The Life in Sucre

Hello everyone!

Happy October, you are now well into Fall (Spring for me, which means more heat and more rain), and I hope it is treating everyone well. Many of you just had Thanksgiving Dinner this weekend - I hope you enjoyed it. It was my first Thanksgiving out of the country, and I missed mashed potatoes like they were a family member. I am thankful  for all of you.

I have settled and found a community and environment here in Sucre that I love. I do have some sad (but also exciting) news: my time here is coming to an end! Yes, I finally have a plane ticket home. In the interest of surprise, the date of the flight will not be disclosed here, as I am keeping everyone, parents and Lisa included, in the dark on this one. Dramatic surprise arrivals on multiple doorsteps, how could I resist?

My plan (loose as always) is to leave Sucre tomorrow, and travel for X ammount of time and see a little more of this great continent, and end up in Lima, from where I fly home....

So in the coming X ammount of time, there should be a few action packed travel blogs, so look forward to that. In the meantime, I thought I'd give an update on what I've been up to here in Sucre, with Condortrekkers and the wonderful people I've gotten to know. The last month or so has been a little blog-sparse, mainly due to the fact that my camera, a cheap, ancient point-and-shoot that served us valiantly after Lisa's was stolen in El Salvador, finally bit the dust completely. The decision to by a new one has torn at my budget conciousness (all travel savy-ness aside, it's going to be a close call whether or not I can afford food until my flight), but finally, I broke down and got one. How often are you in South America?

A big highlight of September was the Virgen de Guadelupe festival - a HUGE 4-day religious festival that rivals Semana Santa (Easter Week) and Carnival and blows Christmas out of the water. Basically parades, bands, and dancing from Thursday morning until Sunday night, with Saturday melting down to all out mayhem. The fireworks lit in downtown Victoria on Canada Day over the duration of my life will almost equal one hours worth here, during the festival (that's 24 hours a day folks). Also permitted (encouraged) is the consumption of just about anything you can possibly imagine to eat or drink, all sold in staggering quantities on the city streets. Well, the ones that aren't completely overun with parades and other chaos. You may not think it possible to survive for four days on a diet of fried street snacks and beer, but many of Sucre's young people did exactly that. I of course was a pillar of responsibility and enjoyed the fare in utmost moderation. ...

A functional camera would probably have been a bonus, but to be honest, with the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds and the frequently malfunctioning fireworks (as in exploding while still on the ground) I would have been a nervous wreck.

Another positive of the festival was that it brought and kept tons of travellers in the city, which meant lots of treks for us. A few days after the festival I headed out on a 4-day trek (our best one, but more on that later) with a whopping 13 guests. The trek was a blast, but somewhere towards the tail-end I picked up a bacteria that could have come from the water but more likely came straight from hell.

I got back into Sucre and could hardly leave my bed for days. The graphic symptoms of Latin American mystery sickness (that knocked both Lis and I around a few times over our adventure) were all back in full force, and didn't let up for almost a week. I started to come around and feel better, and even went out for a short, 1-night hike. But the damage was done: in under a week, I'd lost 9 pounds.

Fortunately, the three most commonly available foods in Sucre are papas rellenas (mashed potatoes formed into a ball around a hardboiled egg, cheese, or meat), corazon (yep, heart!), and chorizo sausage sandwiches - fairly conducive to putting weight back on. I was back on the mend and after a week or so was pretty much back to normal. Maybe still a little leaner.

Once I was back on my feet, I got a another really cool oppourtunity - to attend a Bolivian wedding! This was a really neat experience for me, by far the most religious event I've ever attended (no kiss for the bride and groom while still in the chapel, and a figure-8 chain around their necks for the duration of the ceremony... yikes!). The ceremony was very long, and the priest hardly mentioned the people getting married - you'd have thought it was Jesus's wedding. Despite the incredibly formal religious themes, there were still some unique aspects that are truly South American: the party for the next wedding could be heard chatting outside, and a big fluffy dog was wandering around inside the church, for the duration. We got invited by Lydia, the office manager, here at Condortrekkers, which is strange if you think about it - imagine if your cousin invited a bunch of people she worked with who you'd never met before to you're wedding? That's Bolivia, the culture here is incredbily open and welcoming like that. After the ceremony we all relocated to a banquet hall, where usual wedding business insued: dancing, drinks, food, etc. A good time was had by all.
In the past few weeks I've also had some great visits to the guardaria (daycare) that we support here in Sucre. The kids there are absolutely amazing. Any shyness (or fear of my hair - which is becoming somewhat of a spectacle) dissapears in about four seconds, and you are converted into a human jungle gym whether you like it or not!

Monkeying around at the guardaria

The kids are very sweet - so eager to play and show you their colouring and toys, even though they've never met you and have no guarantee of ever seeing you again.

