Day 37: Up early for our trip across the Border to Bolivia. The minute we crossed the border we entered a different world. Immigration was a shack where the official ate slept and worked. There were no paved roads, only dirt tracks. Women and men continue to wear traditional dress with women wearing bowler hats, long plaited pigtails and unique clothing. We were picked up by four jeeps at the Bolivian border and these jeeps were our transport for the following three days. Toilets were "au natural" where the biggest rock served as your protection. As girls tend to go to the toilet in packs we all got to know each other very well!! The scenery however was spectacular. Really out of this world. We travelled through the Bolivian highlands (Altiplano) for three days before finishing in the Uyuni salt flats. Words will not be able to describe the beauty of these days so please look at the pics. Our first stop was the green lagoon and flamingo spotting before stopping for lunch at the natural hot springs. Martha was our cook for these three days and what a woman. Lunch consisted of traditional Lama and Quinoa. Amazing. I would never have tried lama if it hadn't been given to me and I am so glad I tried. A dip in the hot springs after lunch overlooking the amazing countryside before hitting the road again where we saw bubbling mud pools and more spectacular scenery. The night was spent in a local building with three hours of electric light, shared bathrooms and dorms. Was cold (to be expected given the altitude) but surprisingly comfortable!

Day 38: Day 2 saw us stopping at the red lagoon with more flamingos before embarking on a traditional pachamama ritual. Vivi explained that as Andean descendants they were both Catholic and also believed in spiritual gods such as Pachamama (mother earth). As we were embarking on a long journey we had to ask Pachamama for help and guidance on our journey in order to ensure we were safe along the way. This involved sacrificing some alcohol in her honour. Alcohol was spilt on earth, then on the wheels of the jeeps in which we were travelling and then finally we took a sip. Very interesting although not sure how effective it was seeing as we broke down an hour later. I personally think Gordon drank all his alcohol instead of sacrificing it and this was our punishment!! Next we went to some weird rock formations before arriving at the yellow lagoon and finally finishing at the only active volcano in Bolivia. Thankfully we didn't climb it though!! The day was finished off by a stop in a local town where the lads found some locals to play footie with. Think this was the highlight of Gordon's trip! Night two was spent in the salt hotel where the entire building and furniture including beds, tables and chairs were made of slat from the salt flats which we would visit the following day. Still only three hours electricity but pretty cool. As were the lamas which we came across at the hotel.

Day 39: The salt flats. Vast plains of white flat salt lands as far as the eye can see. Amazing. Given the topography of the land it was perfect for some great pictures. A stop at a local "salt island" which was covered in cacti some as old as 1000 years old before our final lunch cooked by Martha sitting on the salt flats on tables made out of salt. Cool! At the edge of the salt flats we saw the locals "manufacturing the salt." Hours or hard labour using only muscle and shovels resulted in mounds of salt being scrapped from the salt flats. Ten of these mounds would net the workers USD$8. It's crazy how hard they work for such little money. Uyuni is the town on the edge of the salt flats where we spent the night. The local attraction in Uyuni is the train graveyard - an area of unused old trains. Plenty of evidence of vandalism but good for some fun photos.

Dinner that night was in a local pizzeria before the majority of the group headed to the extreme fun pub for a night of debauchery! I was still doubled over in pain so it was an early night for me but Gordon fair play went out enough for the two of us arriving home at 7.30am the next morning with Vivi just in time to bring me to the doctor. Such a gent!! He did get an interesting perspective from the locals though re Bolivian politics. Evo Morales is the current leader and a former coca grower. He has the backing of all the farmers throughout Bolivia and has encouraged the reintroduction of the growth of coca. However this has angered foreign nations including the USA and has had a devastating impact on foreign trade. Most people believe Evo controls the narcotics industry in Bolivia and is no more than a dictator where opposition are threatened and forced out to ensure Morales stays in power.

