Blogs from Bolivia, South America - page 562

Well, we have moved quickly across Bolivia in the last few days. Saturday in Potosi we did our mine tour, and most of you have read Jords blog to hear about the nightmare but I figured I´d post a few pictures and share my insights on the matter as well. The tour started with everyone gearing up in plastic jackets, coverall pants, gum boots, hard hats and head lamps (powered by a really heavy battery on your back). We went to the miners market and got some Coca leaves and explosives. Things got a lot better real fast! Coca leaves are what they make cocaine out of, although chewing them is basically just like a caffeine rush combined with chewing tobacco, Gav & the Beak would love it, not sure if we can get some across ... read more

test entry. I still want to add photos.... read more

Sucre! Capital of Bolivia. Remember KevinAlaska, whom I ran into at the Bolivian border? He's back! I was really happy to have someone from "back home" to share some Bolivian experiences with. ... read more

We´re now in southern Bolivia, not far from the Argentine border, which we plan to cross in a day or two. The main idea is to avoid spending too long in Chile, which is expensive. Mind you, anywhere is expensive compared with Bolivia. Our nicest trip in Peru was in the company of the splendid Revels family from San Diego. We travelled to the Manu rainforest, reached after a day jolting along potholed roads and another day puttering upriver in a small boat. It was expensive and uncomfortable, but our powers of endurance were rewarded by the wildlife we saw - red howler monkeys grooming themselves in the trees, black spider monkeys crashing through the branches overhead, and most memorably a family of giant river otters. We got close enough to hear the fish bones crunching ... read more

The 11.00am bus left for Copacabana at 10.40. Luckily we were on it but more by luck than judgement. Of course, we are well aware that time is not regarded as as fixed as it is back home, but this was our first experience of something happening early as opposed to very late! Three hours into our four hour journey we stopped in San Pablo where the bus was ferried across the strait to San Pedro while the passengers got off and took a boat over. Finally we arrived in the main plaza in Copacabana and were immediately impressed by the ornate cathedral and clean streets. Our chosen hotel had been recommended to us by an English bloke we met in La Paz - a pretty white building overlooking lake Titicaca. We even splashed out the ... read more