Sucre is Bolivia´s second capital, and a beautiful city of colonial architecture. We left Potosi for the three hour bus ride here, and after listening to three salesmen and politely declining in turn medicinal powder, caramellos, and a book entitled “Aprenda Ingles” (do I really need to be sold a “Learn English” book?) we arrived in Sucre, where we spent the remaining part of the day strolling about the city streets not doing anything in particular. My guidebook tells me that there are loads of museums and churches that we could visit; but I think this time I´m just going to enjoy the city atmosphere and not much else.
Hostal San Francisco in Sucre
Sucre at Sunset
Sucre is a university town, and in the evenings the sidewalks are absolutely jammed with young people—so much so that it is hard to walk in places! Cafes abound, as do interesting parks, restaurants, and chocolaterias. It feels like a city of youth really, all sporting backpacks and one has to wonder where all the adults are. Add to that the fact that Sucre has a climate almost identical to San Diego, and we´re really enjoying it. We´ve been alternately freezing and roasting between the high Andes around 14,000 ft and the jungle around sea level, so it feels really nice to be in a temperate place again.
Strolling the Streets of Sucre
Main Square in Sucre
The Lights Reminded us of Christmas
We did do one very touristy activity while here; we went to see the dinosaur tracks at Cal Orck´o just outside town in the Dino Truck! Cal Orck´o has the biggest collection of dinosaur footprints in the world, with over 3500 prints and several hundred tracks. They were discovered as part of a cement quarry, and were largely ignored until 1994 when the excavation began under the supervision of world leaders of paleontology. It is now a very nice park with interperative center, guide, model dinosaurs, and a viewing platform to look at the footprints from.
The Dino Truck
Park Entrance
Replica Dinosaurs Decorate the Park Walkways
The most likely explanation for how there came to be thousands of dinosaur footprints on a vertical wall is that the area was once flat, and surrounding a lake. Animals came to hunt, bathe and drink water, leaving tracks. Then with tectonic shifts the prints were raised into the now vertical wall where they can be seen. We didn´t get very many pictures up close with our tiny camera, but this blog has some very nice photographs of the area.
Giant Vegetarian Dinosaur
Wall of Dinosaur Footprints
Next, we´ll be heading to Uyuni and the world´s largest salt flats!
