Just a quick update to the start of Bolivia as I have no idea when we will get wifi again!

I last wrote leaving Buenos Aires after mum and dad flew home - was very sad to see them go. And we couldn't have had a more blunt re-introduction to travelers lifestyle after an amazing two week holiday - the contrast was unbelievable! We took a bus from Buenos Aires to La Quaica on the Argentine-Bolivian border. It was pretty hectic - took 29 hours, and although the bus was pretty comfortable, we were sat right next to the toilet…a toilet that didn't flush. 30 hours of people's 'needs' built up and the smell was, literally, something else. It got to the point where we could taste it, it was so smelly! But, after 30 hours on a bus, you get used to everything, even the smells! We eventually got to La Quaica a day and a night later, and walked a fair distance across the border in Bolivia. It instantly felt like you were in another world - the landscape was so arid, dry and mountainous. It has been pretty similar for the journey in Argentina, and its easy to forget (especially coming from Buenos Aires) how much poverty still exists on this continent.

It was a strange adjustment to make, going back to living off nothing, and spending days upon days on buses, but it was quite exciting to get back out there and see a new country. Back in the Andes, we then took a bus the other side of the border to Tupizia, a small town in the desert. As if 29 hour bus, followed by another 5 hours wasn't enough…this 'bus journey' was an experience I will never forget! The thing was held together with tape (remember the cars in Mendoza and Cordoba mum and dad - think of that but worse!) But as soon as we started we knew why - I cannot describe it any clearer than a 4 hour earthquake! It was like going on extreme off-road, but in a busted up old bus! The 'roads' were literally gravel, sand and rocks, and sometimes the road just ended and you'd have to cut down ditches. We actually spent half an hour driving IN a river upstream…not by a river, in it. My backpack was soaking by the time we got there! Me and Sean literally just kept bursting into laughter…we knew to expect difficult roads and buses in Bolivia, but this was unreal! Still - it got us where we needed to be, and it was definitely a new experience for us. It was great to see the surrounding scenery, the desert and red rocks were amazing, dotted with tiny mud hut villages. We even saw a mini tornado blowing down the street creating a dust storm (something we have seen a million times since in Bolivia - Tornaditos, but they are really fascinating!)

Tupizia was a really interesting place. The surrounding scenery was simply incredible - desertous mountains, and amazing canyons. It used to be one of the largest mining areas in Bolivia, big enough for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid to come here - apparently they died in the next village along, and so there are plenty of Butch Cassidy tours about! The town itself is tiny, pretty much a few small buildings with a few mud huts, but the locals are really friendly. Bit of a nightmare as no ATMs and so we spent a lot of time convincing the bank to give us a cash advance, but we got to go on some lovely walks in the sunshine - to some small canyons, through mountains dotted with cacti, and stray dogs charging at you (!!), women climbing mountains with lines of goats following them…all a very good introduction to Bolivia. The local women's dress is really strange as they wear massive skirts and ponchos, with thick coloured tights and bowler hats - its quite intriguing! But Bolivia itself is intriguing, still one of the poorest nations in the world (almost 70% below the poverty line), I think almost 80% of the population are from indigenous roots, so it is very interesting…not to mention that there are over 4 million lamas in this country! The landscape almost looks as if you could be in Afghanistan, but it's a really varied country and I think we have lots more to see yet! (Dad, you'll be happy to know we've already spotted a Condor, the largest bird in the world, pretty scary actually and that's when its miles above your head!) Gave us our first introduction to Bolivian food, a lot of potatoes, a lot of 'pizzas and hamburgers', and saltianas (like empanadas mum and dad - a small pastry filled with spicy strew of meat, vegetables and egg…its all good and nice and cheap!). Its nice and hot in the days, and freezing at night, so the contrasts continue!

From Tupizia we took a four day trip in a jeep around the Southern Altiplano in Bolivia - it was simply amazing! There were four of us in the jeep, us and two Swiss-Germans who were really friendly and good company for four days! Our guide, Maxima (who didn't speak any English but we managed to get by with broken Spanish) was absolutely fantastic and rustled up some amazing lunches and dinners, literally, in the middle of nowhere - lots of lama was eaten, dried, fried, in tamales and lama nuggets, and lots of cooked bananas and local food, all very interesting! Eduardo was our driver and the jeep, although absolutely destroyed (which kept breaking down) was a lot more comfortable off-roading than the buses we have done in Bolivia! The trip was immense over 4 days - we saw SO much. This section of Bolivia is almost desert - so dry, mountainous (we got up to 5500m in altitude and never slept lower than 4000m) with canyons, volcanoes, Inca trails,
deserted villages, it literally was like being on another planet. We saw everything, from all the different types of lamas (Alpacas being the cutest, but pequinos being the most valuable as their wool is sold for a lot of money to Europe and the USA), zorros (tiny foxes), plenty of other strange animals, and most amazingly - hundreds of flamingos in all the mountain lakes. We went to volcanic areas with geysers and the most active mud pools I have ever seen (the area was a lot smaller than NZ but this mud was boiling at over 200 degrees and spitting everywhere...being Bolivia they had no stop signs or paths, you could just walk wherever you wanted!!) and even drove around active volcanoes. The desert was immense, and there were so many tiny towns in the middle of it - a few dusty buildings made of sandstone! Our accommodation was pretty basic - no electricity, no showers, often no toilets, but everyone was always welcoming to the Gringos!

