Bolivia – the beautiful city of Sucre
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Sucre is sitauted at 2790 meters. It is lcoated in central south Bolivia. The city was founded by Pedro de Anzurez in the mid-16th century. Now it is Bolivian capital and also the capital of Chuquisaca departament. It is also home to the Supreme Court, Counel of Judges but the president and the government are in situated in La Paz. Majority of buildings in the historical center are white. Therefore, many call Sucre "the White City". Parque Cretácico (the Chalk Park) is situated nearby. There are life-sized models of dinosaurs. Not randomly thouh –several petrified traces of these creatures.
We designated two days to spend in Sucre. On the first day, we went to the historical center and beautiful streets. Plaza 25 de Mayo is the main square of the city. The cathedral belfry rises in the edge of the square. There are statues and it has a red roof. Next to the cathedral, there is an impressive building of the state police (Prefectura de Chuquisaca).
Casa de la Libertad is another interesting place. In 1825, the independence of Bolivia was signed there. Today, when we are there, about 200 people gather with signs. We have been in Bolivia mere two weeks and this is the third strike we have seen. It seems as it was some sort of national sport of sorts.
They walk around the square while shooting with a pistol. They stop and chant for a while. An hour later, everything is over. Not even the guards in front of the building take the protest seriously. They smile, play with their phones and talk. Then the crowd disperses. They go to sit down with an ice cream or jell-o somewhere on the square. Some take pictures in front of lion statues situated in the center of the square. It rather seems that the strikers made a beautiful day off.
We walk down Arenales street around the churches of Santa Monica and Santa Barbara. We reach Simon Bolivar park. This park stretches from the building of the court and goes north. There is a fountain on its edge. Twice a day, water sprinkles with music in the background. This happens before the noon and then in the evening with a light show. A miniature of the Eiffel Tower is set in the center of the park. You can take a ride there and then take a look around. A dinosaur-themed children playground is adjacent to the park. There are concrete casts of dinosaur prints. There are several swings with motives of the extinct animals. Also there are high Apatosaur-themed slides. Even we tried them out.
On the following day we walked the area above the city. There is beautiful Plaza Pedro de Anzures square. On the square, there is Recoleta church in white color. An arcad is situated opposite the church. When at the arcade you can see the lower part of historical center of the city. Not many tourists go there. One can therefore enjoy peace in the morning, get warmer under the sun. Chidlren waiting for the school to begin play with ball. There is the Museum de la Recoleta just around the corner.
On the way down from the Recola scenic spot, we roam on well maintained streets until we end up at San Roque church on PLaza Beni (southwest from downtown). It doesn't look anything special but it is nice and it is peace there from it is aside from the busy center. We return to the center. While on our way we visit Templo de la Merced. It has beautiful itnerior. The busiest area in normally tranquil city is San Alberto street. There are many shops, restaurants, and it is very busy all day long there.
You could walk around Sucre in any direction and on every street and you would still find something new, interesting and impresssive. At the first glance, it is apparent the city is kept in top shape. Even family houses add to city's luxurious look, well only if we cound the center. Of course, once you stray away from downtown you see more and more buildings in worse shape. However, the locals are proud of their city everyhwere.
GPS: 19°02'33.8"S 65°15'39.6"W
Text and photos: Tomáš Novák
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