The Bolivia Gap Year team have been away for just over a week now,
brushing up on their Spanish skills in beautiful Sucre. Here’s the first
installment of madness compliments of Eshan…

Day 1, zero hour, arriving in Sucre was the start of an already
eventful trip. Gabriella had lost her bags and Jack didn’t even have a
flight out. We were met at the airport by Pete and taken to the Hostel
Colon for the start of our 3 week stint in the capital of Bolivia. But
far from being a restful experience it was the introduction to Carnival,
Bolivian style. Almost every child in Sucre was armed with water
balloons, super soakers or foam sprays. Needless to say it was messy and
despite having hundreds of balloons to ourselves we returned from our
first visit in Sucre absolutely soaked.

The night out was also particularly eventful because we were
introduced to Pete’s awesome game – upon sitting down with the first of
many brutal caipi’s he was met with a hushed ‘Wow’ from the French
Canadian ladies who were sitting at our table and who proceeded to
surround him for the rest of the night. In particular, a certain
dreadlocked beauty moved closer and closer, stopping only to caress his
thigh.

With Carnival still in full swing lessons were off. But this time we
knew what was required to survive the onslaught. We bought 1000 balloons
for 10 of us and filled all of them as much as could be possible. The
preparation was so intense that a fight broke out when Saskia dumped one
down Eshan’s neck. This time we didn’t even make it to the main square;
we used 400 balloons within 10 minutes on the crossroads near our
hostels.

It might help to explain that during Carnival there are marauding
bands of musicians and locals that march through the streets and soak
everything and everyone, and then there are drive by shooters in trucks,
and then there were snipers on balconies… and then there are cute
little children who can’t but not hit you. For dinner there was Pique a
lo macho, the manliest of meals, beef, more beef, chips, cheese and beer
sauce.

The first day of Spanish lessons started with a quick written and
oral exam, hilarious not only because there were a few people who had
never studied Spanish before but also because every single person was
feeling the effects of Carnival. The groups were quickly divided and the
first 8-hour lesson marathon began. Dinner was up a huge hill with the
teachers and an awesome view of Sucre, where Gabe proceeded to explain
his close relationship with the Kardashians to an enraptured Bolivian
audience. But by Thursday tiredness had caught up to us and a quiet
night in was on the cards.

Friday was a big day, lessons were cut down to the usual 4 hours for
the rest of the trip and in the afternoon a trip to Dinosaur land was on
the cards for the group. That night was the first night out for the
group as a whole. It started in the School playing some games and
meeting other students, and quickly progressed to bar Florin with the
teachers… A few drinks later we were in a club dancing the night away.

After Friday a bit of R&R was on the cards as both heads and
emotions were reeling from the night before. A 40 minute bus ride took
us to a local Hacienda with great food, weather to match, a pool and
some volleyball. The two days passed by very quickly and very
peacefully. We can now safely say we would make a world-beating team on
the volleyball court with the three hit rallies flowing by the end. A
trip on Sunday to the local waterfalls was a good test for the upcoming
treks and a great opportunity to see some Bolivian scenery in all its
glory. The cloudy water prevented any big jumps but the waterfalls and
sun provided plenty of entertainment……