The bus journey up from sea level to 3600m was always gonna be rough, but i made some school boy errors... I didn't buy any water before we left and most importantly I forgot to ask what time we would arrive in La Paz... Feeling sick and with a head ache I arrive 14hours after I set off at midnight... I grab a huge bottle of water and head straight to bed....
The next day I get asked a question by an English guy in the bed next to me that was gonna pretty much be my morning greeting for the next 6weeks "what time is it mate"..?? Daz and Jemma where from Teignmouth in the Devon area, they where working the hostel to expend there trip... We had loads in common on the music and festival front, well at least me and daz did...
I'd come to Bolivia La Paz for three reasons, I had to kill a bit of time before I headed to Peru, also it was cheap and the euro championships where on... It is infact One the cheapest in south America... It really was cheap, also you could buy anything you wanted... From dead lama corpse, to knitted socks, I even see one women selling used stockings... Lama steak and chips was less than a £1 and memory sticks/cards where sold here by the hundreds.... All in all was safe to say I wouldn't spend a great deal without to much pressure...
The first couple weeks I plodded through, getting to know Jemma, daz and there mate from home Ben, visited churches, museums and the odd visit to the witches market... Apparently it brings luck and success if you put a lama corpse under a new house when you move..?? Think this is where some the serial killers have gone wrong in the past...!! I watched the championships and managed to see every game... We watched the England games in oli's bar and had a real good atmosphere and group of people...
Now I love a party, a drink and to go out, you all know that better than most... If the music, company and drink is right I'm an all nighter..?! So one random Thursday when I had parked myself in bed in the 20bed dorm at 11pm I did expect that to be the end of my night... Little did I realise, I hadn't slept much as the dorm was above the speakers in the bar downstairs and as i was laying there getting ready to splash the cash and ask for an upgrade to a 10bed quieter dorm the door swung open... Now if you have seen Shaun the dead your know the look, if you haven't sort your life out, this siluette of a man was slowing walking towards me but very much with arms out like a zombie and groaning... Now it's 5am, he obviously pretty wasted.... I shut my eyes and decide that he was sure to find his own bed soon enough and leave me alone...
OH NO, DID HE FCUK..!! He comes straight at my bed, puts his hands on it and mumbles something in a strange sheep language... I tell him he got the wrong bed and he drops his jeans, at this point my only worry was rape but as his jeans hit the deck that was when my 2nd worry came into play... The smell at first didn't really sink in, but within 5secs it had filled the room and my nose... Il quote from what I remember.....
"mate you stink of s***"
"no I don't"
"mate seriously you fcuking stink, wow hold on, have you s*** yourself"
"no no"
"er yeah you fcuking have"
He tries to get in my bed, I tell him to fcuk off once more then Daz hears the goings on and turns the lights on, at this point we see it, not only had he s*** himself but he had left the biggest poo I think il ever see, it was bigger than a tray as in what you carry a couple dinner plates on, as high as a pair of converse and smelt like the back end of a month long dead camel..!! He decides to leave the room, walking like a drunk penguin as his jeans where still round his ankles, as he does continues to piss and s*** up the corridor and into his own dorm where I imagine he passed out...
Now this story been passed round la Paz like an Olympic torch, people stop and point at me whispering, some even ask if I'm the guy who nearly got s*** on, it's quite embarrassing BUT not nearly as embarrassing as it must have been for him the next day... To wake in an empty dorm smelling of s*** and covered in it not knowing what happened and having your mates tell you the story must be the WORST situation to be in..?? All I will say is he was 21, welsh and no doubt about it travelling on daddies money... He dropped in and apologised with a 100bob note and was a mess, we all had dinner on the £10 he gave us as an apology and sat and laughed about the whole thing... We had been moved into a 10bed dorm because of the trouble, away from the noise so all in all wasn't too bad a thing... He on the other hand left la Paz quicker than the s*** that left his arse....
I spent a lot of time practicing with new camera and walking la Paz but I did spend two days that will stick out the most over the rest.... The first was DEATH ROAD, the most dangerous/famous road in the world... I booked on with gravity who's reputation in la Paz is the best but most expensive... I see it that my life was worth the extra £30 that they charge... We started at 6am and got dropped at the top with a good explanation of roads and the mountain bikes we were on about 8am... The road is amazing and has shear drops of anything upto 2000ft next to you, the biking was amazing, the views where breathtaking and the company of people ok...haha... It's surprising how fast you can reach even with death sitting next to you, you just wanna push yourself that little bit more... I didn't come off and had survived the most dangerous road, it was a great day and one that will leave an imprint in my mind...
The 2nd day that really stands out is playing the worlds highest golf course and one the toughest in the world... I was geared up for this and determined not to have a bad round... It had been at least 8months since I last played... The course was amazing, how they kept the grass so green in a desert like place is a great wonder..?! The course was tight in places and had some great par 3's with tea to green holes with nothing but O.B in between... We had to have a caddie as course policy and mine was a young lad who was just interested in easy money I felt... We all played off different standards but daz and Ben I think enjoyed it as much as I did... If it wasn't so expensive I would have played again and again... I shot in the 90's which I was happy with as I hadn't played for while and had some great shots as well as bad ones... It felt like I was back home again and really helped break up the back packer feel that we was in... When I return home il hit the courses harder and more often after this experience, really was a good setup and great club...
La Paz was a stop off point to kill some time and watch the euros, although I didn't party to hard, like going to cocaine bars, or staying in party hostels I had a great time and made some good friends... I certainly wouldn't come back I don't think though... I would be moving onto Peru to see the southern area before doing the inca trails and maccha picu, but that will be in the next instalment:

Peru, guinea pig dinners and ruins of the kings...

Peace out much love mick xxx