Hello everyone!

We are now officially away from all the crazy weather and in the safe hands of La Paz, Bolivia!

Can´t remember what I last wrote, and this puta is too slow to load it up - from memory it was a whole lot of b****ing though hahaha I can assure you that this blog will reach you in better spirits!

So, pretty much as soon as we found out about not being able to do Machu Picchu we decided to gap Cusco and Peru altogether! Smart move it may seem as the news we´ve heard about Machu Picchu etc is very freaky deaky! Luckily for us, the combination of Cherie needing to go to the embassy and bus strikes has saved us a lot of strife!

So we got the bus (which we bought on the information that is was DIRECT - asked the chicky about 10 times to confirm it was direct) after a few beers I might add hehe and although we couldn´t sleep it was quite a plesant ride! That is, until, we were dropped off at Puno at 4.40am!!! We were then advised that we were to catch a connecting bus at 7.40am to the border! Grah! Not fun times to have to sit in a bus station that smells of wee. Haha!

Anyway, we got the next bus and went across the border. Weirdest border crossing I´ve ever done (on par with the Czech/Germ crossing I did in 07!!!! Which was MAJOR) which involved the entire bus getting off and lining up in the rain to get an exit stamp. Then walking across the border as the bus drove next to us pretty much lol and then lining up again to get an entry stamp on the otherside! Strange! But more stamps for my passport so I am happy!

It was s***ty s***ty s***ty weather still in Copacabana, so we jumped on the next bus to La Paz. Copacabana looks like a sweet little town but there´s not a lot to do when it´s raining! Got to have a pretty awesome glimpse of Lake Titicaca! Seriously, breathtaking! And definately made me realise how much I miss seeing the water. Lol weird thing to say, but we´re so surrounded by it in the AK, it´s weird to go a couple of months without seeing much water!! Anywho, amazing lake and luckily enough we got to cross over it as part of our journey to La Paz! Eeeee! Had to go on this tiny little chug tug boat and our bus went on another lol!

Arrived at La Paz about 19 hours after we left Peru and it is amazing! Wicked view as we drove down into the basin - La Paz is built in a basin surrounded by mountains and canyons - the buildings are seriously built on the side of these crazy cliffs. It´s amazing! Still at real high altitude, but haven´t got much sickness going on, which is GREAT!

Our hostel is on god knows what road, but it´s crazy times cool! So many people around, heaps of stalls on the side of the road, lots of traffic and just so much going on! I love it! The stalls are crazy in themselves with everything being sectioned, so if you want jackets you go to one part of the road, sports wear is down another street. There´s even a witches market where they sell things like llama fetus and stuff! Eeeeek!

We´ve just really been milling around and getting our bearings, have been to some markets - including the miniatures market, which sells stuff for this thing that happens every year - basically, people buy this little man and put him on their mantle and then, in miniature, they buy the things that they want for the coming year. Be it a car, a house, money etc!

We were going to go to the San Pedro prison to do a tour, but we´ve heard that they aren´t showing tourists through anymore! Why would we want to tour a prison you may ask?? Well, it´s like a whole little town in there! Way different to any other prison: no guards, no uniforms, no curfews, and the prisoners work in order to rent or buy their cell! Even their spouses and children can live in there with the inmates and there´s even a school!

On Sunday we are going to.... wait for it..... CHOLITAS WRESTLING!!! Bahahhahahhaha! Which, I think, is basically little ladies doing WWF style wrestling. Ha! yay! From there we are heading to Uyuni to tour the salt flats!

Hope ya´ll are well and that those of you back home are having a great long weekend! In the sun! Damn you all! I am over this cold weather lol.

xxxxx

p.s. oh forgot to tell you about the shoe shiners! Apparently it´s quite a looked down on job and the young men that do it, wear balaclavas! Scary huh! Luckily Cherie warned me otherwise I would have got a hell of a shock!