Residencial El Rosario Tarija

... a bus from Oruro to La Paz and arrived at Loki hostel which is just amazing. Some massive old building with old decorations and the best beds. Had a sleep and went out that night with an english couple I knew in Buenos Aires that I met coincidentally.

Went around the markets the next day to the 'witches market' which is just a normal market really but they have dried llama fetuses they sell and you are meant to bury them ...

... both arms and mud was flying all over me and still I was careering down this muddy road. After a while it became wider and the drops became further away and less steep. Here, I think everyone let loose a bit and really went for speed. Soooooo much fun!

We then took a bit of a shortcut, away from the then safe and wide (relatively) road, down a narrow and steep dirt track that was almost completely flooded and like cycling through a river. This was by far the best bit ...

Hola Amigos!!!

Crossed the border into Bolivia today, leaving Peru behind but taking with us so many happy memories with us, we won´t soon forget Nasca, Colca Canyon, The Puno Islands and of course Machu Picchu and the Inka Trail...

Arrived in La Paz after an 8 hour journey by bus and boat... changing time zones as we passed into Bolivia, now only 5 hours behind the UK. Our first view of this city was spectacular, we peered over the edge of a hillside and ...

... to the away support so the atmosphere was really good. And we saw a man walking a baby sheep!
After the game, which was really heavily policed, and Bolivia won 2 1, we bumped into the Brasilian dudes (Iraldo and Mauro) in the recourse of the stadium. They were understandably bummed but still in good spirits and invited us back to their hostel for a drink. The hostel was one that we had wanted to stay in but couldn´t be bothered to walk up the hill but it was outstanding ...

The trip by bus from Peru to Bolivia involves a ferry crossing over lake Titicaca (not to mention 3 changes of bus). La Paz itself is a strange sight to behold - it is the highest capital city in the world at 3500m, but it is built in a valley. The poorer people keep building higher up the walls of the bowl shaped valley, so the bus descends through the grimey neighbourhoods (with awesome views) into the pleasant ...

... lazy and I´ve already forgotten what I did, I might just bow out and head to a new blog for Argentina (for which I´m sure, if you´ve actually gotten this far, you will be eternally grateful). L Ps Still can´t use the camera on the PCs I´m afraid. So no pix but I promise I´ll get them up asap!!

... trek pour les alentours de La Paz. Apres midi tranquille, cette ville est morte en semaine entre 13h et 17h mais alors le dimanche, il ne faut pas esperer croiser un truc d'ouvert. Le soir un enorme orage eclate, un vrai deluge s'abat sur la ville pendant toute la nuit. Nous avons bien fait de ne pas partir finalement.

... au pied donnant au vin l'appelation de Patero. On produit aussi dans la valle le Singavi, un alcool de raisin a 40 degres. La bodega vieille de 400 ans est vraiment jolie et est tres chaleureuse. On peut y manger le midi des plats simples avec de la musique. Le soir invites par Magda, nous nous rendons a un ballet organise par l'ecole de danse de ...

... the best way to leave, the airport was still closed, bus routes not clear (as to which had been blockaded and closed), so I decided to bus to LaPaz, and then skip over to Puno, Peru. I went to the bus station, tickets were available for LaPaz, so, the next day, I was on my way. Sorry to leave this nice little town.

... and got a pretty good rate for 2 weeks at a time, and cash upfront. A little less than 5$ a night. I had bought a heating element for my coffee cup (I often had thoughts about a ROOM heating element), so I was able to cook up some coffee every morning. And the food from the vendors was so cheap, that there was no need to cook, unless I just couldn't look at another potato or rice again! or chicken, for that matter. But, I had my ...