The Ancient City Awaits Us

Well it has been a long week and we are finally less than 24 hours away from Peru. I can barely contain my excitement. That said I have really loved Bolivia but Machu Picchu and the wonders of Peru are calling my name.

I am going to apologize again for not posting any photos...just too hard. I will put up a slideshow with then trip is over.

A quick recap of the last week and what our next plans our. Since my last post, Bridget and I spent the whole week in Sucre. We flew to La Paz this morning and fly to Cuzco tomorrow. I know we are living the high life...who travels by plane when they are backpacking...well we do...mostly because taking the buses would have taken much longer and we wanted to get the most time in Peru...so we compromised and flew. If I had all the time in the world, I would take the buses. It is cheaper, way more authentic an experience and so much more...but we became gringos to the max and flew.

Highlights....read as you please

Sucre
Beautiful town...it was the original capitol of Bolivia and they still claim rights to the Official Capitol even though all state business is now done in La Paz...long story behind that...just know folks from Sucre are very proud and constantly stake claim to being the capitol. It is a beautiful city among the mountains...like every city we have been to. It is also one of the most afluent cities in Bolivia. There is still a lot of poverty but you can tell this city has more money than others. In the main part of the downtown, they require all buildings to be painted white....going back to colonial times...see the pride I was talking about.

Living the High Life
Like I said Bridget and I lived the high life the past week. We need a day or two to rest and it turned into about four....and we were gringos to the max. We ate at nice restaraunts, got our nails done, went to the museums, etc. But you must know Sucre definitely caters to tourists...more than any other city we have been in so far. I probably saw more tourists here than in any other city...outside of the salt flats but that is a huge attraction for the beauty of that part of the country. As for doing our nails...well we just gave in and got a manicure and a pedicure for about 7 bucks...you can´t beat that...and my nails look great!

Basically in Sucre I can tell you where to get your nails done, where to get the best meal, where to see an authentic dance show, where to drink some great beer, where the best museums are, and where to relax and see the whole city. I have to admit one day I was getting very bored just being a tourist...but that comes and goes when you are spending each and every day visiting museums and figuring your way around.

Spanish
I sitll don´t speak it...but I understand much much more than I did when I arrive over two weeks ago. If the conversations are basic I catch most words and have a good understanding but don´t expect me to actually respond....that terrifies me a bit. Bridget is a great teacher though and is constantly encouraging me to be the one who asks for the check or how much something costs. She is a god send and her spanish is great even though she won´t say that. She did say to me today that if I understood more spanish I wouldn´t be impressed...She says sometimes she says things like ¨"we pay now"...whatever it gets the job done...

Food
I realized I haven´t really written much about the food minus Albina´s amazing cooking in Cochabamba. Honestly this is naive of me but I was really expecting a lot of rice and beans and was prepping myself for five weeks of basics...boy was I wrong. You can get whatever you want to eat here. It might taste a little different than in the states but I have had everything from gnocchi to pasta to pizza. Don´t get me wrong though...I am trying every bit of authentic bit of food I can get my hands on. This includes (and I am going to probably spell these wrong): pique macchu, silpancho, cunapie, llama meat (pretty good), empanadas, saltenas, and much much more. I have liked most and loved some. I of course am taking pictures of all the interesting food I eat so I can show it to you. Bolivia really is a bread basket of sorts so you really can get so so much to eat.

Observations
I am daily struck by the poverty here...it is so hard to comprehend. So many people really live on so little...less than two US dollars a day...and I gripe about a cab driver overcharging us...when really that money is going to great use. I really don´t know how people do it. It is really quite heartbreaking. Today in the airport we had multiple chidlren come up to us and ask for handouts. At one point we were eating a bag of chips and a small child, easily to older than 5, came up to us and asked for some. How can you not give a child something to eat when you are well fed and sticking your hand in a bag of chips at the exact moment he is asking you...of course we gave in and shortly after two more children came and aksed us for something. And the poverty is just so different than in the US...it is everywhere. You can´t avoid it even if you try.

We went to a cloistered convent the other day that sells sweets through a revolving door in the courtyard (which was totally cool and the sweets were good). There was an older lady there who started talking to us and we told her we were from the US. It led to a conversation which was mostly good but she made a comment about how we are able to travel and come here...but so many Bolivians don´t get an oppurtunity like us...and it is the truth. You can´t avoid it. It is something I think about a lot while seriously enjoying the ability and freedom and wealth to travel while knowing so many people around us struggle to find something basic to eat everyday. Mind you I amm typing this after writing all about how we lived a pretty blessed week in Sucre.

With all that said, I am having a great time. Looking forward to the next two weeks and soaking everything in. I am trying to process as much as possible and enjoy my time as well. If you haven´t traveled, I strongly ecourage it. It will change your worldview and well much more...

Bolivia as a whole has been a wonderful experience for me. I will take many memories with me and inspiration for further study of the spanish language. None of this would have happened without Bridget´s language ability. It is a beautiful country (although we only really saw the mountaineaous part) with really fantastci people. We have been treated to amazing hospitality at our hostals and host home and by kind strangers on the street. A pharmacist who we visited to buy some altitude sickness pills from later helped us find the correct micro (city bus) to get the the bus terminal...that will stick with me for a while...

What´s next...
Peru tomorrow if our travels go as planned. We will be in Cuzco for about a week and in the week visit Machu Piccu. From there we will head up the coast and eventually land in Lima for out flights home. I am so excited about Peru I can hardly stand it....pictures to come probably at the end of the trip.

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods...until next time.