Monday, June 19, 2017

Bolivia - La Paz and Sucre

(Continuation of our 1982 trip to Peru and Bolivia)

From Puno in Peru we drove to Copacabana and there boarded the ship which was going to carry us to La Paz, the biggest city in Bolivia (and also the highest: 3600 m.) We drove around the town for a while (staring at the crazy traffic) and then went to our hotel. We dined there for a very cheap price.


The following day we left the busy town and our guide José took us to the Altiplano. We visited Tihuanacu, the city of the Aymara's (pre-Inca). We saw old totems and the Sun Gate. Later that day we also did a short tour of La Paz, where we saw among others the Witch Market, where one can spot all kinds of strange objects, like the foetus of lama's. We also drove through Moon Valley



The day after we took a flight to Sucre, which is actually the legal capital of the country. There, our guide Elisabeth welcomed us. She brought us to our hotel, which was a former hacienda. The whole town, by the way, is built in this style. Then we visited La Recoleta, a convent. From there you had a magnificent view over the town. Next we visited Chasa de Liberdad and San Felipe de Nery. It was very interesting and we liked Elisabeth a lot.

At the moment we visited La Paz and Sucre, there was a general strike going on and this meant some of the planned trips couldn't be made. We also had to eat in a private home because all restaurants were closed.

Something we could do, however, was drive to Potosi (4 hours over bad roads) to see the silver mines. We went inside the Casa Moneda to see how the Spanish robbed the gold and silver to spice the coffers of the Spanish king!



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