Si and Em

Day 158 – 162 The flight details say that we must be at the airport 3 hours before the flight and we stupidly believe this and get a taxi at 5am. Hence when we arrive at the airport we are unable to check in and spend the next 2 hours waiting and wishing we had stayed in bed longer. However we do get great seats and the LAN plane is fully equipped with a great range of films which make the next 5 hours fly by. The landing is spectacular as we circle the island and we can even make out some moai looking very small from this height. We are greeted by Claudio from the hostel with the traditional flower necklaces and we are soon on our way to the hostel. After a quick tour ... read more

Day 147 – 150 After a change to our flight (apparently Bolivian politicians took our seats) we end up back in La Paz after 2 dodgy Aero Sur flights and one stop in Santa Cruz. Slight scare when my bag doesn’t show up in the baggage reclaim but after some panicky Spanish we find out it came on the politician plane and is safe in another room. After checking in we set out to find out if the rumours of a national strike on Monday are true. These are quickly confirmed and when we ask how long the strike will go on for we are told a day... maybe 2... maybe all week. With it being Saturday we decide it is best to book 2 bus tickets to Chile for Sunday as we can’t risk getting ... read more

Day 139 – 142 The group is ushered onto the dirtiest bus we have ever seen and Em puts her coat down before sitting, and we are off to Uyuni. After a stop in Oruro we catch the 7hour train to Uyuni, and everyone is pleased to be off the bus that smells of wee, and onto a clean and comfortable train with films playing. This good cheer ends when the train halts in a place called Poopo (yes you read it right) and we are told that another train has derailed and that we will be waiting at least 7 hours. As darkness falls, Em asks if we are safe here (we feel slightly like rich sitting ducks), but eventually the train starts moving and as the desert chill sets in we all wrap up ... read more

Day 131 -134 We finally get to enjoy a lie in for what seems like ages and get up around 9am. We head to the post office to send some more stuff home in an attempt to make our bags lighter. Slightly apprehensive about crossing a picket line as it appears there is some kind of strike (more on this later). However once inside a helpful woman wraps our parcel with about 10 tons of sellotape and only charges about 20p. Here we also bump into Natalie and Linda from the tour and decide to go for coffee and cake. After lunch we head to an alpaca factory to not only buy some original alpaca garments but to also learn how to spot fakes. Most of the stuff for sale on the street is fake (made ... read more

Day 122 -124 We arrive bleary eyed in Arequipa and check in the hotel. Si and I decide to have a wander round Arequipa and have a nice walk round the town, taking in the mirador and after lunch we head to the convent. Despite it being more money than we thought we decide to go in, and it is lovely, full of beautiful courtyards, even though the seemingly 8 million bedrooms get a bit same, same after a while. We stop in a beautiful garden and share a pecan pie and coffee, before we bump into Marie’Katherine, Jonas and Daphne. Funny moment when Marie’Katherine (who is French Canadian) is explaining the difference between the language they use compared to the language used in France. The conversation in English is overheard by a rather uptight French ... read more