Ciao to the White City

Our four week stint in Sucre - 'La Ciudad Blanca' - is almost at a close and, to my surprise, we're itching to hit the road again. It's been great having somewhere to call home for a month and we've been so lucky with our hostel, La Dolce Vita. We had a huge room to ourselves - with the luxury of an ensuite and space to study - enjoyed many an afternoon sunning ourselves on the patio and even had a night of dancing (with benefit of quite a few beers) with the French/Swiss-German owners. In a way they've been like a surrogate family, helping us with frustrating Bolivian postal delays and conversing with us and other guests over many a bottle of wine. This family even comes complete with a seven year-old daughter, eager to play barbies and tell stories (in Spanish of course) who, unable to pronounce 'Claire', has affectionately renamed me 'Cleo'. She's a bag of laughs a minute and great for Spanish speaking practice. I'd recommend this hostel to anyone visiting Sucre, I'm sure we'll miss it.

However, like an impatient child, the travel bug is jumping up and down, busting to get moving again and, like all good travellers, we're dutifully obeying. Tomorrow we set off to Ecuador where we've signed up for two weeks volunteering with the Santa Martha animal sanctuary, an hour south of the Capital, Quito. Already this sanctuary is far more organised than Inti Wara Yassi, the Bolivian equivalent that we initially approached, and has already secured our place and accommodation. We're really looking forward to it.

But how can I sign off without one last ode to my favourite country thus far? I can only hope that fellow travellers, friends and family visit this interesting place. It's true that you will sometimes feel like you're on another planet in Bolivia, but at the same time, it oozes personality and vitality. One thing I've learnt a thing or two about is the value of hard work, and how hard some people have to work just to feed their kids a couple of times a week, something which I'm sure is inconceivable to many. There's also something beautiful about the ubiquitous juxtaposition of old and new, traditional and modern - traditionally clad dancers resting on a shiny hilux, or the unusual accessories that are so often coupled with time-old rural clothing: a 'North River Surgery Centre' jumper or an 'I love London' baseball cap. It's all part of Bolivia's character and charm and I'm sure this wont be my last visit.