Sucre, Samaipata, and Condors

G’day everyone

Fran and I just left a really nice town called Samaipata, in Bolivia. It’s at around 1,400m amsl, but has a very tropical feel. It’s surrounded by lush forest and has loads of potential. We arrived there a week ago, so I guess I’ll start from where I left off last and fill in the gaps.

After Uyuni, we took a bus ride to Potosi - the highest city in the world. We were there about 4 days, mainly to allow Fran the time to recover from the Bolivia Bug. Potosi is also famous for it’s silver mines. You can visit the mines through “tours” organized by mining co-operatives, but Fran and I did not visit them. I guess the reason we didn’t visit was due to ethical concerns. I mean, the tours have been running for quite a long time, but it seems the workers are still as poor as ever and still work in very dangerous conditions. So we questioned whether money from the tours ever really improves their lot. The last thing I want to do is head down these mines with my big camera taking pictures of their impoverishment.

Anyway, we did enjoy the little bit of Potosi that we saw. It has a very pretty central square which we wandered around a few times. Whilst we were there, there were also loads of parades going on all the time. Firecrackers and bangers were constantly being let off, at all hours of the day, including to our detriment, through the night into dawn.

This church looks over the markets in Potosi

One of the MANY parades in Potosi.

The Cathedral in Potosi

But besides from that, we didn’t see much more of Potosi. From there, it was a three hour bus ride to our next destination: Sucre. And what a city! An incredibly beautiful town - Bolivia’s “Second City” after La Paz. In fact, in the days of Simon Bolivar (the founder of Bolivia, and the person much of South America has to thank for it’s current constitution), it was the fledgling country’s capital. Today, whilst the administrative powers are based out of La Paz, Sucre retains the judicial power.
The switch to La Paz as the nation’s capital was not a popular move, and today, the populace is still divided on the issue. There is plenty of graffiti around stating “Sucre, the True Capital of Bolivia”. Some of this graffiti is also covered in a big “NO”.

The city’s centre is a UNESCO listed World Heritage Centre and retains it’s old colonial influence. White buildings roofed by terracotta tiles. If the city had a coast, it’d be easy to think it as Mediterranean. We were so surprised by this place, knowing that Bolivia is the poorest country in South America. A drive through the country-side proves that the people are certainly impoverished, but Sucre is almost a complete world away.
I say “almost” because there are a few segments that are definitely poor. A trip to the local Mercado Central (Central Market) shows another side of life. The market is huge, and offers all sorts of fruits, vegetables, meats and eateries. Beggars sit around with bowler hats out, asking for money. It’s a very vibrant place and seems so far removed from the beauty of Sucre itself. You can walk around and see severed cow’s heads for sale. Only the poorer people buy them, as that is the cheapest meat to buy.

We spent just over a week in this city - the longest time on this trip in any one place.

Out for dinner at a vegetarian German restaurant…where I ordered steak. And it was good.

Another night out. Cocktails are cheap as chips. I had a Long Island Ice Tea for the princely sum of 2 pounds

Local woman weaves

Beautiful Sucre

Sucre

Anyway, in terms of pictures, I really didn’t take that many of this place. Mainly because Sucre is pretty much the centre for learning Spanish in Bolivia, and Fran and I decided to make the effort and go to a few classes, meaning the time allotted for picture-taking was small.
So we went along one day to Fox Academy and booked ourselves some lessons. We booked through Fox because the money from the Spanish lessons they teach is used to subsidise English lessons for the local people. It’s all not-for-profit, so we were glad to use their services and contribute in some small way.

Our teacher, Maria, was a young enthusiastic lady who was so generous to us and helped us along in the basics of Spanish. In total, we spent four days with her (it would have been five, but I was sick one day) and she took us through the beginnings of Spanish. At times it was like being back in school, and just like school, my attention wandered quite a bit! But still, we learned a fair bit in our time with her. Certainly not enough to strike up conversations with anyone, but with practice, we should be able to pick things up a lot quicker now.

Staying for so long in one place also meant we made a fair amount of new travel-friends. Our hostel was brilliant for this. Everyone we met there was there for at least a week. It was a mixed group as well. Two guys were motor-biking around South America. One woman was looking for her ideal place to set up a hostel. One couple was on a round-the-world trip. One American guy loved Spanish culture and was travelling to be immersed in it. But we were all linked through friendship and our time there was made far more enjoyable because of these people.

Not only is Sucre Bolivia’s judicial capital, it’s also its cultural one. Packed full of museums, it’s the ultimate city to learn about Bolivian culture. The country’s National Archives are based here as well.
We visited a fantastic little museum called Museo de Arte Indigena (you can translate that one!), which displays the mind-boggling weavings of the local tribes. There are some 2000 year old artifacts and a fair amount of other archaeological information. But the weavings are the highlight of the show. The detail and time and effort that goes into them is incredible. If you purchase any of the weavings (which we did,), 65% goes to the woman who made it, 10% goes to the program that helps them make their art, and the remainder goes to the museum to look after the priceless artifacts on display. All in all, a worthy cause.
Each weaving also tells a story, be it a linear tale, or simple events and chores that are important to the weaver. Our weave displays a village surrounded by mountains, in which the women bake and cook, and the men harvest. Parties and celebrations are also important, denoted by a section with lots of people “dancing”.

