BURNING MAN

OH MY GOD! How do i even begin to describe this... the festial was PHENOMINAL.

Picked up Ness, changed the car for a better one, then headed to the Burning Man.



DAY 1

Arrving at the Burning Man.. 10mph speed limit on the playa... some idiot over took us, as we were going painfully slow.. but thankfully the guy was pulled up and ticketed immediatly.

As we drive through the gates we are asked if we are BMF virgins - as we were, we had to get out the car, roll around in the playa dirt, and then ring a giant bell... then the people on the gat give you a big hug and welcome you HOME.

We drove round the city looking for a campsite, and finally found our home at 7:30 Jungle. Our neighbours were so welcoming it was fantastic.. they all came out, introduced themselves, and gave us hugs and welcomed us home. One of the neigbours gave us a gift of a Kimono, and others offered herbacious substances and other small gifts.

After finally setting up camp we heard the weather reports of possible thunderstorms.. we had bought a gazebo and put up our tent. In preparation we took down the gazebo, and filled our tent with all the water we had, so incase of strong winds, the tent wouldnt disappear into the distance.

Unfortunatly the winds came, and we had our particle masks on and our gogggles. It was scary watching it approach, as it actually looked like a hurricane, and then all you could see was white. We couldnt even see our tent which was only 3 feet away from the car.. we had a full on WHITEOUT. After a while of sitting it out in the car, we decided we might as well go outside for a walk as the winds were starting to dyie down... walking around couldnt see much, but when we got back to the car we looked like we had aged about 70 years, our hair was completely Playa'ed it was GRAY.

Once the sun went down, the wind went away too.. thnkfully. we headed out to the Playa.. and WOW...it was alike looking at Vegas or Reno... neon lights everywhere. It was amazing. We were so dazzled by the lights. There were bars, clubs, lounges, everything you can possibly imagie, and you can stop anywhere you want, listen to whatever music you want.

We got stopped mainly at the Fire Idol. Watching all the people doing poi and staffs, and all sorts.. its all just a giant Pyromaniac festival. Then we say the giant monkey display...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snYq1b80ZP0&mode=related&search=

and many others. It was great just walking around.

DAY 2

Finally saw the playa by daylight.. the sleep was terrible, as we were sleeping in sandunes, and by 8am you couldnt sleep any longer, the heat through the tent was so intense. We ddi manage to catch a shower under the 'running water' - it was a giant tank of water riving around the streets squirting water, and we had to run after it and 'shower' hehee,.. all good fun!

The city of blck rock is like a real city.... there is a radio station, university, bike rental, car rental places and tourist offices etc. There is complete freedom of self expression which is just amazing... everyone walks around dressed as they wish and are not judged at all! Loads of peoploe insead of using bikes redecorated their cars and made them into bugs, spaceships, a shopping trolley.. whatever they wanted.. and you can just hop on for a ride whenever. All is free and shared. I was overwhelmed by the kindness of people there... people bake pancakes and just come out on the street and give them out, then they also in bars give you all the drinks free and its all about sharing, if you have beer wth you,m you bring a crate, chuch it behind the bar, and everyone has drinks. Its FANTASTIC. Really enjyed being in the city. Again, unfortunatly the dust storms came, worse than the day before, and when we entered our tent at the end we just found ashes everywhere... we think that someones fire coals blew under and set it alight.. but we were ery lucky, as at least my sleeping bag and mats didnt set alight.. that really wouldnt have been a very good outcome!

Again, then winds passed, and we made friends with the Irish group next door. They were a brilliant bunch of people, and they had brought a microwave with them, and a giant fan.. and plently ofalcohol. Unfortunatly the first day had killed their tent. This morning they had managed to rebuild it, but when the next sandstorms came... they had to stand outside and hold the tent... not such a good position to be in!

Again by dark the winds had gone and we were ready to party. This night, Paul oakenfold was supposed to be playing, so we hunted him down, and had a good clubbing session, and i think i did very well to stay away from the fire twirlers.

DAY3 - the day of the Burn

In the Morning we rented some bikes and went for a cycle round the playa. It was so so so hot.. but it was fantastic to see eerything by daylight... the trucks, and wrship of the crude oil, and all sorts of other things. There was even a display with letters and using the idea of relativity and perception, to create sentences and illusions, which worked, becasue we were afterall on a saltflat.
One of the most moving things we saw on the Playa. There is a menple which is built very close to the man. It was a beautiful building constructed of wood, with intricate possibly indian designs.. ,i am not sure where the design originates., but it was beautiful. Many people gather there and grafiti the building and every inch of available wood with messages. Messages to people alive, but more often to people who have passed away. We wondered in and looked around reading the messages and were brought to tears. They were so moving. Aslo talking with the people who were there leaving itemd of their lost loved ones' clothing. One guy was even there to grant his best friends last wish, and scatter his ashes. The temple burning happens the day after the burning of the man, and it is a much more sombre mood. It is there to burn away peoples troubles and help people say goodbye. I suppose it is what ever yhou want it to be for you, but it is part of a spiritual journey, more than anything else. Very moving.

---- too see any of this stuff 'youtube' it!!--------

In the evening earlier than we would usually as it was the night of the burn.. the thing we had been waiting for, despite this actually being the second time the man was going to burn in a week. -it had first been burned on the tuesday, by some fool.... but he was caught and put into jail for arsen... haha ha, would you believe it!

Waiting for the burn was very tense, alost everyonegathered and stood around the man. Durning the week his arms had been by his side, but his arms get raised, and then the fire displays start. There are tens of people doing fire twirling and all sorts of displays... then the fireworks start. the firework display last about 10 minutes and then there was a huge explosion and then man BURNED- everyone cheered. Then we waitied for the arms to burn and fall.. then we waited for the whole man to fall... and everyone cheered again.
We then jumped onto a car and drove across the playa to the 'oil rig' art. This was made up of statues worshiping an iol rig, and is supposed to represent how our society worships crude oil.
This was another huge event, they waited an hour and half after the man burned. Then they started the display for this. The fireworks were for 10 mins and they were accompanied by music. It was a fantastic show, better than the actual man. The climax of the show was a giant explosions, using hundreds of gallons of propane. It was superb, created a giant mushroom explosion seen all over the camp, and lit up the camp for a few seconds, so brightly that it looked like daylight! - absolutly amazing... we were then left to go and PARTY ON! the night was great. Running round and partying!

The next morning we decieded to leave along with the majority of the crowds, depite the fact that it was not yet the end of the Burning Man. On the sunday night is the day that they burn the Temple. We could simply no longer cope with the dirt and grime.

The experience i had here is completely unexplainable, and very difficult for someone who hasnt been to understand. People are non-judgmental, loving and caring wth eachother. People are so kind to eachother and selfless, and tke pleasure from helping those around them. Many people cook for others, so when your cycling down the street you are offered pancakes, or cookiedough, or cocktails...
Also in the bars the alcohol is free.. but only becasue people are kind enough to share. when you arrive at a bar, you throw some alcohol behind the bar, and thats what keeps the bar full.
I LOVED IT!
and i am going back!!!


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Yosemite

After spending a few days in Lake Tahoe, driving all the way around and enjoying the beautiful scenery, i headed for Yosemite National Park. Very fun drive seeing all the Harley Davidsons and driving througt the Pine Forest. The smell was absolutly Divine.
I finally arrived after taking a detour via Mono Lake. The lake was very pretty, but more a stagnant pool, full of flies and seagulls. Nice as long as you kept your distance. The reflection of the surrounding mountains was pretty cool though.
I panicked when entered the NP asmost of the tent sites were full.. and also the park was much bigger than i had expected, so it took much longer to get around.
I managed to find myself a spot in a campsite in the north of the park, and also just driving in had already seen some rock climbers. The camping here was pretty scary, and similar to the camping in Tahoe, lots of active bears in the area, and therangers told me they came into the campsite everyday!
Day 1 in Yosemite i decided to hike up to Upper Yosemite Falls... on the drive into the Valley you come across the moast amazing cliff.. called EL CaPITAN. It is a sheer cliff which comes out of the flat ground.. over a 1000ft. absolutly stunning. I then eaded fot the falls. Unfortunatly the weather was way too hot, and the waterfall was nothing more than a trickle which was a shame. I tried findin the trail, found myself scrambling up the rocks, and realised i might kill myself, so came down and did the Valley Loop Trail. I walked all the way to mirror lake, looking forward to a nice dip... only to find out when i got there that it was a DRY LAKE... literally NO water at all! How Ridiculous.
I then walked back to the car after what turned out to be a full day hike and spent the evening avoiding bears and planning the next day hike to Glacier Point.
DAY2 i hiked up the 4 mile trail to Glacier point. It is actually longer than 4 miles, with an assent of over 1300ft. It was hard work but definitly worth it! the view from the top of the valley was just STUNNING> unfortunatly i managed to break my photo camera, so have no decent photo of the valley. Also, from up there there were amazing views of the half Dome. it is a mountain made of granite in the shape of a dome, but cut in half... hence the name. The views in Yosemite are in general beautiful, and so bizzare. It is a valley of Granite walls and somehow trees grow straight out of this stuff... bit crazy! After the hike i went to May Lake, which turned out to be another ile hike uphill!!! and i was hoping to fianlly bathe... but the water was so cold i didnt dear jump in. Just paddled.. plus didnt want to disturb all the fisherman down there.
DAY 3 - i hiked up the John Muir trail towards the half dome, but justwent to see 2 waterfalls(which actually had water) Nevada falls was at the top and offered beautiful views. Then walking down to Vernal falls you walk past the emerald pools... which is basically granit rock which is almost flat, and kids use it as a giant water slide to slide into the pool before the second waterfall! Then you have vernal falls which is stunning. the fall is a smallish stream of water which crashes onto the rocks below, but is small enough that evrytime the wind blows it moves the entire waterfall... its mezmerizing to watch, and there is always water there!
After this strenuous climb i drove down to the Merced river for a much needed bath!!! - i hate that campsites have no showers, and my bloody solar shower was always gone cold by the time i finish y hike and got back to the campsite.
Unfortunatly had to leave Yosemite without conquering the Half dome.. but being alone, and it being a 2 day hike, or a very long 1 day, i didnt want to risk it... so i have to leave, and hope i return with company another day to summit it.... and onwards i go to pick up Ness and head for the Burning Man.

CALIFORNIA - Driving.

