By bus, a trip from Sucre to Potosí takes just a few hours, and it's even faster by taxi. But if you're more interested in scenery than speed, check out the ultra slow bus-train, which winds its wobbly way around mountains, lakes and valleys, offering spectacular views every inch of the way.
On the second day of our hike, we woke at sunrise with aching shoulders, backs and legs, but possessed by a strange energy. The Crater of Maragua was within sight, and the promise of restorative thermal baths at hike's end made us eager to get moving. But breakfast and packing up the campsite took longer than anticipated: a delay which would later haunt us...
This past weekend, Jürgen and I embarked on a three-day hike offered by Condor Trekkers: a relatively new, non-profit tour operator in Sucre. Starting at 5am on Saturday morning, our hike led us into the heart of the Andes, along the Inca Trail, into the Maragua Crater, past dinosaur footprints, through waterfalls, into the houses of Quechua-speaking campesinos, and over mountains, before depositing us into steaming hot thermal baths. Three days of spectacular scenery, unexpected adventure, sore shoulders, and starrier night skies than I've ever seen.
Tell you what. If you ever decide to go for the Guinness record of World's Biggest Fruit Salad, do your shopping at Sucre's Mercado Central. You'll find hundreds of thousands of women selling billions of fruits. I mean, even if every person in this city ate a dozen bananas, six apples and eighteen pounds of grapes each day, there'd still be a surplus. Never heard of supply and demand, people?
Young kids hard at work is all too common a scene on Sucre's streets. From shoeshiners to car washers, boys and girls are spending their childhood in Bolivia's unofficial labor force. Just yesterday, I bought a newspaper, gum and a woven blanket from kids who couldn't have been over ten.
Before arriving in Sucre, I really didn't know what to expect! My knowledge of the city and country were near zero, so I've been spending a lot of times in the streets to educate myself. I hope you enjoy this set of pictures, which represent my first impressions of this incredible place.
It was our first day in Sucre, and the women in the tourist office seemed to be competing over who could be the most helpful. The younger lady took an early lead by piling brochures into my hands, offering advice on bus connections and informing us about upcoming festivals. However, her opponent, older and more deliberate, claimed victory after hearing Juergen say he was a photographer. "Ah! I bet you want a view over the city." Yes, that is exactly what we want!
In May 2011, Aerosur brought us from Buenos Aires to our new home in Sucre, Bolivia. The "white city" is heralded as the country's most beautiful, and would be our base of operations for the next three months as we explored Bolivia's nature, towns and landscapes, met its people, and learned about their customs and culture.
