Monday, March 7th - Sucre, Bolivia

This was an easy morning for some of us so we got to sleep in.  Those going on the all-day hike had to be up early so we just ignored them.  As it turned out, their hike was great but it was also very long and a lot of uphill/downhill climbing so they all came back at the end of the day very tired and stiff.  On the plus side though, they got to touch and step right into the dinosaur prints, which is more than what we got to do on our little tour that was supposed to be the most impressive find of dinosaur footprints.

We left about 10 a.m. and went by taxi to Parque Cretacico (Cretaceous Park, which is on the site of an active cement company about 5 km north of Sucre.  One section has been closed off to preserve the dinosaur footprints that were discovered a few years ago, and a museum and display area have been built to accompany the site.  We had a tour around the museum and display area and it was interesting and good preparation for actually seeing the dinosaurs.  Most interesting was the timeline with the dinosaurs stomping through this area about 68 million years ago. 

At that time the area was covered in soft clay that surrounded a large lake in Argentina.  The footprints in the soft clay ossified and were covered with layers of sediment until discovered in the 1990's as the cement company was tearing away parts of the mountain and hit layers of limestone that were not suitable for its purposes.  Wind and rain wore away the remaining sediments until the footprints became visible and scientists got involved in authentication of the site.

The whole area is on a fault line so it's interesting that the footprints now run vertically up the steep sides of the gravel pit.  At some point there was a shift in the tectonic plates and the flat horizontal clay bed became a vertical slab and that's where the footprints were discovered.  The large lake in Argentina was pushed into the ocean as the Andes Mountains were formed and South America as we know it now was created.

This park has the largest collection of dinosaur footprints in the world with over 5,000 examples, all on the 1.2 km limestone Cal Orck'o Cliff in the gravel pit.  Fifteen different species of dinosaurs are represented and some of the footprints are 80 cm across.  The largest and most famous footprints involve a 347 metre trail of footprints left by a baby Tyrannosaurus Rex who was named Johnny Walker.  Unfortunately, in 2010, that portion of the cliff collapsed and those footprints no longer exist except in pictures.  

On the plus side though, when that portion of wall collapsed it revealed another wall with even more footprints in it.  Scientists assume there are even older footprints in layers beyond this one.  I guess I shouldn't say "assume" because apparently they have X-rayed the surfaces or something and they do know there are more footprints behind the current ones.  They have applied for UNESCO protection for the site in hopes of raising the money that would be needed to protect the entire site from erosion.  Given the size, that would be difficult but at least they are trying.

The tour that we did first helped greatly when we got down into the pit.  The museum explained the different types of dinosaurs and their footprints so we could distinguish them when we got below.  Outside the museum they had life-size models of the dinosaurs so with those models and the casts of the feet we could tell what we were looking at.  We had to wear hard hats so that was good for a neat picture.  But then who was going to argue when they just told us part of the wall collapsed in 2010.  The path down was very steep with steps in most areas and then some pathways.  The climb up was definitely going to be tougher!

Once down in the pit we got close up views of the footprints.  We could see them from the other side but only if someone pointed them out to us.  Down in the pit they were very distinguishable and you could actually tell which dinosaurs were heading in which direction and how many of them there were.  Our guide was great at telling us their stories and explaining things.  Overall it was a great tour.  My only complaint would be that we didn't have enough time to go through everything in the museum.  Normally you could have gone back there after climbing out of the pit but most of the gang was ready to go so off we went.  

I should mention that the views from the park were fantastic as it was quite high and looking over the hill tops and valleys that surrounded it.  Also, as you walked up the walkway to the main entrance there were date signs telling you how many million years ago things happened.  The distance between the signs represented the different periods and eras in the earth's history.  It took quite a while to get to the appearance of dinosaurs and a lot longer to get to the arrival of humans.  It was a great way to show such a timeline.

Our taxi driver had waited for us - about two hours - so we had a ride back downtown.  It's amazing that the drivers do this and don't charge any extra for it!  When we got back from the park, I took some time to rest and do some picture uploads since most people were out and the Internet was working well.  Others took off immediately to walk to the lookout and/or do some of the museums or other sights in town.  