Day 40: Finally get to doctor after a week of pain and get some antibiotics. Bus to Potosi this time with partly paved although windy roads. Potosi is the highest town in the world and was founded as a result of the large silver mine which is located here. History tells us that the Spanish came and conquered this town forcing the locals into slavery, into working in the mines for six months at a time in unsafe and harsh working conditions. They robbed all the silver and exported it back to Europe. It is said that they took enough silver to build a bridge from Potosi to Spain. As a result of these actions there is a lot of wealth evident in Potosi with fabulous churches, the oldest theatre in South America, the mint where the Bolivians minted coins for numerous countries back in the day, grand statues and squares which show the wealth that was once present in Potosi. At the other end of the spectrum severe poverty is evident. Today the mine is still operational but the majority of the silver is gone. Zinc, Tin and Lead are the main minerals being mined. Kids as young as 12 work in the mines and the men working in the mines rarely live past 50 given the lung diseases they pick up in the mines. The average daily wage for a miner working 12 hour days in damp dangerous and unhealthy conditions is US$7-US$10. And that is dependent on the mineral find.

Day 41: Tour of the mines. The tour started with a trip to the miners market where the miners purchase all their supplies including coca leaves, alcohol, dynamite, snacks and drinks. We got shown how to chew the coca leaves and how the catalyst works. We got to taste the 96% alcohol which the miners drink. We then purchased some presents for the miners including dynamite, coca leaves, drinks, snacks and alcohol. We then got kitted out in the miner's gear of waterproofs, a helmet, boots and a head lamp. We passed many houses on the way up to the mine entrance, these houses, one roomed shacks are where the miners live. There are over 600 mine entrances to the mine, only 18 of which are safe. Each mine is owned by a family co-operative and only these family members can work in this mine. We entered one of the safe working mines and got a tour of the operations of the mine. We met the boss and lots of other younger miners. We saw the minerals in the rock and also helped the miners carry the heavy carts out of the mine where the rocks would be sorted for minerals. We felt and heard the dynamite explosions below us. We also entered the "miners museum" - each mine has one which houses various pictures, statues and at the centre "Teo the Devil". All the miners are Catholics and outside of the mine believe in God and Catholicism. However inside the mines they believe in Teo the devil. Each mine has a Teo which the miners must worship. They sacrifice objects including coca leaves, alcohol and cigarettes to Teo. In return they believe that Teo will protect them and help them find the best minerals. If the miners fail to worship Teo or sacrifice goods to him Teo will be angered and cause an accident to happen. An average of 8 accidents happen in the mine each week. Annually the miners and the wives hold a special ceremony where an animal is sacrificed outside the mine entrance and the animal's blood is spread over the entrance. This blood is sacrificed to Teo so that he will not take the miners blood that year.

Day 42: Next stop was Sucre. One of the two capitals of Bolivia. The white city. A really lovely city although very different to the other Bolivian towns we visited. A lot more modern with paved roads and an air of wealth about the city. We spent a lot of time in Joyride café in Sucre and our first night in Sucre saw us watching the movie "The devil's miner" in the café. If you haven't seen this movie watch it. It follows the life of a 12 year old boy working in the mines in Potosi after his dad died. Was amazing to watch it after our mine tour the day before. Vivi actually knew the boy in the film and meets him most times she is in Potosi. He is now 20 and still works in the mines although he has been accepted to university to study tourism. He works part time as a tour guide assistant as well. He received USD$200 for that film although the film has made millions and has been awarded numerous awards.

Day 43: A day cycling hiking and swimming through the Bolivian country. The altitude certainly hinders physical activity! As does accidently overdosing on antibiotics! Finished the cycling but gave up after that and unfortunately missed swimming in the canyon. The pics look good though. Felt a bit better that night and me and Gordon grabbed a lovely Italian and then went to watch Che again in the joyride café. Wasn't as good as the night before but interesting none the less. Jagermeister party in Joyride that night where I am proud to say I was the last one standing. The benefits of not drinking!