Each child demanded to be lifted to the roof about three times

Quite worn out, and having a rest with two little amigas

As long as you're ok with being covered in a colourful array of snot and drool (thats what showers are for, yea?) then the guardaria is an absolute blast. It is really great to hang out with little people who just ooze happiness - despite not having very much in life.

 

With profits from treks, Condortrekkers completely funds the food program at the guardaria (the center is responsible for feeding the children while they're there), a really great project. Visiting the center further solidifies my pride in volunteering with Condortrekkers, seeing the programs we support has been really wonderfuly for me, the best part of the experience for me by far.

Last week I headed out on another trek, once again our incredible four day mountain experience. This time I headed out armed with a new camera, and I managed to get some good shots.

The first day starts with a pretty good hike along a ridge (3800m) with amazing views down into the valley below.

High and dry in the Cordillera de los Frailes

The rock formations are stunning as well.


Transplanted and eroded sediment layers

 We take mid-morning break at really neat pre-Inca rock paintings. Dated at over 2000 years, these always make an awesome visit.

Most sources hypothesize that the figures here represent a large gathering - a celebration of some sort.

By the afternoon we've descended down off the mountain to a beautiful river, which we follow for the rest of the afternoon.

The second day we rise early, and after a good breakfast are off again, following the river through the hills all morning, before taking lunch a really neat waterfall.

Since its the only shower we get for 4 days, most partake

 After lunch we begin the tough climb up into the Crater of Maragua, past small farms and peaceful pastures.

Entering the Crater, we're reminded by the dogs, horses, cows, donkeys, and piggies that the Jal'q people aren't the only ones who feel at home in the crater!

Fast asleep in the afternoon sun!

The humble, quiet communties in Maragua always impress everyone on the treks, as we wrap up our second day.

With Christianity often trumped by traditional Andean religions, churches like this (built by missionaries) see only limited use

After nice big plates of spaghetti (sauce made from scratch by the volunteers!) and a good sleep in the town of Irupampa, we rise early again, making our way across and out of the crater before the sun gets too fierce. We pass dozens of kids on their way to school, who stop long enough to try and sell us fossils and woven bracelets.

The crater in the morning light.

After leaving the crater we make our way over rugged mountains, heading towards the famous dinosaur footprints!

Me on the trail

The footprints, the best of which were formed by terapods in the Cretacious period, are really cool, and fully awaken the dinosaur-obsessed boy who lives deep inside me.

After the prints we make our way towards the mountains, where we stop for lunch at the majestically set school in Humaca.

Escuela Humaca with the Cordillera looming behind

This is a rural Bolivian school, so of course, a foreigners vs local kids soccer game is absolutely mandatory.

Definitely more accustomed to the altitude, the kids mopped the floor with us!

Running for a loose ball

After lunch we work our way down into another valley, towards the Rio Pico Mayu. The mountain scenery is at its finest here, and its hard to concentrate on the trail at your feet with the views to choose from in every direction.

The final night camp on the edge of the river, just meters from natural hotsprings pools. While the late-night soak is pretty heavenly for the sore muscles, I think the sunrise view on the ridge above is my favourite part - defintely worth poking my head out the tent at 5:30 for!

Our campiste in the morning light

The last day features a bit of a sleep-in, very popular after three consecutive early mornings, before the gruelling camion (truck) ride back to Sucre. The camion can take up to 5 hours, during which time you're in the back of a flatbed truck with unsettling ammounts of people, goats, dogs, chickens, etc.

Probably the nicest bus station in Latin America?...

The trek went perfectly, the local guide David and I worked great together, the clients and weather were awesome, and everything went smoothly.

Since then I've been back in Sucre, helping send out and bring in the other treks, and promote Condortrekkers in town here. Sadly, the sun is setting on my time here in Sucre. My Bolivian visa expires in a few weeks, and my funds are dwindling. I am leaving Sucre tomorrow night, for the mid-altitude laid back hide-away of Samaipata, where I'll relax and check out some Inca ruins for a day or two. From there my road is east and north, to, wait for it, the Amazon!

I won't have tons of time, and my plans are not solid, but may include a five day trip on a transport boat on the river, or a night jungle tour. My time is short (which is just as well, because so is my supply of malaria medicine) and my plans will have to be flexible because we're on the edge of the wet season and road conditions can change in a matter of hours, but I hope to get a little taste of the jungle after my months high and dry up in the mountains.

From the Amazon I'll head west again, to La Paz, from where I'll be in striking distance of Peru, the land of my mysterious flight back to Canada.....

I am sad to leave Sucre but excited to get back on the road again. I know I'll see some amazing things, and the experience will be bittersweet - this will be the last journey of this adventure for me, but the end of the road is home, where many of you await.

Take care everyone!

Love Torrance