sucre

one of the many beautiful buildings in the capital ------ the universities museum



buildings around the main square



an official building of sorts ----------------- the fab cinema



fruit, glorious fruit ------------------------------------- and veg, and baskets



seb and the multi coloured breakie ------------- at last, veg soup!

entrance gate to one of the many churches

sucre is the capital of la paz (surprise!) since 1559 and must be one of the most beautiful cities - i know, i tend to say that a lot - with it´s baroque style buildings and culturally wealthy feel. it´s no wonder that it is called the ¨jewel of latin american baroque art´!

we did a little mini-trip to visit the ¨white city¨ and man, weren´t we pleased when we arrived! the sun was shining actual warm rays and we managed to find the best hostal (named pachamama for those interested). it was almost as though we were no longer in bolivia (i will refrain from dwelling on this point for too long)!

whilst we were there we endulged (of course, what would the karis&seb trip be without some) in wonderfully delicious market food; breakfasts of corn drinks (yellow and purple - mmm) with deep fried goodies and to make up for it, huge fruit salads with all the fruit you could possibly imagine. yes, i was in heaven. lunch was not for me but definately for seb with meaty sandwhiches which i heard were the best. i do manage to find a great vegetarian restaurant that made me a happy soul until the next meal.

so it was not all eating, we did visit a museum - the universities museum which dealt with paintings from various eras and the ethnographical section which looked more at the history and the remains of past civilisations. the building was magnificant, built in the 17th century with a fountain in the middle and arches lining the courtyard.

in the evening, when we were all cultured-out we took a trip to the movies. now that was quite an experience as the cinema was older that we are, i believe. the chairs had numbers painted on them in white, the seats wooden with springy cushions (to ensure that noone fell asleep, no doubt) and a lady selling (microwave - a new invention to this scene) popcorn. half way through the movie, a guy had to change the reel and we saw the 5-4-3-2-1 countdown before it restarted.

the joys of travel never seem to fail-

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Sucre nous a permis de respirer un peu apres la pollution de la paz et de potosi. Rien de spécial a y faire si ce n'est profiter du soleil sur la plazza 25 de mayo, des rues bordées de maisons coloniales, et des spécialités locales du marché.

Un passage éclair au musée des universités n0us a permis de satisfaire notre quota culturel. Puis on s'est simplement reposé. On a profité du cinéma 'antique' de la ville pour regarder le dernier film de ridley scott assis sur des chaises molletonées avec petite pause au milieu de la séance pour changer la bobine.

Enfin, le marché nous a permis degouter le jus de maiz jaune sucré avec ses beignets au ptit déj et surtout les délicieux sandwichs au chorizo le midi...

En résumé, Sucre aura été un bref interlude au soleil le temps d'une journée avant de rejoindre le désert d'Uyuni.