This morning for breakfast I had a few new things to try; first up was the boiled and puffed maiz - really quite tasty and filling and with a little salt - perfect, people here generally eat alongside potatoes and some form of meat. Next was the freeze dried black potatoes: now these were a suprise (as most foreigners despise these little b*****s); they were full of flavour; somewhat nutty and smokey with a dash of sweetness - these usually accompany the standard white potatoes and rice to add some flavour. I also had some home made hot chips to try from lastnights restaurant and even though they were from lastnight once again delicious with a very distinct potato flavour. On the sweets side of things I had firstly Meloncocha lolly to try - very sweet toffee/caramel the kids have as a treat here and the second a rock hard dried sugar biscuit that was way to sweet so I turned it into a warm drink. I would call that a good morning; new foods, new flavors, new ideas and I can tell the freeze dried potatoes are going to become a new favorite of mine. After going back to bed for a while I got up and ran into the man who owned the hostel - I asked him if it was possible to buy fresh fish and he told me where to go. I went and found the market street where all the ladies were selling the various fish: I picked up some Carache (ugly looking fat and short fish), Ispi - very similar to white bait and a Trucha (trout) all of that at about 1kg for $1.60. The aim was still to go to La Paz today so now I had to find someone to cook it for me, I headed straight to the market and the first old lady I talked to with a deep frying wok agreed to cook it all for me for 75c - I couldn't believe my luck. The only catch was I had to go clean the fish, I took them back to my accomodation and went about cleaning the fish - I can't explain how happy I am that I will be trying all the different fish from Lake Titicaca for a couple of dollars compared to the $50+ price tag I would have to pay in the restaurants. I headed back down to the market and handed the fish over to my chef. Unfortunately the little whitebait needed to be gutted and the old lady started to do it for me, but I couldn't let her as I was barely paying anything; so I jumped in rolled my sleeves up and started gutting the little Ispi. It took me about 20 minutes in the end but it was perfect as she was cooking my Trucha and Carache whilst I was gutting. It was quite a scene to see a foreigner working and covered in fish guts in the middle of the market - all the locals were looking and pointing. After I had finished the lovely old lady gave me some soapy water to clean my hands and then some fresh water and towel - at this point I just wanted to hug her as I wasn't expecting her to be so kind. All the fish was prepared the same way - dunked in a spice and flour mix and then deep fried in a burning hot wok - the cook time between 10 - 20 minutes. I was so excited when it was all done I ended up leaving my wallet behind (I had it sitting on my lap and it fell to the ground) however before I went out the door I realized my silly mistake and went back and the little old lady was just picking it up - arghh I thank my lucky stars and the two lovely old ladies. I take my box full of fish and I mean box - how I am going to eat all this I don't know but as its fried and wrapped up it should last all day, and rush to the bus station just making the 11am local bus to La Paz. As soon as I get onto the bus I dive straight into the little Ispi fish with their spicy and salty batter - mmmmm delicious, they are obviously drenched in oil and I can't help but think how bad this is for me but its a one off and in the end better to die happy. Next came the Carache and this was also a pleasant suprise - with a somewhat unusual texture and taste similar to the fish I had tried in Colombia. I ate as much as I could as it was only 11am and I certainly wasn't hungry and then packed the rest up for lunch and dinner - I had also picked up a tomato and lemon which will go nicely with the Trucha for lunch. The small bus was filling up with people quickly and I had stunk the bus out but no one seemed to mind. I guess this can be my first cooking type experience in Bolivia - it makes me motivated to search out more opportunities to cook and try the local cuisine at ground level rather then have it dished up to me on a plate. The bus to La Paz is 3.5 hours so the ride should not be too bad. About 30 minutes in we had to get off the bus and buy a ferry ticket across the channel (less then 1km) the bus went over on a crude looking barge whilst we went over on an old wooden boat. On the way over I met a hippy chick from Switzerland who was headed to La Paz to work - doing what I don't know; she seemed very lost. The rest of the journey took about 3 hours and the scenery was incredible - every type of landscape from desserts to mountains to plaines. Coming into La Paz was similar to Medellin in Colombia - you come down over a gigantic hill and see the city taking up the whole valley; I had no idea it would be so big. The bus dropped us off in some random spot but luckily I was able to find a tourist info office. I got some info and found out I was only 30 minutes walk away from downtown. I found a nice park to eat my fried trout, tomato salad and with a dash of lemon it was even more tasty, however all the oil the fish was cooked in has been playing havoc on my stomach. I decided to jump on the Internet at a cafe and luckily I had gotten a reply from my CS host here in La Paz who speaks no English; she had given me her number and said to call when I arrived. I went about finding a phone centre (phone calls very expensive in Bolivia) and called; Nyrzwa gave me the name of a church and told me to meet her there at 6pm. The church was in San Miguel over an hour out of the city which was a bit of a pain but after asking many people I was pointed in a direction and caught a mini bus out there. The city is nothing like I expected, incredibly densely populated, set in a valley with huge cliffs either side and there seems to be very poor people and then very wealthy people - it truly is the land of contrasts. I met my host Nyrzwa at 6 and wow she is lovely; mid 30s, Doctor, well traveled and full of positive energy. She took me back to her place and wow what an absolute mansion and decorated like a true traveller. We chatted a while before she had to go back to the hospital for another surgery. Unfortunately I could feel the fish I had eaten earlier repeating on me and to no suprise in the middle of the night my first bout of Bolivian Belly hit and hit hard. I have become used to having stomach issues, not that I enjoy it, I just realize it is inevitable and a good reminder to be more careful with my food selection. I am so excited for La Paz I could barely sleep anyway.