We woke up this morning and realized it was no fun being breathless and decided it was time to move to a lower altitude.
We learned that shared taxis were the fastest and easiest way to get to Sucre so we decided to get one, but since Joe takes up so much room, we decided not to share.
As we were walking to the 'transportation terminal' (kind of a central market with throngs of vendors and people milling around - fun if you aren't toting all your worldly posessions on a cart) we were hit on by taxis and we found one that had the apprpriate price, saving us a trip to the terminal and the hassle of navigating thru the crowds.
He was very happy for the fare and had to call his wife. He had a cell phone, but it was so expensive he used it only as a pager.
The trip went thru some beautiful countryside and the driver had a running commentary. He was from Mendoza, Argentina and had moved to Potosi. We asked about the elections coming up and Joe wasn't sure about the translation, but the cab driver seemed to be saying some of the opposition parties were cannibals - literally.
This country is heavily unionized, except for miners, and during elections workers will stop traffic, a bloqueo, to make their point. As we traveled we passed one that was finishing up. The driver said there is no advance notice, you just encounter them. Don't try to drive thru or else. I have heard of people stopped in a cab getting out and walking past and getting a cab on the other side.
While we were driving through beautiful countryside and picture perfect landscapes the driver noted that ususally the route was filled with trucks and today there was NO traffic coming at us. We were getting ready for a delay in getting to Sucre but then we saw some cars and we were fine. No problems all the way in.
This city is so different from Potosi. Same hustle bustle but a different demeanor. Most of the buildings are whitewashed, the sun is shining and it just feels better.
We found a Chinese restaurant and had some sweet and sour Surubi, a river fih from the Amazon. It was good, but I think would have been better not deep fried.