Today I am off to the jungle and I can certainly say I am well and truly ready - it was two weeks ago today I was supposed to have gone but unfortunately falling sick put a stop to that. I packed my things, hung out with Nyrzha and also managed to book my flight to Easter Island for next month. Unfortunately around midday it started to rain and my plans of not needing to take warm clothes with me slowly dwindled. After eating lunch and saying goodbye to Nyrzha I was off - it was strange to be saying goodbye to Nyrzha's place; it had become my home for the last 3 weeks. 3 buses and only about an hour later I arrived at the military airport where my flight would be leaving from. There was about a 50/50 spread of tourists to locals and they sure were not in a hurry to get us onboard. The plane was a little 40 seater and was rough to say the least - however it started, had seat-belts and made a hell of a roar on start-up. Once we boarded they gave us some snacks and some water which was an unexpected treat as we were only paying about $60 for the flight. After about a 30 minute wait and a little prayer we were off in an almighty fashion, the views over La Paz were breath-taking: millions of houses all spread over a Barron desert. The plane flew really low which was great as I had a window seat and the perfect view. We passed over the Cordibella range (the snow capped range that reaches heights over 6000m) and what a breathtaking site it was with sweeping cliffs, deep gorges and glaciers as far as the eye could see. I almost felt like the flight could be sold solely on the premise of a scenic route- from desert to snow covered peaks and finishing in a deep lush green jungle with rivers splitting off in every direction. The thick green amazon with its muddy rivers like squiggles across a blackboard soon presented itself and I sat in complete ore if one of the great wonders of the world. I had made it to the Amazon a long time dream of mine and within 2 days I will be in the thick of it wrestling anacondas and fishing for Pirahna. The runway and airport were very rustic and rough and I felt like we were in a different country compared to the city we had just left behind. All the tourists waited patiently for the bus which would take us into the city but after spotting a few motorbike taxis I new how I would be getting in to the city. I bartered the price down for the motorbike and off we went like a bat out of the hell, the guy spoke a little English and gave me somewhat of a guided tour of the small city before dropping me off at the tour office. I filled my name out, got some info and then the manager gave me a lift on his bike into the centre so I could find accommodations. There were lots of places to choose from including hostels but to be honest I didn't feel like sharing with anyone and settled on a very basic place where I had my own room for about $3.50. It was then time to explore the town, it is very small and centered around the tourist district which is where all the tour agencies reside. It must be perfect climate and conditions for growing avocado here because everyone is selling them and they are very cheap - arghh heaven. I brought some fruit, avocados and sussed out what I might have for dinner before heading back for a cold shower. My room is incredibly hot and I can now tell I am in the middle of the amazon jungle. For dinner I treated myself to roast chicken and avocado - it looked like the safest thing I could eat and the guy gave me a good deal as I didn't want the potatoes and rice that usually come with it. The rest of the evening I tried to relax and ready myself for tomorrow's jungle adventure.