[Bolivia Day 167] Travel Log: Potosí and Sucre
It's been almost half a year since I came to Bolivia, and I have surprisingly few local friends. (I guess I didn't try hard enough. Come to think of it, I gave up on that effort early on at the training center too. Luckily, I've been blessed with good people, though. 🥲 People really don't change that much.)
While I knew how Bolivians spend their Christmas and New Year's parties from the Instagram posts of other volunteers, I went to sleep at 9:00 PM with Netflix. I also slept through the New Year while watching the Hakone Ekiden.
Apparently, it's unbelievable to Bolivians that someone would hole up in their room for both Christmas and New Year's.
Before I knew it, 2026 had arrived, while my host mom worried about me.
Telling myself that I stayed home in December on purpose so I could splurge in January, I went on my first long-distance trip since coming to Bolivia! I went to Potosí and Sucre.
The itinerary was to fly from Santa Cruz to Sucre, and then take a bus to Potosí.
However, I couldn't find a bus to Potosí. A taxi driver told me there were no more buses. That was clearly a lie, but since it seemed true that no one knew when a bus would return from Potosí, I decided to take a shared taxi. I paid 100 bolivianos, while the other passengers paid 80. I don't mind being ripped off, but why do they have to reveal the trick so brazenly right in front of me? (Angry)
I arrived in Potosí safely, but due to some circumstances, I had 300 bolivianos stolen by a woman who was riding with me. I lost my motivation after being discouraged by my own stupidity in letting a total stranger handle my phone, but...
Telling myself it was good that it was only 7,000 yen (which is honestly true; in that situation, they could have taken all my money if they wanted to), I went to the Mint Museum. By the way, there is a bold dual-pricing system: 20 bolivianos for locals and 70 bolivianos for foreigners.
Originally, the Mining Museum (with its records of forced labor and torture devices) was my main goal, but it collapsed and is no longer there... What a waste, even though it must have been a valuable tourist resource—a source of income—for the city...
Since my altitude sickness was starting to kick in, I decided to eat a Potosí specialty and head back. Potosí beer is local, so I'm happy it's cheap (as expected, my symptoms worsened).
The second day was the long-awaited 'Cerro Rico Mine Tour'!
It is a 'negative world heritage site' due to the forced labor of indigenous people and slaves, the high number of victims, etc.
At the same time, it is a 'heritage in danger'.
Victims (from illness, collapses, suffocation, explosions, and other accidents) are still constant, and because they have been destroying it without a plan for over 500 years, the inside is hollowed out—so it wouldn't be strange if the mountain collapsed and disappeared at any time, apparently. 👈️ Gemini
I try to organize what was good about it for me, but I can't. Regardless, I'm just glad I was able to go to the Potosí mines.
Since I had been suffering from altitude sickness the whole time, returning to Sucre felt like heaven.
・A paradise of art museums and stylish cafes.
・A cityscape that feels the pride of being the constitutional capital; no trash, no mosquitoes or cockroaches, and no dust blowing around.
・Traffic manners were good, and I felt the people were gentle.
On the last night, I went to a craft beer place with a colleague who lives in Sucre! It was so much fun that I got completely drunk, and I don't even know what we talked about for those four hours.
Sucre was so amazing that I didn't want to go back to the tropical climate...
But if I lived in Sucre, I wouldn't be able to walk around in pajamas like I do now, and once I left, I'd probably miss the roughness and chaos of the town.
Plus, there wouldn't be the street stalls I rely on every day.
