Finally - I have escaped from La Paz!!

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I feel like I have aged 10 years in the last week or so. My poor poor body!

It was all too easy to get stuck in La Paz. I was in a fantastic hostel which was full of Gringos. I would wake up at varying times of the day and night and wander through to the bar (less than 1 min from my room) where there was always someone I would know.
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(Another point worth mentioning - when I eventually did check out I was a bit shocked that my hostel bill was 950 Bolivianos! It sounds like alot of money in local terms. When I worked out that I had had 7 nights accomodation (at a luxury standard), breakfast every day, a full roast dinner most nights, lunch on a lot of days, all of my alcohol, bottled water and even cigerettes (7 packs of marlborough lights) and then tranferred back to Australian money...it is less than $200 - unbelievable really!)

Most days you would be convinced that you were not going out again that night but then of course there is always someone going and although I ALWAYS HAVE THE HIGHEST AMOUNT OF WILL POWER (!!) in these matters I would some how get convinced to go out again!

It really did take all of my strength to get on a bus and get out of there. I am not talking figurateively either as I seem to have left with a full on chest infection! I think about half of the people who I knew who were also trying to escape from La Paz were leaving with some form of illness too!

I am now in a place called Copacobanna (in Bolivia not Brazil) which is a fairly sleepy place next to Lake Titacaca. Lake Titicaca is a huge lake on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It is so so so lovely to see water again. I have really been missing the ocean.

I am staying in a nice hotel with my own room, tv and bathroom and basically locked myself away for the last 24 hours with some strong antibiotics, throat lozengers, water and lots of american tv. It has been heaven actually.

There is an island nearby that I may go and spend a night on and then I will catch the bus over the Peruvian border and head up to Cusco. Apparently Cusco can be as much of a party town as La Paz so armed with this knowledge I will head out on a trek shortly after I get there and then just have a couple of days to unwind before I fly onto Colombia.

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