To dizzying heights: Last of Sucre

Friday 6 May
It was nice to have a sleep-in. Breakfast was delightful, befitting the lovely hotel - more like a casa (home).

We went back to the central plaza. First job was the post office (!): a challenge in many countries, but the cavernous building was empty of people and I was directed to the international counter to buy my stamps (sellos) in a far distant corner. Here I found a most delightful man at the counter and we managed to have a 'conversation' in Spanish while he stuck the enormous stamps on the postcards for family.

Next stop was Casa de la Libertad, which displays Bolivia’s Declaration of Independence - it is a textile museum and a children’s museum. It was built by the Jesuits in 1592-1621 as a university for the Spanish and Charcas living in Sucre. It was one of the oldest universities in South America.

While the Spanish made a lot of wealth 'off the backs' of indigenous people working in the silver mines, their hold on Bolivia was never as strong as other South American countries. Throughout their time presiding over the Andes, there were many revolts. In early years, the region of Bolivia was closely tied with Peru, and during the first full-fledged rebellion by criollos and mestizos in 1809, Bolivia and Peru worked together, calling the region Upper Peru. The subsequent years are full of complicated manoeuverings between royal groups, rebel groups and others through what is modern Peru, Bolivia and Argentina.

In 1825, all political delegates met in the Casa del Libertad to decide whether to join Upper Peru to Peru, to join with Argentina, or to be an independent country.

Apparently, General Simón Bolívar, who orchestrated most of the military efforts in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, was not convinced this country could govern itself. So after voting to be independent, they named the country after him, to placate him: hence 'Bolivia'.

One of the more striking characters in the museo is Juana Azurduy de Padilla - interestingly, we are staying in Azurduy Street (calle). Born in 1780 to an indigenous mother and Spanish father, she was a mestizo. When the revolution broke out in 1809 she fought against the Spanish with her husband (a criollo).

The big disappointment was the lack of English in the museo, but surprisingly, there was French translation!!??

We went upstairs to a numismatics (='money' basically) exhibition and met a delightful man from the US who has retired in the city of Chocabamba, in central Bolivia (why? Because he used to fly helicopters there for an oil company in the 1970s; he met his wife there too). He couldn't give an explanation about the 'French Connection' so we are still 'in the dark', but we had a nice time chatting.

Back to the hotel for 11 a.m. check-out; I had sent an email last night to the tour company doing the Bolivian land component of our travel suggesting we leave earlier than the 2:30 p.m. departure as otherwise we'll get in too late to see much of Potosí and tomorrow we leave there at 11:30 a.m. for Uyuni. This morning we had a call just after breakfast to say our pickup would now be noon.

On the way out of Sucre, we stopped at The Castle of Glorieta. One of the oddest chapters in Bolivia’s history is the tale of its only prince and princess and the pink, crazy, fairy-tale castle they built on the outskirts of Sucre: El Castillo de La Glorieta. Born in Potosí in 1850, Francisco Argandoña studied mineralogy in Chile before moving to Sucre in 1868 where he began working for the Huanchaca Mining Company. In 1874 he married Doña Clotilde Urioste, who came from a wealthy Spanish family. The couple were involved in extensive charitable works, including the establishment of the “Santa Clotilde” and “San Francisco” orphanages. It was closed for renovation but we at least got to see the outside.

We crossed the border of the Sucre and Potosí Departments (these are like areas or regions) where we had to hand in passport details then started CLIMBING up to the altiplano at 3000+ m. We stay at 4090 m tonight! Ugh!l [continued below]

It is as 'dry as a chip'. The Chorrillos are a spectacular mountain range we admire as we keep climbing. We pass villages, chooks, mules, dogs, sheep.

A railway line suddenly appears but our driver Joselino can't speak English so I can't find out anything about it; Joselino drives competently enough but is in an underpowered vehicle (Kia??) for the amount of overtaking he does!

Lots of Sí Evo (re El Presidente) slogans are painted wherever paint can be applied: house walls, fences, rocks.

Huari Huari is next. The Aguas Termales 'Don Diego' (hot springs) here.

As we approach Potosí, there is a tall chimney at a mining site indicating a silver mine.

Potosí is the highest city in the world at 4090 m. This colonial city is characterized by its architecture, its beautiful churches, monasteries, temples, towers and colonial mansions which decorate the narrow streets. UNESCO declared the city a World Heritage Site in recognition of its rich history and its wealth of colonial architecture.

This city is located at the foot of Cerro Rico (4070 m). The cone-shaped peak of Cerro Rico stands as a monument to the tragedies of Spanish conquest. For centuries, Indian slaves mined the mountain's silver in brutal conditions to bankroll the Spanish empire. Today, the descendants of those slaves run the mines. But hundreds of years of mining have left the mountain porous and unstable, and experts say it is in danger of collapsing.

We descend into Potosí and after checking into our hotel (which is simple but pleasant - we even have a room each!) - and after sorting ourselves out, we set off on foot to explore. The central plaza is ABOVE our hotel which means climbing!

I must say we are not doing too bad - climbing at 4000+ m - so we ARE acclimatising, although I am not rushing!

The streets are labyrinthine and the map we have is pretty useless. We come upon a small square and then from there we scan the skyline for clues. We see some church spires off to the left and head for these.

This brings us to the main square Plaza 10 de la Noviembre. From the square, we see towering above, the Catedral de la Ciudad de Potosí.

Down the road from the plaza, we happen upon the Torre de la Compañia de Jesus, an ornate and beautiful bell tower, on what remains of the former Jesuit church completed in 1707 after the collapse of the original church. We climb the stairs for a closer view of the bell tower.

It is 5:30 p.m. and we manage to get into the Santa Teresa Convent Museum for the last half hour of the day's opening hours - we do a whistle-stop tour. The Convent was founded in 1685 and is still home to a small community of Carmelite nuns who have restored the sizable building and converted part of it into a museum. There are numerous fine pieces, including a superb Madonna by Castilian sculptor Alonso Cano, several canvases by Melchor Pérez de Holguín, Bolivia’s most famous painter, and a room of painted wooden Christs.

Afterwards we look for a place to eat and as we arrive near the Cathedral, there is a brass band ready to march alongside the plaza - much action and colour. As the sun sets, there is a soft yellow colour to the sky and the spires of the various churches are silhouetted against the sky.

The zebras have become tigers!