Bolivia

Hey All

Feels like it's been a while since we last posted but so much has been happening since then (apologies in advance, this could be a long post, but stick with it, we're interesting, honest ).

When we last left you we were about to head to the Salt Flats in Uyuni, so i guess thats a good place to start.

On Tuesday we rose early for a four hour bus ride with our grumpiest driver and shoddiest bus yet. We headed to Oruro (south of La Paz) where we would catch our train to Uyuni from. It's a 7 hour ride but we had comfy seats and The Shawshank Redemption in Spanish so who could complain?? We arrived in Uyuni about 10.30 and man was it cold!

Wednesday we checked out Uyuni (which took about 10 mins) and enjoyed some peace and quiet away from the streets of La Paz. Uyuni is quite flat and open and it's the winds that make it really cold. We booked a one day tour of the flats for Thursday and settled down to some pizza in a little place called MinuteMan that did the best pizza!

Thursday was amazing! The Salt Flats are so cool with some of the best scenary you could imagine. We started out in a place called the Train Cemetary which contained loads of old steam trains the Bolivians essentially retired when the electric train came into play (they like just shoving stuff out into barren land when they're done with it the Bolivians; the approach to La Paz airport fills you full of confidence!). Then we headed for the Fish Island which is near the middle. This has lots of funky cacti on it and at the top you gat a fantastic 360 view of the flats. It's this mass expanse of just white as far as you can see in all directions with the occassional moutain scattered here and there. We took some of those silly perspective photos on the flats before heading back to the outskirts for sunset (not before our guide stopped to show us the holes in the salt and chip away at some to show us how thin it really was to the water below!).

Friday we headed back to La Paz to book our trip on the Worlds Most Dangerous Road for Saturday. This is essentially mountain biking 64km down one of the most dangerous roads in the world, so as you can probably guess Sue and I were nicely relaxed on Friday night over dinner

Saturday we headed up the mountain (4750 meters above sea level at the top which is 15583 feet! Everest base camp is only 17000 feet!) before getting suited up and heading off. The first 30 km is on concrete so not too bad. Only thing to avoid here is the other people pelting it down, and the occassional bus and car that try their well reputed overtaking manoeuvers on blind corners etc. The next 34km is on dirt track that's about 3 meters wide, that twists and turns all over the place, and that has lorries, buses, and other such distractions along the way. The scenary is amazing, on both sides, and it's so hard to believe that this used to be the main route used to transport food, goods, and people! Once at the bottom we got food and some well earned drinks before, oh joy of joys, being told that we'd be going back up the road in the bus. This is probably one of the single most scariest things I have ever done. To give you a taste the road is no more then 2 foot wider than the bus at times, and the driver used his hopefully perfected hand in front of the eyes technique when the sun was shining at him! We did however make it up unscathed, and the stories we heard on the way up were amazing; of how people had come to fall, how many people had bounced off trees and made it, how the road used to be used etc. New found respect for the Bolivians after that

And how I've waffled enough so I'm going to sign off and hand you over to Sue to tell you about Santiago and the rest

Sharm

Hello All

So we left Cusco on the 21st and headed for Puno and Lake Titicaca. I had forgotten how much fun Peruvian bus rides can be; all that bouncing through potholes and swerving to avoid old women / stray dogs / other vehicles...oh how we laughed! Missed the tour of the reed islands (mainly due to our hotel receptionist miss informing us...can a backpacker get no service these days??), but met up with some friends for food and drinks.

The following day we headed for Copacabana and the Isla Del Sol (Island of the Sun for the uneducated among us). We met a fellow Brit on the way over, and good job too as we discovered we didn´t have enough cash on us to pay for a hostal (let alone a hotel...how ghastly!). The border crossing is an interesting affair. Three buildings, two forms, and one stop sign later and we´re 7 people in a 6 man campervan heading for our destination.

The Sun Island is amazing though, so quiet (only 2000 residents and no vehicles), water all around, and just the friendliest people. We were sorry to say goodbye.

The following day we caught a bus to La Paz (which actually stopped on the way due to the steepness of the hill!). Finally made it into La Paz and the approach is stunning. You come in from high and descend into the city, which is saying something when it stands at 3800 metres above sea level. It´s huge, with these stunning snow capped mountains in the background.

On ground level it´s manic! So much hustle and bustle going on that you don´t know whether to stand and watch or get out of the way! We´ve wandered through the Witches Market (where you can buy Llama Foetus´among other shopping essentials), been to a a fake english bar called Oliver´s Travels, and visited to the Coca Museum (Cocaine was all the Westerners fault don´t you know).

Tomorrow we´re off to the salt flats for 3 days. Be glad to get out of La Paz for a little while, it´s so busy!

So that´s about it. Catch you next time people.

Sharm