Arrived in Oakland and got a lot of funny looks from people as why i was going there... later found out it is well known for all the drive-by shootings!
The plan had originally been to go and buy a car in Oakland, but i heard on the plane that there was a chance for me to rent despite being underage. So i have rented a car for an extortionate price under the table. Although i hoped i would get a car that wouldnt break down and be fairly new.. this car would have to do.. despite the fact it has the worst gear shifts.. i could do a much better job myself ( its an automatic), it has bumps and scratches all over it.. its WHITE- disgusting!-but seems to be a popular colour out here, and also the lights inside the car dont work.. so i cant see what i am doing with the radio, aircon, etc at night.. luckily the seepdometer does work. Also the headlights never switch off while the engine is runnning, which is making me paranoid, that even when the engine is off i am draining the battery, and will wake up in the middle of nowhere and the car wont start!
Anyway... hotels even in oakland were minimum $100 so i decided to start making my way over to lake Tahoe. I think its do-able in about 3hours, but i decided to take the smaller roads and do the scenic route, whilst getting used to my car. Stopped in a place called Jackson to get a motel recommendation.. once the girl realised i was alone.. told me NOT to go there.. and invited me in and phoned round all the motels in the area, and even the dodgy one was $100. Cheapest i found was $87 in a next door town called sutters Creek. The town was BEAUTIFUL. It was all old like in a western movie.. very very cool!
I loved it, and the next morning took a walk around before heading off for Lake Tahoe. \
The most annoying thing about driving out here is the speed limits.. the highest one i have seen is 65mph,. but round lake Tahoe is 45.. they also change every few hundred meters! Very annoying!!
The scenery upto lake Tahoe was pretty cool.. loads of guys on their harleys,. and I drove through the pine forests, could see lakes down in the valleys. I cant believe the scenery is so different just 200miles away from San Fran. Also in San Fran the temperature doesnt really vary between 60-85F all year.. whereas here in Tahoe.. its about 90 now, and in winter its cold enough that this is a ski resort!
Right now here in Tahoe it is so busy.. all the familys are here.. ppl water skiing, cycling etc.. ahving their family holidays. I didnt even bother asking how much a motel would be.. so i bought a tent(for 4 ppl which felt way too big for me when i slept last night) for $50 and now am camping for $10 a night on the beach!! Perfect!! - A minor problem though is the bears around here.. There have been a mother and her cub spotted at my campsite.. and so I have to keep all my food and shampoos and stuff in there.. so that at night when the bears raid the camp they dont attack my car.. or worse.. MY TENT!
The only other problem is lack of showers, and internet.. and general communication with the world.. but the secret is... LIBRARY! Free internet for all.. so that is where I am now.. and whenever i manage to find one i will update on goings on! Tomorrow i am off to Mono Lake.. where i hear it is amazing for photography, and then probably off to Yosemite National Park till Vanessa comes on Tuesday, and we go off to BURNING MAN! xxxx

Chicago

I must appologise yet again for the lack of communication, but i have been so busy i havent really had time to write, and in the next feew weeks will have very limited access to the internet, so again will bewriting much less frequently.
Arriving in Chicago was as scary as hell.. the prospect of meeting and living with my family who i had only met a couple of times before in my life was terrifying!
My aunt met me at the airport, and only knew who i was thanks to the pics my dad had sent her. she was so open and wam and welcoming i straight away relaxed. In the car park, straight away i knew i was in the USA, all huge new and beautiful cars!!
Driving to their house in the suburbs was like our counntryside, lots of space, greenery, and the house iself just like in the movies. Large, spacious and modern. Meeting m cousins was pretty wierd too, but they were so friendly and so willing to take me out and show me around it was great.
In my days here they took me for severaal drives around the town, to some museums and parks.. and of course to the MALL! Unfortunatly there has been no going out for me at all, as you have to be 21 to even go into a bar here in Illinois, which sucks! I did however experience the chicago deep pan pizza, which was delicious, apart ffrom the fact they put the tomato sauce on the cheese, instead of the normal way... i also visited and got a tour of the biggest McDonalds, and my cousin go us into loads of places using the line - my cousin is here rom england- worked every time!
Also in shops people always stop and just stare and tell me how CUTE my accent is and they could listen to it all day! Ha ha ha.. has got me some discounts in some stores!
THis country is also totally crazy. You have to take the car everywhere.. and they even have drive thru ATM's and pharmacys!!! NUTS!
Also the other night a van came round sprayingMOSQUITO REPPELANT on everyones gardens.. thats wild!
Unfortunatly i came here at just the wrong time... my cousins have been workinng all day everyday, and the weather has been bad.. rain rain rain.. apparently its normally sunny and hot!
Anyway... i should shoot off, but i feel i should highlight one thing i hate about out here.... people i feel are more prejudiced and racist than anwhere else i have been. I dont know if mabe its just the teens and my experience, but the kids honk and laugh at the homeless and call them bums, and really look down on them.,... and also the same with black people, despite there actually being more black people here than in the UK. I would have expected much better intergration, but have een disappointed... but maybe it will be different in California...
Bye,... wish me luck in California! - tomorrow flying there and buying a car... ahhhh!!! petrified!

Miami

Despite oversleeping my 4am start to get to the airport and wait for a plane, i woke at 7, got to the airport at 7.30, and was let onto the plane leaving at 8.30. Business class of course.. so was a great flight! Have no idea how i am going to get used to travelling economy again!!!
Landed safely in Miami, and despite pressure from the family to move straight to chicago and not stay the night in Miami, i decided to stay. I might as well see the place now that i am here.
What a difference to South America. Apart from the language. Everyone there was Latino, it was like i had never left Ecuador!!I was pretty happy.... it meant that at least i could still pratise my spanish for a day longer!
Also, by americans, i felt more out of plae than in SA. They seemed to always look at me blankly when i spoke to them or asked them a question. I think it was because of my accent!!
Arriving in Souh Beach... wow it was BAKING and it was a relativly cold day... according to the locals. The first thing i did was try and call home... that was bloody expensive... $1 per 10mins.. i had been on $1 per hour!! This was ridiculous... so i then i headed down to the beach!
What a disapointment. It was nice white sand, but it was large grains, which hurt your feet, also there were hundreds of people for miles around! NASTY! But i think i am just spoilt after having been on isabela, where it was just me.. and 3 km of empty beach... my own little paradise. Crossing roads was also pretty scary,... all the cas were so big and scary.. with lots of ferraris, and other top cars around. Also the men around were absolutly beauiful, all very hot, tanned and toned with lots of tattoos! Mmmmmm.... Also very wierd, because at 6:30pm the sun was still shining, and i was used to the sun being set by that time.
That evening went out with some gils to a sushi bar... because there isnt much else in Miami, and had a few glases of wine and chatted.. was ery pleasant evening.. shame i wasnt staying, but the heat was pretty unbareable for me, so glad to be moving! Ver nervous about meeting my family.

Update before departing SA :o(

Well... i am writing probably my last bit of blog from South America. - as you may know my flights getting me out of here are a bit dodgy, leaving me camping at the airport, hoping someone else also doesnt want to leave Quito, and doesnt show up at the airport!
But i know i will be back!
I have had such good times and there isnt much i can fault about this place. I have made so many friends and good memories, which will leave me with hundreds of stories to tell for many years to come...
I am now back in Quito.. and GOD I LOVE IT! I dont know what it is about this city, but i really like it. Most people come here, and cant wait to leave, its so dirty, noisy, dangerous(saw someone get mugged today) and yet i still adore it. One of the best things here, is that sunday is still Gods day, and everything shuts, and they also close off most of the roads, and only bicycles are allowed on the streets. Then the parks are packed with people, getting pony rides, families picnicing,and always some kind of music festival. Also, its always warm!
AHhh!! I am gonna miss all the randomness of out here, the random horse and cart down the road.. beause they dont have a car, and the cholitas, and men whistling and psst psst-ing at me... and the CHEAP food and cheap everything.
Tomorrow, hopefully i will be arriving in Miami, where i will be staying for a few nights, before hitting Chicago to see family for another couple of days, and then SAN FRANCISCO... scary!
Am absolutly petrified of the Big City... and the US! driving around alone before and after the Burning man is freaking me out a bit... especially if i break down in the middle of nowhere.. or get abducted in a motel like in Dusk till dawn, then get taken to a evil temple and eaten by vampires! ha ha ha!
Anyway.. i will write soon if and when i reach the US and let you know how i am coping!
xxxx

Buenos Aires - Iguazu - Montvideo

hey,
I am so sorry for not writting for so long, but the reason has been that there isnt really much to write about.
Arriving in Buenos Aires was scary as hell. A city double the size of London was a very frightening prospect. Also all the stories i had heard about people getting robbed at bus stations, on the streets.. i was petrified.
In fact it wasnt so bad. Not at all like London. It is muchmore organised. The streets are organised in the usual quadratic structure as everywhere else in SA, there is a fantastic one waysystem, and a 9lane each way main road, meaning that i never saw any traffic in my week that i stayed there.
Argentina is generally quite european and civilised, so there isnt much that happens 'out of the ordinary' so i feel i have nothing to say about it. It is also well know for its night life, but i only went out twice and didnt really think it was anything special. Went to Pacha... a veryfamous club, which was along the motorway somewhere in the middle of nowhere, justfull of pill heads, and completely lacked atmospfere. I also attended a drum and bass night at another club.. and what a disappointment... very liquid, completely undancable.
However... there wierdest thing was that loads of people at night justwent round the streets collecting paper.. tearing apart rubbish bins to collect it for money. kind of made the town look poorer than it actually was.
I attended a Boca match on sunday... absolutly froze myarse off.. but soon warmed up singing along with the locals, and chanting... but bit of a disappointing game, coz no one scored.
On monday headed up to iguazu. bloody17hour bus journey. I then stupidly got talked into staying at the Hostel International.. apparentlythe best hostal in the world. I have to admit it was beautiful. Huge. had a nice outdoor pool, pool tables, table tennis tables, the works... but justtoo big.. and miles out of town... eneded up spoending a fortune on traveling to town and back. Myfirst day there i headed to the brazilian side to see the falls. AMAZING!! But had to put up a fight to get there, because the woman working at the hostal insisted that it wanst possible to do... it was too late (12pm).. really, she justwanted me to pay for the hostal transport the next day.
he next day went to the Argentinian side. very different. you stand more on top of the falls and see them all close up. Even took a boatride almost under one of the falls, and got lovely and wet.
Glad i say both sides, because from the brazilian side you could see all the falls.. but in Arg, ony one at a time. that evening i went back to BA on the bus. Very tiring journey.. and as soon as i arrived there, jumped on the boat to Montevideo in Uruguay. here is very cool, but verysimilar to Argentina.
Overall haveloved Argentina... the land full of cows, whichare cheaper than chips, yet in mywhole time here i havenever seen a live cow.
steak has been fabulous... and verycheap... all their leather products also fantastic, and verycheap.. and so is their Dulce de Leche..mmmmmmm
the one other thing they are obsessive about is drinking MATE... a wierd herby tea... and here in uruguay they take it a step furthur... they have pocket sized thermos flasks.. and they all walk down the street with thermoses tucked under their arms, and drinking Mate..
anyway... flying to Quito tomorrow... so best go to bed... ciao. x

