Text: Peter Johansson
Editing: Christer Lundstedt
Photos: Christer Lundstedt, Peter Johansson
Videos: Christer Lundstedt


Friday 12th of July

08.17 We have slept further apart than in a long time. I wonder if we've ever had this far between the beds in the same room before. Our friend Roberth is currently in a, for him, new country, Zimbabwe. He has travelled around South Africa with his South African friend Jacques and now the two have made their way to the newly mentioned neighbouring country. Christer and I are still here in Sucre, Bolivia.

08.27 Due to the changes in our travel plans we will spend a lot of time here in Sucre. We arrived yesterday and will stay here until Monday afternoon. In other words, we have plenty of time to get to know this city properly.

09.38 This is starting to develop into a really good hotel. The breakfast here at Capital Plaza was stable. We continue to stabilize. This hotel seems to be just what we need after intense days at high altitudes in Uyuni and Potosí.

10.45 It's time to leave the safe embrace of the hotel to explore the central parts of Sucre. What awaits us in this city? Is there something that surprises us? We have high expectations based on what we read about the city. It is claimed to be one of the most beautiful cities in Bolivia with many ancient colonial buildings. Here there are also many visitors from other countries. Some are tourists like us, others study Spanish or are here for completely different reasons.

The interior of Capital Plaza Hotel.

On our way out from the hotel.

Our hotel is located on Plaza 25 de Mayo.

The heart of the city, a nice oasis.

Here in Sucre, the nation of Bolivia was born.

11.02 It's warm and nice today, +22°C. After a number of days at really high altitudes it feels a bit uncomfortable with heat again. We have walked one lap around the square in the heart of the city, Plaza 25 de Mayo. In the centre of everything stands Antonio José de Sucre himself statue. Like so many other statues, he's seen with a pigeon on his head. Sucre was an assistant to the South American hero Simón Bolívar. He was also the first president of the Republic of Bolivia.

11.36 After enjoying the sun, we left the park to take a coffee break at Metro Café in the corner of Plaza 25 de Mayo. We are having coffee and juice/fruit salad.

12.17 This was delicious and refreshing. In the Wimbledon tennis shown on TV here has the serb Novak Djokovic reached the final. In the second semi-final, it is 5-5 in the first set between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

13.06 A walk along the streets near the centre in search of beverages brought us to a small shop. The lady there recommended Christer to switch to a juice of a local fruit. It is unclear whether it was of helpfulness or because that drink was more expensive. Here at home in the hotel our room is being cleaned so we wait in a sofa outside. In the Wimbledon tennis, Roger Federer won the first set with 7-6 and Rafael Nadal the second with 6-1.

13.47 We continue to keep an eye on the tennis. Federer is one won set from the final. He won the third set, 6-3.

14.44 Roger Federer is in his twelfth Wimbledon final after winning the fourth set, 6-4. This with covering the tennis from Wimbledon is a dear old tradition on our summer trips over the years. We are not tennis fanatics otherwise.

The corner of the main square in Sucre.

Nice atmosphere on Plaza 25 de Mayo.

Sucre is standing in the middle of the square which is in the middle of Sucre.

Antonio José de Sucre (1795-1830).

A coffee stop at Metro Café.

Wimbledon tennis on TV and a nun dressed in white.

15.06 To celebrate the victory of Roger Federer...., no, mostly because we need food, lunch is ordered at nice Joyride Café (http://www.joyridebol.com). We sit by a table in a lush courtyard. The menu we received is extensive. Here you will find food from many different cultures and kitchens. On the table mats are photos of Donald Trump and Bolivia's president Evo Morales. They all have something to say about the Joyride Cafe.

16.04 It felt fantastic with a hearty portion of food, Christer summed up the good meal. It was a late lunch. We've really changed our eating habits. I had a Lady Bacon hamburger and Christer had pasta. Many old musical hits were offered during the meal.

16.29 We have sat down to read in our books. We sit in the courtyard of our hotel. It smells like kerosene here.

17.11 Good books brings as usual on our trips a good relaxation and entertainment.

17.45 The reduced amount of light reduces the ability for further reading. Soon, we will probably head back into our room to reflect on how the rest of this Friday will be.

19.53 We are in our room zapping around on the TV between different channels with different motives and messages. A little later we need to have dinner. Unfortunately, a late lunch makes hunger wait. It will probably be a simple meal near the hotel tonight.

21.07 Next door to the hotel is the Pizzeria Napolitana restaurant. The restaurant is not only close to our hotel, it is located on the other side of the wall. It is there or actually here that we will dine tonight. We are far from alone here but that they had a table for us.

A classic car parked in Sucre.

Catedral Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.

It´s time for a late lunch at Joyride Café.

Joyride Café, Sucre.

Dinner at Pizzeria Napolitana.

21.34 Homeland tones were unexpectedly heard during dinner. First, "It must have been love" with Roxette which was not so unexpected. It's world-famous music, though somehow old by now. More unexpectedly was the song that came then, a song in Swedish with Marie Fredriksson. It felt odd to hear Swedish sung here in Sucre. It has not been so many times during our trips on foreign land that we heard Swedish music with Swedish song. Once it happened was in Blantyre, Malawi 2012 but then the music was played for us.

