The day-trips I wanted to go on today didn't happen, because there weren't enough people wanting to do them, which at least shows I have individual tastes. So instead I reluctantly spent the day walking round central Sucre's lovely streets and squares (pic), eating and drinking well for next to nothing. I was expecting a quiet evening, but as it turned out, the night was one of Sucre's biggest parties of the year...
But food first. The best place to eat is in the big central market. Bolivia may be a poor country, but there seems no shortage of food (pic). As in South East Asia, the stallholders in South American markets all seem to be female. The indigenous women tend to be a bit tubby as they get older. I can see why.
There are dozens of kiosks offering delicious fresh-fruit juices and smoothies (pic) for under 50p a big glass. I hope the five-a-day rule applies to these...
...while there are also countless kitchen-restaurants (pic) offering hearty Bolivian lunches for under £1. I had mondongo yesterday and saice ranga today. Not quite sure what they were, but they were meaty, spicy, and very nice. I planned to have lunch again for tea.
So, to the evening's surprise jamboree. As it happened, it was Sucre's once-a-year 'White Night', with all the city's museums opening their doors free from 6pm to after midnight. These included the Casa de Libertad (pic), symbolic home of the nation, where independence was declared. It normally costs 15 bolivianos (about £1.40) to get in. By dint of visiting a dozen museums through the evening, I saved enough to buy a fortnight's worth of mondongo.
The central streets were closed off to traffic. As a result they were packed and lively with strolling locals until midnight, and queues were long (pic) for the most popular attractions. These included everything from the Military Museum to the Museum of the Costume to the Anatomical Museum, which was full of grisly things, especially after my day in the market.
It wasn't only museums. Several churches, theatres and grand public buildings were open too, many providing free concerts (pic). I enjoyed the classical guitar and the string ensemble here, but fell asleep in the students' baroque opera recital. Maybe we weren't that bad at Goldsmiths after all.
I didn't fall asleep when the marching band came past, though (pic). A fine evening all round.
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