Portales Cochabamba

... lead us into the arms of thieves, something I doubted but was not willing to risk having Jessy with me. Christo will have to wait.

Our other goal was to meet Tany´s family, and again we were thwarted. I feel bad because we didn't give much notice before arriving, but I was more than a bit bummed that we never got to meet them. I called Tany´s aunt at least ten times and was told each time to call back later, with plans were ...

... the nursery where i work with the children during the day is quite clean, their houses where they sleep and stay at the weekend (also on the same site) are filthy and the main carers (who they call 'tias' which means aunt) dont look after the children properly as they never bath them. As the orphanage is run by the state the wages are extremely low and u can tell that some of the staff are v demotivated and cant be bothered anymore. its v sad. The children ...

Joel: So the protests and blokades were over as we reached the town of Uyuni. I had a long very satisfying shower and headed off to a nice local restuarant. 3 courses for 2 pounds and the food was surprisingly good. I tried unsuccessfully to book a train out of there - it turned out that the protesters had put rocks on the tracks so there would be no trains for a few days. So with no other choice I opted for a bolivian ...

... museum guide also took us up to the clock tower which houses a still-functioning (thanks to the loving attention he gives it daily) early 1900 German clock . The views are great from here. It is nice to take the time to wander - taking in the everyday street scenes- like that of an old lady sitting on the pavement selling a handful of lemons. Staying here in Cochabamba taking it easy has been a real highlight of our trip do far.

... which leaves only one other option.....), and well lets just say they also were not incredibly busy, and i did not really feel of use to anyone. And so two days was enough for me. However, this week the tide has turned, timing and i are a bit better friends, and we were again able to attempt a tour of the hospital (successfully this time i might add). And we get to the adults ward, where i was planning on being, and we are informed there is a ...

... t really bother me at the time. But unfortunately, I'm completely and utterly bored. I'm in a prívate clinic, something else which should have been specified before I came. There are very few patients and a LOT of doctors, residents, and interns. Not only do I feel useless because I know nothing (normal) but half of the residents and interns look useless as we sit in the intern room at least half of the day! It gives me time to follow my Geneva clases, but it's tiring, day in ...

... last bus to Uyuni. A little bit of background info: the whole month of february in Bolivia is "Carnaval". A month of partying, throwing water balloons, and parades. On february 21st is the main parade. Of which the biggest is in Oruro (7km parade which lasts from 6am saturday til about 6am sunday!). It is the 2nd biggest parade in South America after Rio (main difference is the women have a few more clothes on). The whole country is on holiday from saturday until the next ...

... var det heldigvis ingen som hadde hoert om noen transport-demonstrasjon (men jeg hoerte dem om morgenen, det VAR en demonstrasjon paa gang, men ingen visste helt hva den gjaldt...). Bussen skulle gaa klokka 20:00, og jeg ville vaere framme tidlig morgenen etter. Den dagen ogsaa bare susa jeg rundt i gatene, leste litt i sola og hadde det ganske saa trivelig. Da jeg kom tilbake til hostellet satte jeg meg i sola for aa vente til jeg kunne dra til bussterminalen. Plutselig ...

... cant quite get their words out), I really got to know them: which ones liked to play rougher than others, the exact strength that they prefer to be swung at on the swings, how to react when their toy is stolen etc. The food at the orphanage was universally bland and always contained exactly 1 potato and either rice or pasta, which is the bolivian way. Some of it looked pretty dodgy, with suspect meat or uncooked veg, but i managed to eat every meal with ...

... really wanting to prove it to the whole world! Then we ended up going to a pretty big and cool disco, for Bolivia, I thought! A rather wild night that, and must be placed with a recommendation: Do not go jammin' after 12 hours on a nightbus without having slept anything! Makes you drunk and do seriously dumb things! The day after the night out was not the best of my life - horrific
hangover and then me and Ruddy also got locked outside, since I was ...