Going out in Sucre
I´m in Sucre now, the old capitol of Bolivia. It´s a lot different than La Paz, the functioning capitol; Sucre is much more chill, colonial, developed, a little wealthier. It´s also at a much lower altitude, 2800 meters, which means much easier breathing. It´s nice to be in a place that feels like a real city again...the place I am staying at, Hotel Independencia, is ridiculously nice. Two verdant courtyards, colonial sitting rooms, nice beds. Then again, my definition of luxurious has shifted; anything with running water and a generator that stays on after 10pm is nice to me now.
Yesterday after getting to town, I went to see what Sucre is famous for: dinosaur tracks. There´s a large quarry where they found a ton of footprints from the Cretaceous period. It wasn´t terribly exciting, but I am glad I saw them. Later last night I went out with a big group of people from the tour for a nice dinner, followed by way too many rounds of shots, followed by dancing at a club a vaguely remember being called Mitos, or something like that.
The music here - by here I don´t just mean Bolivia, but Argentina and Uruguay as well - is extremely retro. I have heard more hits from my childhood in the last month than I have in the last five years. Eighties hits and raggaeton, pretty ubiquitous. I miss proper techno a little, but I got so much of it in Berlin last year (and truthfully, over the last twelve years) that I don´t mind the break.
This morning I got to sleep in a little, a rare treat. Most travelling days involve waking up before 8am, which I haven´t had to do in years. I was going to go paragliding today, but that meant getting up at 6am and I was out till 3 so...nope. Sucre is also the chocolate center of Bolivia, so I tried to take a tour of a couple chocolate factories, but they were both closed. So, it´s a chill day for me: strolling around the shady squares, relaxing at cafes, being mellow. I love all the lovely public plazashere, though the altitude makes for a very intense temperature difference between sun and shade.
Tonight is my last night with the tour group. The rest of them are travelling on together on another tour to Brazil; as much as I was dreading taking a tour, I have really enjoyed it, and will kind of miss the people I have been travelling with. Mostly that´s because I lucked out and got a really cool group of people, and a great tour leader.
Tomorrow morning I fly back to La Paz, back to travelling on my own and staying in hostels instead of hotels. I don´t mind though, I enjoy being independent; it´s an important part of travelling for me. I just hope I can change my plane ticket to Chile so I can stay in Bolivia a little longer.