The afternoon of the 14th of June we departed The Pantanal, for Corumba, Brazil, a crappy border town. We departed for Corumba with the hope of crossing the border into Bolivia and catching the so called "Death Train" to Santa Cruz. The bus from The Pantanal to Corumba was 5 hours and unfortunately the federal police station at Corumba closed an hour or two before our arrival, and hence we couldn't cross the border without the expressed (and stamped) permission of the Brazilian police until the following day. So we had the joy of spending a night and afternoon in a crappy border town, an experience that is every traveler's favourite pleasure.

Corumba is crap. It is a dusty, concrete place with out any trace of anything remotely interesting. However, on a brighter note we did bump into a traveller that Em and I were briefly acquainted with in Uruguay - Joa a guy from The States, travelling on a French passport, was thoroughly entertaining and in such a decrepit town Em and I were thankful for his company. He is one of those guys that swears intermittently throughout all of his dialogue, but does so in such a way that doesn't offend, in fact has you break out in sudden bursts of laughter. Unfortunately, our shared time on the road took us only as far as Santa Cruz, Bolivia as he has more time remaining in South America and was intending to stay and look around Santa Cruz, whilst Em and I were to travel straight through to La Paz, Bolivia, with only a day stop over in Santa Cruz.

We woke on the morning of Sunday 15th of June with a united vigour to flee Corumba as urgently as possible. First stop, the police station to stamp the passports. Done. Next, a bus to the border to get the entry stamps in the passport. Done. Next, a taxi to the town of Quijarro, Bolivia. Done. Next, we were to buy our tickets to Santa Cruz on the "Death Train" at the soonest possible time. We were disappointed to find out that the first train was leaving at 4:30pm and wasn't to arrive in Santa Cruz until the morning of the 16th. So we had a day to kill in Quijarro, another boring border town, this time on the Bolivian side of the border before we would arrive in Santa Cruz.

The "Death Train" wasn't cracked up to its name. It wasn't first class, but "Death Train"? I don't think so. The Lonely Planet built it up to be torturous. We wouldn't have taken it if we had an alternative, but as we didn't we bit the bullet and jumped aboard and were pleasantly surprised by the non-death-like experience, all 16 hours of it. I think Bolivians name these trains and such with death this and death that, because it attracts a level of intrigue - Bolivia also has the so called "World's Most Deadly Road", which I am unlikely to venture too given the steep topography of Bolivia's mountains, this example I can believe.

So we arrived on the morning of the 16th of June in Santa Cruz at about 8:00 am and Em and I decided to back up the overnight transport and take another bus straight to La Paz - an 18 hour journey. This bus wasn't to leave until the afternoon/evening and so we went with Joa to his hostel in Santa Cruz and paid the hostel to utilise their facilities for the day to take a shower and sloth the day away until we were required to catch the bus to La Paz. I managed to catch a Euro Cup game there with a few Europeans so that was enjoyable.

The bus to La Paz was interesting. There were fascinating observations to be made of the Bolivian landscape, people and culture. Unfortunately, all of this was overshadowed by the fact that I had had a couple of beers before getting on the bus, and the bus didn't stop to have a piss stop until two hours from La Paz - that's about 15 hours without a piss after two beers. I thought I was going to rupture my bladder. When at last the bus did listen to my pleas for a toilet stop and pulled over at a dodgy roadhouse thingy, I was forced to rummage through my pockets for a 50 Bolivian cents to be granted access - not an easy task when you are doubled over in excruciating pain and discomfort! But I successfully kept my pants dry and Em and I were well pleased with the opportunity to relieve ourselves.

Now we are in La Paz for a few days we think, but need to organise our Inca trek in Peru and availability could have an impact on our stay in this breathtaking city. More on La Paz in the following blog - when I get around to it.