Hi this is the entry for Samaipata, Bolivia.

Well we got here from Santa Cruz via taxi. It sounds strange, because it takes 2 and a half hours, and costs the equivalent of $14 australian dollars total for 4 people to go. Imagine if 4 people got in a taxi in Aus and told him they wanted him to drive from Toowoomba to Brisbane and back for less than 4 dollars each.

So we got here at midday, still travelling with Justin from the UK, and the first day we went to the museum for el Fuerte, the inca ruins close to town.

Day 2 we went to el fuerte in the morning, we were probably the first there, had a good look around. There are some photos on this site. We were back in town for lunch (all meals are bought in Bolivia, because it mostly works out cheaper to do it this way than to try and find a hostel and a decently priced supermarket), then we walked to the zoo. We saw monkeys, an ocelot, howler monkeys which are incredibly noisy, armidillos, tortoises and lots of birds.

Day 3, we walked to the top of the hill above town, where there are ancient silos where grain was dried out. After lunch, we paid a taxi to take us to the waterfalls, where we swam. It wasn{t particularly warm, but try stopping these mad poms from getting in the water. The water was full of sand as well, so not only do you get pummelled by the waterfall, your skin also gets lightly sanded.

Samaipata is here we learnt how to use Bolivian showers. They are a scaryt thing- anything with water and wires is a worry. Basically what you have to do is turn the tap on far enough so that it activates the electrical switch, which turns on an element that heats the water. Then, it is important to keep the flow as low as possible, because the element only has a certain heating capacity, so higher flow means lower temperature. Always inspecty the wires closely before commiting to undressing and getting wet. Some showers have the wires cut, which not only means cold water, but also the slight chance of electricution.

Right guys, talk to you later.

BJ and Dave