After Potosí, I got a taxi all the way to Sucre. On some routes in Bolivia (but only some and I don’t know why those and not others) instead of taking a bus, you can take a shared taxi to get to your destination. You turn up a the bus station and wait till the taxi is full. Then you leave. I travelled with Christian and Josée and we went one better. We got a taxi just for the three of us to take us door to door from our hotel in Potosí to the one of our choice in Sucre. [View Full Entry]

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The next day, I got a bus to the town of Potosí. This was actually my first “proper” bus in Bolivia and I had been dreading it as I had heard so many tales of people getting robbed. I can understand why a dirt-poor Bolivian would see my stuff and want to rob me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want it to happen! I’m travelling by myself so would be particularly stuffed if something did go missing. As my bag is too big for me to have it with me on the bus, I thought I’d experiment and buy a [View Full Entry]

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Arrived in Uyuni early in the morning. The bus trip was relatively relaxing and I slept OK. I now had time to kill before my three day tour began. Uyuni is a railway junction in the middle of the deserts of SW Bolivia. The railways have declined in use, but now the town does a trade in taking tourists to see the incredible scenery nearby. I walked just outside the town in the “Train Cemetery’ where I got some nice photographs of old trains and carriages that have been dumped here. At about 11, we left on our tour. The first [View Full Entry]

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I’m now in Bolivia! I arrived at the airport at El Alto in the dead of night and got a taxi to my pre-booked hotel in La Paz. I can only describe the location as stunning! El Alto is a city of 800,000 people perched on a plain above the city of La Paz. La Paz is in a giant hollow below. Bolivia is poorer than Ecuador and it shows. The streets of El Alto were dark and scruffy. The taxi driver drove a battered old car and got very close to any pedestrians who happened to cross the road (and [View Full Entry]

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It's been a very intensive couple of weeks. I’ve done 10 days of Spanish classes, interspersed with two weekend trips. The Spanish has been hard work and very enjoyable. Unfortunately for you, dear reader it doesn't make for interesting travellers tales. I speak quite good French (I lived in France for a year) and this has both helped and hindered my Spanish. Compared with French, Spanish is similar; shares a lot of vocabulary and concepts, but has less complicated rules and fewer exceptions. Having one-to-one Spanish lessons has been fantastic! I have learned so much in such a sho [View Full Entry]

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I got to Quito safe and sound. The flight was not too bad as I got to sit next the emergency exit. Lots of room to spread my long legs! However the landing was very bumpy and after we landed the steward told me it was the second most dangerous airport in the World! I stayed the first few nights in a hostel recommended by my cousin. It’s at the edge of the old town and has a rooftop terrace with amazing views over Quito. The weather in Quito is rather like a British summer. It gets to the twenties during [View Full Entry]

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Hi, My name’s Nick. I’m 30 years old and I live in South West London. I work for an IT company just outside London and I’m originally from Scotland. I’ve been living in this great World city for four years now. I’ve always had an ambition to travel but for one reason or other have not done more than a couple of weeks at a time to any one place. I never did the “year out” that so many people have the privilege of doing before or after university. I’ve envied the freedom of having such a long time off to [View Full Entry]

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