Hello again....  this time from Bolivia!  I crossed the border from Argentina the day before yesterday, and the contrast between the two countries could not be more different.  Argentina is relatively westernised, modern and has all the mod cons.  Bolivia on the other hand feels like I've stepped back in time by about 50 years.

Since I last updated this blog I have done so much it's hard to know where to start, so I'll just do it in the order that it happened.  Firstly in Santiago we said goodbye to some of our number, but met the 7 new people who would be joining us until either Lima or Quito.  They're all really nice and it will be interesting to see how the group dynamics change.  We're all missing those who left us though, but have since been catching up on email as to what they're all up to now.

We left Chile and went back to Argentina to a place called Mendoza, which is the principal wine region in the country.  Some bright spark decided it would be an excellent idea to visit the vineyards and wineries by bike....  obviously they had not tried riding an archaic bike down a dusty gravel-track road being overtaken by huge juggernauts while being a little bit tipsy!  Despite how it sounds, we all managed to get ourselves back to the hostel in one piece, having sampled some of the area's finest.

Obviously still feeling the effects of the previous day's wine tasting the following day I decided it would be fun to throw myself off a mountain 3,000 feet high, with only a parachute and instructor to save me!  Paragliding seemed like such a good idea when I signed up to it, although I was having more than one or two doubts about it when I was standing at the edge of the cliff being told to run as fast as I could off the side!  Once the initial run was over with, the flight was absolutely amazing....  feeling totally weightless while flying though the air with no engine to hold you up was totally new for me and something really unforgettable.  We stayed in the air riding the thermals for about 20 minutes or more, and then had to negotiate a landing.  After seeing two of the other girls land on their knees (one pulling the instructor on top of her too!) the nerves kicked in again, but I got down on my feet at first, only for a gust of wind to pull me down on my backside at the last second!

Feeling that I ought to do something a little less adventurous and a bit more relaxed when we got to Cafayate, I spent the day just ambling around the town and the little shops there.  Cafayate also makes good wine, and is exactly what I had imagined South American towns to look like - main square with a park, people sat on benches or doorsteps watching the world go by and everything happening "mañana".

Our journey to Salta (still in Argentina) was fairly uneventful until we got within 10 miles or so of our destination.  The truck came to a rather abrupt halt as there was a huge pile of rocks in the road (right next to a warning sign about possible landslides!).  On further inspection, gravel and small rocks were still falling, so we abandoned our route and headed straight to the city, rather than our pretty out-of-town campsite.  Salta is a pretty modern city, so after a quick tour we headed to the cinema for a bit of a home comfort treat.  I can't say it was the best film I have ever seen (although Mark Wahlberg did take his shirt off!), but it was really nice to do soemthing homely for a change.

By the following day the road had been cleared and we made our way back to just outside of town to do some zip-lining.  There were 9 wieres in total, criss-crossing the valley at about 300 feet high - it was such a pretty spot, and really exhilarating!

We crossed the Bolivian border and stayed in Tupiza which is in the middle of Butch Cassidy country.  This is the region where all the outlaws used to hide out and you can see why...  miles and miles of wide open spaces, with only the mountains, rivers and cactus for company.  We chose to take in all this beautiful scenery with a 4x4 jeep tour, some downhill mountain biking and a horse riding trail - all in one day!  You cannot say I'm not squeezing in everything I possibly can into this trip!

Today we arrived in Uyuni, which is close to the salt flats, which are completely unique to theis part of the world.  We are taking another 4x4 out to visit these tomorrow, so I'll be able to report back on that next time.

In case you were wondering what relevance the photograph for this blog entry has...  well, it doesn't!  We drove through all kinds of terrain to get here today - tiny single-track mountain roads with enormous drops, river beds that were not always completely dry, and the bumpiest roads I think I've ever had to pay a toll to use!  The last part of the drive was through what can only be described as desert, and this was the closest picture I could find of lots of sand!  When I get to a better internet connection where I an upload some photograhs I will put in something a little more appropriate!

We are off now to experience some true South American culture...  we're going for a pizza!  Apparently the best pizza in Latin America, and probably a welcome change from rice and beans, which is pretty much what we can expect from this point in!

Anyway, I miss you all loads, and really enjoy hearing about everything that's going on at home.  Speak to you soon.

Lots of love and a big hug

Nikki xxxxx