View of the streets of Sucre, Bolivia from the Mirador

Sucre, Bolivia is the third place I’ve called home over the past two and a half years of living in South America. While the lifestyle here is much different from the bustling Buenos Aires and seductive Medellin, it has been an amazing place to experience life like a local.

Sucre is Bolivia’s judicial capital and is nicknamed la blanca (the white) because of all the beautiful Spanish-style, whitewashed buildings that canvas the city skyline.  It’s home to just over a quarter of a million people, which makes Sucre feel more like a small town than a major metropolis.

The weather is beautiful all year round, the people are humble and friendly and your money goes a long way. The food is basic, the streets are hilly and travelers don’t venture far from the main square.

There isn’t much tourist hype or famous attractions in Sucre – it’s just a peaceful, family-oriented life.

I’ve been so fortunate to live in Sucre over the past 4 months, I’ve developed favorite spots and discovered great experiences around the city that helped me travel deeper in Bolivia.

If you ever have the opportunity to travel through Sucre, I highly recommend checking out some of these great food joints, hidden gems and memorable hangouts.

The Best of Sucre, Bolivia

Traditional dancers filming a music video at Plaza 25 de Mayo one Sunday afternoon.

Best People Watching: Plaza 25 de Mayo

Sucre’s central plaza is the epicenter of all happenings downtown. It’s where news reports track down government officials, local college kids gather after class and Argentine hippies sit to drink their mate. Grab an empty bench and a fresh squeezed OJ from one of the passing street carts and call it an afternoon.

Best Tourist Hangouts: Florin & Joyride Cafe

To get the best Internet in Sucre you have to deal with the backpacker crowd at both Florin and Joyride Café. I have to admit, they each boast a pretty solid menu with a variety of food you won’t find elsewhere around Sucre. While I like Joyride’s food better, the bar and dance floor at Florin gets rocking with tourists and gringo hunters alike come Friday night.

The view from above Mercado Negro (Black Market) in Sucre, Bolivia

Best Shopping: Mercado Negro & Mercado Campasino

If you want decent clothes at ridiculously low prices you go to Mercado Negro or the black market. For everything else you go to Mercado Campasino. From figs to futons, this market is where all the locals go to do their shopping. While the Mercado central (central market) is popular and closer to the city’s center, it’s smaller, more expensive and has a limited variety of goods comparatively.

Best Sporting Event: El Club Universitario Soccer Match

It’s Latin America, you have to witness a professional soccer match if you’re in town. It’s probably one of the safest places to watch a game in South America, so take advantage of the cheap seats and quality play.

Be careful at the Parque Cretacico (Jurassic Park) in Sucre, Bolivia

Best Cheesy Tourist Attraction: Parque Cretacico

Parque Cretacico aka Jurassic Park is small and cheesy but the dinosaur tracks on the cliff across from the park are supposedly real. Turns out Bolivia was a dino hotspot back in the day and there has been a number of artifact discoveries in and around Sucre. Parque Cretacico is a good place to spend a half hour if you have nothing else to do and you also get some great views of the city from the park.

Saltañas: A tasty Bolivian treat!

Best Saltañas: The Patio

Saltañas are a Bolivian staple and nobody makes them better than The Patio. These delicious little empanadas with their stew-like filling are great with some spicy salsa and a fresh Tumbo juice. Come early to get a table on the beautiful outdoor patio as locals pack the place all morning long.

Best Afternoon Snack: Deliciosa

Delicious is the best afternoon tea spot I’ve found since living in Buenos Aires. They have good coffee, tea and juices but the real attraction is all the kick-ass cakes, humitas and empanadas. It’s only open a few hours a day so you´ll have to plan your afternoon snack accordingly.

Best Pizza: Napoli

A large, fresh, brick-oven pizza with tons of toppings that is ready in minutes for less than $10 US. I tried a bunch of pizza joints before I found Napoli, but I’ve been loyal ever since.

View from Mercado Central in Sucre, Bolivia

Best Lunch: Mercado Central

Go to the second level in Sucre’s central market and you’ll find a complete lunch for less than the cost of a Gatorade. You have to fight through all the heckling lunch-ladies to find the table that is serving what you want, but it’s a hearty meal for locals. Head down to the famous fruit juice stands after lunch for a fresh juice or fruit salad.

*Also, don’t miss the chorizo sandwiches at 7 Lunares on the first level.

