Jan 30
We stayed in Sucre, Bolivia for almost a month renting an apartment and learning Spanish. That's not to say we are experts on the city but in addition to studying, we spent a lot of time eating. We narrowed it down to our top 8 favorite things to eat & where to get them.
During our first trip to La Paz, we happened to pass by Diesel Nacional located in La Paz's Sopacachi district. Curious, we stopped to have a look. The facade looked very different than most bars or restaurants for anywhere, let alone Bolivia. For one, it was set far back with rocks scattered and old train tracks leading up to a revolving rusted door. Eerie spotlights cast shadows over industrial items like car/train/plane parts that had been strewn about. It certainly caught the eye.
We are finally getting ready to leave Bolivia after spending 3 months in this beautiful place. Sadness. We absolutely loved this country with its eclectic pace, chaotic way of doing things, drop-dead gorgeous landscapes and colorful cultures and traditions. The jungles of the Amazon rainforest mix with high altiplano lakes and flat salt plains. One minute you can be among icy cool 16,000 ft snow-capped peaks and in an hour be transported to the tropical cloudforest.
After our rafting adventures, we flew from Rurrenabaque back to La Paz. From there, we took an awful night bus to Cochabamba. Night buses in Bolivia are disaster affairs. Okay, most buses in Bolivia are terrible but night buses are a special type of horror because the seats do not recline to beds, there is usually no bathroom and the roads in the country completely suck. This makes for little sleep with a full bladder on a bumpy road. Not very pleasant, I'm afraid.
One year ago on October 4, with much trepidation and excitement, Laurent & I landed in Buenos Aires, Argentina with just backpacks strapped to our backs containing everything we would need for the next two years. I had quit my job back in New York, sold my car and many of my possessions and had no idea what the future would hold.
The next adventure was about to begin. It started in Sucre when I met a girl who told me of a great experience she had. While in La Paz, she discovered a company called 'Deep Rainforest' who organized a 6 day tour aboard a homemade raft. Each night you would stop along the river and camp. Occasionally there would be hikes to try to spot monkeys or other wildlife. Showers consisted of plunging into crystal waterfalls, streams or for the very brave, the murky pirhana-infested, caiman-lurking waters.
The last day of the tour was surprisingly one of the most unspectacular, probably due in part to the large amounts of tourists that you have to face at 7 am on the small Isla de Pescado for the sunrise. This island is (unfortunately) where every tour company takes their group, so while you are all sleepy, groggy-eyed waiting for the sunrise, you have to weave through hordes of other tourists.
After our rough introduction to Bolivia, we finally made it to Sucre. And like so many travelers before, we fell in love with this city. In fact, it's easily become one of our favorite cities in all of South America. We decided to spend 3 weeks here learning more Spanish and we could have stayed for 3 more. Why all this love for Sucre? Well, that's easy.
Infused exposures 