Hola from Bolivia!

We seem to have done loads since Adams last update but I will try not to miss anything out. I suppose the best place to start is the beginning.

After Arequipa we got the bus down to Puno which is a small town on the edge of Lake Titicaca. There wasn't much to see in the town but we booked a trip the next day to visit the Islands on the Lake. We met a really nice family on the trip who have travelled to 50 different countries! They wrote down a big list of things we have to see when we get to New Zealand which was nice of them.

First stop was Uros which are the floating Islands on Lake Titicaca made entirely out of reeds. I am going to attempt to upload the pictures now so you can see what I mean. The Islands were really nice but very geared up for tourists. The children were singing twinkle twinkle little star to us and when we left they were all shouting "Asta La Vista Baby!" which made us laugh. Next stop was an Island called Taquile where we stayed the night with one of the local families. We brought them some apples and oranges from the mainland as a thank you for letting us stay with them which they ate in about 5 minutes! It was quite sad to see the conditions they live in. No electricity and the kitchen was awful. They all looked fairly happy though and made us dress up in there traditional outfits and go to a dance at the village hall. Honestly, if any of you could have seen me I would have been incredibly embarrassed! Anyway, after a pretty cold night we set off to another Island on the Lake called Amantani. Here they had different hats for married and single men which they all wore which was quite funny. The women also had pom poms on there clothes with small ones indicating that they are single and large that they are married. After a wander around and some lunch it was time to return to the mainland and also the end of our time in Peru.

The next day we got the bus to Bolivia. We stopped in Cococabana (not the beach in Rio but apparently the beach is named after this place). We were only here for an hour for lunch but we both wished we were staying longer because it was such a nice place. Anyway, after what we thought was going to be another three hour bus journey to La Paz after this actually turned out the be five (typical Bolivia) we got to our hostel where we met Ellis and Robyn where we had a very drunken night out and saw absolutely nothing of La Paz other than the bars! We also met James and Ellie who had been travelling with Robyn and Ellis for a while so we all decided to head to Rurrenabaque into the Jungle together. When we booked the bus we didnt quite realise how bad the journey was going to be. It took 20 hours and part of the trip was down the worlds most dangerous road with the rest down dirt tracks with a cliff on one side. Now we know why it only cost us 4 pounds! Anyway, we made it there alive at least after the bus breaking down for 5 hours in the middle of no where.

Next was our Pampas tour which turned out to be a bit of an adventure in itself. To cut a long story short after 3 hours of waiting in the tour office, a very bumpy mini van ride (every other company uses jeeps) our guide leaving us and pushing the van for 8 hours through the mud on the way home none of us were happy to say the least! In fact, I think we are now famous in Rurrenabaque after making a fuss about it when we got back! Apart from that though the tour was amazing. As you will see from the photos we saw loads of wildlife and got to swim with pink dolphins as well as fish for piranhas. As soon as we got back we headed to the jungle (with a different tour company!). By this point you could hardly see my legs through all the insect bites. We did some trekking through the jungle and visited the villages. Can you believe people actually live here! We also saw some deadly insects which could kill two people which was a bit scary as well as loads of plants including one tree which you can drink water from which we were all amazed by!

After returning to Rurrenabaque we spend a day chilling in the hammocks and decided to take the flight rather than bus back to La Paz the next day. I swear this is the best decision we have ever made. Despite arriving at the airport (which was a dirt track) and finding cows running all over it we made it to La Paz in the space of an hour. Even quicker than you would at home since security didn't seem to be a major issue.

Anyway, I think that is us about up to date. We are getting the overnight bus tonight to the Salt Flats which I am really looking forward to although it is apparently freezing!

Hope everything is ok at home.

Lots of Love,

Lauren and Adam