For the past 6 days we´ve been staying in Sucre, the Judicial Capital of Bolivia, after enduring a nightmare 14 hour overnight bus journey from La Paz. Why nightmare? Firstly, it was supposed to be a "bus cama" (sleeping bus) but the seats we were allocated (upstairs, at the front) had so little leg room that a pygmy would´ve been hard pushed to get some shut-eye! Secondly, it was cold. Very cold. And when you´re travelling at night at altitiudes in excess of 4000m a liitle heating wouldn´t go amiss, but it appears these buses don´t have any!
For 3 days (23rd 24th 25th) Bolivia has been celebrating its Independence (2009 will be the bi-centinary) and we´ve done little but sit in the main plaza, drinking fresh orange juice, watching the numerous bands and processions. Today was the main event with the President of Bolivia in attendance. The poor guy stood for over 4 hours on a balcony whilst seemingly the whole of Bolivia marched past!
We did take a tour to the local cement works. It seems that quite along time ago a number of dinosaurs left their footprints in the mud, which then hardened. Over millions of years the flat land was pushed up and a few years ago the now vertical wall containing the footprints was discovered. A very nice visitor center complete with life-size models of dinosaurs and nice entry fee has been built ! Unfortunately the closest you get to the rock face is 300m across the quarry and you could be looking at anything!
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