Skiing

I have come to the end of my 3 days skiing in Bariloche, and have decided to stay an extra night, to go paragliding over the mountains!
It has been quite an experience.
This town has the most amazing setting. In Europe we dont get these amazing beautiful lakes in the mountains. I really wish we did, because the views from the top were stunning. You could see about 3 of 'the 7 Lakes'.
As a result of being so low down, we have to get a 40min bus to St Catedral..which is where the ski lifts start from.
The whole system roundhere alsotook me a little while to work out. Normally in Europe you would rent everything in the village where you were staying, and then get on the bus with all your stuff. Here they have everything for rent AT the ski lifts. Much better...because you dont have to take everything with you on the bus. But it is a bit confusing. Also at the ski lifts they have loadsofchocolate shops. Just like all through the town! Chocolate, chocolate EVERYWHERE!!! AHHHH!!! I have to admit that i cant even look at chocolate anymore.. and this is the first time I have ever felt like this. Normally i can eat chocolate for England.. but jesus.. had so much... cant handle it any more!
The skiing itself has been pretty varied. Definitly not the best skiing i have ever done, but also not the worst.
Unfortunatly the boots theygave me on the first day were absolutly rubbish! I endedup struggling the whole day.. and the skis felt like 2 planks of wood, no edges! Also, as soon as i got to the top this huge cloud came, and didnt leave all day till i got to the bottom at the end of the day. So the snow had just looked flat all day, which had made everything even worse, and couldnt see further than 10m. Another problem was that it was prettymuchall ice. Atthe very top, the peaks were out of the coulds and the snow was wonderful and powdery.. but below.. just like ice, sprinkled in what looked and felt like salt. Would just run through your fingers, and caused loads of friction. Skiing on that was pretty tough, one minute slidingdown on the ice, the next you hit a mound of this thick snow stuff!
The second and third day were pretty good.Loads of sun, but only did half a day of skiing.I have been told its generally all ice till midday. This is beacuse in the day it gets so warm, melts the snow turns it toslush, but then the next day that leaves everything as ice. Also, now they are really needing more snow assome parts are bare near the bottom. And unfortunatly i think that snow will be coming just as i leave.. Bummer!
The difficulty of the slopes is quite easy.. and there are loadsofmougles to practice on, so i think it isprettygood mix for beginners and more advanced people, but definitly if you are verygod, you would get bored.Another good thing, is that theslopes arent too packed with people. Even on the weekend.. so you have lots of space, and dont have to be too paranoid about people skiing into you!
Really love thistown, just dont wanna leave! I think i will definitly be coming back in the summer. Get stuck into all the hiking, rafting, biking, cannoeing, cannyoning, riding etc! Great little town.
I think this has definitly been the most beautiful place i have stayed! It is simply stunning! Icant getover the views! If you have the time and money .. YOU MUST VISIT!!! xxx

Bariloche

Right now supposed to be in Chicago.. but i am in Bariloche! PATAGONIA!
It is so beautiful! Not at all what i expected. Nothing like europe. The town is on the edge of a giant Lake. The lake and the town are surrounded by beautiful snowcapped mountains. It is surprisingly warm here in barlioche. Not a drop of snow. I will have to take a bus upto the slopes which is about half an hour!
I hadnt booked any accomodation, so first went to the same place as the brazilian, but they had no space. Phoned around 5 places, nowhere had anywhere... so i was just told to walk around and try and find somewhere... finally managed to get somewhere not too far..but sharing with 3 boys i think.. will be funny. Havent met them yet... just seem their stuff in the dorm.. hopefully they are cool guys!
I have been for a walk around the town, and i think it is my heaven... but will also be the death of me! There are choclatiers EVRYWHERE! Every corner... and inbetween them are Bakeries. Also the activities on offer are skiing, paragliding, horseriding in the snow, rafting, biking.. you name it, they've got it! And the views are just unbeatable!
This morning on the bus though, had quite a scare. At the entrance to the province there was a drugs check.
The police came on with dogs and stuff. The guy sitting infront of me had his bag checked, and they found papers for smoking. The dog didnt seem to find anything in his bag, but the poilice were convinced that if he had paper he had marijana. They took him outside, took out his luggage, emptied it ALL! they looked all round his seat, in the cushions, everywhere,,.. in his shoes etc. The dog didnt seem bothered at all.. so i think they went a bit far with all this. But they eventually found nothing! Lucky guy... otherwise he probably would have been in a lot of trouble. But the police seemed pretty aggressive, and he was shaking.. and they kept accusing him more of guiltbecause he was shaking...
Anyway.. i am off to enjoy bariloche.. rent out some equipment etc...
I will let you know how the skiing is. But i am a bit worried, as i hear that it is very icy and very windy up there. Hopefully the weather will improvefor my next 3 days.
The prices here are pretty good. Only paying 50 pounds for 3day skipass.. i think thats quite decent. And 10ponds a day for the ski rental, and 3 pounds a day for clothes! Pretty cheap skiing i think! Lets just hope its good too!
Ciao!!
PS: dad... guess what hostal i am staying in... MARCO POLO! ha ha ha.. with free dinner and breakfast! - not bad for a trashy budget hostal eh?

Mendoza - Paraglyding, Winetour

Being in Mendoza reminds me of home. They have the same trees we have back home! But there are no leaves, which in July for me, feels a bit awkward, but i must remember it is winter ound here! Also I have found that Argentina in general is very confusing. It isnt very consistent like the other coutries i have been in. In some towns the shops are open from 9am till 6pm, and then other places they open 9am-1pm and then 5pm-9pm. It svery confusing, especailly if you want to go shopping. This whole siesta thing is just wierd. Particularily, when you are in a part of Argentina where it is Freezing. I tend to associate a siesta with heat..but here thats not the case.
Being in Mendoza, it seems to be a really active place, with loads of activites to offer, so i decided to go Paragliding. Thankfully i wasnt the only one going. There was another girl from my hostal going.. because it involved a long car journey, and then we sat on the mountain for 45 mins waiting for the guys to do whatever it was they had to do.. ie lie out the paragliding chute thing!
We had to fun off the mountain, which was bloody scary... Claire(the other girl) her guy got the kite up really quick so she didnt have to run too far, but i had to run all the way off the cliff!! I was shitting myself! Why am i doing all these stupid things!!!- because they are fun of course!
Flying was amazing, very peaceful, quiet and beautiful veiws of the whole of Mendoza. It was an absolutly amazing experience.. definintly want to do it again! It was great! the landing was a bit scary, because you come in really quickly towards the ground, and then the guy somehow makes the parachute break, and you slow down completely and have to run! Its cool though! Highly recommended.. and less dangerous than jumping out a plane!
Then that afternoon, headed out on a wine tasting tour. I was a bit disappointed that i was the only young person there.. so it was a bit crap... just went round 2 vineyards, and a extra vigin oil production plant. That was fairly interesting.,.. but otherwise i was a bit bored. They didnt serve enough samples, and i had already seen it in Cafeyate. Had to rush from the tour to the bus station for 8pm to catch my Bus to Bariloche! Got quite lucky on the bus to be sat next to a brazilian guy who spoke perfect english... so i had some decent conversation, from someone who wasnt a sleaze at all!

Córdoba and Skydiving!

Arrived in Córdoba. O Lord, it was so ugly, and dirty, i wasnt happy at all!
We had been told it is one of the most beautiful cities in Argentina, but i really wasnt seeing it. The hostal we stayed in - La PAlenque- was really cool though. Really busy, and then french guys from salta were there too.
I met a dutch guy called Tom there, and managed to pursuade him to go skydiving with me on monday!
Sunday, was pretty crap in Cordoba. We hadnt gone out the night before because we had spent so long awake and travelling and were really too tired. Sunday, we walked arouind, but it was just a ghost town. It was horrible. No prettier by day than by night! Very disapointing. So we just spent the day chilling. Tom told us all his crazy stories of building a raft in the jungle and sailing downriver for a week and how the girl he was with almost drowned, and he almost broke his leg, and also their week of horse riding through bolivia... made me very jealous. In his time with this english girl, he had learn artesinian handicrafts, so he made me a necklace for my andian cross, and then taught us how to make necklaces and bracelets. Very cool!
The next day me and Tom headed off skydiving. Unfortunatly Skye couldnt join us becasue she had blocked ears and was feeling a bit ill.
On the way there i was feeling nervous like crazy, but once i was sat in the plane i felt fine. We had been giving vague training. How to get into the plane, how to exit, the position during the freefall, and to put our legs in the air for the landing.
Tom went first... watching him jump out was pretty scary... i was watching from the ground,a nd he fell so fast! Then he was falling for much longer than he should have, becasue the parachute was released, but wasnt opening! I actually thought he was going to die! that wouldnt have been good... thankfully it opened.. and it was all fine.... but worried me a bit for my flight!
The ride up in the plane lasted about 15mins. The plane is tiny. I am taller than it, and it is made of a thin piece of aluminium. Only 4 people fit. The pilot, the instructor, me and the camera man! VERY tight squeeze. I was feeling pretty calm till they opened the door and i was sitting on the edge. Wind blowing in my hair... the ground very far below. - Why the hell am i about to jump out the plane! - O well... and we went for it! At first it makes your stomach hurt a bit like on a fairground ride, but then its fantastic. Freefalling with the camera guy right next to you. When you open your shoot, the camera guy keeps falling, its scary how quick he falls, and lands. In the meantime, the instructor and I do some twists and turns.. he starts to centrifuge us, we almost makes me puke, but then its all good. The flight is only about 10mins down. Its AWESOME. and the landing was pretty smooth. Overall it was a bloody good day.
Whilst there met an Irish guy who jumped after me, and he was heading to mendoza that night... so i decided i would go with him. Thats where i am now.
So bizzare. This city is so cold! There are ski shops everywhere.. it is bizarre. Tomorrow gonna go paragliding and wine tasting. Then off to Bariloche for a few days skiing! WHoo HOO!
xxx

Tucuman and the Hitchhike.

