I have written a lot about all the indigenous beggars in Bolivian cities, but Sucre is unique... perhaps because of the stark contrast between the obviously well off, overly generous residents and the presence of so many many beggars. Earlier I described one beggar I watched in Cochabamba who succeeded perhaps once for every four requested handouts. Here, the odds are better with locals rarely refusing to drop a coin or two into the outstretched hand or hat. Tourists behavior resembles what I saw in other Bolivian cities, but locals appear to be much more generous. One English speaking Bolivian doctor I met at breakfast the other day suggested many of the beggars were from Potosi, known for its large population of indigenous people living in poverty.

When I reached the military airport thirty minutes later I found the AeroSur counter deserted and no departure listing for any flights to anywhere! To make matters worse, the lone attendant at the airport information desk spoke no English and seemed unwilling to tolerate my nervous attempts in Spanish to learn from where, if anywhere my Sucre flight would leave. Finally, another airport staff member was reluctantly summoned. He did speak adequate English and made several phone calls to AeroSur and learned correctly the flight would definitely leave from the main international ViruViru airport as I had originally assumed.

The spirits that watch over me decided I had endured enough torment and provided two separate helpful store keepers who guided me immediately to what seems to be the one of the best hotels in the city's center, an elegant old colonial lodge right on the central Plaza 25 de Mayo. Despite its age, everything works in the four star Capital Plaza Hotel and immerses guests in a turn of the century ambiance. Actually, all the extravagant space in my $35 suite is awkward. Things are so spread out you need to put on your hiking boots to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Polished oiled walnut floors, crystal chandeliers and perfectly restored antique furniture throughout the hotel create a realistically opulent atmosphere of earlier times. The obscure street entrance to the hotel is easy to miss as it is just one of many nondescript doorways along the sidewalk. Inside marble and wood lead into a large skylight covered flagstone courtyard with fountains and planters. My suite of rooms look out onto the courtyard. That bargain room rate is not unusual here. Other comparable four and five star hotels showed me rooms with rates ranging from $18 to $50. As the altitude is over 9000 feet above sea level, hotels provide guests with coca leaf tea as they did in La Paz.

On four of the seven days I spent in Sucre there have been energetic parades complete with noisy music and fireworks. Apparently it is all connected with the celebration of the Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Drums and pipes, feet tambourines and a ram's horn all conspire to fill the air with throbbing sounds that rattle your bones (YouTube video). The Saturday fiesta activities provided non-stop celebrations with group after group marching and dancing their way around the central plaza. All roads around the plaza square shut down to accommodate the frenetic commotions.  Near the end of the parade route each group stopped to venerate a large elaborate painting of the saint. The intensity of the frenzy built through the week, climaxing Saturday night with a fireworks extravaganza into the wee hours. So loud were some of the midnight explosions, I wondered if the brittle negotiations between the people of La Paz and Sucre over where the capital should be located might have finally erupted into a rumored civil war.

I took way too  many photos during this week long visit to Sucre. As a few more discriminating readers have urged me to be more selective, I have divided the full avalanche into three groups and then selected a few of the better shots for a highlights album

In a day or two I'll leave for the previously rich and historically important mining town of Potosi some three hours distant by bus and 4000 meters above sea level... gasp! As I am experiencing minor altitude sickness at a mere 2800 meters here in Sucre, 4000 meters could well prove a challenge. The mystery will be solved soon.

Peace