Apart-Hotel A La Maison La Paz

So we arrived into La Paz early on the morning and took a cab from the airport (which is at 3600m/13,120 ft) to our hotel. The view from the cab into the city on the way down is amazing. The city is nestled in a crater and the houses are built all up the walls. Very cool looking city.<br><br>So we checked in and started walking the streets. We could both definitely feel the effects of the high-altitude. Just a feeling that you're head is not really ...

... off in dribs and drabs and showed the Bolivians how the English do football hooliganism. It was all fun and games really and most people bought a shirt or scarf, etc. It was surprising, therefore, that lots of Bolivians turned up to the stadium wearing Brazil shirts! What's going on?! Along the way I noticed some local women with little cups of paint to paint the flag on peoples' faces (for all of 10p). I had the three stripes painted on my cheek to show my passion for Bolivia... but ...

... cycling experiences (on BOTH of which I also got drenched to the bone), I set off once more. If I was going slowly before, I slowed down even more as the road got became more slippery and treacherous. There was an upside, though, as it became less bumpy. My wrists began to get a little sore from continually using the brakes, however...<br><br>I enjoyed the rest of the ride, once I accepted that I couldn't get any wetter. There were lakes in my shoes and water was streaming ...

<br>That was one of the coldest nights up there on the grassy spot in the high plains on the Peru/Bolivian border. It was even colder because Salina, in the middle of the night, tried to get into the tent with the door closed, ripping a big hole along the door. I think the temperature dropped to about 25 degrees fahrenheit - Salina's bowl of ...

... budget hostel! Refreshed and ready to see the capital we set off on a walking tour recommended by the LP. Crossing roads was a bit of a challenge with thousands of minivans overtaking each other with people hanging out yelling the destinations over and over again so quickly we couldn&#8217;t understand what they were saying!<br><br>We found peace in this lovely, colourful and quiet street, Calle Jaen, which had 4 museums which we had a look through to learn a bit more of ...

... were adopted by the women, for reasons we cannot understand, since they are clearly not a fashion statement. The large colourful blankets they wear on their backs are the traditional &#8216;backpacks&#8217; which they use to carry everything from babies to food. <br><br>Whilst the female position in the Bolivian culture has become more equal one aspect of life continues to blight them. The men often have 2 families; it is not legal but continues to be condoned ...

... and actually my appetite is tiny at the moment...YAY!) Bolivian advice is "Walk slowly, eat little and sleep by your poor little self" <br><br>Today we were up at the crack of dawn again, and after the usual breakfast of weird toast, breadroll thingy and cheese biscuit with butter and jam and a coca tea, we headed off to see about getting a night bus tomorrow night to Uyuni... after much umming and ah..ing, we have ...

... self...remember to look at the map next time! Even though we argued with the cabbie about the fare, he must have thought he'd picked up a right couple of dipsticks!<br><br>The hostel we stayed in on the first night was like a throw-back in some ways to a Quentin Tarantino movie. It was huge, deserted and had "something of the night" about it. It was also located next to the main highway running through the centre of La Paz; somewhat akin to sleeping on the hard shoulder of the M25 back ...

... get a view down to the lake we were supposed to camp at for day 1. The views were stunning and the hike pretty easy going. There was a memorial to an American hiker up at the top and views all the way to Lake Titikaka and supposedly into Chile....although who could tell as its just one big treeless plain of land as far as the eye can see. I could also see all the way to Illampu, the mountain we did our other trek around, 4 hours away from La ...

... I`d bought on DVD for only 50p from the market near the prison) in the TV room; I`d seen it before but it`s still bloody funny. After this we watched another film. Butterfly Effect, then went to bed. <br><br>August 17: The World`s Most Dangerous Road<br>We got up hideously early and were ready to be collected outside the hostel door at 6.50am.Of course, South American time prevailing, the mini bus didn`t arrive until 6.20am, thus we could have had more of a lie in. Inside was the ...