We arrived in Tucuman, and what a horrible town it was. People told us it is apparently more beautiful than Córdoba. This i still had to find out, but when we arrived in Tucuman, we just went for some tea, then headed into town in search of some sort of beauty...
It was certainly very hard to find. The town was pretty dirty, markets, and just nothing nice around. We did eventually stmble across the pedestrianised part of the town, and it was quite pretty, but nothing in comparion to Salta and Cafeyate. No beautiful Plaza, so we just breakfasted in a funky little joint, where men didnt seem to have a problem with openly staring at us through the window as they passed! Also, some people in a shop got very excited when we went in beacuse we were white, and there were NO other tourists.. and were very friendly and polite.
We didnt feel the need to dwell in this town for very long, so we picked up our bags, and went to the bus terminal. The tickets to Córdoba were pretyextortionate.. 11pounds sterling, for a 9 hour bus ride! Ridiculus. As there were two of us we decided to take advantage of this and try and hitchhike for free.
We went to the petrol station and stood by the exit with our 'Cordoba o Santiago' sign and started to wait, on what we had found out was the road leading to those two places.
Having two beautiful Gringas stood on a corner certainly got us a lot of attention. Lots of people were looking at us from their cars but not stopping. We met two guys who said they were going tomorrow, and they would take us to dinner tonight etc, then we could all go tomorrow. We said if we were still there tomorrow we wuld take them up on their offer, but no thanks for now.
Some hippy guy with black teeth and really nasty nails came up to us, and invited us over to his tent which he had pitched next to the main road the night before, to smoke some marujana. Very nice offer, but again, we had to turn him down. We had work to do.
Then the kids from theother side of the street started whistling at us. Finally they had the guts to come over, but just stood round us in a ring and stared. Asked where we were from and carried on staring. This became a bit of a problem, as being surrounded by them all lessned our chances of being picked up. So I subtely tried to ask them if they should go back to work.... (they had been cleaning car windows at the traffic lights a few mins earlier..) but they said no, so Skye was direct and just told them to leave because they werent helpng us.
During this time the hippy guy had come back with a guitar and was earning money playing the guitar to people through their windows...
he came over again and tolx us, just as many other passers by had, that the bus terminal was 30m away,... and didnt understand how we managed to not have any money!
Then he told us we should buy some thread and make bracelts to sell, like all other hippys, then likfe would be easy... ha ha ha! Then he said he had to go back to work! HAHAHA! Playing guitar!
After about and hour and a half of waiting, the hippy whistled at us. Some guys driving the other way said they could take us to santiago. They looked ok, and said they would be back in a bit to pick us up.
They arrived about 45mins later... OMG they looked so sleazy. They were about 45 and smoking away and scary. Skye and I just looked at eachother... and thought.. we cant get in, this doent look safe... but then on the other hand, we had no other choice. So we jumped in. The guys then started driving, then all of a sudden turned the car around to drive in the opposite direction to Cordoba and Santiago. SHIT! both of us panicked. Skye tried not to show she was scared, so started asking if they had forgotten something- NO, then she asked why we were going this direction, we had been told santiago was the opposite way... they said. No it is this way.,..
We got quite worried, but they did then say they were going onto route 9.. (which is right) and luckily we soon saw signs for Cordoba. It turned out we had been stood in the right direction, but it was a new road, and these guys were from BA and had come in another way, and that was the way we were now leaving. These guys were quite nice. We were a bit weary, but we would only have to spend 2 hours in the car to santiago... then we could hitch with someone a bit more interesting. As we drove, we preactised our spanish a little, they were apparently detectives in the police force, but then they burst out laughing, so we thought they were lying... but that didnt really matter. Of course as they drove they drank maté all the way which cracked us up. We were chatting away about where was best to drop us off, and they decided to change their route slightly, and take us all the way to Cordoba. At the time we were a bit disappointed that our adventure was ending soon, but overall its a good thing, because its 900km to cordoba, and god knows how long we would be waiting for another ride.
These guys turned out to be quite comical. Driving through the countryside we just suddenly stopped. Jesus... it scared the life out of me and Skye.. we were in the middle of nowhere.. then the guy starts reversing and some kids run upto the car tryig to sell tortoises. This was so random. After this we kept stopping to ask for prices. When we asked why they wanted one, they said it was a present for their mother! Crazy! They also sold parrots and snakes along the street. This was very cool to see.. something we would have missed out on had we not hitchhiked.
Finally we stopped for a toilet break at the petrol station, and skye and I couldnt stop cracking up at how much Argentinians love drinking Maté. Everyone ran out their cars with thermos flasks for Maté, to fill up with hot water, then when we were driving, the guys had a screw-in metal heating rod for their thermos to keep their water warm! Its just hilarious. Even at the bus terminal they had a special machine dishing out hot water.
Anyway, we drove on to Córdoba, and at one point one of the guys says, 'please dont be scared, we have a gun, we will protect you!' - this was pretty freaky, as its not leagal to have guns round here... but we just decided to believe their police story. God knows who these people were, but if it was anything bad, we didnt want to upset them. And sure enough they pulled out their gun frm the glove compartment to show us. Also all the documentation to prove it was legal, but overall the guys were cool and dropped us off in Cordoba! We were pretty chuffed at the free ride! Whoo hoo! Gladly do it again!

More BBQ Fun and walks

Stayed one more day in Córdoba. Decided to go for a walk to see the waterfalls. We were told by some new argentinian boys we had met the night before at another fab BBQ, (this time only 2, from BA- who are going to take me to a football match) that they are really beautiful.
We(me and Skye-who i met on the bus to salta) thought it would be a pretty short walk to the casscades, only 6 km each way... but when we got there it turned out we had another hour or so to walk! There were some argentinians there determined to be our guides, but we were not wanting to spend any money, so pretended not to speak a word of Spanish. but the guy was pretty persistant. He just kept talking at us, and telling us about the route we had to take, we needed water etc.. and finally when i said in english - we dont speak spanish- he took the hint and left us to it.
The walk was pretty long, but really good for us. Had been overeating on wine flavoured icecream, and snicker flavoured icecream.. and god food in general. The walk through the cannyon was pretty cool. Very rugged walk so a bit of rock climbing involved and stuff which was a good laugh, but managed to completely destroy my jeans! The cascades themselves were pretty cool, but couldnt really even see them as they were obscured by some rocks, and in order to see them we would have had to climb down a very dangerous part of the rocks, and there was no real exit. Plus we were getting hungry, and were tired, as we hadnt planned for this 6 hour excursion, we were only prepared for 3hours. On the way back we tried to hitchhike, but all the cars were full.. so ended up walking all the way back to our hostel.
We then spent the rest of the evening trying to kill time, as our us to Tucuman was leaving at 2am. We didnt feel too hungry but went to a restaurant anyway at 7:30, and were relying on normal south american service which takes hours normally, and were disapointed when our food arrived within 5 mins of us ordering. We have no idea HOW this was possible. They must have already had our food in the oven! I have no idea... which worried us a bit, because surely only a microwave can prepare food that quick!
We jumped on our 2am bus to Tucuman, and we had the worst seats, they were slanting forward, so we just kept slipping down. We wanted to move, but when we had bought our seats the ladt said the bus was almost full! So we stayed put, and thought that maybe we were collecting others on the way! As it turns out, the whole night we spent starting and stopping, but at no point was the bus ever full!
We arrived in Tucuman.. and went out in search of food before our next adventure...

Cafayate

The argentinian grill... is called Parillia! - just something from my last blog...
Yesterday afternoon/evening arrived in Cafayate, unfortunatly missed all of the apparently stunning scenery, because i just passed out on the bus. Not only because i was tired form the night before, but because the most annoying argentinian sat next to me. I put in my headphones, but he kept talking ... ¿como te llamas?(name) where are you from.. blah blah blah.. eventually he got the message that i wanted to listen to my music.. after i explained that my MP3 player hadnt worked since my first week in SA, which was 3 and a half months ago! Then when we stopped for a break. he woke me up! I was pretty annoyed. Then when he got back on the bus, he just started singing my name... Nicooole nicooole... then I got - ¿Que piensas Nicole? - ARGH!! I was so annoyed i just wanted to sleep... so just snapped back.. NADA.. ESTOY CANSADA(nothing, i'm tired) Jesus.. that man wouldnt leave me alone! 4hours! and then kept waking me up to show me the scenery! Very nice i suppose, but i just really wasnt in the mood!
Anyway, once i arrived in Cafayate, it was beautiful. Still has all the niceties of Salta but much smaller, and stunning, surrounded by Vineyards. Me and a girl i met in salta went to visit some of the vineyards, shown how wine is made, sampled it... and i managed to get drunk very quickly!
Walking around we bumped into my polish friend from Tupiza, and her english boyfriend, who is a chef in London. They invited us over to their campsite for dinner, so of course we couldnt decline! Our hostel is also suposed to offer Parilla on the roof but that night the guy who does it wasnt there, so this was perfect.
At the cash machine i met a really cool Irish guy, so we decided to bring him along.
At the campsite wer had an awesome night. Andy cooked the best chicken, with guacamole and tomatoes and onions, and garlic bread. They had also invited 3 argentinian guy, and they had a guitar! The whole night was awesome. We had brought the wine, so we spent the evening drinking, and playing the guitar, everyone singing along... and then the boys light a bonfire, and it was great, sitting around and playing tunes till the small hours! Really like this little town, very tempted to stay a few more days.. see how it goes, cerainly one more night!

