. And there is hardly a better place than the ‘Plaza Restaurant’, formerly known as ‘Los Balcones’.
Penthouse
A last stroll through the beautiful park on the Plaza
Then we board the micro to the bus terminal
Adiós, Sucre, hasta la próxima vez – we hope we’ll see you again at some point in the future.
Pumpernickel on Tour 
Its looking like a great adventure from where I am sitting. I will send someone over to advise on Honey marketing, when we are not so busy obviously! Mind you watch your calories with all these meals….