Abundance in Sucre

The things I’ve discovered Sucre has in abundance (other than the to-be-expected white-walled colonial architecture) are the following:

Churches and convents
Stray dogs
Brass bands parading the street
Pet dogs that are adorable, including lots of sausage dogs
Kids being driven around in remote control cars
Pigeons in the central square
Trees and bushes with beautiful flowers on the streets

One could argue that five sousaphones is more than enough.

I wasn’t as enamoured by this city as I thought I would be when I first got here, but I’m definitely warming up to it. We arrived on Saturday after exploring Potosí’s catedral (and beautiful views from the clock tower):

That day, we explored Sucre in the rain and yesterday we explored it under the clouds. We were fortunate to take a tour yesterday morning with a local historian who studied Bolivia’s colonial history in England.

We learned a lot not only about the history of Sucre, but also about the social and cultural dynamics in the present day. François described how judgements are made as to whether Bolivians are ‘European’ or ‘indigenous’ and the various implications that arise from each. It makes me realise that, comparatively, Australia is further into its multicultural and reconciliation journeys – further than I had realised.

Yesterday afternoon, we spent sunset in the 25 de Mayo square in the centre of Sucre. It’s buzzing with locals and their kids, pigeons and dogs. I read while Dan perched on the statue while calling home. The atmosphere was relaxed and lovely.