22-24 May... Black Tuesday in Sucre

Lynne says...

We both had very different opinions of Sucre, probably the first time we have visited somewhere and come away with entirely different impressions. I found the city to be a beautiful, laid-back place and I could have spent more time there yet Matt has filed it unter B for Boring and couldn´t wait to get away. It probably wasn´t helped though by what we are both now referring to as Black Tuesday.

Before I go on, let me give you a small insight into Sucre itself. This beautiful colonial town lies in a valley surrounded by mountains. Its centre is a pretty, well-maintained Plaza where the locals relax and watch the world go by. Although La Paz retains most of the governmental power and is officially the capital, Sucre still retains the Supreme Court and the locals maintain that their city is the real heart of Bolivia.

It´s easy to spend a day simply wandering around, admiring the buildings, perhaps stopping off for a refreshing fruit juice in the market or a cafe con leche in one of the many cafes. Whilst we were there, Sucre was celebrating its birthday (I´ve no idea what birthday) and we were caught up in a huge street parade full of of brass bands of varying ear-crunching quality.


A school marching band during the festival in Sucre´s main plaza

So, back to Black Tuesday.

We´re nearly half way through our trip now and a combination of traveller´s fatigue and the recent death of Matt´s Mum culminated in what can only be described as the worst day of our trip so far.

Matt has been fantastic since Iris´death and despite the complete and utter shock of what happened to my fantastic mother-in-law, he has been unbeliveably strong. It was a difficult decision to continue with our planned trip after our world was completely turned upside down but we went because we knew Iris would have wanted us to go.

Grief is a terrible thing. It can hit you at the most unexpected times. One day you might feel completely fine, the next, you are completely surrounded by a dark cloud that refuses to drift - the memories are simply too painful to bare. For us, at times, it is very difficult being away from our family and family friends, knowing that everyone is slowly trying to come to turns with our shared loss.

It´s easy to feel insolated from what is happening back home and sometimes we feel guilty for not being there to help everyone through this difficult time. There have been times when we have just wanted to return and give Peter, Kate, Heath, Ben and Libby a huge big hug. We know it won´t make things better, but it helps.

What we do have are the most fantastic memories of the best mother-in-law I could have possibly hoped for. Iris was someone I could laugh with and spend time with - something often very rare in the daughter-in-law, mother-in-law relationship. I learnt a great deal from her in the twelve years I knew her and I was privileged to have her as a mother-in-law. We had a very special bond, one that both Heath and I will always share.

Even though we are far away from the family we love so much, we remain as close as a family could possibly be. We love you very much.

So, we officially name this day, Black Tuesday. Matt and I continue to talk about and share our feelings and it helps a great deal. It also helps knowing that in a few months we will be back home with our friends and family having shared an amazing six months together.