Sucre is Bolivia's constitutional capital and the capital city of Chuquisaca state, while La Paz is Bolivia's administrative capital. Andrew spent most of his Peace Corps time in Chuquisaca state, shuttling between Sucre and the small village of Potolo, about 60 km northwest of Sucre. As a result, he has numerous good friends and acquaintances in the area and has recently embarked upon an exciting real estate/house renovation project in Sucre. His good friend Martin from Potolo was also planning to get married on August 14th and had asked Andrew to be part of the wedding. For these reasons, we took a trip to Sucre from August 5th to 20th to visit with friends, start the house renovation, renew our visas (more on this later), and attend the wedding in Potolo.
Sucre is a sleepy, charming colonial city of about 220,000 people, best known for its whitewashed buildings and terracotta Spanish tile roofs, which make for breathtaking panoramas when viewed from afar. Bolivian independence was declared here on August 6 1825 by the country's liberator and founder, Simón Bolívar. UNESCO delcared Sucre a World Heritage Site in 1991, and as a result, the city administration has become very fastidious about maintaining the city's original appearance and layout. Building codes are very strict here, and all buildings in the central zone must maintain a white exterior with tile roofs and may not exceed a certain height.
Despite our busy schedule in Sucre, running back and forth between social engagements, the house construction site, figuring out our visa paperwork, and attending the wedding in Potolo, I enjoyed getting to know Sucre and welcomed the slower pace of life there compared with Cochabamba.
We stayed with Andrew's good friends Pedro and Hilda Benegas and their 5 children Ruth, Maritza, Gadiel, Darwin Andres, and Emanuel. Pedro is a Catholic catechist for one of the local parishes and worked in Potolo during Andrew's Peace Corps stint there from 2002-2004. They had the chance to work together on many projects and became very close; Andrew is the godfather of Gadiel, Pedro's oldest son. Pedro has also been helping out with Andrew's house renovation as well, so much of their time was occupied with that.
I enjoyed getting to know Pedro's family better and learned a lot from Hilda, Pedro's wife, who is incredibly hardworking and gracious. She runs the household and bakes bread every day to sell at the family store. She also taught me how to make "picante de pollo" (a favorite local dish) and put on a "pollera" (a skirt worn by indigenous Bolivian women).
For more details about our escapades at the Potolo wedding, please see "Campo Wedding" under the "Adventures" page!