Argentina Heaven - SALTA

Hello!! My spirits are finally up again. I was feeling very depressed after the bad salta trip. - I also realised i forgot to mention why the fact that the doors didnt shut properly was so important.
On day 2 we were also driving through rivers, and i dont just mean small shallow things. The water came half up the car.. so if i had my window open i could reach down and touch the water. As we went through these rivers, the guy sat by the other door and his bags got extremely wet! Especially at one point. we drove into the water which was covered in 3cm thick ice. Stopped dead. Then he had to reverse and go forward again, smashing up the ice as he went. We got stuck in the middle for about 5 mins... which was pretty worrying, as i defiitly was nOT getting out to push, like when we were stuck in the sand!
Anyway.. the other day after a hellish night in Tupiza got the bus to Villazon which is on the border to Argentina. There was a fair going on, so i ditched my bags and went to have a look around. Was really good fun, people doing raffles and stuff for really ugly sculptured animals.. Was a bit crazy. I then did a bit of last minute shopping on my walk to the border and then crossed hassle free into La Quacha which is the same town but the other side of the border. Straight away you can tell you are in a 1st world country... The men were better looking... there was an actual TARMAC road!! then we walked past a BAKERY! I was getting very very excited! Also, all the people had the Argentinian accent, which really surprised me, especially as we were so close to the border. I met a Italien on the Border.. who had grown up in Kenya and was studying A.I in Germany. We bought our tickets, me to salta, and him to Buenos Aires, then he took me out for dinner. I am so thankful to this guy. He introduced me to REAL argentinian food. He ordered a Pane***(cant remember the name.. will let you know soon) but basically it is a big grill... and you get chorizo(sausage), another kind of sausage made of blood and herbs, intestines, steak, ribs and stomach- all of a cow. It was delicious! I definitly wouldnt have tried it had i been alone! It was fab. Unfortunatly had to part with the Italien, but it had been a real pleasure! Also he introduced me to Quilmes..Argentinian Beer.. MMMmmmm delish!
The bus to salta was pretty standard. Only 8 hours. I was quite annoyed though, when they woke us at 3am, we had to take all our stuff including my fat rucksack, for drugs checks. They didnt even bother to touch my bag, just looked at my passport and let me pass! But the Argentinians had everything looked through thoroughly!
Arrived in Salta at 6am.. an hour early... again, very disappointing as I could have done with some more sleep! But met a chica at the station and we went Hostal hunting together!
OMG SALTA! I have been in 3rd world countries till yesterday! We couldnt get over the fact that there were actual SHOPs! Clothes, TVs they sell furniture... they sell everything! its amazing!! They even have SHELL! and normal petrol stations, and ROADS, and no cholitas, and the town square is beautifully european! There are actual cafe's where you can sit ourside, enjoy the sunshine, and just enjoy yourself! First night we went to Viejo Jack, which has been recommended by everyone, and the steak was TRUELY amazing!
Today i slept. Then headed up to the mountain overlooking the town. WHilst searching for the path i came across a group of young christians. They offereed that i walk with them. I took them up on this offer,.. and boy am i glad i did. They were aged between 11 and 21. About 10 of them. I chatted to them loads, and the first thing they asked is if i like tea! Ha ha ha! We all walked to the top, where they prepared sandwhiches and drinks. Then we all stood in a circle and held hands, and one of the girls said a prayer.. and ten we ate and drank. It was such a good experience. The kindness of these people was so cool and so nice. It really made my day! Anyway, tomorrow off to Cafeyate... wine country... cant wait! x

Salt Flat Tour HELL

I decided to start this 'amazing and beautiful' tour from Tupiza, as everyone I had met had told me that the tour was a little longer- 4 days instead of 3, to use Tupiza Tours, they are a little more expensive, but VERY reliable, and will provide a better experience. Also tupiza is more beautiful than Uyuni. The only truth from all that was the fact that Tupiza is beautiful!
DAY1
Woke up nice and early, very excited about seeing the salt flats, the tour is supposed to be fantastic.. so i wake up enthusiastically and dress in lots of layers and prepare for the cold nights nearing -20 degrees.
We all set off, in a jeep which looked like the worst of all the ones that were leaving. Windows celotaped shut.. all a bit dodgy, but we were sure we would be fine. Nice and sturdy! As we left Tupiza the views were just stunning! the scenery changes so much, red mountains, yellow mountains, grey mountains, all next to eachother... how can it all form like this. Also absolutly nothing for miles... its beautiful to see a country not poluted by civilization. About 2 hours in i am looking out the window when i see a long metal tube coming out of the car. hmmm what could this be.. then it falls out. So i quickly call to the driver to stop. He hadnt noticed, so thank god i did before we all noticed as the car would have given us a quicker ride down the mountain. We all get out to explore what happened. It turns out that the tube that came out was something that went in the axle i think. But on the end of it, it had the circular plate which normally has the 4 screws that go into the wheel to hold it on! Basically.. if i hadnt seen this thing fall out, a few meters more and the wheel that i was sitting on would have fallen off. It also happened to be the wheel by the cliff edge, and physics would mean that if we lost that wheel, we would be taking a short cut to the bottom, rather than being stopped by hitting the cliff! Anyway... the driver then sent us up the mountain searching for the screws... Of course we arent going to find them!! but we look anyway... we find nothing.. so i look at my recipt where it says jeeps in good condition.. if there are any problems the company will send another at no extra cost.
OK.. so we are getting another Jeep, but lets consider the first problem... HOW? We are in bolivia, in the middle of the mountains,.. of course there is no radio, no phone reception. So we wait for a vehicle going the other way.. which only happens once in a blue moon, the cook gets in to go to Tupiza to get another jeep. We therefore just have to sit in the car and wait... a long time. After 3 hours, the driver gets frustrated and leaves us too. At 4:30 arrive the cavalry...(we broke down at 11:30). The next jeep arrives with about 4 blokes in it, as well as the cook, and our driver. they move all our stuff to the next jeep, and then they start fiddling with the 'new jeep' with the wheels, and put on a new clutch disc. SO.. we hope this is the end of our problems.,.. We leave after 5 hours of waiting. It is almost 5 oclock, and we have to go another 6 hours to get to our Hostal where we are staying the night. I am pretty annoyed at this point, because it means we cant see anything out the window for most of the journey because the sun sets at 6:30! I thought we should start again the next day, but the driver didnt seem to agree, or apologise for the delay!
Anyway, this new jeep.. interesting replacemen. It was smaller than the other, also the windows and doors didnt shut properly.. (this would be important for later!)
So we drove through the night.. freezing cold beacuse of the gaps in the doors and windows... suddenly we stop. Ok... everybody out! We need to push the car up a hill! It is stuck in the sand!
This was a bit fun.. good to get out the car after sitting in it for about 10hours, but it was Freezing. We get the car out the sand and carry on... and then we start passing ghost towns. The driver wants to stop, but that would mean we just have to get up at 4am to catchup with the other group. we ask how far the place where we are meant to stay is.. and he says its an hour. So the we decide to just keep going. An hour later, we stop in another town.. the driver and cook start running round this dead ghost town made of mud huts knocking on doors till they find somewhere we can stay... This is NOT where we are supposed to be.. but it will do.. it is 10pm and the driver is tired. It is very basic accomodation, basically a bed and nothing more. I didnt expct better, so i wasnt complaining, and it was marginally warmer than the jeep! We dont eat dinner, because it would take 2 hours to make, so we just have some bread and tomatoes! then bed.
DAY2
We wake at 4am. Breakfast is pretty crap, the boiled water isnt very hot, so that means no tea or coffee--, also just bread and orange jam, which tastes like orange peel! apparently the driver had been up last night changing the tyre.. so this meant that today was going to be interesting.
We start driving and see a few ruins, catch up with another group, which i thought was the group doing the 4 day tour too.. but apparently not.. we see some ruins, then make our way to Aguas Calientes. (hot springs) the driver says we will be there at 2pm... hmmm... he keeps saying 2 hours more.. but we never seem to see these waters. We stop to make lunch in a ghost town.. but then decide its not a good idea, coz all the kids start coming out, facinated by us, so we move on and find a lagoon and eat there. This company saved themselves by serving us hot pasta! I was worried we would be livng off bread and tomoatoes the whole 4 days!
After dinner we start travelling, stop at lagunas and stuff... which i am sick of seeing now! But the driver only ever gave us about 5 mins.. and then started herding us back in the car. This is very frustrating, as we are spending the entire time in the car. Anyway.. we arrive at the hot springs at 5pm. We want to go swimming, but if we do that we cant see the 'amazing laguna Verde' So we drive an hour to see this, and maybe we can swim on the way back... The laguna is of course like any other, and i am not impresse, but everyone else in the group had been desperate to see it! We drive back to the hot springs to go swimming, but then the driver starts telling us we might get sick, we shouldnt.. blah blah blah.. so we test out the water and decide its not hot enough, plus the sun has gone down, so it is getting colder by the second. In our itinary we were also supposed to see Geisers too... but now it was dark.. i asked if we could go tomorrow morning, beacuse we cant see anything in the dark. Reply: No i havent got enough petrol!
So we go to the geisers, the driver turns on his lights, and says... there you go... Geisers!
Couldnt see anything.. culdnt take any photos.. Very angry.. I just wanted to get to the Hostal.
We start driving after having seen the smoke shadows(geisers) and after an hour.. VEGAS! Lights!! we see the hostal.. there are loads of cars, lights,.. looks promising.. hopefully warm.
NO! Colder than the night before, and then we dont even eat till 10;30pm because we arrived there so late, plus the food is cold! I end up sleeping uncomfortably with all my clothes, and still cold! - I forgot to mention.. this entire time we were driving we were stoping every 30mins so the driver could check the tyres were still screwed on properly! Which made us even later than we already were--- which was 2hours to start with !
DAY 3
Friday the 13th... not a good day for me.. and certainly a bad start!
We do start well.. on time, with all the other groups.. we go to Lago Colorado, which is pink, because in the summer it is full of flamingos. I reach into my pocket for my camera... its gone!
I jump in the car with the driver and go back to the hostal which is luckily only 15mins away... and look for it in my bed.. not there.. but luckily find it in my sleeping bag! (i had to sleep with it, because i have been told that the people who work at these hostals rob you when you sleep!)
Everyone else is actually quite thankful that i had lost it briefly because it meant that they were left at the laguna for longer than the usual 5 mins. When i get back.. i try to take a pic.. but guess what.. the camera doesnt work! Also, getting in the car earlier had ripped my new trousers on the frickking seat!! I was not having a good day!Also the driver started complaining to me about now he wouldnt have enough petrol.
We then drove on, saw the dali rock.. but i had no camera.. i was so gutted.. the area was really good for taking pics.. but i couldnt take any! Luckily the Plich couple I was with took some and will email them. We were hurried from here to another laguna, and i remembered i could use my phone as it was pretty good, 3mega pixels! Also it took panoramic pics.. turns out its better than my camera. .. I also kept fiddling with my camera lens,.. and finally got my camera back into action. In time for some pics of some flamingios.
After lunch we just started rushing, and driving like crazy... to our hostal.... we were all so angry, because we arrived at the hostal at 5, which was early, and we had had to rush all the lagunas etc! As it turns out, hostals are first come, first serve! So we kind of forgive the driver, also it is a fairlky good hostal.. beds and floor of salt! There is also a salt hotel.. but you have to pay for that, but this was pretty good. It was on the edge of the flats, so went for a walk and watched the sunset. That night was pretty good in the hostal, but got pretty drunk, as i had brought a bottle a whisky for keeping warm, and then i caused a huge argument with some Israilis about why there was a war in Israil, and how it should be solved! Not good... but this place was pretty nice and warm, so went to bed early, ready for an early start to watch the sunrise!
DAY 4
We got up very early.. drove into the flats... and i have to commend our driver here.. he was very good, did it very quickly so we were first. Sunrise was beautiful, all the mountains turned pink! Then we drove to the cactus island in the middle. This was good fun too, took loads of pics and stuff, and enjoyed the short walk. Then our driver started to hurry us again! this wound me up so much.. but as it turns out he drove us out to the middle of nowhere, wheras other grouos stayed at the island, and we tooks loads of the comedy pics. He let us stay here as long as we wanted.. so we were all pretty happy. Finally once WE were ready to leave... we drove to the salt hotel, which was pretty cool to see, with everthing of salt, took some snaps, and then went to the edge of the flats for lunch. There.. it was pretty uninteresting... just lots of souvenirs...
Finally at about 12pm, we headed for Uyuni.. everyone overtaking us, and outr jeep shaking like its about to fall apart.. still stopping often to check tyres...
We start driving through what looks like a rubbish site... there is rubbish everwhere! then i see the sign.. 'Bienvenidos a Uyuni'
Oh my lord! I am so happy i started in Tupiza! Uyuni was an absolute dump. the whole place was mud huts, and no one! We also visited the train cemetary... which was quite amusing, especially as someone had written ' remember who built these trains' and drew a british flag!
Anyway.. hell started here again. A french couple had come with us here and had paid the agency to orgainise bus tickets for them to La pAz from there... this adnt been done, and the driver had no money on him to pay back the couple, or buy them tickets! Also it was hell for me as i wanted to go to Salta... but no buses.. they all went through tupiza first, so i thought i might as well go back with the driver and cook.
We set off.. and he says we will arrive in tupiza at 9pm. It is 3;30, by the time we leave uyuni. Then he stops beacuse he wants to eat in a restaurant.. but too expensive so we drive on. I have to say the road was pretty interesting. I woulndt really call it a road. More like land, with lots of car tyres from where everyone goes it freestyle. If we broke down here i think i would cry! It was pretty cool though, as we went through a bit of desert... lots of sand dunes.. a huge truck was half buried, and i hoped the same wouldnt happen to us, as only 3 of us left to push instead of 8! I was the only tourist going back. So i was quite lucky to have the car to myself.. but it was quite lonely!
Everytime i asked how much further, he would ask me the time and just say however long was left till 9pm... but soon it became 10pm, and i was getting pretty frustrated!
We eventually arrived at 10:30pm. Me an unhappy bunny, as it was too late to get a bus to the border to argentina, also the hotel charged me double of last time... luckily this morning i spoke to the owner and got a discount because of the trouble on the tour! Now i am just waiting to go to Villazon, from where i can move onto salta.. cant wait to leave right now... especialy as that trip was so hellish and now i have a cold!
Also i had had to lend the driver money to pay back the french couple, and this morniung have had a huge fight to get it back...
Anyway.. on i go.. hopefully more luck on the next leg of my journey!
Gota go, as my bus leaves in an hour.. and i dont want to miss it! Ciao!xxx

