La Paz! Bolivia´s capital city. What a great place. We pulled into the City after a 17 hour bus journey to find the road partially blocked by a fiesta procession of students of La Paz. We watched the fiesta which envolved different colleges parading in traditional dress accompanied by marching bands. These celebrations lasted all day and into the night. We explored a nearby food market (incidently, I have not seen a supermarket here at all). We found the lunch hall and upon entering were beckoned over by every cook in the building insisting that we ate at their stall (at which point all locals were ignored).

We visited an artisan market and got very carried away in buying pretty colourful crafts. Near this market is a Witch's market. A most surreal experience. We happened to be there on the day of the Pachamama (the day of Mother Earth). This meant that locals were buying sacrificial packages to burn to give thanks to Mother Earth. These packages consisted of dyed llama wool, sweets shaped as frogs, cars and houses (thought to bring luck for health and household). Also on the stall we saw a basket of dried llama foetuses. It was most bizare and as expected, used as a sacrifice for Mother Earth. Today we did some maths and realised we had very little money left. An hour later I decided I couldn't be without a fluffy stuffed llama figurine and a pair of garish "gringo pants" which I know I shall never wear again in the UK So much for budgetting.

I want to tell you aobut the buses here. What an experience. They are little mini buses with about 10 seats, each and everyone incessently beeping their horn. As many people are piled in as possible until the door doesn't shut (if there is a door that is). The windscreen is filled with destination signs, which I guess isn't a problem because the drivers don't seem to look at what's going on around them anyway. There are no bus stops, you just stand out into the road and hail one down. Each bus has someone hanging out the window incesantly shouting every destinaiton of the bus over and over again (despite the bright yellow signage on the front). On one journey, our driver signed a cross as we entered the traffic of La Paz.

We took a day trip to the ruins of Tiwanaku. Once home to one of the most successful Inca settlements. The bus journey there offered 2 different experiences; terrifying driving and traffic conditions, and amazing views of La Paz from "El Alto". This is the sprawling region of La Paz that climbs up the mountain sides that surround the city. It is home to mainly immigrants. Here we saw a great example of Bolivian tradition. The women wear tall bowler hats which somehow manage to defy gravity, full layered pleated skirts in bright colours and a colourful cloth tied around their back either containing a small child or goods to sell.

Upon arrival at Tiwanaku, we were shocked to see that foreigners have to pay over double the entrance fee that Bolivians do. Imagine the outrage if this happened in the UK?

The runins were strikingly different compared to all the ruins we have so far seen (which are alsrgely unimaginative and somewhat resemble current rural housing). There was a hll built to model a mountain upon which religious ceremonies would take place and architectural engineering similar to that of the romans (aqueduct networks for example). It really made us realise and question how Bolivian civilisation could now seem less developed than in the time of the ancient Tiwanaku.

I am actually writing you this from Peru! We have lots of fun stories to come.

Ta for now,

Clara xx