Whilst technically not Bolivia's capital, nor particularly high (at least when you've been to 5,000m), La Paz is nonetheless a very cool city. Built in a canyon (why?!), exploring the city has meant us taking our time - steep canyon sides leave you out of breath quite quickly at altitude.

About halfway through our South American adventure, the last few days have been very relaxed. We've wandered the streets, haggled at markets, eaten plenty of street meat, played pool, watched a couple of films, taken afternoon siestas and generally taken things easy. We were actually meant to have left La Paz today, but some random village has blockaded the road our bus was meant to take, meaning we're stuck here an extra day before leaving (hopefully) tomorrow. I'm not surprised that road blockades seem common here, just seems to be part of life. It's the first time that something has gone wrong with our planned timings, but we're both in such a laid back mood that it's hardly bothered us at all.

A few favourite moments from our time in La Paz:

1. Stumbling across some random ceremony on Sunday morning - full blown brass band in military uniform playing a mix of Bolivian music and other classics including YMCA and some Simon & Garfunkel. We still have no idea what the ceremony was for, but enjoyed sitting in the sun watching and listening.

2. Trying to cross roads at night when red traffic lights seem to signify that a vehicle should stop only if there is traffic coming that has priority. In fact the traffic here in general is amusing - micros (small minivans) are constantly stopping in inconvenient places to pick passengers up, who have somehow understood the torrent of place names shouted from the open door of the minivan as it's being driven. Add to that police with whistles who attempt to direct the traffic during the day, countless taxis and pedestrian crossings that make no sense and don't actually work, and the result is quite simply a mess. Walking is by far the best option.

3. Trying llama meat. Sarah ordered it and to her credit ate most of it, despite it being quite gamey. Apparently alpaca is nicer, so we'll keep an eye out for that.

4. Mixing with the locals - we managed to find a random plaza yesterday for lunch and were the only tourists in sight. Spent the grand sum of 24 bolivianos (about £2.20) on a couple of salteñas (meat pies), chorizo sandwiches and a "super multi-vitamin" smoothie. Playing cards after eating, we were subject to many a bemused local looking at us as they walked past.

5. Trying to find an official look-out point for a view over the city at least twice and failing miserably. To be fair, half an hours walk up a steep hillside tends to give you a pretty good view anyway.

6. Watching the England v Australia and Wales v NZ rugby games in the hostel bar, although the results left something to be desired...

All going well we should be at Lake Titicaca tomorrow, but in Bolivia it seems that you can never be sure!

Luke

Hi,

This will be a short update from Cordoba before we catch the 20 hour bus to the Iguazu Falls.  Took a 10 hour bus trip here from Mendoza across desert plains and then large ranches to Cordoba.  The bus was comfortable with seat that reclined quite a way and footrests.  The view from the front of the upper deck was strangly engrossing watching endless miles of straight road with nothing else on the horizon.

In Cordoba checked in to the hostel into the hottest and darkest room going with foam mattresses.  But it is only for one night!  Had a quick dinner and tried to find a bar ending up in some bar cum cafe.  And that was our night in Cordoba!

Had a few hours to kill before the bus to Iguazu so wandered around the colonial centre on a Sunday morning - not much was happening or open.  The Cathedral had been taken over by the international scaffolding company hidding it from view.  There were a lot of homeless people sleeping in the green spaces and shop doorways showing Argentina hasn´t quite got out of the mess it got itself in a few years ago.

Off to the bus station now to see how we survive the long and winding road - works out about 1200km across Argentina.  But these things have to be done.

Update if survived!

Iain & Becca

A new record for this holiday: setting the alarmclock at half past three! A record I don't hope to break very quickly... It's just a little later that we get a good impression of the excellent service in this hotel: they opened the restaurant especially for us, so we can have breakfast at quarter past four.

The reason for our early rise and departure, is that we are taking the early flight out of Arequipa, to go to Juliaca by plane. Checking in and passing the police control are much easier than in Schiphol, as the metaldetector does not start bleeping as I go through (nearly a first time for me to get through first try), and I am even allowed to take my bottle of water with me... An opened bottle! Well, maybe it did make a difference that he saw me taking a large sip out of that bottle just before the checkpoint - something not really done lightly when the bottle is filled with...

