Bolivia, a country that needs at least two capital cities

Before leaving La Paz, Chad wanted to make a last stop: the San Pedro prison. You may wonder why he wanted so much to see what it looks like... For him, this place brought to life a book he just had finished (Marching Powder by Rusty Young). The book is about an English guy who served 5 years in San Pedro for drug trafficking and ends up being able to offer tours of the prison to daring tourists. Chad was surprised at how much smaller the prison looked than what he had imagined and it was really right there, in the middle of the city. He also had the weird feeling to know exactly how things were inside and what was going on there after reading the book. It was really cool to have read this book that relates to the areas you are visiting.

A less than useful map for the roads in Bolivia

We started our drive south towards the city of Oruro. We knew that to reach this town about three hours south of La Paz, there was a paved road. Beyond that, our map looked a little sketchy to us. We knew when entering Bolivia that it would be the country with less paved roads but we had no idea to what extend. We were lucky to encounter a map of the Bolivian road network in a restaurant and by comparing it to our map, we had a hard time believing that this was the map of the same country. We talked to the owner and he confirmed that his map was pretty recent and to his knowledge quite accurate for the places he had traveled to. Good news, it looks like we had found a map we could rely upon but the bad news is that it was not for sale. Being inventive, we took a picture of it and can now consult it on our camera.

There are two towns we wanted to visit, Sucre and Potosi, and lucky for us they could be reached through a paved road. Beyond that, to further explore the south of the country, it would be all dirt roads. At least, we were starting with the easiest. We were good to go with the picture of our new map and in addition, the locals have always been very helpful when we asked questions about road conditions and time we needed to reach a city. So, after Oruro, we continued south towards Potosi. We did not make it all the way there on the first day so we stopped in a very small town in the middle of nowhere but that had hotels: Challapata. We did not have much choices for the hotel and what we found was really basic. We chose a hotel that had parking but that would not even provide towels: not included in the price was the answer with a less than friendly look! Really, sometimes we are surprised by how hard it is to get the minimum service level in hotels here. The only bright side is that at least everything is very cheap in this country. So, we're not getting great service but were are not spending a fortune either.

The next morning we were happy to leave the little unfriendly town. The sun was shining bright and the temperature just perfect for a ride. After going uphill for a while, we reached the highlands. It was flat as far as the eye could see, green bushes spread across the prairie and in the far away distance, the mountains. There were also llamas everywhere, happy to be feeding on the grass and there was a rare diversity of fur colors, heights, shape. We even saw a llama that had some leopard characteristics as it was light brown with many darker brown spots. After the highlands, we were climbing up the mountains we had seen previously in the distance. The landscape had changed completely and even the color of the earth: everything was now red around us and after a curve, we were surprised to be in sort of a canyon. Both sides of us, there were big walls of red stones that reminded us of Arizona. Again, Bolivia had taken us by surprised and offered yet another incredible landscape. We reached Potosi around lunch time and decided to continue on to the next big town, Sucre. We would come back here later as we had to take the same road back.

Sucre, a town sweeter than its French sounding name

If you are asked what the capital of Bolivia is, it is definitively a trick question. The first answer that should come to mind, if that is anything comes to your mind, should be La Paz. It is kind of the “de facto” capital, where the government seats. However, according to the constitution, Sucre is the legal capital and by the way, it means “Sugar” in French. Maybe something you can mention and brag about your knowledge during your next dinner conversation:) So yes, Bolivia has two capitals and we visited the latter after leaving Potosi. It is a very neat town, with lots of white colonial buildings. We enjoyed visiting the huge cathedral and lots of other churches and monasteries. The streets were very pleasant to walk into as there were numerous parks in the city to relax. The hotel we had was right across the market and we enjoyed that strategic location. For dinner, we would just cross the street and join the locals in the busy Comedor, where big tables were lined up. The food is good, served fast and is really affordable. Overall, the best value in town. We also had a good time asking the cook to explain to us what the items on the menu were given that most of them are still unknown to us. A full dinner costs about $1.25 and for that price, you even get fun conversations with the locals at your table. There were definitively not many gringos around us but this is what this trip is about: mixing with and getting to know the local cultures. In the morning too, we enjoyed the market: bought fresh bread and order a fresh juice that you can have either with water and milk. They were so delicious and so fresh: it was the best way to start your day.

Chad had been a little bit under the weather the last few days with a cold really starting to bother him. Since he felt so tired and constantly had to blow his nose, we decided to stay another day in Sucre so that he could rest. He slept a lot which improved his condition a little but we wanted to make sure it was not going to be worse and so we went to see a doctor. Not too bad, it was just a mean cold and now Chad can say that he as well went to consult a local doctor. Caroline felt a little less alone in that department now. The funny thing is that Chad decided not to follow any of the doctor's prescription as two of them were an injection in the behind and the other eucalyptus vapors he had to do four times a day. Quite challenging while riding a motorcycle! We bought him syrup and tablets instead which made the trick. The next day, he started to feel better despite not having followed the doctor's order...and so we left Sucre in the morning.