Day 44: Quadbiking. Amazing! And I was pretty amazing if I do say so myself!! It helped that we were driving an automatic so all I had to do was press the gas and breaks. Kitted out in the full gear we drove through real dirt tracks, over mountains, down valleys, through rivers all the time trying to avoid the random animals which would inevitably run out in front of us. No accidents and everyone back safe so more successful than Thailand. (Sorry Siobhan!! -and the guy I got to hold onto was much sexier than my Thai man!). A lovely Mexican before meeting the rest of them in Amsterdam bar where we had a lovely evening playing drinking games, chatting and Aduv proposing to Jules!

Day 45: Walking tour of the city first up to Recoleta, the highest area in Sucre where we rewarded ourselves with a drink and dessert at the local restaurant overlooking the city. Then down to the park where there is a replica mini Eiffel tower. Back through the markets which was lots of fun. Night bus to La Paz.

Day 46: La Paz. Apparently Bolivia is worse than France when it comes to strikes. We were greeted at the entrance to La Paz by road blocks made of burning rubber tyres. There was no reason given for these protests - and no one was allowed through. Little Bolivian men and women running everywhere. The depth of the women's skirts were perfect for squatting for toilet breaks as we weren't going anywhere any time soon. My jeans weren't as appropriate!! Finally our only option was to take our bags and run through the blockade to the other side where we arranged alternative transport. At this stage the riot police were arriving and I can count this as one of the scariest experiences of my life. Everyone was screaming, the smell of burning rubber was everywhere. But we all made it across safe and eventually made it into La Paz stopping at a lovely view point for pictures. Was very happy to make it to the hotel.

First stop in La Paz was an English Bar "Olivers travels " where I had my first fry since leaving Ireland. Rasher, Sausage, hash brown, beans and OJ. They even had frosties and HP sauce!! The rest of the day was spent at the craft markets and the witches market. (Carisa you would be right at home here!) The craft markets had lovely handmade merchandise and you could see the locals making the goods. The witches market had lots of alternative medicines and potions you could buy. These ranged from love potions, cures for arthritis and asthma to more sinister voodoo and animal foetus' (mostly lamas) which could be used in sacrificing rituals to Pachamama. Different to say the least. Back to Olivers Travels for some football match and apple pie and custard!

Day 47: I cycled Death Road and survived!!! Watch Top Gear Bolivia Special for a good view of death road! Death Road is a 64K road outside La Paz which is built into the side of a cliff. There are no barriers from stopping you falling off the edge and the road is paved with crosses, memorials and flowers to mark the death of drivers and cyclists who have gone over the edge. Some of the horror stories we heard along the way included the death of 60 people in a local bus where the land gave way underneath the bus and the death of 100 people who were in a truck and the driver was drunk and fell off the cliff. The cycle was amazing. I sped down the hill and the thrill was like nothing I ever experienced. We were rewarded by lunch and time at the pool in the hotel before heading back to La Paz. Where our bus in true Bolivian style broke down on the side of the cliff. The engine was going on fire and the driver had to run back to the nearest waterfall to get enough water to cool the engine! Finally we got back to La Paz where we went to lovely Asian restaurant and met our new tour guide Martin for the first time.

Day 48: Myself and Gordon took a trip to Huatajata a town about two hours from La Paz on the shores of Lake Titicaca primarily so that Gordon could see the largest and highest lake in the world. There wasn't much to see in the town but there was a good museum and ecological village both of which depicted the history of Bolivia and the people who lived in Lake Titicaca. The ecovillage showed the old straw houses in which the inhabitants lived, the tradition of the hat making, the shoe making from old rubber tyres, the costume and mask making for carnival as well as giving a history of Uros and the floating islands. Back to la Paz for our last night in Bolivia and my last night with Gordon. We met our new tour guide Martin and we heard about the next three weeks of our exciting journey! Out to none other than the English bar again for our last night to say goodbye to Vivi, Kathleen, Caitlin and Gordon and to welcome Ville and Eveline to our group. Blubbering mess would most aptly describe the state of me. I hated leaving Gordon. It was so brilliant having him there with me over the past three weeks and wouldn't be the same without him.(Gordy thanks for coming over and making it the best three weeks ever. I miss you and look forward to our next adventure together.) Goodbye to Bolivia.