El Rey Palace Hotel La Paz

... bad for 80 Bs.<br><br>So I started my accommodation seach by the bus terminal, after waiting half an hour for the sun to come up so I could read my map, and headed to Arthy´s Guesthouse. Arthy was a good lad but had no beds available and suggested I try Adventure Brew, which also seemed grand but was just up the road back towards the terminal. As turning back is a sign of weakness, and I´ve already done it once on this trip in Bariloche, I decided to head towards Hostal Cactus in ...

... just for a piece of paper! But at least I have it now...<br><br>The "Death Train" was to take me to the border with Brazil. It was four hours late (urgh) but once I actually got onboard, felt the cool air-con and reclined my seat I was once again fast asleep within minutes. Of the total 16 hour journey, I reckon I slept for about 10 hours. Not bad going, and there's certainly nothing death-like about the ride these days.<br><br>So, for my Brazilian adventures, read on to the next entry!<br>

... a window, very strange!! The houses on the Bolivian side of Lake Titacaca seemed more western, often 2 storeys with terraces and even sloping roofs instead of the flat roofs of Peru. Hoever, once we hit La Paz the houses returned to the more normal construction...ie half finished looking!!!<br>La Paz looks better from a distance, way too congested, footpaths barely fit one person never mind the thousnads trying to use them and ...

... out of the cold. There was even a hose he´d run from the river to bring cold water to the camp. We ate a hot dinner and slept soundly at around 16,500 feet above sea level.<br><br><br>The next morning however was not one I´d like to remember as I woke at 4am with a strange feeling of nausea, only to figure I probably got the 24 hour thing Caroline had (but strangely, still 2 days later don´t feel that great). I made 3 bathroom attempts ...

... Unfortunately, the views down were obscured by cloud but there was the odd gap that allowed us to see something.<br><br>On the way down, we did stop at the refuge for chocolate and hot water flavoured coffee. It was a welcome chance to warm up before the descent that was remarkably easy and pain free.<br><br>We spent the night at a town called Latacunga that had a busy market in progress. The next day, another early start to take in the &#8216;Quilotoa Circuit&#8217; up to another ...

... was so fun though...very exciting. The game ended tied 2 to 2. So the opposing team definitely held up their end against Liga. There is a general seating area where hard-core Ecuadorian fans hold flags for the entire game and sing the various Liga theme songs. That alone was entertaining...they get quite into it. <br><br>Sunday (July 19th): One of the main tourist attractions in Quito is the teleferico. It is a sky tram that takes you up ...

... 00 flight to Quito, where we have been interacting with HCJB (Heralding Christ Jesus' Blessings), which has had a global radio ministry, spread into health (there is a very good hospital here), and water treatment all over the country. We then went to a very poor section of town to meet the Pastor of the Santos Pamba church--he was sent there by the Christian Missionary Alliane denomination, with NO support, to start a church. He has a small church, a growing day care and elementary ...

... Am Markt gab es unzählige Handarbeitsprodukte von den Eingeborenen zu kaufen. Allgemein machte die Kleinstadt einen angenehm relaxten Eindruck.<br>Der Eindruck, dass die Ecuadorianer sehr kinderreich sind wird auch hier bestätigt. Die Strassen sind stets voll mit Schulkindern und so ziemlich jedes Mädel über 15 scheint mit einem Baby in der Hand unterwegs zu sein. Oft ist es wirklich schwer zu sagen ob eine Frau Mutter oder Schwester ist. Aber im Zweifelsfall ist´s wohl die Mutter.<br>

... navigators don´t need taxis) we established the other side of the river to be Latacunga proper. It was an interesting little town with a complementary giant Jesus statue looking down on it, that night Jesus had neon blue and pink lights! Amongst its other fine points, Latacunga boasts the most salons per capita than any other place in the world (this may be an exaggeration). This was convenient at this point I had roughly two months of scruff and rather ...