Best Locals Bar: Menfis

This is THE place for local college kids and young professionals in Sucre because the drinks are cheap and the co-eds are friendly. You won’t find any tourists in this tavern, but you will find lots mixed drink pitchers and loud dance music. This is the best spot in the city to go before the dance floor heats up elsewhere.

Best Nightclub: Mooy

Everyone in Sucre knows about one dance club in particular and Mooy is NOT it. The most famous place to get your groove on in the city is called Mitos and it’s where all the locals (and well informed tourists) spend their Friday and Saturday nights. However, Mitos isn’t the best dance club in Sucre, in my opinion. That prize goes to the classier, bigger Mooy that is hidden above the Saas grocery store. It’s a beautiful rooftop bar where all the ∫best-looking Bolivians drink and dance. You won’t find any tourists at this spot, but if you can dance you won’t be on your own.

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This is what life is like in the city of Sucre, however life is a lot different outside the city.

Read all about it here – “The Village You’ll Never Visit”

Morado K'asa Skyline

It’s a 2-hour bus ride from the city of Sucre to the village of Morado K’asa where BiblioWorks has established one of their eight libraries. This has been my home away from home, away from home for the last few months as I’ve spent three days a week working in the library to develop and facilitate literacy programs.

It’s a 2-hour journey that transcends me to a place that remains virtually untouched by the outside world and it takes a while to readjust each time I arrive. It’s a place that gets very few visitors for visiting sake.

I stay with the same family every week, which consists of the boss, Doña Justina, her husband Don Teadoro, their niece Carolina and their four children, Nelson, Nicole, Melony and Margot.

My home away from home in Bolivia.

The kids go to school in the morning and then Nelson helps Don Teadoro work in the fields while the girls help Doña Justina around the house. A few times a week, Doña Justina travels into Sucre and other surrounding villages to sell the family’s produce and collect necessary goods.

The days are long but nobody ever complains.

The house is basic, but warm. There’s a tin front door that squeaks open and the rooms are connected with an open-air courtyard. The kids share a bedroom with walls covered with random old ad posters and class projects. The beds are made of hard cloth bags and topped with layers of heavy wool blankets.

Girl talk in my room in Morado K'asa with Melony, Maritza (BiblioWorks Staff) and Margot

The village is a network of about 7 stone roads that all lead from the fields to the main street. Locals pass through town as they guide their herds into the fields to feed. Mules, sheep, goats and cows follow orders, while pigs and chickens roam around on their own accord.

Pigs do what they want in Morado K'asa, Including taking naps in the middle of one of the busiest streets in town.

The Library sits between the church and the soccer “area” and although it is small, it’s nicely stocked with resources in Spanish, English and Quechua (the preferred language in town).

Morado K’asa is a place that makes you reconsider your values. It’s a simple place that hasn’t been transformed by time or influence. People live their life based on necessity.

From the outside looking in it looks poor, sad and underdeveloped. Once you get to know the town and how it functions, you realize they have everything they need – they are content.

Life is good.

It’s a place that defines Bolivia. Humble, friendly, slow and beautiful.

One day I asked some of the older kids what they wanted to be when they grew up and I couldn’t believe the response. An older girl, with an old wool sweater and beat up leather sandals, responded:

“I want to help children in Africa. I saw a program where they don’t have anything there…”

Proud of her town. Nicole striking a pose near the river in Morado K'asa

The truth is, you’ll probably never visit the village of Morado K’asa. Even if you travel through Bolivia it’s not a place that’ll draw your attention. I would’ve ever come here either if it wasn’t for volunteering with BiblioWorks, but I’m so glad to have had the opportunity to meet such great people and become a familiar face within the community dynamic.

I don’t say this to put myself above you or tell you I’ve been to more or different places. I believe there are a million villages like this around the world.

I tell the story of Morado K’asa because I hope that one day you’ll have the same opportunity to be a part of something far removed from anything you’ve ever known – to visit a place or put yourself in a position that allows you to see the world from a different prospective.

I hope that you go searching for your own Morado K’asa and that you have an experience that questions your values and pulls you outside your comfort zone.

It’s an amazing feeling.

Women heading into town from the fields surrounding Morado K'asa.

Bringing lunch to Don Teadoro out in the peach fields with Nelson.

Admiring the dug up potatoes near the peach trees with Don Teadoro

Goofing around while making bread with Doña Justina

The calm before the storm.

You're never too big for the kids table.

It's standing room only as I explain directions for the evening activity.

"Okay, I'll read but you guys have to help me sound out the words"

Read about The Blonde Abroad’s Experience when she came to visit.

Welcome to Legoland!

