(George)Boarding our 'door2door' transfer from Ilha Grande, I felt familiar feelings of anxiety and anticipation arise as I cogitated on our next destination. Only one city before Rio de Janeiro had provoked such feelings and emotions, the lofty La Paz. As the wheels of our transfer relentlessly rolled on (except when stopping for more all you can eat buffet stops), I closed my eyes and attempted to regather as much strength and alertness as possible - we...

(George)Filled with excitement by our first taste of Brazil, we embarked on a mammoth journey that would take us from the humble town of Bonito, through the mighty Sao Paolo, to the quaint, seaside village of Paraty (pronounced pah-rah-chee). The journey devoured three days of our time, consisting of 3 buses, a lot of snacks and a one night pit stop in Sao Paolo.Our bus from Bonito to the state capital of Campo Grande passed with little noteworthy activity and we...

(George)Stepping off the bus, the familiar jungle heat threatened to knock us to our knees. Taxi drivers flocked to the bus seeking the most coveted catch of all, a double gringo fare. With one crow quickly plucking us from the crowds, we secured our bags in the boot of the car for our most expensive taxi journey of Bolivia. 10 minutes and £5 later we arrived at the border crossing between Bolivia and Brazil, the scene that greeted us was not what we had hoped t...

(Tamara)It was time to face 'the city'...'Nuestra Señora de La Paz', although ironically translating to English as 'Our Lady of the Peace' had caused sleepless nights that instilled fear within us of express kidnappings, desperate calls to parents for money in exchange for our freedom. The Lonely Planet mentioning such events was one thing, but tales from travellers along the way reinforced our precaution and apprehension as we made our a...

(George)Having hiked to 5030m the previous day we were feeling somewhat fatigued, not only were our muscles aching but we had acquired several degrees of ferocious sunburn thanks to the life threatening combination of doxycycline (anti-malarials) and the strength of the sun at high altitude. Dozing off as we left Cochabamba, I was somewhat content that our bus fell far short of it's full capacity and with a few wriggles and turns I managed to find a suitable ...