The main square in Sucre |
We were there for Spanish classes and so most of our time
was spent in the classrooms of Sucre Spanish School or doing our homework (!)
Nuestra escuela |
However, we did manage to eat and drink very well in Sucre.
And we had some spare time for visits and excursions inside and outside the
city. In no particular order, here are our some of our Sucre highlights:
1. Casa de la Libertad: This building on the main square in Sucre is
where Bolivia signed its declaration of independence and where its first
constitution was drafted. It is now a museum and for history and politics buffs, a guided tour around the building gives a fascinating insight into the history
of poor ‘ole Bolivia, which just kept losing wars and territory throughout the
1800s and then had a series of bad leaders throughout the 1900s. The building
is also beautiful, although annoyingly you have to pay extra if you want to
take photos.
2. Lashings and lashings of lemonade at La
Recoleta: We developed a bit of a lemonade addiction whilst in Sucre.
The
café at La Recoleta has a beautiful view over the white city of Sucre and also
serves delicious lemonade. We spent hours sipping on the lemonade, reading our
books, admiring the view and being serenaded by local musicians.
3. La Quimba: This cute little bar became a firm favourite in our time in Sucre. The staff were really friendly and always made sure you were happy with the temperature of your beer (!), it had a nice mixture of locals and tourists and we really liked the wooden interior.
Delicious lemonade at La Recoleta overlooking the city |
3. La Quimba: This cute little bar became a firm favourite in our time in Sucre. The staff were really friendly and always made sure you were happy with the temperature of your beer (!), it had a nice mixture of locals and tourists and we really liked the wooden interior.
It has live music once a month and while we missed this during our time in Sucre, we were treated to a little preview on one of our visits.
4. Learning Spanish:
We spent a lot of time in Sucre at Sucre Spanish school. Bolivia is one of the
best places to learn Spanish as the accent is neutral and quite clear. It was
also very affordable.
Sucre Spanish School is one of the biggest in Sucre and we chose it, after reading good reviews and because we could start the very next day. The teachers were great and we both learnt a lot.
5. Monte Rosso:
OK, so we’re supposed to be travelling in South America and sampling local
culture and cuisine, but this Italian restaurant was just amazing and so has to
feature in our highlights.
For around only 70 bolivianos (£7) we had a three course meal, comprising of bruschetta, a pasta main and the BIGGEST slice of tiramisu you have ever seen. Delicious.
The front door looks rather nondescript and I think
we may have just walked past it if we’d not been told about it by other
travellers.
For around only 70 bolivianos (£7) we had a three course meal, comprising of bruschetta, a pasta main and the BIGGEST slice of tiramisu you have ever seen. Delicious.
This is half-eaten and its still a huge slice! |
6. Papas rellenas in
Simon Bolivar Park: So this is a bit more ‘authentic’ than our favourite
Italian!
Lunch! |
We’d tried papas rellenas or filled potatoes in Peru and while they were tasty, they were
not a patch on the humungous cheese filled potataoes we got in Simon Bolivar
Park in Sucre. They were very popular
with the local school children and absolutely delicious!
School children queuing for more papas rellenas |
And its colonial buildings seen from La Recoleta, the roof of the administrative building on the main square or simply at street level do make this a very attractive city to stroll around and photograph.
View from the administrative building on the square - its free to go up on the roof |
8. The cemetery: From
the catacombs in Lima to the cemetery in Pisco, we seem to have spent a
disproportionate amount of time on this trip looking at the different ways
South Americans dispose of their dead. Sucre was no different.
We spent a relaxing hour walking around the very beautiful cemetery, fascinated by the clearly needed expansion of the place as well as the ornate mausoleums.
Sucre Life has an interesting article on the cemetery, particularly on how long a family owns the 'niches' where their family members are laid to rest.
9. A homestay: We
spent a lovely week with a local family in Sucre to help practice our Spanish. This
wasn’t just any local family though. The husband was a semi-retired doctor and
the wife had worked in the university. Their children and long since flown the
nest, leaving behind a rather sizeable property with plenty of guest rooms. We
had the penthouse suite, with a beautiful view of the city.
10. Parades, parades! We
arrived in Sucre for Easter Weekend and got to see how seriously this is taken
in this very Catholic country. Good Friday saw a replica of a rather dead
looking Jesus being paraded through the main square, followed by a mourning
congregation.
The view from our balcony in the homestay |
The house |
A couple of weeks later, the Sucreños celebrated May Day in style – no protests, just marching bands and dancing cholitas!
This one of my favourite photos - I love the cheeky grin on the woman's face as she passes the beer to her friend |
Marching band |
Twirling cholitas |
But in the 1990s, the cement company were mining a section of a hill for use in the production of concrete, when part of the hill fell away to reveal over 5,000 preserved dinosaur footprints. The area has now been turned into a tourist attraction.
When we were there, it was the first week that they had permission to take tourists up close to the prints. Previously, we would have had to have viewed the footprints through telescopes from the hill opposite, but we were allowed down into the valley next to the prints.
Dinosaur footprints! |
They we given their titles by the pope for all of the charity work they undertook, most notably the development of an orphanage. The prince and princess travelled extensively and modeled their eclectic-style home of the different structures and buildings they saw on their travels. The clocktower is apparently modelled on Big Ben. However, its only real resemblance to Big Ben is the fact that it is a clocktower. It does not look like Big Ben!
Big Ben? |
14. The Origines dance
show: Every night at Origines, there is a dance show to demonstrate the different traditional dances from across the country.
I particularly liked the Estampa Chaquena from the Bolivian Chaco region. It involved lots of footstamping and flowing skirts.
It was a very entertaining evening and it was really interesting to see all of the different types of traditional dress from different parts of the country, as well as the dances. And to top it off, Sarah also got to have a little dance on stage at the end of the night!
15. Sarah's birthday: Last but not least, it was Sarah's birthday while we were in Sucre. We spent a very enjoyable day horseriding, eating cake, drinking wine and eating dinner and drinking more wine - we found some very drinkable Bolivian wine that went down all too easily!
A relaxing ride in the countryside around Sucre |
Cake! |
Food! |
Wine from the bottle - classy! |
Have you been to Sucre? What were your highlights? What did we miss?
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