La Paz shopping was fantastic! The shops all spill out onto the street and everything is really colourful. Only problem was that all of the shops sold exactly the same items, but that didn't bother me! I got a little bag that's perfect for our camera and money, a set of traditional Bolivian pipes which are really hard to play, and an alpaca jumper. It's only 30% alpaca wool but is so soft and warm, and it only cost 3.50 pounds! Craig got a blue and white bracelet (big spender!). More shopping today and I've been hunting for some earrings I saw the other day but I can't find them. See it happens all over the world!

 Yesterday was rather trying! We decided to visit Tiawanaku (pre Inca empire) ruins with person we met from the UK at our hostel (Jo). We thought we'd do it the non-gringo way and catch a local bus. What should have been a 1 hour journey lasted 2 hours as the driver insisted on waiting until the bus was full. When we finally arrived the driver wouldn't accept our money as it had a tiny hole in it! The guide book we used was way off with entrance fees so we had to pay loads to get in - 8 times as much as non-tourists and then all the guides were in Spanish and we had to pay for English versions!! We could see how advanced the civilisation was but the place wasn't all that inspiring unfortunately.  The return journey turned out to be even worse as the bus that was supposed to go to La Paz stopped in El Alto (very dangerous city above La Paz) and the driver refused to go any further. We were all a little stressed as people tried to take advantage of our gringo status at every stage. It was the first proper bad day we have had (although that's not bad in a month). We eventually got back and had a couple of beers to recover!

We're leaving La Paz tomorrow to go to Copacabana on Lake Titicaca. Of all the cities we've visited so far La Paz has to be my favourite. Apart from the smog which covers the city, for me it's a perfect city. The snow-capped mountains behind the city are amazing and the steep streets give spectacular views of the houses perched on the mountainside. There's a real buzz about the place, you never know what you will see around the next corner.