Struggling to reach La Paz
Friday, May 12th, 2006I`ve been as slow getting round to updating these pages as the internet is here in Bolivia, so here`s a couple of quick catch up entries.
After Potosì we took a taxi to Sucre. It seems ridiculous, borgeouis even, but with the bus strike on in Bolivia this was the only option, and between us all it worked out only slightly more expensive than the bus. It also had the advantage of us being able to pick the time, rather than with the buses in Bolivia which leave at odd times and dump you in the next place at an even odder time, like 3 or 4 in the morning.
Plaza at the top of the mirador in Sucre
Sucre is a pretty chilled out small city, full of nice colonial architecture, and an even nicer mirador (view point) up on the hill from which you can sit in the cafe garden and look out over the city, soaking up the sun. Lunch turned into a beer, then beer turned into cocktails, then when the sun set it turned freezing.
Anyway, a nice few days in Sucre, then we had to work out how to move on. The bus companies are striking because the don`t pay tax and the government wants them to, like everyone else. Makes travelling around Bolivia a little tricky, but not impossible. We dragged a couple of girls, Ruth and Alison, with us as they`d been sat around in Sucre for far too long waiting for the strike to end. We found the `alternative´ bus station which was actually a roadside on the edge of town where less than official buses gathered. There`s always a way if you`re determined.
After a 12 hour journey, half it on bumpy dirt track roads we made it to Cochabamba. La Paz had been the preferred destination but this was on the way and as close as we could get in the strike circumstances. The city was quite nice but not as beautiful as Sucre, so a couple days here was sufficient. What it did have right in the middle of the city was a hill with a Rio-esque statue of Christ. Good place to look out over the city and watch the sunset from, and it gave me the opportunity to get a photo of the statue, as I was too busy having a good time in Rio to do the touristy sights.
Jesus Christ! There`s no getting away from him in Cochabamba
Ed