21.57 It's time to sum up the day, the first all day of three here in Sucre. We rebuild ourselves step by step. Soon we will be back in good old form. Tomorrow awaits a change of hotels and new adventures in this city.

23.19 The TV shows a match from the American Football League, MLS. LA Galaxy leads 1-0 over San José Earthquakes. We will soon crawl under our duvets and feel grateful to have another warm and comfortable room.


Saturday 13th of July

08.14 Today we will do something we have done hundreds of times before. We're changing accommodation. The unusual thing is that the change will take place in the same city. It has only been done a few times before. We can remember that we have done so in Izmir, Turkey in 2005, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2006 and Johannesburg, South Africa in 2009. It could have happened more times that we don't remember right now. The reason for the change of hotel today is that Capital Plaza had no vacancies when we wanted to extend our stay here in Sucre.

10.11 We have had our last breakfast here at The Capital Plaza Hotel. Now we just have to wait. This has been one of the better accommodations this year. In two hours, we'll be on our way out of here. This date, the 13th of July, is the date when things of awkward nature have happened at times. There shouldn't be too much trouble today though; we'll just walk a few hundred meters.

11.33 In the Wimbledon tennis for ladies, Simona Halep is the champion after 6-2, 6-2 against Serena Williams. Here in Sucre we are getting ready for something new. Time for check-out and to say farewell to this centrally located and excellent hotel.

11.52 A short walk downhill along Calle Nicolas Ortiz took us to Hotel San Felipe. This time in room 7. Our room is about a meter from the reception, about as close as we had in San Sebastián this spring during the Easter trip. The woman who checked us in was very happy. Do they rarely have guests, did she have a good day or was it just her personality?

12.55 I have, in the last few hours, received no less than 31 friend requests from young women on my Facebook page. None of them have any profile picture.

A new room in a new hotel.

Calle Nicolas Ortiz, Sucre.

Plaza Cochabamba.

The San Felipe Neri church in Sucre.

Peter is visiting another Metro Café.

13.09 Now we will leave our new home for a small town excursion that should also include a lunch.

13.40 A delicious salad or a genuine soup with rice is the appetizer options at Metro Café II. Here we have chosen an offer of today's lunch. The restaurant has the same name as the coffee place yesterday; it also has similar furniture but is located in a completely different place.

14.25 On a sunny day like this is a bench break in the shade not entirely wrong. We have walked a few blocks north of Plaza 25 de Mayo and are now by the city's Obelisco, a symbol of Sucre's status as the capital.

14.38 Here in Parque Simón Bolívar next to the Supreme Court is an orange but still pale copy of the Eiffel Tower. There are also happy children and many benches to sit on. We walked here after reading a lovely description of the site on the internet. However, it is just an absolutely ordinary park. Here children can play; you can ride horses and try to stay on an artificial bull.

15.07 We have left the park and started walking home. Our plans to take a small bench break under a tree near the obelisk have been cancelled. Something fell from the tree and hit us. Probably the birds were eating some fruit up in the tree. Let's go back to the city centre.

15.42 After a few visits to small shops near Plaza 25 de Mayo we have seated ourselves by a table again. It's time for afternoon coffee at the vegetarian Condor Café (https://www.condorcafe.net after all, when drinking coffee, there is nothing odd that the menu has only vegetarian options.

16.11 We have enjoyed good coffee and a slightly unusual lemon cake. It was served in a tall glass on foot. Cake crumbs, lemon mousse and cream interspersed. Everything was topped with lemon slices, delicate and very saturating.

Obelisco.

Peter is resting at Plaza Libertad.

An Eiffel tower in Parque Simón Bolívar.

Titanic II has been sinking.

Christer tries something delicious at Condor Café.

Peter is leaving Condor Café.

16.58 Sucre is a nice city and it is lovely to stroll around the cozy streets but it is still great to come home to a nice hotel room. Our room here at Hotel San Felipe is of better standard but is much smaller than what we had at Capital Plaza.

19.07 At CNN, Pete Buttigieg, one of the Democratic presidential candidates is being interviewed. He is the first openly gay democratic presidential candidate. We'll see which will be Donald Trump's main opponent in the upcoming election.

20.01 Mr Buttigieg has sound thoughts, he felt more European than American in his way of reasoning. Let's see where we go to have dinner tonight. It's time for this.

20.17 We have sat down outdoors in flood lights in a courtyard. The restaurant is called Churrasquería Guardamonte. It feels like we're sitting at home in someone's garden. We found the restaurant on Google Maps and read the reviews that have praised the meat here, but we thought it was closed. However, the barbecue master himself has invited us and we have ordered meat with accessories.

20.39 The slices of meat were just that. Madre de Dios such meat! They are great and heavenly good. The only problem is that we want to eat slowly to enjoy the meal but the meat quickly gets cold because we sit outdoors. As an accessory we have got lots of vegetables, potatoes and rice. For the food we drink the beer Huari.

21.26 We are far from hungry and very satisfied. Before a family with children who just arrived, we were all alone in the restaurant. We thanked the owner, the barbecue master, everything we could. Let's go home in the dark Bolivian night.

