Potosi
On our way to Sucre, Bismarck and I drove through Potosi – a mining town where his brother lived. Bismarck told me that Potosi used to be the richest town in the world and bigger than London in its heyday. That was because there was an insane amount of silver deposits in the mountains and still to this day the silver mine is active. From Potosi they shipped the silver down the river and over the Atlantic back to Spain which is the reason that Argentina, the “Rio Plata” and “La Plata” are named after the precious metal.
We only went to town to get an ice cream however and then we were back on our way to Sucre.
Bismarck
As I wrote before, Bismarck was our guide on the Uyuni tour. While he did not go into his personal life too much on the tour, he opened up on the ride and I enjoyed having him along for the conversation.
On the drive Bismarck played some of his music that he produced and put on Spotify. It’s good music, check him out.
He is also a cartoonist, you can find him on Artstation and Instagram.
Sucre
In the town, I dropped him off and then went to look for a parking spot which turned out to be quite hard because it was Friday and everyone drove into town to party. In the end I had to park 6 blocks away from the hostel. It’s always a hassle to enter into towns with the car. I much preferred the vast emptiness of the altiplano.
I stayed in the Hostel Kultur Berlin which is (obviously) run by a German dude although I did not get to meet the owner. True to its name the hostel hosts cultural events almost every evening. On this Friday it was a traditional dance show: Caporales.
The next day the hostel transformed into a ragaeton club but I did not feel like partying so I just went to bed with my earplugs in.
The Town Center
The town itself is really beautiful, too. It is kept really clean and the historical buildings maintain their pure white facades. While I was there it was independence week where they celebrated their victory over the spaniards and their declaration of independence. To that end there were marching bands and other festivities all around the town center.
Bismarck took me out to lunch and showed me the best places to eat in town. Together we went to the central market where we had lunch together and where I bought some fresh fruit that looked interesting.
Bismarck also showed me his favorite chocolate factory where they have a chocolate espresso – a very thick and creamy hot chocolate – very delicious.
I liked Sucre. The colonial architecture and nice people makes a good place to just wander around and explore. I did not really do much else but that was enough for me.
Tire Swap
The tracks of my rear tire were getting a little shallow so I got some new tires for my rear wheels for ~220€. The machine they use for that is quite fascinating. It runs off of pressurized air.
Onwards to La Paz
The nature north of Sucre was amazing as well and I think I did spot some signs for hiking paths there. Should I ever come back here, I will make sure to explore hiking opportunities in that area.