Skipping Cochabamba at least had the advantage of getting us to La Paz in time to have one last night out with David, Tia and co before everyone went their separate ways. Gerard and I made a valiant effort to convince them to change plans and join us on our route but it was a tough sell - sad to think we probably won't bump into each other again. We were not sure what to expect from La Paz and arriving in pouring rain after a long and harrowing bus ride wasn't a...

From Uyuni we continued our unintended altitude acclimatisation by heading to Potosi - at 4,090m, it's one of the world's highest cities. It also has a lot of history, having basically supported the Spanish empire for 3 centuries with its silver production. The mine is still operating to an extent and you can do tours there but it sounded pretty gruelling (poisonous gases, extreme temperatures, claustrophobic tunnels, filthy conditions, risk of death...) so we de...

Where was I... We stayed a night in Uyuni which was actually much nicer than it had initially appeared - especially when we found out there was hot water. It was our first real taste of a Bolivian town and we were shocked at how many old ladies there are walking around in traditional dress with their big skirts and bowler hats - we'd expected one or two to please the tourists but it seems like it's actually still a popular outfit. After a much-needed shower, we ...

After a less than refreshing overnight bus, we arrived in Vicuna ridiculously early and made our way to the hostel where, thankfully, the guy took pity on us and let us check in right away. After a quick nap, Gerard dragged me to a bug museum in town which featured display cases full of all the enormous spiders, scorpions, beetles, etc that we can expect to encounter in South America. Already feeling itchy and uncomfortable, I reached the back of the room only to...