Tina Writes The hostel didn’t have a ‘matrimonial’ room so we had to take a twin room for the first night. It was a bit of a dive and I wasn’t very happy. Rob was quite content, I think he is cut out for this more than me. We headed out and found a set menu for £1.16 each. We then headed to the main square, the Plaza de Armas and it was stunning. It’s such a pretty city (in the centre). Surrounded by huge old churches and cathedrals, a beautiful fountain in the centre, all lit perfectly. It’s also very touristy. We were offered Alpaca hats and jumpers, paintings and massages as we walked down the street constantly. Most people come here to do the Inca trail or some sort of trek, so massages are ... read more

Rob Writes Once we had arrived in La Paz we just wanted to get to our hostel but we still had to find it. The air was thin and our bags were heavy (the ones under our eyes) and we were hungry, which made the trek to the hostel even more demanding on us. We found it eventually and it was a nice enough place so we got settled in. We soon headed straight out in search of food and found a nice (cheap) place just around the corner where we each had a set menu meal for 15Bs (£1.50). The menu consisted of a soup starter, a main featuring a meat of your choice, rice and vegetables, and a desert of which seemed to be whipped cream with a strawberry. Couldn’t go wrong for £1.50 ... read more

Rob Writes Taking a taxi to Sucre wasn’t as easy as we thought, purely because we cannot speak Spanish. We knew a couple who stayed at the same hostel as us in Potosi had managed to get a taxi to Sucre for $100Bs (£10) but when we arrived at the taxi rank and proposed this price the taxi drivers practically laughed in our faces, wanting a total of $160Bs. After about ten minutes of not understanding one another we gave up and headed to the bus terminal. Two minutes into our walk and along came a taxi, screeching up next to us asking if we were heading for Sucre and that he could do it for $100Bs, or at least we thought he said that. We hesitantly got in. The driver then headed back to the ... read more

Tina Writes Day three was kicked off in a similar style to previous days, bump starting the Land Cruiser at 6am, and off we went. More weird rock formations, lagoons and flamingos filled the morning before the tail-gate buffet on a salty plain. We were back in the bad seats. The back of the Land Cruiser had no leg room so became rather uncomfortable after a while, even for me with my wee Meccy legs. Poor Rob. It also meant each time we stopped we had to clamber out over the seats in front which had been pulled down. It was ok though. While driving through one of the slat flats we noticed a train in the distance coming toward us. Then we could make out the track which was literally in the middle of nowhere, ... read more

Tina Writes First night in Salta we had a wee look around the main square, which was very pretty. They are very good at lighting up their buildings here. We had to eat and as there is no sign of a supermarket anywhere and with cheap steak to be had, that is what we did. We are not doing well with the backpacker budget so far, but there is very little in the way of cheap, easy to cook, food. So we both ordered steak with a side. I ordered papas a la crème, which I guessed was potatoes in cream and Rob ordered something which he thought was some kind veg but it turned out to be apple sauce! I also ordered my usual coke and it came in a 1 litre GLASS bottle. You ... read more