Pucon - 23rd to the 24th of May 2009 Crossing the border from Argentina to Chile was an interesting and, dare I say it, Western experience. The border was full of signs telling us what wasn't allowed into Chile which included all fruit and vegetables and any fresh animal products including dairy. We all had to get off the bus where all our bags were scanned and the Chilean border authorities checked the bus to make sure we weren't breaking to rules. Sadly, I was. I had bought apples for Richard and I and when the man came over to lecture [View Full Entry]

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Bariloche - 20th to the 23rd of May Bariloche is one of the most famous and touristy towns in the lake district. It's also very pretty - with its Alpine appearance, it looks like it should be in Switzerland rather than Argentina. Its overlooked by the Andies and overlooks the Nahuel Huapi Lake, with three other lakes close by. During the Patagonian winter (our summer), it's one of South America's most important ski centres. But we were there too early for skiing and too late for sun. Nevertheless, we still had a really nice time exploring the town and the lakes [View Full Entry]

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Mendoza - 17th to the 19th of May After a another long overnight bus journey, we arrived in Mendoza in the afternoon. While trying to find a taxi, we spoke to a hotel owner and Richard's bargaining skills (the owner called him an Israeli) got us what has probably been the best room of our trip for 80 pesos per night. The room was really clean, spacious and looked pretty modern. It also came with a balcony, ensuite and cable TV. ANX here we come! After taking showers, we went for some food and then delicious ice-cream. We had a look [View Full Entry]

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Salta - 13th to 16th of May 2009 Next stop Argentina! After 19 long hours on a local (cold) bus, we arrived at the Bolivian and Argentina border. I had heard that Irish people were getting a bit of hassle trying to cross at this border so I wasn't looking forward to trying to explain in my bad Spanish that I didn't want to hurt anyone! After a long wait in the early morning sun, we eventually got to the top of the queue where they quickly stamped our passports and ushered us through. No problems at all. Good times. [View Full Entry]

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La Paz - 6th to the 13th of May 2009 After so many weeks in one city and a whole continent to explore, it was definitely time to leave La Paz. But first there were a few things I wanted to do. On Wednesday, I went to the Coca Museum. The museum takes an unbiased look at the coca leaf, its importance for indigenous people and the problems that cocaine causes. There was a lot to read and some of the photographs were really good. Once I got back from museum, Richard had arrived from Arequipa. We spent the next few [View Full Entry]

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La Paz - 17th of April to 5th of May The drama continued for the rest of the week but I won't write about it here. Suffice to say, Richard annoyed enough people and was (deservedly) asked to leave the hostel. He moved to a hostel near the English bar where he was still working, while I continued to stay and work in Loki. The next few weeks were spend chilling, working or having a few drinks once I'd finished my antibiotics. I also tried out numerous restaurants in La Paz. La Paz really has good restaurants and something for everyone [View Full Entry]

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La Paz - 12th to 16th of April The next day, I woke up and still felt really bad. I couldn't really blame it on a late night or a hangover any longer and when I fainted again in the dorm room, I agreed to see the doctor. The doctor came and said I had a temperature, my heartbeat was way too fast and it was irregular and said I needed to have some tests done the next day. I spent the rest of the evening in bed, while Richard went to work in the English Bar. When he wasn't back [View Full Entry]

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La Paz - 4th to 11th of April 2008 So here I was back in La Paz...again. The Dutch boys and I shared a taxi to Loki where I met Marie, one of the girls for Montanita, in reception. We made plans to spend the day together, once I'd showered and sorted myself out. I'd gotten use to Richard's partying at this stage so I wasn't surprised to see he wasn't home yet from the night before. In fact, I'd made a bet with the Dutch boys that he wouldn't be! He showed up at 11am, as Marie and I were [View Full Entry]

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Salar de Uyuni - 1st April to 3rd of April 2009 Fiona and I arrived 20 minutes early for our bus to Uyuni and had to wait another two hours before it actually left. Bolivian buses have not been our friends! We had heard it was a bad bus journey so we took some valium and tried to make ourselves comfortable for the next 11 hours. It was another local bus, sin bano, so it wasn't exactly the height of luxury but it did get us to Uyuni in plenty of time. Once we arrived, we went to the agency who [View Full Entry]

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La Paz - 27th to the 31st of March. The forecast said that rain was likely for the whole weekend in Rurrenebaque, so everyone who had been in the pampas had the same idea as us. We all piled on a bus which was better than the one we came on and settled down for the 18 hour bus journey back to La Paz. At 2am, after an uneventful 15 hours, the bus came to a stop in the middle of nowhere. I put it down to the rain and figured the driver would start the bus again once the rain [View Full Entry]

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