TUPIZA - Polacy

Arrived in Tupiza at bloody 3am! Searching for a hostal was hell! First one had no space, and then the next 2 wouldnt let me in... the third.. bloody expensive.. but private room, hot water, TV.. so many luxuries... and a swimming pool. But I'm not staying long, so its not too bad. Also breakfast included.
I woke up and went to breakfast... saw the pool... SCORE. Saw the view.. WOW.. amazing RED mountains! then i heard. POLSKI. There was a couple sat next to me chatting away... then they went over to the buffet to top up, and another polish couple were like.. OMG POLACY... so i joined. WOw.. no polish people for all my travels.. and suddenly loads here. I am now going on a tour of the salt flats with one couple.
I then decided to go for a walk to the cannyon. Everyone just told me to follow the path... WHAT PATH... there were about 5 all in different directions. After a while i got bored and climed up the red mountain type thing. its not made of rock. Kinda red clay full of stones.. very wierd... and i am sure you arent supposed to climb it. From there.. beautliful views of the city.. but still no sight of the cannyon. Coming down was much more of a challenge.. slipping on all th rocks, also, the ver top was just clay.. so everytime i stood on anything it just disappeared from my feet. It was a bit scary and a bit crazy! But i got down, and decided to walk a little further down the path i was walking.. and as it turned out. there was the cannyon!! Silly me.
Anyway.. really love this town. it is soo beautiful! i absolutly adore it. Looking forward to 4 days of salt flats, then have to get my butt into gear.. to get to Buenos Aires!!! Ciao

POTOSÌ - Bought Dynamite Legally!

Arrived in Potosí still feeling like absolute shit. Still a bit dodgy from the bad water... that'll teach me not to party so hard!
straight away bought a ticket to Tupiza... and left my bag there. Took a bus up to the silver mnines and thought i could get a tour. Apparently not. After much asking around I had to return back to the town, go through an agency. I took the afternoon tour... we first got kitted out in protective clothing... boots, trousers, jacket and helmet. Then we stoped at the miners market. Bought some 'gifts' for the miners... drink, and dynamite. Then we got driven upto the mines. There were some other groups coming out.. so we watched them blow up their dynamite.. it was so cool! - and used ammonium nitrate to make the explosion about 5 times more powerful!
We then headed into the mines. Shit is was DUSTY. There was crystalised aspestos and arsenic all over the walls and celing.. i can still smell the crap on my hands. It was the most amazing experience going in there. The conditions are appalling, and i cant believe people still work there like that! The average life expectancy for a worker there is 10years... before they die of the aspestos or arsenic. It was so dark and dusty... and we watched the actual workers pushing carts of silver ore.. and shoveling it into buckets, it being taken up 3 floors. there were no stairs, most of the time we had to crawl to get around. This is just amazing how these people do this everyday.. and in todays world, its unbelievable there are no better methods for silver extraction. The worst thing is that 2000 workers are children. (10-16). The reason so many people work there though, is the good wage. They earn about 3000bolivianos per month. and miminum wage here is 360bs. so you can see they do very well for themselves.. because they are all freelance.. only have to pay 6% of the silver they find to the government, from whom they are renting the mine.
After the mine we headed off to the refinery.. unfortunatly it wasnt working.. but we say all the machinery. It is such a shame that bolivia can only make the primary materials- silver, lead, tin and copper... and dnt have smelting factories... because they could be so muc richer if they could do something with the metals after extracting them.
As we lft it started snowing and there was a huge storm brewing. I wasnt planning on hanging around.. went to a hostal and had a shower, then ate some llama, and jumped on the bus to Tupiza.

Milling around La Paz



Well... since my return from the jungle... hae just been chilling and partying very hard in La Paz!

I think i have overstayed by many a day... but everyday.. we went out.. met people, made friend, and were told mañana, fiesta granda! so we thought.. hmmm might as well stay another day, and another... and attend all the parties. One of our favourite clubs.. Traffic... we went to one of the 'big parties' everyone was about 15!! it was a private leaving party for some guy, and we managed to blag our way in. Had a fantastic night of dancing, which was much needed.. the DJ was unbelieveble!! He was so good, me and Jim were impressed with his techno and house skill.. just needed some pendulum. Anyway.. he invited us the next day for the aniversary of the club. We turn up, apparently we need invites, which steve had failed to mention... luckily our cab had given us 2, but we were with a 3rd person.. Jim went in and got another invite off steve... but then the bouncers wouldnt let us in coz the club was full! We finally got in... and it was amazing, music pumping, camera crews, the works.. we partyed till the end.. 4am.. it was fantastic.. and of course we had to return on friday.. because its FRIDAY... so the house is always pumping.. and I have to admit that was my best night.. the last night there. By that time, I had also made friends with the 60yr old owner, so we no longer had to pay the entrance..!! SCORE

Each of my evenings in La Paz were always followed up by a trip to Vivien's. This is the dodgy underground drug den i previously mentioned. It is absoulutly crazy there.. but loved it. You enter through a garage door.. then you come to a barred door, where you now.. the guy has to unlock all the padlocks, then you walk through the kitchen, behind the bar, and then into the club. The club is all mirrored walls and red lights and there is a cat lying on the bar, which i thought was dead, but i was informed that actually it is high on coke!

Worryingly though, the guys who owned it, ran it, delt there... all seemed to know me pretty well. When there was a queue.. as soon as i knocked on the door... ' Mi Amor... Ven! Ven! ¿Como Estas? ' and thats how i jumped the queue. (my love.. Come! come! how are you?) Me and Jim managed to get pretty famous in there.. when we realised this we both thought it was about time to leave. We had also been quite lucky not to have been caught by the police yet. There were police raids there fairly often.. because the club is illegal.. and full of drugs. Then on my last night at about 5am i was talking to some brazilian guy, and standing outside drinking a bottle of water. Some guy came upto us and started trying top get us into the taxi.. i sed no thanks, we arent going home. He left us alone briefly, then walked up to me and said - i am the police you are under arrest. - OMG my heart stopped. I was thinking ... shit i am going to Bolivian Prison! I am SCREWED. Quickly managed to come top my senses.. and started having a go at this guy asking him why we were under arrest.. we were just standing on the street talking and drinking a bottle of water.. he had no grounds for arrest. He then looked a bit bemused.. appologised and walked away! WHAT THE HELL!! i had been so scared at that point.

In general... i think La Paz was getting a bit dangerous. I had also heard a story of a group of 4 Israli boys.. had been taken in a cab, down an alley, then robbed and one of them stabbed in the leg several times.... since then, more and more israilis were being taken.

These are amazing people, so friendly and seen so muc shit in their lives.. i dont know why they are being targeted. I have met so many Israili's and they are genuinely nice people, and others have told me they are hostile, but i havent seen that at all. One israli i met in particular had quite an effect on me. We were talking in Vivians, and i asked him his age.. despite already knowing he is 22/23 just out the army and traveling. Then he asked me mine. When I said 19... he laughed almost with a tear in his eye, turned away from me and said, 'if only you knew what i had been doing when i was your age'. Naturally, this sparked interest, so I probed him in the hope he might say... and he did ' I was a sniper in the Israli Army'. This just stunned me completely. This also really made me realise how screwed up the world is. I have never seen a gun in real life.. let alone held one, shot one, or killed with one. Yet this BOY had the blood of men on his hands from such a young age. And all in honour of his country. It is something he needs to do to protect his country! And he is happy to be waiting in the reserves to go back and fight, should he be needed, as is with all the Israli boys I have met. I think they are a brave nation, and i really wish they didnt have to be exposed to all that.

