Sedate Sucre and Manic La Paz

It was a three hour drive from Potosi to Sucre through mountain valleys and farm land. There are big farms growing barley for beer, and small farms with a multitude of livestock, such as goats, sheep, cattle and llamas all grazing together, and a few burros used for transportation.

Moving cows in Bolivia

Through some of the villages we would encounter dogs lying on the shoulder of the road, now why would a dog want to just lay on the road? Loreen finally figured out that where there was a dog there would be a flock of goats grazing nearby and that the dog was there to keep the goats off the road. Amazing, as the dogs were of just about every breed.

Sucre, called the City of White, is the nicest city we have seen in Bolivia, I will get to La Paz later. It is a requirement of the downtown core to white wash the buildings every year, so Sucre is clean, and no brown brick or grey cement or adobe buildings as in the other Bolivian cities we have been to.

City of  White

This was originally a village of indigenous people because of the presence of two rivers and was also a sacred site. Colonization came from the Spanish mine owners from Potosi wanting a more favorable climate and altitude to raise their families and Sucre was established sometime in the late 1500s. It was the center of the South American cry for independence and declared itself free of Spain on the 25 of May, 1809. Full independence was granted 16 years later.

Many of the buildings are built in a square with a central courtyard, this was done so that the rooms would receive light and air from two sides. The hostal we stayed in was a sixth generation family home converted into a hostal, spanish for hotel. It was four stories with twenty some rooms (each with private bath), dining area, courtyard and still a living area for the family. It was a good example of the wealth of the mine owners.

Bolivia is a poor, poor country, one of the poorest I have been in anywhere, and it is reflected in the stature of the villages and the cities. Mines still operate here, with one of the largest silver mines in the world, but very little is paid to the people that work there, and although they are not in poverty as most of the country, they still cannot afford good housing or safe water. Sanitation is mostly non-existent in any but the better hotels that cater to the tourist trade and perhaps the city centers. But what can you expect in a country that has a record of political strife, 190 some governments in 170 years.

La Paz, nothing previous in Bolivia could have prepared me for the manic energy and wall to wall people, traffic and street vendors of La Paz. In fairness we landed there the week before Carnival weekend, so it was busier than normal, but Keenan assures me not much. Cars bumper to bumper, moving at about five feet per minute, street vendors on both sides of the street, people crossing at all points and walking up and down the streets between the vehicles. Cars honk at each other constantly, a car gets stopped at an intersection, even for a second, the whole block behind them honks! It was absolutely manic.

Main Street La PAz

The downtown of La Paz is situated in a big bowl, maybe 1000 feet of steep descent, and all the streets funnel down into this central area. The first evening when we returned from dinner it was raining hard and the water was four and five inches deep in the streets (no storm sewers here!) We got soaked!

The street vendors were setting up for carnival weekend, so as well as the usual day to day vendors, there were vendors selling confetti, carnival sweets, masks, costumes, fireworks, home made alcohol, fetishes and probably any thing else you had a desire for.

Traditional Bolivian Dress

Keenan took us for a stroll through the side street markets, where the locals shop, although the city did build a big commercial area and moved a huge number off the streets, there are still a multitude of street shops, little stalls six by eight where the vendors bring the goods in the morning and pack them up and take them home at night. The whole city appeared to be one big market.

The most intriguing was the witches market. Although most Bolivians are Christians, it seems they all still stick to the old traditional indigenous religions as well. So you buy a llama fetus to bless your house with, any sort of charm, plant, dried bats, frogs, rodent mixtures for good luck, health, love potions, bad luck spells for that guy down the street with more money, basically anything your little heart desired. It was startling when Keenan yelled "Dad, look behind you" and I turned to be face to face with a dozen llama fetus in various states of maturity, some still not quite desiccated and giving off a bit of odor. Also to be bought were offerings to Pachamama Mother Earth, which is the goddess of all gods in their religion - the richer you are or the more you need her blessing, the more you add such as sweets in the form of many plants and animals, herbs, etc., then you take this to a sacred place or your house and offer it to Pachamama by burning the offering and praying. I did not go so far as getting one of these, but I did buy a three headed Pachamama statue to bless me, you know the saying, three heads are better than one!