We instantly liked Sucre – the constitutional capital of Bolivia – and its whitewashed walls (which are re-painted annually). We checked into our hostel (Kultuur Berlin, justifiably famous for its breakfasts) and were lead to a charming private room at the back of the quiet garden.

Unfortunately our plans to go out and have a few drinks went out the window when we learned that the country was in the midst of a referendum and had, therefore, to observe a strict “ley seca” (dry law).

Various incidents had occurred during the week, including 6 people being killed, so a ley seca had been declared throughout the country, meaning that no alcohol could be served between midnight on Thursday night and midday on Monday. We had arrived on Friday afternoon…

This was a shame because Sucre has a host of decent bars that would have certainly warranted further exploration. Indeed, the attractive cosmopolitan feel of the city often results in backpackers prolonging their stay to learn Spanish. Alas, there would be no bars and insufficient time for Ed to entertain Spanish lessons…

Since we arrived in Bolivia, we had noticed a lot of walls painted with “Si”, “Vota Si con Evo” etc. The country was going to undergo a political referendum to decide whether the current government could change the constitution to allow any president to stand for election beyond 15 years. Evo Morales has been president since 2006 and was clearly keen to run for re-election in 2020.

We were warned that on Sunday (the day of the election) everything would shut-down, including all transport in and out of Sucre, so we decided to stay 3 nights and immediately rushed out to book an excursion for the following day.

The following morning we joined 4 frenchies on an excursion to the Maragua crater, which involved a 2.5 hour walk down an old Inca trail (not ‘the’ Inca trail), stopping frequently so our rather eccentric guide could tickle us with interesting facts and some Bolivian history.

The walk was easy and presented us with some beautiful views. After a short drive we arrived at the crater, which we were told was not and never had been volcanic. The curved shape of the surrounding rocks resembled flower petals and we were told that the crater was most likely to have been created by a meteorite. The area is also well known for its fossilized dinosaur footprints.

We then headed to the crater for a picnic, stopping to observe the Garganta del Diablo (the devil’s throat) and discover the local community, including a local woman, who was less than enthralled at hosting a brief weaving demonstration. The process was fascinating since she worked with several different colours, making the work incredibly intricate and very time consuming. However, the final product was impressive and of excellent quality.

The way home took us on very narrow pass around the surrounding mountains, so quite stressful, particularly when we came across a bus coming in the other direction. The views, however, were breathtaking and made it worthwhile!

On Sunday we enjoyed a lazy morning, arriving just in time for an excellent breakfast, over which Ed announced that Chelsea were playing Man City in the FA Cup and if we were lucky we might be able to catch the game somewhere…(we did, Chelsea won 5-1 = happy Eddie).

Outside, there were no cars but the streets were full of kids on their toys and bikes, thoroughly enjoying the empty roads. En route around the city we bumped into a Belgian couple from Bruges (Abi and Maxime), who we had initially come across in Valparaiso, so we decided to have dinner with them at our hostel that night.

The venue (not the company!) turned out to be a terrible decision since the hostel had cunningly decided to completely ignore the alcohol ban, so it was completely packed as every backpacker in Sucre arrived to drink beer. Also, given the election, the kitchen was completely understaffed. An hour and a half and one cancelled order later the last of our 3 plates arrived.

Despite the poor service, we had great evening, sipping beers and exchanging travel stories. Abi and Maxime were going to stay for two weeks to take Spanish classes, something that, given more time, Ed would have loved to do.

Monday was another slow day for Lolo as she was sick in bed (first time of the trip) but Ed was super productive and even managed to get one of our blog posts up! Please note that the internet was so slow in Sucre that it was considered a true achievement…!

We then embarked on a night but that would take us to the capital, La Paz.

Next stop: La Paz

Highlights:

• The views on the Managua Crater and our wonderfully enthusiastic guide
• Exploring Sucre on election day – no cars, no horns, no pollution and happy kids!