Arriving in Sucre in the evening I only make it to the hostel and sleep. I am really happy to meet Chris and Mim again, having booked the cozy hostel Beehive as I knew that’s where they stay. In the morning an early breakfast is already arranged as we want to catch the bus to Tarabucco, a town about 90 minutes further away with a nice Sunday market. Somehow we miss the tourist bus but taking a local minibus is anyway cheaper and as nice as so many people of our hostel are going that 14 of us fill up that whole bus. After speaking French the last two weeks I switch back to English with the many girls of the hostel. A lot of Backpackers stay in Sucré a while to learn Spanish, it’s cheap and the town is really beautiful. 

On the way to Tarabucco I enjoy the landscape and mountain views. The town itself is full of stands, around the main square the tourist stuff and some medical advice for the locals. Further away, everything locals could need, clothes, shoes, cooking equipment,… It’s nice to walk around but it’s not as good as expected, too touristy and it seems all the stands sell the same things. You see anyway all tourists wearing the same woolen jumper now, cheap, made in China. They are not fitting so I don’t end up buying anything but just enjoy walking around with the others.

Around 2pm we take a minibus back into town. The afternoon is spent walking around town, hanging out, enjoying a relaxing day. In the evening our hostel shows the movie “The Devil’s Mine”, a sad, touching documentary about the Potosi mine. 

The next morning I am more energetic. Breakfast is really good, a big bowl of good oatmeal, fresh fruits, yoghurt.

 I wanted to go an see the Dinosaur footprints but am adviced that it’s closed on a Monday. So with two Swiss guys we head up to the statue of the Christ. It’s a steep hill and I am quickly out of breath, I haven’t been hiking for more than 2 weeks but this is quite hard. It’s going up to over 3000m altitude and I am unsure I will actually be able to do the other planned hikes around La Paz, much higher. But there’s a good view! 

In the afternoon, Mim and Chris show me the fruit market and we enjoy a very good yet cheap fruit juice (with a refill) at Lesley’s fruit stall. 

Then we continue to the park, the children’s playground is Dinosaur themed and even the grown up (i.e. us) enjoy the Dinosaur slide 😉  The Eiffel tower imitation is a bit disappointing but then we walk on to the cemetery which is quite beautiful and peaceful.

For the sunset I walk to the San Felipe Neri Convent, a beautiful white building where you can walk up to the rooftop to enjoy the view.

For dinner I meet up with Oliver and some others, enjoying for once a vegetarian menu at the Condor Café before some drinks at their hostel/bar Kultur Berlin (managed by a guy from Karlsruhe). It’s amazing how many people you meet again and again, after a while they become good friends! 

Laziness gets me on the next day. Oliver and I plan our hiking trip and further journey to La Paz before walking to the bus to see Dinosaurs footprints. The streets are so full that we realise after 10 minutes and only a few hundred metres further that we will not make it to the 12am tour. So we get out again and grab some Salteñas instead. They look like empanadas but have a different dough (sweeter) and a more elaborated and harder to eat filling (quite jucy!). 

Parades everywhere, tomorrow it’s Sucré ‘s birthday 

Another fruit juice at Lesley’s place and we try again the bus for the second tour. But now all the buses are completely full, school ended and we just cannot get in a bus. OK, we decide to hang out further instead, just enjoying to walk around the market, the town, have a coffee before taking a guided tour of the Casa de la Liberdad. Interesting history about Bolivia. 

In the evening I attend a Pilates class at the hostel (completely different from classes at home!). Dinner with Chris and Mim (pizza which I haven’t eaten for a long time).  And bed time, tomorrow another hike awaits me.