Saludos from the beautiful white city of Sucre, my friends!
In the two plus years since moving to Bolivia I’ve been itching to explore the country’s capital and finally, I made it! It’s a work/birthday weekend celebration and I’d like to take the opportunity to share with you what we’ve been up to so far.
Seeing as Sucre is the most picturesque city I’ve visited in Bolivia—and quickly becoming my favorite—I figure there’s no better way to document the trip than with a little Instagram action. And since I’m feeling extra inspired surrounded by such beauty, I’ll also be sharing some of my favorite travel Instagrammers at the end of this post so you can add them to your feed’s repertoire. Be sure to follow along over at @jessicajanoski for more updates and adventures!
First things first, a walking tour to get our bearings with map in hand and camera in the other. We’ve zig-zagged across the colonial city, climbing anything above three stories and often turning in circles from mid-morning when we landed until sunset. Hands down, the best view of the city center is from the rooftop of San Felipe Neri, pictured below. We climbed up to the bell tower just as the sun was setting and it was absolutely stunning. A little Santorni-esque (sans the sea), wouldn’t you agree?
And for my dear readers, here are a few more snaps that didn’t make the Instagram cut from during the day. You gotta be selective, #amiright.
A quick shout out to Mi Pueblo Samary, the tranquil, boutique hotel that’s hosting us and providing the most calming garden oasis for us to rest at. The details are charming and if there wasn’t so much to see and do in Sucre, I’d be spending the entire day curled up with my books in between the rose beds and the calla lilies.
Sucre’s details got me all in love with this little city. #thelittlethings #MiPuebloSamary A photo posted by The Bohemian Diaries (@jessicajanoski) on
As the birthplace of Bolivia, Sucre is full of history and thus, full of museums commemorating their colorful past. There’s no shortage of cultural identity or pride that I’ve noticed in this city and each museum and monument we’ve visited so far has been just as full of locals as foreigners. This is something I really wish we had more of in Santa Cruz— galleries and institutions that celebrate local art, history and culture. One of my highlights of day three was dragging my cruceño (a.ka. the bf) around to each of the historical landmarks (sometimes multiple times until the light was right for a photo) and posing with the country’s Declaration of Independence.
I was disappointed when we visited La Recoleta, a Franciscan monastery seated atop a hill offering the best panoramic views of the city, but pleasantly surprised with our visit to the cemetery earlier today. Whereas the lookout at La Recoleta was overcrowded with teenage school kids and an amateur talent competition (no joke), the cemetery was peaceful (a nice reprieve from what we are used to in our city) and a good way to relax during the afternoon. It turned out to be fabulously interesting as we toured the graves and learned about local chuquisaqueña beliefs and customs regarding life and death.
There’s seriously so much more to see and discover that I doubt we will have time to squeeze it all in, especially since we have been accommodating a couple hours each night to the 2015 Copa America soccer tournament! Wish us well as we continue our travels!
#Inspo
And now, a few of my favorite photogs for you to check out and drool over the next time you scroll through Instagram. These accounts are full of wanderlust, killer landscapes, and sheer talent, check them out!
Nicola Lemmon
If Nicola’s photos don’t inspire enough wanderlust to have you this close to packing your bags and hitting the road, I don’t know what will. This Aussie native is the master of creating dreamscapes that are simultaneously retro and modern and always pleasing to the eye.
LeBackpacker
As possibly the most “instagrammable” place on Earth, New Zealand has it’s fair share of photographers summiting peaks, chasing auroras and camping out seaside all in the pursuit of a great photo. Johan Lolos by far stands out from the crowd as his enthusiasm for adventure and love for NZ is evident in each frame he posts. #Swooning.
It’s Beautiful Here
Georgia Hopkins of It’s Beautiful Here snaps beautiful cityscapes while creating unique guides from her travels across Europe and beyond. From food scenes to street portraits, she captures the heartwarming, the unusual, and of course, the beautiful throughout her journey. Visit her blog (mentioned above) to browse her guides and stories.
Travel Tales of Life
Follow this colorful couple as they document their equally vibrant travels around the world one gram at a time. Sue and Dave also blog about their adventures over at Travel Tales of Life, proving it’s never to late to start exploring. Be sure to brighten your feed with their fun account!
In A Faraway Land
Marta Kulesza is a Polish landscape photographer who recently relocated to New Zealand and documents her adventures both night and day on her extraordinary mountain-filled feed. She’s an expert at astrophotography and has me swooning over every starry night and lunar photo she posts. Follow her travels on her blog, In A Faraway Land.
