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A Capital Town

By Mike Beris - 2009-10-19

The city of Sucre presented us with a different view of Bolivia than we had seen thus far. Having entered the country in the middle of nowhere (the roadless salt flats) and having cranked through the poor agrarian countryside, we noticed the first signs of wealth as we approached town.

One of the biggest signals was the change in political graffiti. "Evo si", which we had seen painted on houses and streets in the poorer rural areas, became "Evo no", since many of the wealthier people do not favor the president’s support of the indigenous people. Resorts lined the river that flows down the valley. Expensive cars passed us, along with the more common pickup trucks.

We climbed a hill into the city and found the plaza de armas. The square was manicured and clearly well maintained. Shoe-shine boys tried to make a few bolivianos (the national currency) while stray dogs trotted around on the bricks. Sucre’s population is younger, richer, and more diverse than other towns we had seen.

Several universities bring youth and culture, and a history rich with European influence results in people of various ethnicities strolling the streets today. A lifelong Sucre resident gave us directions to a good hostel in perfect Bolivian Spanish; he also happened to be white, blond, and German, and speaks English as well as Spanish and German.

Sucre gave us some "Gringo restaurants" where we paid too much for too little food, so we spent more time in the hole-in-the-wall haunts the locals run and eat at. A short taxi ride took us to a sweet view of town, while behind us a bride and groom circled a plaza. A line of locals waited outside a church, presumably to be blessed by someone inside.