As well as all the Parties I was actually stuck in La Paz. There were Bus strikes going on, and blockades on the road, which meant that there was no possibility of passage by bus. Some people did try and made it to their destinations after hitchhiking part of the way.. and the 4 hour journey taking 20. but at least they made it.

Funny that the capital of Bolivia is La Paz.. (peace) jet it always seems to be in turnmoil. On my last day waling through the streets, there was a huge protest, hundreds of paceñias (people of La Paz) walking through the streets protesting. From what i hear it is apparently a national sport in Bolivia.

Also, as a result of my prolonged stay, I did decide to do something useful. Me and Jim decided to be tourists and take an open topped bus city tour. Unfortunatly it was pretty bad.. and my lack of sleep meant i missed most of it... It was pretty bad though. It was all on an automated machine.. with the gude clicking for the next clip of chat as we reached each site. Meaning that when there was no traffic, half way through an explanation of a church it would skip to ' on your right is the new university...'.

The first part of our tour ended in the Lunar Landscape(moon). It was quite cool. but a bit small, so i was quite disappointed. We also only had 15mins. I have to admit we were about 5 mins late, but when we went out of the national park everyone was gone. the bus had LEFT US!! We couldnt believe it!! WE were so so angry. WE jumped in a cab.. drove to the bus terminal... there was the bus.. about to go on the second part o the journey. We jumped on and tried to get our money back, but they said NO, but hurry we are going to the other side of the city now. We arrived in the north at a viewpoint. Got out took pictures, this time we were back at the bus early. We sat down, and Jim asked me to pass him the juice we had bought earlier. (we had been to the supermarket to buy, ham, bread, cheese, juice and fruit, because we hadnt had lunch.) I turned to the seat next to me where i had left it and it was gone. I asked the tour guide about it.. and she turned around with a mouthfull of cheese and ham sandwhich... Oh! sorry... we ate it all.. we thought it was rubbish!
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT! We were fuming! This city tour had been nothing but hell.
Anyway... finally decided to leave La Paz on Sat.. had had enough of munching on llama steak, and partying, but sods law... i drank some tap water in the hostal, because i was dying of thirst.. just one sip... the next day.. had the works... bad water... Ended up in bed all day.. but it did snow. When i finally left on sunday, snowed quite a few centimeters.. so bizarre.... especially as its like 25 in the day.. then at night it will snow.. and back home its summer.

The Jungle

After our dodgy night at the club, we headed off to the travel agents the next morning for the jungle tour. It was a cannoe type boat, but luckily with shade and seats. So overall the ride was pretty comortable. It was 3 hours upstream. It was so wierd in places because there were 2 levels of water... so the water we were on was lower than the water infront. It was biszzare. We also had some great views as we chugged into the jungle.
When we got there, we got ourselves settled, and then the guide came looking for us. He could hear boars eating the coco nuts. We had to sneak up on the boars from behind, and around them by crawling. Then we chased them every so often, just to get great views of them. Unfortunatly unphotographable... but still beautiful! This made us really feel like we were in the jungle.. it was awesome.. especially the way it got the adrenaline pumping!
Te¿hen we went for a tour of the jungle. We saw an actual bleeding plant. When you cut it red liduid came out. Apparently good for sandfly bites! Then we say the rubber tree, and the viagra tree, and the garlic tree. That was my favourite, because i LOve garlic.. but i think it acted not only as a mosquito repelent, but as a people too. On that walk we also managed to see a sloth, and many many maquaurs(parrots). We were also shown this green plant, that if you rub it a lot, then it turns to purple, and you can have war paint!!! I was also made the litttle queen of the jungle, by making me a crown with bunny ears!!
Later that night we went out again, watching for nocturnal animals. We managed to see what the guide told us was a monkey.. but hard to say, because all we could see was trhe eyes. But this fun escapade ended with having to swig across the river tarzan style on a vine. It was great fun!
The following morning we made our own jewelry. We made rings of coconuts, and the guide made us necklaces. Making the rings was bloody hard work. First you have to saw them open, and saw out your ring. Then using a knife, pick out the inside. then sand the outside, then use fine sandpaper, then rub it in the clay, and rub it in ash to finish! You wouldnt believe how clean and wonderful it looks!
We then went fot another walk and did some more animal and tree spotting. Whilst taking a photo of a giant tree we got attacked by a huge fleet of flys, which flew into your hair and then then buzzed and crawled to the roots! Difficult to get rid of!
Unfortunatly that was the end of our jungle tour. Very short, just 1 night.. definitly not enough. I wouldnt mind going back for a 10day tour, learn more survival stuff!! I think i prefered this to the pampas. Much less animals, but definitly a great experience. Love the Jungle!
Now i am just in La Paz.. waiting to go south, but needing to wait for the buses to be taken off strike.. so that i can finally travel. BUt i may just spend a bit longer here.. as i am planning on cancelling my flight to canada, and staying in South America a bit longer! It will mean i can go skiing in Aregentina! Whoo Hoo!! Till then ... xxx

Rurrenabaque- Pampas

After a god nights sleep. i had to get up at 4:30am in order to make my way to the airport. I had been such an idiot. Lazyness got the better of me the night before after the choro trek, so i didnt bother going to get some more money out of the bank! HUGE mistake. In the moringn, woke up late, had to call for a taxi. didnt have enough money to pay my hostal, so had to leg it to the cash machine... no easy task at 4000m, then run back pay fro my room, then jump in the taxi to the airport. Luckily the ride to the airport only took about 15mins, not 30 as i had been warned. but this meant i turned up only 5 mins later than i should have. Got in the queue to check in.. it doesnt move till 6:50am which is our departure time!! We start walking to the plane and i almost burst out laughing. As it turned out it is a TINY plane. Max about 20 passengers. It was also very cool never flown in such a small plane. You could see right out the cockpit, and see what all the pilots were doing etc. Very funky. As we began our flight we flew through the mountains. Literally with the peaks at our eye level.. and the winds causing loads of turbulance there. the views were ablsolutly stunning. The flight was slightly traumatic, because the windows had holes in them, so the air pressure was crazily low, causing some kids on the plane to cry all the way. The flight was pretty short... just to find us decending to land on a mud track, with just a kid directing the plane from the ground and a small shack for an airport.
Luckily transport was provided by the airline to the town centre, direct to the door of the travel agency i had booked my tours with! Perfect.
I was just standing around minding my own business when i got a tap on the shoulder. There was a guy who had vaguely agreed to come with me, in a severly drunken state before i went to choro, and had loads of my DVDs. This was pretty cool. Someone i know with me.... but means i needn't have carried all the books and magazines i had brought. We set off in a minivan. JESUS CHRIST! between the seats there was about 20cm... way too small for my gringo legs, and the guy who i was travelling with is 6ft5"... this was a crazy bumpy, painful 3.5 hours on a dirt track road into the pampas. We were so annoyed because the short little bolivians took all the seats with the leg room, and we had to keep switching positions just to cope with the pain of squeezing in our legs!
Finally we arrived by the river. We got into a small cannoe type of boat, and set off down the river. I thought that this was going to be a pretty boring trip, but literaly within seconds we see aligators, turtles and the giant hamster animals. There were hundreds of birds around, and also we saw pink dolphins. Me and Jim the dutch guy i was traveling with were having photo competions, trying to take the best pics.. but the 4 hours passed by pretty quick. We got to our camp, which was a huge dorm with about 50 beds, CrAzy! but the most annoying thing was the bolivian doorways, meaning we had to bed over everytime we went through a door. We then went to watch the sunset from the mirador... it was stunning, but then some crazy auzzie started walking towards the aligators sat on the riverbank below us... We all thought he was going to get attacked any second, he was trying to grab the croc's tail.!! Luckily the gaiter was more scared of him and legged it. Otherwise we would have had nasty accident! We ended up with an early bedtime, as in the morning, we were going to see the sunrise, not before getting the wonderful surprise whilst brushing my teeth, that the water was the brown river water... mmmm lush!
Woke up at 5:30am... got in a boat and went downstream to a giant field. It was really wierd, beacuse i thought pampas was meant to be a kind of jungle, but it was much more like a safari. The landscape honestly resembles that of a safari. We watched the sunrise over the 'safari' which was pretty amazing. Then we returned to our camp and after breakfast we headed anaconda hunting. we walked for about 45 minutes through marshland. looking for anacondas! We were successful!!! It was wicked. It was only a baby one though i think. About 3metres long.
After our sucessful anaconda hunt, we returned to camp for lunch, and a power nap, before heading back out into the river . This time we were going to brave it and swim with the dolphins! BUT.. this also meant we were swimming with the aligators, pyranas, and the snakes! Mmmm lovely! What was more disconcerting, was that although our guide told us that GENERALLY people didnt get attacked by any of the animals, was that as we pulled up in the boat to the swimming spot, i watched a big aligator dive down in the water....!!!! SCARY! But i got in, and it was fine. We were fairly unlucky beacuse none of the dolphins came particularily close, but i had one a meter away from me. They are scary looking creatures. Unfortunatly wasnt able to get any pictures, because they were so quick at moving. They are quite pinky, and have a wierd hump on their back, not quite a fin, and their noses are higher up than on a conventional dolphin. Very freaky!
This night, me and Jimme and some crazy canadians we met, all requested to be taken downriver to the sunset bar. On the way we did some aligator watching.. which is basically shining a torch in their eyes. And then they glow red! When we got to the bar, one of the guys jumped out the boat and stright into this nasty clay/mud and just started sinking! It was hilarious. The bar itself was dead apart from 2 Israilis. So we ended up listening to the Canadians crazy stories and sittting in the hammocks swinging into eachother.. seeing who can spill the least beer! - One of the best stories they told was of a flight in Venezuela. It was raining, and the plane still took off. Then water started dripping into the plane, not only all over them, but all ove the instruments in the cockpit. Then the pilot couldnt see where he was going, so he opened the window and was poking his head out the window as he flew.!!! (obviously.. the plane wasnt very high!)
Day 3, we woke up at a human hour after a freezing night... luckily a fairly late breakfast before heading out to the river.. ONCE AGAIN... for pyrana fishing. I have to admit i had a lot more fun than i thought i would. I managed to catch 4 pyranas. We were told that whatever we caught we could eat.. but they were all pretty small, so we just threw them back. One of mine was saved for dinner though, becasue i managed to catch it right through the eye, so everyone decided we should eat it! Everyone in our group did pretty well at catching pyranas, apart from one guy who managed to catch 6 catfish!
After the fun morning we had lunch.. unfrtunatly not our pyranas.. and set off back to Santa Rosa by boat, from where we took our favourite minibus back to Rurrenabaque.
Overall it was a wicked trip. Saw loads of animals. Managed not to get too bitten by Mosquitos.. and was very happy!
Unfortunatly the day came to a poor end. We went out for dinner... and Jimme was served something he didnt order.. then we went tot he night club, where they only played raggeton and the DJ wouldnt stop talking over the music. I actually asked him 4 times to stop talking.. but he just laughed. However, we did find the best hostal, we got the penthouse suit, with unbelieveable views of the sunset and the town!