Ha’a Keaulana
Sand, surf and sun is what native Hawaiian Ha’a Keaulana is all about. She documents her everyday adventures living the HI life and looking good while doing so.
Pretty Moon
To describe Christine’s photos in one word, I’d go with whimsical. She features herself in nearly all of her photos, creating a unique perspective in telling the story of where she’s been. A sort of “in my shoes” collection, if you will.
Mark Clinton
Combining the best of both mountain and seascapes, Sydney-based photographer Mark Clinton captures nature’s extremes and the interaction between humans pushing their limits within the great outdoors. Definitely one of my favorite accounts to visit and revisit.
Great walk through Sure, it looks like a lovely place and has piqued my interest in Bolivia…which is the ultimate goal with travel writing! Thanks also for the Instagram suggestions, they are all amazing photographers. I will definitely be following a few of them.
Always looking for new instagram inspiration, great photographers they are! Love it to just stroll through all the pics and dream away… 🙂
Love this! Awesome instagram accounts too 🙂 Mine is @theaussieflashpacker
SImone
http://www.theaussieflashpacker.com
Thanks for sharing and stopping by! Will check out your account right away!!
Hey! Great inspiration! Hopefully we will make it to Sucre one day.. 🙂 Thanks! Greetings back from Holland!
http://www.travellingweasels.com
I was meant to go to Sucre when I travelled to Bolivia. Then, my flight back to La Paz from Rurrenabaque was some 12 hours late and I missed my bus. I was on such a tight schedule that I eventually skipped it and went straight to Potosi. I surely missed out!
Instagram is definitely inspiring! I love the photo edits it can do!
Definitely a great way to share the world WITH the world! Cheers!
Gorgeous photos! I have heard some amazing things about Sucre and your photos capture the city wonderfully. We will definitely have to stay here when we finally visit Central America! Also love the Instagram inspiration. I will have to go check out all these wonderful accounts 🙂 and you can find ours at @InPursuitofAdventure
I’m off to check out your grams, thanks for sharing! Whenever you need a little more inspiration and info regarding South America travel, let me know!
We’re in Peru right now and trying to decide where to head to next. Sucre looks gorgeous – maybe we need to head to Bolivia. Great Insta pics, too!
Oh you have to come to Bolivia! In a couple of weeks you can hit up Salar de Uyuni, Sucre, Potosí and bike the death road — all of the extreme touristy things to do here that are actually well worth a trip to this fascinating country. What’s your Insta account? Would love to check it out!
fabulous photos of a city i am not familiar with! thanks for sharing and happy belated birthday.
Thanks, Melody! Bolivia is such an intriguing place in general. Thanks for stopping by!
There just is no end to all the amazing places I could go see! Since I can’t possibly do them all, I am so appreciative of beautiful and informative posts like yours.
Thanks, Tami! It’s crazy how much there is to learn from travel bloggers about unique and interesting places to visit – my list is so long now it looks a bit intimidating to think I could one day cross everything off!
What a curious way of memorialising those who came before. I think it’s very inspiring.
I was absolutely fascinated by this tour of the cemetery. Check back later for more info on the place and the cultural beliefs regarding life and death, if you are interested in learning more!
It looks like it was a beautiful sunset that night of your birthday! Plus I always love a bit of Instagram inspiration 🙂 I think Australia is probably one of the most Instagrammable places I’ve ever been, but there’s beauty everywhere right? 🙂
It was SO beautiful 🙂 I follow tons of photographers based in NZ and Australia because all of their landscape shots are so serene! But yes, there is beauty to be appreciated in all corners of the world!
Such lovely photos, I do like using instagram in that way and even your phone because I think sometimes you take different types of photos, sometimes more personal or of the details.
TOTALLY. As a photographer trained in newspapers I actually struggle with Instagram sometimes and getting more personal rather than snapping just pure photojournalism shots. Share your account with me so I can check your stuff out!
I have never heard of Sucre town before. What a beautiful city. I love all these white buildings! Very nice photos too and happy birthday too!
It is by far the most the most beautiful city in Bolivia. Stay tuned for more photos and coverage, and thanks for the birthday wishes!!
Absolutely inspiring! Got some new ideas! Thanks! Your photos are stunning!
Thanks, Megs! Glad you found some new inspiration!