Hacienda Villa del Sol La Paz

... a day for nowt in particular. I checked my mail and found one from Gravity Bolivia saying they had space for the ride Monday but as their office was closed, I had to go to Adventure Brew Hostel (which is run by the same person) to pay. AARGH!!!<br><br>So I went there and the person told me to go back at 3pm, because they needed some more forms for me to fill in (i.e. I had to go back for a third time). So to pass the time I decided to attempt San Pedro Prison. I had heard that the ...

C´mon we can do it Huayan Potosi here we come....<br>7am: Ashley gets up like a wet sock wanting a spin in a washing machine. Lack of enthusiasm is rife.<br>Today´s D-day for vertigo, altitude sickness (again) and any other problems associated with 19,000 ...

... in the centre of the bowl. Peering down on all of this are permanently snow capped mountain. It combines for a site which my description does no justice.<br><br>On arrival we were greeted off the bus by the local police who sorted out a taxi and a rate and wished us well on our way- I could get used to this. After a few attempts and lots of luggage dragging we found a hostel. <br><br>After getting some well earned grub we did some research for a trip to Rurre. There are several ...

... societies. After a long and uncomfortable bus ride I arrived at the World Heritage Site. Overall I was tremendously impressed. These people were incredible stone carvers and, as well as building a sizeable pyramid with seven levels, they carved intricate monoliths in a broad manner similar to the moai of Easter Island. These, however, were much more highly decorated and the designs were incredible. They also had some amazingly detailed pottery and were an odd people in that ...

... to us spending the next few days doing nothing but laying around, moaning and occasionally taking a noncommittal dump.<br><br>As our health gradually returned we slowly rejoined our usual city routine of movies and fast food, albeit a Bolivian version, Dumbo´s, where they seem to specialize in making balloon animals for the kids. We eventually figured out that they were trying to make swords but, believe me, when the hand guard doesn´t work out properly the long ...

... up the footy tickets and it was all very easy in the end, 15 quid for an international football match can´t grumble. Treated myself to a couple of beers that afternoon as I had finished the antibiotics and did little else accept book tickets for some downhill mountain biking tomorrow (Saturday). The packing included top of the range mountain bike (1500 pounds worth of Kona full suspension), all safety gear, food and guides for groups of upto 15 riders to be taken to the top ...

... be open again because otherwise we can't get close enough to the salt flats.<br><br>We have been reviewing our route and we think we have come up with the definitive version now, but it has some flexibility. We will be returning to la Paz (6-8 weeks) in order to get back into Southern Peru (Cuzco and Machu Pichu) so we will pick up post (if anyone would like to send us anything!) then. The address should be as follows (last name ...

... from our hotel.<br><br>Looking a bit like a mixture of a spanish colonnial house and a bad acid trip, the restaurant oozed character and great food. With dayglow murals of spanish wars mixed with candlelit tables and chandeliers, this was one place never to forget. The food was fantastic as well, and having wolfed down the Andean buffet, soup and Llama steak with a local beer to match, we stumbled back up to the hotel to get an early night.. Good night sweet darling.. Good Night..<br>

... a short 1.5hr drive from La Paz, we still needed to get one more hiker. And after killing 3 extra hours driving dusty back roads looking for him, he was considered lost until we finally called near La Paz and found out he got sick and went back to the town we were going to go back to. Funny how those things work out. Oh, and during that 3 hours looking for them....we got another flat tire. Totally expected, we got the unexpected, again...<br><br>

... down in the ravine that can never be recovered. We made it to the end and it was great fun, we are really getting into this mountain biking thing. We celebrated in Coroico with some beers, a swim and a buffet feeling pretty pleased with ourselves making it to the other end!<br><br>We had a wonderful time in La Paz, its an interesting city with lots to do and the people were all really lovely. Next stop lake Titicaca.<br><br>Love R &amp; E xx