We returned to Sucre and eased back into daily life. It was the new year and we felt the need for a fresh start in our quest to learn Spanish so found ourselves a new school. Edith has been replaced by Jorge...'pan con queso y jamon' has been replaced by 'un poco extraño'. The new school is situated by a pretty park in the city centre and is bright, airy and overall a bit more welcoming. We are a big fan of Jorge, who is by far the most opinionated Bolivian we have come across, particularly when it comes to the president, Evo Morales.

Sophie also felt the need for a fresh start at work so managed to get herself into Santa Barbara, the main hospital in Sucre city centre, after 2 days of strict admin procedures with HR! Santa Barbara is about twice as big as the previous hospital so there is much more 'disease' to keep her occupied . Sam continues to teach his loyal contingent of university students, despite it being the school and university summer holiday period.

The flat was treated to a thorough new year clean, including floor wax, for the price of B$60 (about a fiver) for 7 hours labour. The results were sparkling.

We have seen most of the sights in Sucre, but are still impressed by how beautiful 'La Ciudad Blanca' looks on a sunny day. White buildings surround Parque Bolivar, near the Bolivian Spanish School and Santa Barbara hospital. We visited the Convent of San Felipe Neri, a neoclassical style church built in the late 1700s. Originally a monastery, the convent now functions as an all-girls parochial school. A flower-trimmed courtyard sits surrounded by two levels of white arched corridors, and excellent panoramic views of the city are seen from the brick-floored rooftop and bell tower.

After our previous enjoyable experience at Estadio Olimpico Patria, we returned for another dose of Club Universitario. This time against one of the biggest clubs in Bolivia, Bolivar from La Paz. In contrast to the last game, the stadium was packed and the atmosphere electric... The match lived up to expectations with Universitario 3 - 1 victors, courtesy of a couple of very late goals.

Sophie celebrated stepping into her next decade, with a sunny lunch up at the Mirador Cafe and a night out watching a Latino band. Inspired by her old age, she cooked up some yummy gingerbread biscuits the next day.