Sucre - "La Ciudad Blanca

Trip Start Jan 04, 2008
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Trip End Dec 17, 2008


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Where I stayed
Hostel Colon
(Sucre hotels)

Flag of Bolivia  ,
Monday, September 15, 2008

Escaped the madness of La Paz to enjoy the pleasant tranquility of The White City ("La Ciudad Blanca") , Sucre.  Sucre is a very nice , clean and aesthetically pleasing city with lots of attractive colonial architecture , painted in the traditional white hence the city's nickname. It is understandably a UNESCO world heritage site and the official capital of Bolivia (a bit confusing to me but apparently its because the Supreme Court is here , whilst La Paz the "other" capital is the seat of government). There's a couple of universities here so you see lots of students around the place aswell as seemingly an enormous number of schoolkids ... seems a very young population in Sucre from my first impressions. It also seems pretty affluent with plenty of newer cars and 4x4īs in the streets aswell as well dressed professionals walking around the city , more so than La Paz .. although there's also a considerable number of sometimes aggressive beggars on the streets so the usual income inequality you see across Latin America applies.  In general it has been a very relaxing and peaceful couple of days here , especially by comparison to the chaos of La Paz , and I can imagine this would have also made a good location to stop and learn Spanish or volunteer for a few weeks Sucre 4
Sucre 4
 . The centre of the city is the Plaza de 25 Mayo , a large square with lots of trees and plants surrounded by imposing colonial buildings such as the cathedral , the government offices and the Casa de la Libertidad (where Bolivia's declaration of independence was signed). Sucre has a large number of attractive churches dotted around its relatively small centre such as San Felipe Neri , San Francisco , La Merced , Santa Monica and San Lazaro. Up a hill from the plaza sits a Franciscan church and convent called La Recoleta which faces another little plaza and a cloistered mirador high above Sucre ... making for some great views over the city and the hills beyond. Took a look around the convent ... with guided tour in Spanish so I couldn't grab all of it but a few bits and pieces to get a basic gist. Itīs a series of cloistered patios ,  a church and a museum with lots of religious artefacts and paintings ... quite a few similarities , unsurprisingly , to the Franciscan church and monastery near my hostel in La Paz. The Supreme Court building that gives Sucre its official status sits a few blocks away from the central plaza , fronting another park called Parque Bolivar. This park contains a somewhat bizarre mini replica of the Eiffel Tower , apparently built in honour of a local tin tycoon , Francisco Argandona , who lavished his wealth on the city. The Supreme Court is an impressive building with a couple of large arches and an obelisk in front at the entrance to Parque Bolivar to add to the effect Sucre 1
Sucre 1
 . During one of the two evenings in Sucre I found a traveller's cafe that shows Latin American films and I watched a film called "The Devils Miner" which was very good but very sad at the same time. It was about the Cerro Rico mine in Potosi , where I will visit next , and more specifically the lives of a couple of Bolivian boys , brothers aged ten and fourteen years old , who work in the mine. They have to do long shifts for a pittance in appalling conditions because their father died and they need to make money for the family (a mother and a sister). There are reported to be 2000 kids working in Cerro Rico ... but more on the mine when I get to Potosi. It was an extremely powerful film which has won Film Festival awards ... I'm now looking forward to going to Potosi to experience the mine first hand although I'm not expecting a pleasant experience !

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