Sucre

So apparently (little known fact) SUcre is actually the capital of Bolivia, even though everyone says its LaPaz so, go figure. Its definatley the nicest city Ive been in in South AMerica, lots of white buildings, red roofs and cobbled streets. We got off to a rough start thought because the bus ride here (3 hours) there was a baby screaming and crying basically the whole time. Elliot and I commented that it was really ruining our music listening :) Anyways we got here and were walkng past this really posh hotel and Chloe and I were like, wow thats really nice and then our tour guide was like okay, we{re here? SO basically this is the nicest hotel Ive probably ever stayed at and I think its something like $50 a night. It reminds me of where the English would stay in colonial India. We all went out for dinner together and there was a play being performed inside the resteraunt, so they ushered us to this back courtyard and told us we had to be quiet for the next 30 minutes whoile the play finished. Thats a tough thing for our group let me tell you. So everyone orders at the same time and the woman is meticulous about going in order and writing everything down. Not only did people have 2 rounds of drinks, but they had also finished dinner before I even got a beverage. They literraly had to be reminded 5 times about my order and someone elses. BUt its just beyond my comprehension of how it could be missed (5 times) if she was so careful about writing it down?
The next morning we decided to visit an orphanage. We went and bought the boys lots of school supplies and books and stuff and then went. It was interesting to see, they have all boys from 6-16 and they have to work in the kitchen and theres gardening, wood working, metal working and bakery shops where they can learn skills and sell some of there goods. They also have to go to school and obay lots of strict rules about chores and cleanliness. AFter a while we kept hearing the same thing over and over again and there were lots of speeches basically saying the same thing and wed been there longer than planned, so it got a bit boring, but it was still a good thing to go see.
Then at lunch in a resteraunt I met a family whose from Edmonton, and on a GAP tour (same as me) but going the opposite direction, which was a weird coincidence? Then we all went on the funniest tour weve ever had. Theres like the biggest collection of dinosaur footprints in the world here. SO we went to go see them. Theres a Dino-Truck that takes you there. I got there 15 minutes before it was supposed to leave and it was packed, so they got a cab for us instead. Im kinda sad I didnt get the truck cuz I missed out on the experience, but at the same time it looked really uncomfortable. We got there and the prints are still in a working quarry so they hand out hardhats...until they ran out. There were only a handful of us for the English tour but it was fun. This guy had plastic dinosaurs and play acted with them. Then he made some of us be dinosaurs and would attack us to show how they fought. It sounds lamer than it was...seriously best tour ever. Then the guide started getting all creepy and hitting on Allana (another Canadian girl) and asked if he could come to our hotel tonight and hang out. It was only 430 but we were like oh no we{re tired and going straight to bed...at 430? Spent the rest of the afternoon shopping and then we all went out for authentic Bolivian, which was A LOT of meat, but still nice. A lot of the group went out drinking but I had to be up by 6 to go paragliding so I lamely went back to the hotel.
Next morning we were ready by 7, but the tour guide didnt show till around 8. Then we drove an hour oustide of Sucre to a big hill. There were 4 of us girls Me, Melanie (the guide), Allana (my roomate, from London Ontario) and Rhiannon (From Wales). It was neat but also really time consuming cuz they had to set up the parachute (1/2 hour), go on the ride (1/2 hour), then drive down to the bottom and pick up the guide and bring him back to the top of the hill, (1/2 hour). So just getting through one person took forever. I went third. It was kinda shady (paragliding in Bolivia, imagine that) cuz basically your strapped in and the guide is strapped in behinde you and yours supposed to run down the hill, run run run, and dont sit until the guide tells you, even if youre in the air. But this haill is so rocky and slippery that we kept being afraid that someone was going to fall. Well my turn rolls around and the wind became a lot stronger. SO hes telling me to run forewarsd but we both get yanked backwards. I end up on my ass and the parachute is tangles in the trees. They have to reset up. When we finally get up I had the highest and longest ride cuz the wind was so good. Now Im not afraid of hights, but being all the way up there and realizing a strap is keeping you from falling out makes you a bit queasy. It sdidnt help that he was doing tonnes of spinns. SO by the time he said were going to go down, I was ready because I felt like I was going to puke. He let me stear a bit and we totally had a crash landing where we ended up in a huge ball, but it was fun.
SO Im down in this dry river bed with Allana and the truck breaks. So theyre spending like 45 minutes fixing it and were like, they probably think Ive died up there. Then the wind changed again, for the worse and Melanie wasnt able to go. In a way its good its her cuz she lives down here and can go again, but this is also the third time shes tried to do it, so she was pissed off, understandably because it was now almost 3 in the afternoon and shed basically wasted her whole day not to go. Once we got back to the city I did some more shopping. ANd then it was time for our farewell dinner because 3 people were finishing the trip today and heading back to LaPaz to go home. Mike (American, retired, the most obnoxious man in the world!) we were happy to see go. Elliot (Late 20´s, AMerican, We all make fun of him for being American) and Allana we wanted to stay, but what can you do. We went out for dinner and drinks. I tried the national drink here which was so gross. THen around 1130 we headed to a club to go dancing. It only had about 6 people in it when we got there, but within an hour it was hard to find room on the dance floor. We acted like such obnoxious tourists taking pictures of innapropriate body parts and such. Melanie told us not to talk to any of the guys who were immediatly around us because we were acting so inappropriatley that they would think we would definatley sleep with them If they bought us a drink. Apparently our behaviour wasnt ´Lady Like´. I did end up dancing with one Bolivian guy who after about two minutes asked me if I was his girlfriend. They move quickly down here dont they. I told him no, my boyfriend was ´just over there´ and he looked a bit freaked out like, why would I dance with him if my boyfriend was here? Anyways, around 230 we left, which was normal for us, but the bar looked like it was nowhere near shutting down. Got back to the hotel and watched a bit of tv with everyone before going to bed around 4. This morning we{re catching a flight to Santa Cruz, which is a half hour plane ride, but an 18 hour bus ride. I think we made the right choice!
So now the group is down to 9 and Ill give you a quick run down of everyone.
Melanie- Tour guide. Late 20´s, from Toronto, Canada. I really like her, weve bonded a lot.
Chris and Jade- A married couple, early 30´s. Hes from England, shes from NZ. They´re lñots of fun and not couply at all.
Sarah and David- A couple, not married but have been together 9 years. Early 30´s. From England. The prissiest, whiyniest, most intolerant pair Ive ever met. Everyone complains about how much they complain. ABout the food, they dont want to go mountain biking cuz its too dusty, about EVERYTHING. AT first we thought it was just her and thought, oh poor guy. But hes actually worse...yikes.
Rhiannon- 24, from Wales, really nice, has a hair dryer. Now that people have left rooms are gettin rearranged and shes my new roomate, which is great
CHloe- 23, from England, also really nice, like her a lot.
Lesley- Late 30´s, a teacher from England. Really funny. SHes been travelling for a total of one year and this is her last leg. She has lots of great stories
Dianna- Early 50´s. Older, but fun and cool. From NZ but she teaches at international schools all over the worls and has been living in Thailand for the last 2 years.
Me- well, ithink you already know...