Hotel Andes La Paz

... were no longer running but decided to assess for myself, so I sat in the little park thing just opposite the entrance and observed. In a little over an hour I didn´t see one gringo go in or out and when one group stopped too long outside the gate, a policeman came out to chase them away. So it looked like the tours were definitely off :o(<br><br>Then I successfully paid for my Dangerous Road tour, which leads me nicely onto the good bit of my La Paz story...<br><br>The good bit ...

Well, I haven´t written in a long time and that is because there has not been much to write, to be perfectly honest. We spent quite a while doing various things in Potosi. I had samonella for two weeks. And none of that was too interesting. But some things did happen and I will tell you about them.<br><br>We went to Cochabamba for a few days and took more spanish lessons. Cochabamba was lovely, it had TREES and ...

... At least we have oxygen bottles - right?<br>Our team includes 3 German lads and 3 Bolivian (French trained) guides. E entertainment has pegged Lassie for a cameo appearance. <br><br>Will the Andean Mountain conquer Ash &amp; Ian? We´ll find out in 3 days.

... all with drawbacks. We went to have a drink to think these through. <br><br>We ended up drinking for awhile via a fancy dress pub, a club with just us in, where we could sneak behind the bar and change the music and then one final club. We got to this final club after multiple taxi drop offs to shut clubs. This one didn´t have a sign on the door and we weren´t sure about it until a cab turned up with two eejits (I mean this affectionately) getting out. These were Tim and Donnacha ...

... blade and bulbous little handle tend to end up looking like something much different. Especially when an audacious little girl is poking it at your face. It´s the incongruity I like.<br><br>On Sunday we finally worked up the gumption to take in a very Bolivian experience &#8211; Las Cholitas Wrestling. I think it´s actually called Titanes de la Ring, since most of the wrestlers are actually men, but clearly the stars of the show were the traditionally dressed ...

... 1000m with sheer vertical drops off the edge of the road upto 600m in places! And of course no fences. What a way to spend my 31st!<br>Next morning we strolled down to the cafe meeting point and chatted with other members of our potential group, most of whom were inexperienced riders and understandably nervous, as was I to be fair. We were hereded onto 2 buses as there were 2 groups and drove, with bikes on th eroof, upto the start point about an hour away, at nearly 5000m ...

... into the idea of cycling ´The Most Dangerous Road in the World´ but we quickly realised that it would cost a fortune and it meant we´d have had to have stayed in La Paz for a couple of extra nights, so we decided not to.<br> We did, however seek out the famous San Pedro prison, smack in the centre of La Paz, it´s its own community within the prison walls, and has been famous for the inmates giving ...

... Got confused at Lima airport between going through immigration (like the air hostess told us to) or follow the signs to international transfers (which we were doing...!) - After trying out my Spanish on some poor unsuspecting soul, we went through international transfers where everyone had a mask on, good job really as Al and I got colds &amp; didn't declare it on the health form... at least we didn't get quarantined! We went up the stairs and there was ...

... about the city. "Putting Bolivia to work", well in Spanish of course, were found not just in La Paz but in the rest of the country as well. The streets were crowded with vendors and the homeless. We didn't spend the night in La Paz. We were trying to make our way to Uyuni. We caught the next bus out of La Paz to Uyuni. It left 2 and half hours late. <br>