On the Sunday before we left, we went to a town a couple of hours away called Tarabuco. Famous for it’s Sunday Markets, which are supposedly the most colourful in all of Bolivia.
That might have been a slight exaggeration. It certainly is colourful and all, but seemed a bit life-less. Perhaps that’s because it’s even more relaxed than we are now used to, so gives off the impression of dullness. But it’s the perfect place to see people in their native costumes, and picture opportunities abound so long as 1. You are discreet, or 2. You ask permission first. A lot of Bolivian natives do not want their pictures taken so expect a lot of no’s.

Craig and Tyler at the markets in Tarabuco

Tarabuco markets

That‘s a lama fetus on the left there.

Local woman at the market

Colourful patterns. These “sheets“ are used by the locals to carry stuff on their back. We saw a child being stuffed in one. You couldn‘t see any bit of him when he was wrapped up. Hopefully these things are breathable

Tarabuco

The next day we left Sucre to travel to Samaipata. That was easily the bumpiest and most uncomfortable ride ever. We sat right at the back of the bus, which serves to magnify every bump. In my last blog I stated that most Bolivian roads are unpaved, and this one was no exception. Thankfully, it was an overnight bus (normally we try and avoid overnight buses for safety) but we’re fairly glad to have taken this one. We could see the road skirting cliff edges with room on either side no more than a few centimeters. It’s damn creepy seeing the edge of the road, and then pure black.
The bus arrived at around 5.am and we were met at the station by the owner of the hostel we are staying at: a really nice Texan guy named Trent.
The hostel/B&B is the nicest place we’ve stayed at so far, and that includes all of Argie and Chile. One of the reasons we were sold on this place is that it offers REAL breakfasts, like bacon and eggs, pancakes, porridge, yoghurt and granola etc. When you’re traveling, all you get in other places is bread and jam, so this was a welcome change!

The tropical-esque town of Samaipata

A howler monkey picks Layla‘s head. This was at an animal recovery centre outside of Samaipata.

Blue and Gold Macaws

Another reason we were sold was that it was apparently a great place see Condors, the world’s largest flying bird. So after a day of rest, we drove the two hours to the starting point of a trail, through the roughest terrain ever. Bolivian roads are at best dirt tracks, and at worst dirt tracks with giant rocks and ditches. We had to leave at 5am as well to get a good start on the day. So basically you drive into the middle of nowhere (Samaipata is right next to the middle of nowhere), where you then hike for about 3 or 4 hours to the TRUE middle of nowhere to a cliff edge, against which the Condors build their nests. And as the day warms, the condors take to the air and begin soaring above you and in front of you. What a sight! Seeing an animal that eats flesh (albeit dead flesh) with a 3 meter wing span not 5 meters from your head is a pretty awesome experience. They dwarf the vultures that are common in the area, who themselves can stretch their wings to 2 or more meters. I took so many pictures that day!

Some of the scenery we hiked through to see the Condors. True wilderness.

Precipices? Bah!

Condor. The borders around these images were just because a few people wanted copies, and they have to remember who took them ;-)

This male flew pretty close!

Another male

Another male

Puma tracks

Another day saw us visit a local waterfall, pretty close to the Condor spot. It’s a 70m drop in a sheltered location set amongst some really lush forest. Beautiful location.

Beer and barbeque at the waterfall

On the Saturday night, the town celebrated the festival of San Juan, which basically involves everyone getting extremely pissed (some people drink pure alcohol here), lighting bonfires (getting outlawed actually due to the pollution) and dancing. We went to a local square where all of the above was happening. It was loads of fun. Fran and all the other women had men left right and centre asking them to dance (and most of them asked for permission from the boyfriends first!). One bloke in particular went through a whole line of women.. He was insanely energetic and could out-dance anyone. One dance, the Chacarera, looks identical to Irish step dancing, but in fact is northern Argentine (and also danced in the very south of Bolivia) . Trent also told us about another dance where men and women take turns leading, and as they get more and more drunk, the dance the involves the use of props. The props are basically rocks, and people try to smash each other’s heads in with them. No joke. Obviously this is outlawed, but it does still happen in remote communities. And yes, men and women are known to die from this activity.

So here we are in Santa Cruz, and we've only been here for a day really. Tomorrow we catch an early bus to Cochabamba for one night, then onwards to La Paz. I'll try and post a quick entry just before we head to the Amazon and the Pampas.

I hope all are well. I hear the weather in the UK at the moment is superb! Bet you poms are blistering.

Much love all
Adam