Sucre Day 1

Our first day in Sucre we spent seeing some of the big historical places and getting a feel for the city. Our bus was only slightly delayed and we even decided to walk the half hour to the hostel to try and give more time for our room to be ready.

When we arrived at Colors House Hostel, we were lucky because the room was indeed ready. They also had spare breakfast so we paid to have some breakfast before we showered and had a nap before lunch.

The afternoon was spent sightseeing. We started at the Plaza 25 de Mayo, the main plaza. There were lots of trees and even some fountains. It was pretty peaceful, minus the annoying pigeons. Just off the plaza was a big fancy building and at the top is the Mirador de la Mansarda. When we went up, you got a good view of the surrounding central area of Sucre. It wasn't very high, but not a lot of buildings in Sucre are especially tall. There are a lot of white buildings with orange terracotta roofs, which is why this city is nicknamed the "white city" just like Arequipa in Peru.

After the viewpoint we went into the Iglesia y Museo de la Catedral Sucre. The museum contained many small rooms of different religious artifacts and clothing that were historically used in the cathedral or gifted. There were also lots of bones, small relics of important people and potentially saints (some labels were too faint to read). As we continued through the different rooms, we eventually reached the cathedral. It was a bright cathedral with light blue, white, and gold vaulted ceilings. I really liked the light colors that were used for the ceiling and the altar. Behind the altar was the choir area with seats carved out of wood. Even with the light colors around it, the wood didn't seem too dark in contrast.

We then continued our way around the plaza to the Casa de la Libertad. This is the location of the signing of Bolivia's independence. It was a square building with a courtyard in the middle and rooms extending from the courtyard. In the first few rooms there were paintings and descriptions of Bolivia's journey to independence and the different people and groups that attempted it until it was finally won in 1825. In the last room, we saw where the document was signed, and the document is still there in a glass case. The room looked quite similar to other Chapter House rooms we've seen throughout South America with seats around the edges and lots of red velvet. Unsurprisingly, there was a giant portrait of Simón Bolivar in the room (that guy is everywhere).

We didn't get a great sleep on this night bus, so we called it a day on the sightseeing front after the Casa de la Libertad and went back to the hostel for some chill out time. The restaurant below our hostel, Cheers!, had a chicken wing deal on for Tuesdays, so we went there for some dinner before calling it a night (only after some trip planning that naturally rook longer than expected).
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