Dirty, busy cobbled streets full of cars beeping and people hustling, that's the daily grind of La Paz - and I like it. I struggled to get my bearings yesterday when we arrived. I had a few hot spots I wanted to show Julia and I was worried we wouldn't be in the same area and as a result unable to find them. After dinner last night I stumbled across a street I recognised - it was like amnesia lifting as memories of my 2006 visit came flooding back to me. I managed to find the little restaurant I had in mind next to the Coca museum - our dinner date was set.

We had a slow start to the day, breakfast as usual and the mandatory blog update. We eventually made our way into town to exchange a few of Ju's books, drop some washing off and to book our tour to the salt flats of Uyuni. We were getting a bit more savvy with regards to booking trips. The first place we tried seemed the best. We tried another two tour companies before deciding to take lunch and have a think about our decision of which operator to go with. It was at lunch I spotted a tour operator called Turismo Bolivia Peru situated in the courtyard opposite us. One concern we had with the previous three tour operators was that they acted as brokers, so regardless of whether we bought into them we could end up going with a dodgy company in Uyuni. The major concern we had was safety. We had heard of drivers drinking, taking drugs, going to fast and as a result crashing. Another concern was the number of tourists they put in the land cruisers or jeeps. They normally have a maximum of six tourists a driver and cook. Obviously what appealed to us about the TBP was they are the company that provide the service in Uyuni. We asked loads of questions to make sure they were right for us. Ju pointed out that they referred to 'their' drivers as opposed to the other companies who simply referred to them as the 'drivers'. Feeling satisfied we had done the best we could do and we promptly booked up our 3 day tour - this was to be a new adventure for me!

After a short siesta - well we are in a Spanish speaking country, we headed out to buy a hat and scarf for my birthday next month. Uyuni is very cold so I am going to need to open my birthday presents early (smile). Before shopping we visited the Coca museum where we learned about the history of the Coca leaf. One astonishing fact which made me chuckle was how the Spanish had outlawed Coca leaf consumption in South America in the name of Catholicism only to later reverse the decision when they discovered it increased slave productivity. Another set of facts which I found interesting included... cocaine is made from pulped coca leaves which involves using several locally sourced chemicals. The bail of white coca paste is the moved to a factory within the jungle where it is mixed with chemicals that can ONLY be purchased from western countries, for example Europe. The bail is processed into Cocaine powder which is then sold mainly in the US. The US accounts for 5% of the worlds population and they consume 90% of all the worlds Cociane. I find it ironic that the US have spent millions trying to eradicate coca farming in South America were the traditions of chewing coca leaves have existed for thousands of years. I also find it ironic that it's illegal in Bolivia and Peru under international law to process coca leaves for medicinal purposes unlike the UK and US who are licensed. Coca-Cola got it's name from Coca leaves where it was introduced during the prohibition in the US to give people a 'kick'. Even to this day Coca leaves are used to give Coca-Cola it's distinct flavour!

After the museum Ju bought me my Alpaca hat and scarf along with a leather belt and a set of gloves - I look even more like a bloody tourist now! We were on a shopping time limit as Ju was cranky due to being hungry again. We had an amazing dinning experience in the little restaurant I had planned to take her too the night before. I had an Alpaca steak and a glass of wine which was delicious. The ambience of the place was magical and it felt like we were on a date. We strolled home relaxed and contented ready for an evening of trashy TV.