It was however - FREEZING! Whilst the days can get quite hot, as soon as the sun goes down, temperatures plummet to around -20 degrees, and with no heating, you learn to sleep in every piece of clothing you have...including gloves, scarves and hats! The highlight was definitely the final day where we slept in the hotel salar, (Salt Hotel) where everything, including the beds were made of salt. This made sense as the tour took us to the Salar de Uyuni - the largest salt lake in the world. It is so insane as everywhere you look for miles there is simply white salt! So bright you can get snow blindness, but we got up at 4am (everyday...with no electricity, not much fun!) to see the sunrise over the salt lake and it was incredible. It is a lake underneath with at least 3 or 4 metres of salt on top, and its the nicest bit of ´road´ we have had in Bolivia, the jeep actually got to near 100mph which is pretty unheard of speeds on the ´roads´ they have here!!

The only time we got to wash was when we went to Agua Caliente (hot water) the thermal springs, and so we stripped down and had a good scrub! But it was simply incredible to see so much of Bolivia in four days - and how harsh and inhospitable the landscape is. With the temperature drop you´d think the people living in the mountains would make fires, but there are no trees or vegetation so they can´t. We saw women walking across the desert to get to the next ´town´ a trip that would take at least two days, and all they had were lamas for company (and lollipops that we gave them as we drove past!) Luckily, Maxima was in full supply of coca leaves to keep us all ok with the altitude. I´ve actually become a bit addicted, they taste like a strong version of Vietnamese tea, and once you have soaked them in your teeth you chew on them a bit to release the juice. Don´t panic - they are not the drug, this has to be processed out, but they really help keep the headaches and tiredness down and are used by the locals to quell hunger and keep energy levels up! However much coca I chewed though, my stomach was bound to give in in this kind of harsh environment and...it did. Big style! On the 2nd night I spent the entire night in the toilet throwing up, and have been a bit sick ever since. I missed out on most of the third day as I just slept in the jeep (I did get out for a couple of the beautifully coloured mountain and volcanic lakes with hundreds of flamingos - some were so bright green you´d imagine they were painted!), but Maxima was on hand to mix me up a concoction of coca leaves, mate, and another herb from the Yungas outside of La Paz from her magical medicine kit, and made it into a tea for me to drink...not the nicest taste but I instantly felt a lot better than I did before! Its amazing what locals can do with the little they have at their hands, and Maxima was simply fasntastic at taking us around!

We have seen so much more that I can´t even begin to explain, amazing lagoons in the national park, Puebla Fantasma - a deserted ghost village where the Spanish made Incas into slaves, left them to die and their spirits are still there (according to Maxima)...very eerie, especially at 5am, rocks pained by Salvador Dalli...and so much more, such a fantastic trip.

So it has been an incredible experience - not always comfortable, very basic living, and we probably absolutely stink (not to mention everything is covered in a thick layer of dust and salt)...but it was so rewarding to see the mountains and high altitude areas of the Andes and southern Altiplano in Bolivia, and you just wouldn´t believe how some people live - still, aat least without electricity you have the MOST fantastic view of the stars every night.

Landed in Uyuni - a bit of a deadbeat town basically aimed at selling anything to Gringos at Gringo prices…even crisps were more expensive than the UK! So we headed out of there on an overnight bus (well semi-overnight…) got to Potosi at about 2am and headed straight to a hostel to sleep! Potosi is fascinating and shocking at the same time. The highest city in the world (at over 4200m) it is much larger and much more a historical city than anywhere else we have been in Bolivia. We plan on catching up on a few chores (our clothes have literally turned to dust) before checking out the city and visiting one of the active mines - meant to be the most worthwhile experience in Bolivia, as the conditions are so ridiculously terrible...so will update you from La Paz about the rest of our amazing experience here. Hope everyone at home is really well. Love to all xxxxxxx