After our trip to Isla del Sol we took a bus from Copacabana to La Paz. The journey was about 3 hours. After about 1 hour 30 the bus stopped and we all had to get off and cross Lake Titicaca in a boat. The bus was transported on a make shift barge across the lake, but looked very much like it was about to sink (pictured left). All very disturbing, especially as our backpacks were on board! Anyway eventually the bus chugged over and we boarded to complete our journey. La Paz is 3,660m above sea level so again we could feel the altitude and pollution was really bad. Vehicles just seem to chug out black smoke, dont think any of them would pass an MOT in the UK. There are also countless number of shoe shine boys that hang around the Plazas ready to shine anything, including our grotty runners. The boys are unusual infact, kind of creepy as they wear ski masks and balaclavas to protect their identity. Shoe shining is socially unacceptable in La Paz which seems strange as the general public seem to love a good old shoe shine but just dont want to be the ones doing it. That evening we met up with some friends we met on the Inka trail. We had a very surreal evening, the live entertainment in the first bar we visited was an 80 year old band. One guy on a squeeze box another guy with a great sirrup was playing a guitar and the singer saw himself of a bit of a Frank Sinatra, dressed in a black suit with a white cravat, very dapper ! They were sweet guys although the singer was a bit eager to give the ladies a sneaky kiss at the end of the evening, dont think he had his teeth in either ! Next we found an English bar, first time in ages, which was run by a guy from Blackpool who by the end of the evening got very drunk and started playing classic anthems like The A team and Littlest Hobo! Was a good night ! The following day we visited the Cocoa museum which explained the use and importance of the cocoa leaf in South America. Traditionally the leaf was used as an anasthetic as well as a stimulant so indigineous people could work for longer and cope with the effects of being at high altitude. However now, more commonly the cocoa leaf is used to produce Cocaine, which is still big business in Bolivia in particular! The museum also explained that Coca Cola used to use pure forms of Cocaine when the drink was first produced until this was abolished in approx 1914. After the museum we planned to leave La Paz on the overnight bus to Sucre, however we discovered that there were road blocks out of La Paz so we were stranded and couldnt go anywhere. We tried to get a flight but all were booked up so we had to wait until the roads reopened. That evening we ate in a place called 100% natural (how ironic) rated in the Lonely Planet as a sanitary venue, however Allison seemed to contract some kind of food poisoning and was ill all night. The next day we were informed that the buses were running so we took the first opportunity to leave before we got blocked in again, apparently this happens every week or so in Bolivia! Next stop Dinosaur tracks in Sucre.