The last two days have been spent transiting from Petosi (world´s highest city) to Sucre and then subsequently laying low wandering the town in hopes of staving off further lung complications from the foul air. The road from Potosi literally wound through some of the highest roads in the world with splendid views of this daedal earth stretched from horizon to horizon. The rough folds of ancient mountains that once laid on the ocean floor are visibly thrusted to the high ranges. The epochal stretch of eons from which this majestic display of unfolding nature has played out makes this human existence inconsequential. The splendor unfolds with every turn down the road, each image flickering too fast to be captured by camera. Still, sweet is this experience on the way to and from Sucre.
The city of Sucre itself is a beautiful relic from the colonial era – onsidered the most beautiful city in Bolivia. The appellation is well-deserved. By luck, or dint of obstinacy, we manage to find a hotel that is situated right next to the central market – private rooms for $6 per night. After wandering the streets and numerous parks For the next two days my palate was treated to some of the finest marke food the world has to offer, with each meal with large portions of soup and main costing only one dollar or so. Such experiences of exotic market food are some of the best pleasures of travel.
Today, I took a microbus to the outskirts of the town and then wended 30 minutes further up the road on foot to visit Parqueo Cretacico, a minor museum of sorts built way atop the Andes mountains with spectacular views of the city below. It turns out the location is not accidental as local cement factories nearby quarrying for rock unearth preserve dinosaur tracks that have been turned vertical, eroded over millenia, and now exposed as a mountain side. The paths and tracks of these great animals remain visible here from a perched barely a few years old. Yet, the paths they left millions of years ago remain… and I, wandering, crossed their path for the briefest of moments.
