Trick question! La Paz is the administrative and legislative capital, but Sucre is the official and judicial capital!
We've been in Sucre almost a week now. Sucre is full of interesting museums (anthropology, indigenous art, military history, bread, hats, the usual) and the surrounding area has some great sights. We saw three:
1. Inca trail hike in the Maragua Crater. Another trip highlight! The crater is the product of erosion, not vulcanism or meteor impact. We went with Condor Trekkers, a nonprofit which supports rural communities. In two days we hiked 37km through rural farms and villages where no one owned a car, swam in a waterfall, ate delicious vegetarian food, befriended dogs, and saw dinosaur footprints!
2. Sunday market at Tarabuco. An hour away from Sucre, every week people from the mountain villages gather in Tarabuco for a market. Part of the market is geared towards tourists, but the majority is for locals: produce, meat, clothes, hardware, every type of food, bootleg movies and music, etc. We went with our new friends from our Maragua trek, soaked up the local flavor, and I bought some sort of flute that I can't make any sound with.
3. Dinosaur footprints at Cal Orko. We couldn't get up close like in Maragua, but the prints are magnitudes more impressive. Geologically shifted to a steep angle, the prints from dozens of dinosaurs cover a nearly vertical wall. Accidentally unearthed by a cement factory and now a major tourist attraction (CRETACEOUS PARK), complete with life-size dino replicas.
Join us next time when we explain the real reason we stayed in Sucre so long: pants.
-Peter
Dino prints on a vertical wall. That's the kind of thing you travel for. On a separate note, the beard is looking good.
ReplyDeleteThanks! The guide told us a story to illustrate how Bolivians from a certain region are their stereotypical "country bumpkins": after explaining the tectonic events that created the mountains and made the slope (like a folding accordion), he asked the group if they had any questions. "Yes, but how did the dinosaurs climb up the wall?"
DeleteI am geeking out so hard right now!!!! This is awesome!
ReplyDelete