Christer is enjoying the meat at Churrasquería Guardamonte.


Sunday 14th of July

07.41 Parts of this Sunday are planned and others are as open as a, well what should I resemble it with? In any case, it is open.

09.06 It was really worth going four stairs up to get breakfast. There at the roof terrace there was a new fresh breakfast dining room with a well varied range that we gladly return to. The view of Sucre from here is also absolutely stunning.

09.52 It is perfectly even, 5-5, in the Wimbledon final between most champion Roger Federer and reigning champion Novak Djokovic. We won't be able to follow the whole final if we're going to get anything out of this day.

10.09 First set went to Novak Djokovic after tiebreak. Soon our outdoor day begins, in Umeå, Sweden a private aircraft has crashed. I'm afraid all nine aboard have been killed. It's not always happy news from home.

10.34 Before we had time to gather up for exit, Roger Federer won the second set with 6-1.

10.46 We begin the day by walking up to a lookout point where there should also be a cafe with views of Sucre. What happens after that, we'll have to plan later in the day. It's a sunny Sunday and quiet. Only a few cars and people are in motion.

Peter in the breakfast room in Hotel San Felipe.

Christer collects his breakfast items.

We are walking through a quiet Sucre.

Calle Miguel Grau, Sucre.

Finally at the end of the street.

Uphill towards Recoleta.

11.18 The steep street Miguel Grau is completed and we sit on a bench at the foot of a staircase. The staircase is a continuation of the street we just walked on and leads up to Recoleta, the area where we hope to find both views and coffee. It should be filmed and we need to catch our breaths before we step on. It feels that we're still at a high altitude as we walk along steep streets.

11.37 The stairs were replaced by cobblestones on the street Inturricha. Now we are at a square, an open space, Plaza Pedro de Anzúrez. Here somewhere there should be a cafe with a perfect view of the city, all according to our information about Sucre from the internet. We'll keep looking.

11.49 Should is wrong word to use, have been is right. All we found were abandoned tables, chairs and umbrellas. This cafe seems to belong to the past. We also found classic padlocks with the names of loving couples. There was no coffee but the view from here at Recoleta was still worth the hike up here.

12.36 After further searching, we eventually turned down towards the centre. A look into the window of the Metro Café, made Christer spot Sophie, the French girl from the tour in Uyuni. However, we continued further and have now ordered today's dishes at the restaurant La Fontana. In the Wimbledon tennis finals, Novak Djokovic leads 4-2 in the fifth set.

13.10 The youngest one at the neighbouring table amuses himself with toys and not a mobile, a little unique in itself these days. There are a lot of people eating here. It takes some time to get our different dishes. The initial pumpkin soup was heavenly tasty.

13.51 We have finished our three dishes. It was tasty and very affordable. In London, it's not over. Right now it says 11-11. When was the last time the fifth final set so far in Wimbledon?

Plaza Pedro de Anzúrez, Sucre.

Here is where the café was supposed to be.

A view of Sucre.

Pumpkin soup as a starter at La Fontana Restaurant.

The restaurant La Fontana has a beautiful interior.

Hotel San Felipe, our second home here in Sucre.

14.11 We are back in our room at Hotel San Felipe. It was cleaned and filled with toilet paper. It eventually became Serbian victory in Wimbledon, 13-12. Apparently the 25th game was a tiebreak where Novak Djokovic won 7-3. It was the longest final in Wimbledon ever. 4 hours and 57 minutes.

14.57 Now we are checking in to tomorrow's flight to Cochabamba. It is a matter of having stable internet connection.

15.53 Tomorrow we'll be seated on row 9 on the plane from Sucre to Cochabamba. At least that is said so on our boarding cards. Now all we have to do is make sure that we really sit there too. At least we're sitting on the roof terrace of the hotel to read some of our detective stories.

17.21 Reading is enriching and rewarding but sometimes it gets paused. We have also photographed, filmed and enjoyed the beautiful views of the rooftops of Central Sucre. It's really great to stay here.

18.32 Warm days and comfortable hotels have their small drawbacks. We lose the spark, edge. We need challenges to keep the flames alive. In the African Championships of football, Algeria and Senegal meet in the final.

20.39 It will be a comeback at Joyride Café (http://www.joyridebol.com) tonight, partly because of lack of other ideas and partly because the food was tasty and the menu so extensive. Beer and food are ordered. There are plenty of people here, many are Americans. The courtyard where we sat last had no free tables. Now we sit at a small table in the pub part of the restaurant. A candle on our table has an alarming slope.

21.49 There were plenty of people and sounds here. Short of light but good food. But on the whole it's nice to be home again.

We have a wonderful view of central Sucre.

The roof terrace at Hotel San Felipe.

Christer is enjoying the sun.

A view towards the center of the city.

A perfect place to relax and read a book.

Our second visit to Joyride Café.


VIDEOS


You can see 43 photos from July 12 in this photoalbum.
You can see 32 photos from July 13 in this photoalbum.
You can see 37 photos from July 14 in this photoalbum.


CONTINUE


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