Booking our bus to Copacabana, on the shores of the famous Lake Titicaca, could not have been easier. We simply asked the lady at the hotel reception and she did the rest. "El bus recogera ustedes a las ocho menos cuarto por la manana, manana", she told us. All done. At about 7.30am or siete y media we got a knock on our door while I was still in just my underpants. A lady stood there and said "en cinco minutos el bus estara listo a recoge ustedes". "Pero, es siete y media solo - la senora dijonos que el bus llega a las ocho menos cuarto", I replied. In any case we were downstairs with our bags at 7.40am - five minutes earlier that we were initially told but five minutes later than when we ... read more

"Oh no, not another bigger shithole." Those were the words of Theo as we pulled into well, another bigger shithole. Luckily it wasn't our final destination, Potosi. Well, actually it was. Shit. But it was just the outskirts of one of the highest city in the world, thankfully. I had expected Bolivia to be poor, but not this poor. I hadn't seen this amount of crumbling, incomplete buildings since Egypt. Poverty is always sad to see though and it constantly serves as a reminder of how lucky we in the developed world are. I think my Spanish has improved - and it also helps that Bolivians speak more slowly and clearly. I can actually understand the people here. This became apparent at the bus station we arrived at in Potosi, as I got the lady collecting ... read more

And so began the longest bus journey I have ever taken. My previous best was an 18-hour one in Sweden three years ago but this was about to be surpassed. We were lucky to able to have a shower at the hostel before such an undertaking – we were going to need it. The first twelve hours (!) or so were actually pretty comfortable. We left at 11pm in the evening and I managed to get to sleep fairly quickly, waking up again around 10am feeling nice and refreshed as we pulled in to Copiapo. It wasn’t great sleep though so I slept quite a bit for the next 3-4 hours after as well. By about 5pm I had passed the duration of my longest previous bus ride – and I still had six hours to ... read more

The ride from Mendoza to Santiago was spectacular if a bit uncomfortable. My journey through wine country towards the snow-capped Andes was accompanied by a rumbling stomach as a result of the previous day’s 12-hour bender through said wine country. Once in the mountains, the landscape was rather barren and rocky and I have probably seen prettier. On the narrow and winding cliff-edge roads, there were a few hair-raising moments before we hit a three hour wait to get through the border - three hours in the snow, in my shorts, although it looked like it should’ve been colder than it was. In the form of Teo and Nicola however, at least I had company to ease the boredom. Passing some slums similar to the ones I had seen in South Africa earlier in the year, ... read more

Sinking my teeth into Uruguay...much like Uruguay's most famous current footballer sunk his teeth into Giorgio Chiellini. And Branislav Ivanovic. And Otman Bakkal. Hopefully the only thing I would be sinking my teeth into literally would be Uruguay's famous beef. As much as he is known for his controversial actions, Luis Suarez is a also a brilliant footballer with skill, pace, guile and a fiercely competitive spirit. The rest of the Uruguayan national team isn't too bad either, considering that Uruguay only has a population of 3.4 million - even less than New Zealand. What kind of a place produces such extraordinary talent that allows such a small nation to punch so far above their weight? I was hoping to find out. Mixing up the modes of transport I was taking, I was travelling to Uruguay ... read more