I waited until I was starting to get hungry and then went on the walk up to the lookout so I could have my lunch at the restaurant just below the lookout.  The walk uphill seemed a bit easier than yesterday but that may have been because I was on my own and could go at my own speed.  Once at the top, I checked the museum to see when tours were.  There was only one left and it was starting in a few minutes so I joined that one.  Lunch would have to wait.

The Museo Franciscano Del Convento La Recoleta was built by the Franciscans in 1601.  It is now only used by the city as a museum.  It has paintings and sculptures from the 16th to 29th century but that part was all closed so we couldn't see it.  We could only see the church itself from the choir loft and it was a narrow high church with white walls, dark wooden pews and side altars, and lighter wood rafters - very clean and peaceful looking.  The choir loft itself is one of the highlights of the tour.  The wooden choir stalls were all individually hand carved in the 1870's with representations of the 26 different martyrs of 1595 Nagasaki, something I knew nothing about.

The tour was in Spanish so I didn't get too much of it.  The courtyard was very nice with some beautiful roses and other flowers, and just outside the courtyard overlooking the city they had an ancient cedar tree, apparently one of the few remaining in Sucre.  We were allowed to see only a few rooms within the convent:  a wine storage area and some living quarters.  The first was pretty typical of any wine storage area in a convent but with clay pottery, glass and wooden casks.  I don't remember if we also saw the wine making facilities but I think not - perhaps they did not make the wine at the convent.  The second was even smaller and more austere but then I guess living quarters are supposed to be like that in a convent, even for those of importance.  

Because of all the closed areas the tour really wasn't worth the price, and the lack of English made it even more so.  Personally I thought it was a waste of time but maybe that was because I was getting rather hungry by then.  On the plus side, it was a short tour so it didn't push my lunch back too far.  I went down to the little cafe below the lookout and sat outside in their garden overlooking the city.  I had an appetizer plate that I assumed was for one but it turned out to be rather large with dozens of olives, lots of pita chips and various cheeses.  It was good but I definitely couldn't eat it all.  Besides, the leftovers would be perfect for happy hour later on.

My next stop was on my way down the hill.  Just in the first block down was the Textile Museum (Museo de Arte Indigena).  It was really a lot more than just textiles as it had a lot of displays on the local indigenous people: dress, music, ceremonies, textiles, etc.  It was very well done and very interesting.  The labelling was all in Spanish but they had a book for the English guests and it was about 30 pages long of non-stop typing.  It was a lot of reading but very interesting.  I got through everything but had to rush a bit at the end as it closed at 6:00.  There was no time for shopping in their little shop, which was actually too bad because they had a lot of neat things.  However, I would not likely have bought anything anyway.

I walked back down to the hotel and just made one stop along the way.  Another of the big churches was open so I went in for a visit.  It was very nice with a lot of fancy decoration.  It was only about a block from the hotel but I don't remember the name of it.  On other occasions when we went by the church it always seemed to be busy and crowded, and the music coming from it was loud so it seemed like it might be a church with a strong youth program.  I certainly couldn't tell from my visit as it was very empty and quiet when I was there.  

Back at the hotel we all gathered for happy hour in courtyard at 6:30.  The hiking folks had just arrived back and others were slow to arrive but once gathered we visited for quite a while and had some delicious snacks including my olives, cheese and crackers.  Our tour guide brought a bottle of Bolivia's special drink which we all tasted.  It was good but nothing to exciting in my opinion.  Of course I don't drink much so it would have to be quite awesome to get my attention - like the South African Amarula, which was absolutely delicious.

It was quite late when we headed out for dinner so we went to the Joy Ride restaurant. This was the same place where we booked all our tours but upstairs they had a restaurant.  Who knew?  It was busy but we had a table and had a great dinner about 9:00.  We didn't get home until about 10:30 and I'm sure I was sound asleep by 11:00 as it had been a busy day and we had another early morning coming up as we return to La Pas.