A good time to be in Sucre if you’re a fan of men in uniform, marching…

It turns out this particular week in May is a good time to be in Sucre.

The main square being called 25 de Mayo should be a clue, as this is the day to celebrate the birth of Sucre. Except really it’s more of a first cry for liberation.

25th May 1809 was the date when students and activists declared independence from Spain. In reality Sucre only got its independence sixteen years later along with the rest of Bolivia, however this first uprising is celebrated every year.

The people started gathering really early to get a good spot and watch the parades

I heard that the President was coming to watch, but I couldn’t pick him out here from where I was, so maybe he sent some other people in his absence this year.  This lot got a big cheer anyway when they appeared on the balcony.

There was often a long wait in the heat to join the parades.

It soon got too crowded for me though; there were an awful lot of people on the street.  For a city that supposedly has a population of less than 300,000, it does seem to get immensely crowded.

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Meanwhile my life has fallen into a routine. I wander around the city a bit during the day, I go to my Spanish class in the afternoon, and in the evenings (if I have any energy left) I go to watch a movie in a nearby bar or maybe engage in a bit of people-watching at the main square.

Also this week was Bolivian Mother’s day, so there was chocolate everywhere…

…And also this week Corpus Christi.  At school we cooked some traditional food

Or sometimes I just stay in my flat, try and watch something on Netflix and moan about how bad the internet is.

Mi casa