Sucre is the official capital of Bolivia, I always thought it was La Paz, in truth government and administrative functions do sit in La Paz. But that does not stop this city from being incredibly charming. So, so different from the craziness, grit and crowds of La Paz. Sucre is cool , calm and ordered.

We arrived two nights ago by overnight bus, not that much fun to be honest , it felt like we were off road for hours, turns out we actually were. So we arrived early morning and our guide had arranged a table in the plaza for breakfast.

Sundays the plaza between 6am and 6pm are traffic free zones. So various community activities are arranged. Kids bikes, chess tables are set up, there’s a stage for performing and market stalls are set up. Sucre feels very European and is also known as the white city, with the white washed buildings it’s a stunner. Fancy chocolate shops, Bolivians dressed up in their finery it could not be more of a contrast from La Paz

After wondering around the city a few of us went to see the Dinosaur footprint fossils. It’s right next door to a huge cement works that “discovered” them in the 90’s. It’s now been turned into a park. Quite well done I thought , but the guides are quite put off by the fact that you don’t get really close up after a bit of a major landslide a few years ago. Goodness knows how this will be appropriately preserved, but for now I got to see them.

Back at the charming hotel we bumped into two of the crew from our last tour so we had a bit of a reunion moment which was fun. And then it was a very early night to catch up on some sleep.

Next day it was up early for another drive up and walk down an old Inca trail. So nice being outdoors and the weather was fantastic. These trails are centuries old , some pre Inca , rather pleased we were going down and not up!

So after a long walk it was back into town for some lunch , a wonder around where I was hit by my first bout of oh-oh where’s the loo NOW! So that first aid kit Imodium got brought out , hope it clears up before the bus ride tomorrow! Back up into altitude again which is tough for David and we are getting closer to the famous salt flats.

The dogs here are incredibly friendly and seem to latch onto to tourists, this guy ( we called him Pedro) has been following us everywhere, on walks, waiting outside restaurants, bars and just sits outside the hotel for us. It’s incredibly endearing and I want to bring him home.

He’s so cute and seems to be in really good condition. At the end of the day I relented and did feed him. I know, big mistake!

It’s been a restful few days in La Paz. A chance to get some laundry done, sleep in and look at attractions at a much more leisurely pace. Important before we head into the next Intrepid trip which stats today.

There have been some outstanding food treats in the vicinity of our Airbnb , a social enterprise restaurant rated one of the top 50 in Latin America and a small dégustation menu ( 9 or 14 courses) we went for the 9 course and it was stunning Menu cost $40us each. Bolivia is definitely cheaper than Peru , apparently one of the cheapest in South America. You can tell in a lot of ways.

We also went to the Cholita’s wrestling show. Definitely gimmicky and touristy, but still a bit of fun once you let yourself get into it. cholitas are a distinct, proud indigenous group recognisable by their distinct dress code . Colourful and the obligatory hat which seems to be perched on their heads. ( must be pinned as I can’t work out how they stay on?)

Back to the wrestling, it was amusing. But also a wee bit cringe for me. But here are a few pics , you had to not take it too seriously.

New Year’s Eve was a blast. We went to Gustu in the leafy well to do suburbs of La Paz. Gustu was founded by one of the Chefs from the famous restaurant Nobu. It was pretty fancy and included another plethora of gorgeous treats. Followed by in house entertainment that spilled out into the streets at midnight. Pretty much had no idea what was going on but we went with the flow – as you do in these situations.

Yes, it felt like we munched our way through the Amazon… I know, I know. But I didn’t really think of no “ indigenous species” as a food preference when booking.

We had our obligatory 12 grapes at midnight, a Spanish tradition that endures.

And then out onto the streets went the whole restaurant, everyone, chefs, service staff , guests. Everyone outside to dance

There have been other adventures to , I went to the Valley of the moon one morning, a chance to look at the stunning features caused by erosion.

It was interesting, but a bit one note for me, it was far more interesting trying to find my own way back to where we were staying . Managed to hail a taxi and get driven to the nearest cable car.

Which brings me onto the next thing. The cable cars. I know I have mentioned these before but they are truely amazing. Such an engineering feat and provide for a pretty under developed city a 21st century attraction, and example of cheap , clean public transport. I want it for Wellington! And of course the views make an hour just going from cable car to cable car flying over suburbs. Watching sorts being played, dogs being walked , people going about their daily lives absolutely fascinating. You can do the whole city circuit for about $1.50. Definitely for me the highlight of La Paz.

There were some other activities we could have done, the death road bike ride ( although my intrepid guide was not keen due to dodgy safety) an old road that you çan now cycle done from 4500 to 1100m with sheer cliff drops.

Some pre Incan archaeological ruins, but I’m a bit “ ruined” out for the moment.

And a couple of mountain hikes above snow lines to see lakes … but I wasn’t really in the space nor did I feel I had the right equipment so we rested instead.

Tonight we get a bus to Sucre , the official capital of Bolivia. ( in name only it would seem) 11 hours on a sleeper bus. Couple of days there, and then onto the salt flats.

We met our new group last night. Only six of us plus the guide so should be quite a different experience….

Oh fun fact. On one of the cable car rides we went over a navy facility. A navy ? Bolivia is completely land locked and then we realised, Lake Titicaca , the “navy” patrols lake Titicaca.