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Hello all!
After Potosi we headed down (a little) to Sucre, the old capital of Bolivia, and it is still the judicia capital. The town is full of whitewashed colonial buildings and has a really lovely feel to it. We had a relaxed few days here as we were both recovering from being a little poorly. On Sunday 21st March we went to a little town just outside of Sucre where we had heard of a festival which is a celebration for all the local indigenous people and they flock from miles around. Unfortunately (probably due to the fact it was mentioned in the lonely planet) there were a lot of gringos there and it was a little touristy for our liking. Although the market (and food stalls!) were very impressive. We went for a night out in Sucre to turn our hand to karaoke with some people from our hostel. Despite being there for hours and every single Bolivian person in the room having a sing-song we (the only western people) were apparently not allowed, and so missed out on singing Wonderwall.
From Sucre we got a luxury overnight bus (with seats that go completely horizontal) to La Paz...I couldn´t really appreciate it as was feeling poorly again. Our hostel wasn´t the best place to be ill in as it was very much a party place but it did mean Rhys could meet some other people instead of being cooped up too! The highlights of La Paz for us were the Witch´s Market which was great for doing a bit of alpaca or leather shopping, and if you felt you needed good luck you could even buy dried llama foetuses to bury underneath your porch. We didn´t think we´d get it through custms in New Zealand so passed on those!
We also did the downhill mountain biking trail on the world´s most dangerous road-or Death Road for short! It was quite scary with sheer drops of hundreds of feet from the 3.5metre wide road! It was very rocky and the 2 hours you´re cycling for is very tiring even though you only have to pedal for about 45secs!! Nobody in our group hurt themselves which was a plus, although both Rhys and I had little tumbles! We also went to see Cholitas wrestling. Cholitas are Bolivian women in traditional dress. However, it was mostly men wrestling and it was a little disappointing-again possibly because it has changed from being entertainemnt for Bolivian people to another attraction for tourists.
For us La Paz was a really nice city to do some shopping and see the sights despite the hills and altitude! For a lot of people (most of whom seemed to be staying in our hostel) though it´s cocaine capital, you can buy it over the bar in one club who pay the police off, and even taxi men will try and sell you it.
From La Paz we are heading to Lake Titicaca and then into Peru where we will try and get ourselves back 100% by having a bit of time in the sun by the coast.
Love from Hannah and Rhys xxxx
- comments
Ben and Deb Enjoyed this blog, as always. Glad to hear about Death Road only after you got back safely from it...! Looking fwd to the next update. love to both
janet Hi! Great to hear all your news - some quite hair-raising. Hope you are both feeling better and enjoying Peru - it is on my 'to visit' list.Have fun! Love to you both Janet