Sucre, Bolivia

May 19, 2009

• Museo de la Libertad
• Museo de Charcas
• Terminal
• Museo de Charcas
• Museo de Recoleta
• Mirador
• Bookstore
• 7:00 pm. Film: ¿Qué hace una chica como tú en un sitio como este?
• Dinner: Pailita

 Sucre, Bolivia

I am feeling much better now that I settled into the quiet city of Sucre, at only 2700 masl. While it is the constitutional capital of Bolivia, it does not have the impact of La Paz. It is easy to be seduced by formerly La Plata, formerly Chuquisaca, now Sucre, as it has beautiful plazas, cafes, and a thriving arts scene.

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I am presently reading Eduardo Galeano´s Las venas abieras de America Latina, a history of why Latin America is among the world’s have-nots. It is very interesting reading. He states that the reason the Western world (Europe, the US) is at the top of the economic pyramid is because the colonies of Spain and Portugal were used to extract their riches and build capital in Western Europe (both with slave labor and the promotion of monocultivation in Latin America) which caused Latin America to be dependent on an economic system that favors the developed countries. Spain and Portugal, and the subsequent post-colonial governments, also failed to build up native enterprises/businesses in the Americas so that they became dependent on the finished products of the industrialized countries. It is on this wealth that the industrialized countries built their capital, a system that continues to this day.. My being in Latin America has prompted me to read this, especially being in countries where I get by so cheaply (in Bolivia, $10-15 a day), while the locals struggle to make ends meet....

 

May 20, 2009

• Mass
• Museo de la Catedral
• Lunch: El Germen; great place
• Parque Bolivar
• Plaza 25 de mayo
• Tea: Joy Ride
• Terminal
• 7:00 pm depart Sucre

 May 21, 2009

• 7:30 am arrive La Paz
• Museo de Música
• Museo Costumbrista
• Museo Litoral
• Museo de Metales Preciosas
• Museo Nacional de Entografico y Folklorico
• Museo de Coca
• Mendoza Plaza

 May 22, 2009

• Breakfast: Tambo colonial: great place!
• Museo antropológico
• Plaza de Estudiante
• Plaza San Francisco
• 9:30 pm depart La Paz
• 10:30 pm arrive Lima

This is the other Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Sucre.

Pailita, a dish of sauted beef with an egg on rice with plaintain and curtido (pickled vegetables). 

Papas rellenas with sautéed vegetables at El Germen in Sucre. The potatoes are filled with cheese and tomatoes and baked crispy. Very good. If you are in Sucre, go early to their lunch specials where you can eat for less than $2.50.

A band of dogs resting on the street.