Sucre is the official capital of Bolivia and has been designated a world heritage site by UNESCO. All the buildings within the city centre are painted white, which makes it very picturesque. European and American governments give a good deal of aid to Bolivia to maintain it that way. The aid is then promptly pocketed by local government officials and used to buy posh cars and the residents are left to splash a little white paint on the walls every now and again.... at least that's how it got explained to me.
We've been here for a few weeks now, waiting for replacement parts to arrive to allow us to continue on into Argentina. We ordered one package from the US, and another from the UK. Yesterday, the package from the US arrived. We were ecstatic. After sitting in customs in La Paz for a while, it was delivered to Sucre and sat in the post office until the owner of the guest house we are staying in noticed it lying in a corner. They'd not thought to deliver it the 4 blocks to the address is was meant to go to.
The UK package is more of an issue. It's been in customs over in La Paz for 2 weeks now. Apparently we need to provide some additional information and make a payment of some duty before they will release it. It would have been nice if someone, maybe the shipper UPS, had have told us this. But at least we know where it is and why it is being held up.
So we asked what information customs needed. It appears we just needed to register as a temporary importer of goods. To do that you need copies of your Utility bills (and to prove your payments were up to date) and a copy of your Bolivian electoral certificate..... and all forms need to be filled in in triplicate. With no carbon to do the work of duplication for you. This country is a bureaucratic mess! On a par with India, maybe worse.
Needless to say we have no utility bills or voting cards, so our guest house owner has bravely volunteered to do battle with the dark forces of Bolivian bureaucracy. He deserves a medal. His breakfast is particularly good as well. At the moment he has got customs to agree to release the parcel to UPS' agent in the country. Then one more backhander to the kid in the agent's office, wait for him to receive it and the parcel should be on the overnight bus to Sucre.... Hooray!!... we hope!
There's quite a few adventure sports to sink your teeth into in the hills around Sucre, some fossilised dinosaur footprints and an over hyped tourist market 2 hours away to keep you interested. Though not all of which appeal to me surprisingly. Some good food can be had in the local restaurants, and there's a museum or two. Mainly though, I can't wait to get back on the bike.
Out and About in Sucre
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