The Choro Trek 72km- death road 2

Day 1
Set off early in the morning to a similar starting point as our death ride. But started a bit higher 4900m. It was Freezing! Snowing at the top... We sooo werent prepared for this. (we being me and an Auzzie i had recruited as i really didnt want to go alone.)
Meeting the guide had been pretty interesting. He was an old guy, about 50yrs, didnt even introduce himself. Just started walking. Also we noticed he only had 1 tent. Did that mean we were sharing with him!? But i suppose you get what you pay for!! - and we payed comparitavly little. At the top we also met a group of Islrali boys. They were looking for the path, but refused to listen to our guide because they had a story written down in hebrew of how to find it! they were also doing the hike carrying a guitar! Nutters! but they said it was a necessity!
Anyway, we started walking and it was pretty steep downhill. Also night before i had only had 2 hours sleep, as i had thought it would be a good time to go for a night out. This then resulted in me falling over and ripping my best pair of trousers. I now have NO clean or unripped trousers! How depressing! Mum.. send me more... out here it is impossible to find new trousers which fit. All South americans are way too short!
Anyway.. i had a bit of blood, but it was no big deal. My greater concern was the weather. it had been understandably cloudy above, but once we were walking lower... it shuldnt have been. We were still in a cloud and it was raining. It rained all day! and the fog was so bad we couldnt see 5 meters in front all the way. This is supposed to be a famous trek for its beautiful scenery, and we werent seeing none of it! As we walked on and got tot he bottom of the valley the path was made of rocks. This was a killer. another girl we met fell over 3 times! All of us were close to falling. it was torture. wet, cold and slippery. When we arrived at camp, it was no better, there was no fire to dry our clothes, so we had a cold uncomfortable night.
DAY 2
When we woke all the clouds were gone thankfully! We could see that we had managed to walk to the cloud forest. This meant for a hot and humid day! But none of us minded. We all needed our clothes to dry off! i went to brush my teeth and found the Israili boys, they invited me in for coffee.. offered me needle and thread for my trousers, and were fantastic, and invited me to come listen to them playing tonight. I was gone so long that my guide came looking for me, as apparently i was holding them up. I really liked these 5 boys. they were doing the trek alone. and that seemed like way more fun!
The trek was pretty tough. I had worn bad socks the day before, and also my knees were killing me from my fall. I hoped at least the path would be better, but instead it was worse. The humid air made the stairs ultra slippery. I fell over and now have a GIANT balck bruise on my buM! sooo not fair! However the views were amazing and there were so many butterflys, i felt like a little girl in a cartoon! they were flying all around. the flowers were pretty awesome too!
After 8 hours walk, we reached our camp, munched dinner then i joined the Israilis for a fire. Unfortunatly a cloud came over, so we couldnt light a fire, but they made hot soup, then caramelised peanuts, and tea, and played songs in english and hebrew on the guitar. They also told me their war stories, trainig stories, and also how to get discounts for everything. and not to be so polite. For example. One of them walked in to the tourist agency, asked for the price of the tour, got the price down, paid, and then 5 people turned up. becasue the tourist agent hadnt asked how many people. CHEEKY! Also they just tend to get discounts at restaurants and stuff... just coz their israili! Sooo not fair. but we had good laughs and a good night overall!
DAY 3
After having stayed up with the boys to the small hours i was knakered. We had an ultra early start of 6am!The path was pretty easy in general! a bit of uphill,. a bit of down, and a lot of flat. I thought i was going to die by the end. All becasue i hadnt looked after my feeet on the first day. It was a fairly peaceful walk back, but a bit shoddy as again.. we were in a cloud! that is just so, not coool! Nothing to see.
Anyway.. got back to la paz safely.. and have to go to bed as have a 6:30am flight to catch to the jungle. thats where i will be for the bext few days, so expect no reply!
xxxx

The Death Road - 60km downhill biking.

The worlds most dangerous road. A narrow 40km stretch of road along a cliff edge, barely wide enough to carry one bus, carried 2 way traffic for years. It is so narrow, and with a 400m drop on one side and a rock on the other, if busses met, one had to reverse backwards till it reached a point in the road wide enough. The road is very whindy(bendy), and it resulted in many buses driving off backwards!
Went weith a bunch of people i have been travelling with briefly. We started at 4700m. The bikes were top of the range, we got loads of protective gear and wore loads of warnm clothes, coz it was absolutlu FREEZING up there! The first stretch which lasted just over half an hour was all tarmac, and wide roads. Then after about 20km we reached the real DEATH ROAD. Not only have many buses gone over the edge, but as have many cyclists, due to stupidity, faulty breaks, or just being an idiot!
It was quite tough.. required loads of concentration, and was qiuite difficult as the path had loads of loose stones which are easy to skid on, many tight corners - which are easy not to make.
The 40km took about 3 hours. Quite a few stops, as the guide always kept us informed on what was coming up next, and how not to kill ourselves! We also had loads of photos and films taken, which was great. We managed to finish the bike ride with only 2 accidents. One due to boys racing eachother, but it was a minor cut along the arm, and a girl whose entre chin was ripped open. Whilst riding under a waterfall her tyres slipped and she flew over the handlebars straight onto her chin! poor girl.
At the end of the fday however, we had a lovely surprise in store. we were taken to an animal sanctuary. All the animals were fere to roam. So we had monkeys jumping onto our shoulders and parrots(makaws) and we played with a baby ossilate!
Over all the company -Gravity that i went with was great. good guide, we got a free beer, free t-shirt and taken tp the sanctuary where we could have free hot showers and buffet lunch!
That evening my Polish also came in useful!! I translated 2 A4 pages of advertising about the Hostel i am staying at Into POLISH, and for that i got 2 free nights!! Rock on!

La Paz by night - the drug den

Went out to the city centre by night. what a different place. The market turns into a semi funfair. Huge stalls with loads of cuddly toys and stalls selling fireworks come out. And hundreds of fast food stalls! These people really love their fried foods. Today i managed to see people doing tatoos on the street! A touch dangerous one would think.
Last night was a bit crazy. We started off with a nice english bar, then moved to another chilled club, before going to vivians place. Crazy club. Behind a garage door, charging 5times the actual price for all drinks, and with drugs practically on the menu... not really my scene. Really desperate for some good pumping music.. a nice drum and bass bar, but i dont think i am gonna find one out here. Maybe when i get to Buenos Aires.
Everyday i just see the wierdest things... i cant get over how wierd it all is.
Today i even found a shop selling COFFINS! ha ha ha! how funny is that.
I have an exciting week ahead.. tomorrow doing the death road, monday going on a 3 day trek, and thursday flying up north to the Jungle for 5days. As soon as i get back i am leaving again, to head south to potosi to the mines!

The Bizzare city of La Paz

I think i like this place!
It had beautiful views last night. A huge city, built into the cliffs. The Roads are literally one above the other. On one side of the road is always a cliff, and the other side a sheer drop.
We are at 4000m, and it is fantastic. Luckily, not feeling altitude sick.
Today went out to the city for a walk. I have to admit the men here are worse than anywhere i have been in terms of their reaction to me. The shoe-shine boys are wierd, they all wear balaclavas, and when i asked why.. they told me beacuse they are terrorists! Ha ha ha! But at least i got my shoes polished properly! he took off all my laces and everything! I was very impressed. I then wandered around the market! My heaven! However i am very confused as to where all these rumours of a cheap Bolivia are from. Everything i have found is more expensive than peru, apart from the food! What is going on!
Also, there are telephone pylons everywhere!!! What is the deal with that!!!
Anyway, planning to do some trekking, the deathroad, and then off to the jungle for a week!
xxx

Isla Del Sol - La Paz

We OVERSLEPT! - Missed the sacrifice of the lama.. so we were all gutted, but just about managed to wake for our boat to Isla del Sol.
it was a long boat ride again.. but i am getting used to that. when we arrrived it was an absolutly stunning Island. Some of our group booked into a hostal to stay the night, but i realised i only had another 4 weeks left here till I fly from Buenos Aires to Lima!! I panicked and legged it acros the Island to the south side to catch the boat back to Copacabana with all the others. The walk was beautiful apart from the odd peruvian kid popping out of the trees saying ' un photito?' jesus christ they were annoying! and if you said no, then they would give you the wrong directions to the other side of the island if any!
managed to make the 3hour walk in 2 hours despite the annoying kids trying to mislead me!
When we arrived back in Copacabana we booked ourselves onto the final bus leaving copacabana for la paz, which was at 6.30pm.
When we got on the bus we were told its a tourist bus, so we wuold prett much be alone. We sat ourselves down comfortably, then some guy starts tellling us to get off.. get on another bus! We all freaked out, coz locals were getting on, they were trying to throw us off, and all our stuff was on the bus. We were so lucky that we were in such a big group. Eventually the driver had to get the woman who sold us the tickets to come and sort it out! We couldnt believe what a mess had been made of selling us a few tickets!
Finally we set off, and the bus was banging away. The driver stopped, picked up a brick from the side of the road and started hitting something. When we started driving again the banging continued.. so he just switched on the radio full blast! - Ha ha! Problem fixed the Bolivian way!
After about 2 hours into the drive we stopped because we had reached the edge of the lake, and we had to cross it. We got off the bus and were told to go and pay for a boat across. We then watched our bus drive onto a WOODEN RAFT! followed by all the locals that were on the bus! Then a boy with a big stick start to puch the boat across!! I cant even begin to explain how funny this was to watch! it was absolutly Hilarious!!! I wish i could have taken a photo, but unfortunatly was way too dark! But i did absolutly flip at the fact that beacuse we were white we had to pay to get another boat across! i started shouting at the guy, and his response was that it was too dangerous to go on the raft, because the buses did fall off quite often! - UNACCEPTABLE!!!
On the other side, we waited for our bus, and drove the rest of the way to La Paz. We had been told we would be dropped off at the bus terminal which was next door to the hostal where we wanted to stay. But guess what! the cheecky bastards lied. We drove up a deserted street and were told to get off. resulting in a 10min ride to our hostel in a taxi.!! But at least we had finally arrived.