You can’t make a trip to Bolivia and not pass through La Paz. It is the world’s highest city (by altitude), home to the infamous San Pedro Prison and built like a giant legoland set.

If that wasn’t reason enough to visit, I also had the fortune of scooping up the lovely Blonde Abroad and mountain bike down the world’s most dangerous road while in town.

La Paz is also Bolivia’s second capital city, along with Sucre. While La Paz focuses on the political side of governing, Sucre is the judicial headquarters. Two capitals in one country give you an example of some of the inefficiencies here in Bolivia.

Either way, I really enjoyed the big metropolis that was La Paz. The skyline was stacked with colors, the streets were bustling with life and the food scene was much more developed than in Sucre.

When it came down to it, I couldn’t reason venturing into the San Pedro Prison with Kiersten, even though it appeared to be open. When we walked up to the gate to ask around for a tour, I witnessed a sea of men standing around inside. This was not a very comforting scene for a blonde abroad so we pulled the chute.

Regardless of backing out of the prison experience we managed to have a great time in the city.

Here’s a few shots of our quick adventure in La Paz. Enjoy.

The bustling streets of La Paz, Bolivia

Drive-thru bread supply on the streets of La Paz, Bolivia

Guards secure the main square during a presidential party. We asked if we were on the list.

Kiersten finds local help to feed the birds in La Paz's central plaza - Plaza Murillo

The crazy beautiful skyline of La Paz, Bolivia

The front gate to the San Pedro prison on visitors day in La Paz, Bolivia. Maybe next time.

See More Foto Fridays Here

Girls smiling at La Feria de La Lectura in Sucre Bolivia

I’m writing this post from 35,000 feet in the air on my way from Santa Cruz, Bolivia to Cancun, Mexico. As I squeeze into the middle-row seat on a 6-hour flight between 2 layovers and an overnight bus ride, nothing can push me off the feeling I have at this moment.

The feeling is of complete warmth. One that rushes through your body when something you’ve been working so hard for finally comes to fruition. It’s like that sensation you get on a Friday afternoon when the sun hits your face as you leave the office. This is the feeling I crave and one that constantly drives me.

Last Saturday, the BiblioWorks staff, myself and nine other volunteers put on the first ever book fair in Sucre, Bolivia and it went off without a hitch. We had 15 educational institutions participating, 11 corporate sponsors and hundreds of children and adults who came to enjoy a beautiful day of literature and learning.

It was the culmination of three months worth of planning and organizing that saw both setbacks and breakthroughs. We jumped through hoops to get the City’s approval, worked relentlessly to convince local colleges and universities to get involved and were able spread the word through every major TV and Radio station across Sucre.

We had 4 major goals coming into the event…

1. To build and fortify relationships with city officials, libraries, schools and other institutions for future project collaboration.
2. Spread the word about what BiblioWorks does for the community and region to increase financial and resource support.
3. Most importantly, to organize an event that would show both children and adults the importance of literature, learning and to spark their curiosity in new subjects.
4. Also, to build a foundation for future literacy projects and events in Sucre and across Bolivia.

In the end, I sit here with a smile from ear to ear because I can say without reservation, that the first ever Sucre book fair (or Literacy festival as it was properly called), was a complete success.

Local high schools started arrived at 8:30am, even as some booths were still setting up, and the last group of kids didn’t leave until 4:15pm.

Parents brought their children and they were both just as occupied with all the activities. The city band energized the crowd while traditional dancers wooed the audience and a puppeteer made the kids laugh. We gave away tons of prizes from books to balloons and each participating booth had their own special message about literacy to offer.

It was awesome!

Thank you again for everyone who got involved in helping to make this a very special day for the city of Sucre, the BiblioWorks organization and everyone involved.

I think the best way to share this incredible feeling I have at this moment is through the faces and images of the event that I’ve been admiring since we reached cruising altitude…

The view from above the Feria bright and early on Saturday morning.

Playing a counting parachute game with one of the first schools to arrive.

High school boys getting into their books.

Kids answering the big question, what literature means to me

A young girl reads along as her father gives her a hand.

High school kids work to figure out a literacy puzzle

We worked together to sound out all the words in the book. High five for that!

A world of knowledge.

One of the participating organizations conducting a BIG story time with a class.

There were even puppets promoting literacy!

Cant talk now, we are deep in this book.

Smile, you are the future of Bolivia!

Maritza teaching two shoeshine kids how to read.

Finishing the day with a group photo with some of the remaining students and participants!

A mom and daughter find a quiet place to read off in the corner at the Feria. Amazing!