In the plane (an Airbus A319, which we board climbing stairs after a walk across the tarmac - with beautiful view of the sun starting to rise over El Misti), to my great horror I find myself sitting at the isle instead of the the window - the seats between me and a view of the Andes are taken by two Peruvians, who are asleep almost all of the time (what a waste, sleeping at a windowseat!).

In spite of the disadvantage of my seat, I still manage to take a few pictures of the landscape below during the flight, which takes just over half an hour. On the facade of the airport building we are greeted by a number that seems to be there as a warning: "altitude: 3825 m". It's a warning to take things slowly, even though we don't feel anything - yet!

There a further welcome at the bagage reclaim: a group of Inca-musicians, to comfortise the waiting for our suitcases - which doesn't take all that long, as for the moment, our plane is the only one to have arrived recently. So half an hour after touch down, we are in the bus, all our luggage returned to us, packed in the cargohold of the bus and on the road again.

The first thing we notice here, is the completely different landscape and a completely different weather. The landscape, although almost four kilometers above sealevel, is as flat as a pancake, nearly all the way to the horizon, where the Andes mountains sharply raise skywards: we are on the altiplano. The weather is sunny but chill, almost cold - the chillness is treachorous: because of the height, the radiation of the sun is so much more intense, that you get sunburned before you know it.

Our first stop on the altiplano, or just on the edge of the Andes, to be more precisely, is in Sillustani, a graveyard of a pre-Inca civilization. Although most of the tombs are in ruins, the site still makes quite an impression. If you didn't know any better, you wouldn't recognise the tombs as such. They are like windowless tower (were, I should say), with a very small door at the bottom. Each of these doors is facing east, so the sun passes through at the sunrise of the 21nd of June (midsummer).

We climb the hill at a snale's pace, again to avoid altitude sickness. None of us has any symptoms yet, but now, after about two to three hours of this height, we start feeling something, most of us a little short of breath. But the climb is worth it: from the top of the hill, we have a magnicifent view over a lake, the ... It's also there at this viewpoint that I decide to take an energy bar (a snack stuffed with different grains and raisins, held together by a sticky thick form of sugary syrop - not at all bad, not at all my favourite, but very useful now), only to find out that I have competition for the food: a stray dog comes begging to me for pieces of the bar.

At our return from the top of the hill to the visitor centre, I have a little run in with a local boy who tends to the toilets. The price for using the toilets is one sol, but I only have a coin of five. Suddenly he has some kind of attack of acute amnesia, for he insists that I gave him one sol. A few minutes of dicussion follow, but the threat of intervention from more of our group presuade him to give me te correct change for the use of the not-so-clean-after-all smallest room (so if you ever come there, beware of the money changing trick - one sol is a very small amount of money, but still it's quite enough for this kind of service not to be cheated out of more).

After that, I still have a little time left to wander along the stalls with hand made souvenirs, all the locals behind them begging me to look at their merchandise, trying desperately to convince me that theirs is the one that I should buy - apart from two, none of them succeed (one sells very nice chains with worked stones, the other one bottles of drink, one more thing very much required at this height.

It takes us just siw minutes by bus to reach our second destination: a typical local farm. We are greeted by a llama, two alpacas, a dog, four little children and the lady of the house. Our tour guide and our local guide together give us a tour around the farm, which consists of four buildings: the living room, the bedroom, the kitchen and the lavatory (yes, each room a seperate building). You can't get from one room to another without going outside. Looking at the size of the rooms, it's almost unimaginable for us westeners that a whole family of six (at least that's the count I  got to) can live in such a small place.

In the yard, we are presented a local dish: boiled potatoes and cheese. Peru could well potato-country number one: they grow no less than 4000 varieties in Peru, of which more than 1000 grow on the altiplano. SO no suprise that we get a taste of that: a small potato (about the size of a pingpong ball), boiled, cut in half and covered with a slice of the local cheese (a white cheese with a very soft taste).

There's also some kind sauce we are invited to try on our potato. Then we must guess what sauce we have eaten. It lloks like a bit of very dark mustard, more olivegreen than yellow, but has a very similar texture. It tastes very different though: it's mostly tasteless, but the little taste you do get from it, is a little sandy... not surprsingly, considering that a little later we get the answer: it's clay! Clay mixed with water... As they say, we Dutch created our own country, Peruvians are litterally eating theirs!

And of course, our visit finishes with the lady of the house, together with her sister and eldest daugther, showing us their handcrafted object, which, of course, are for sale. And because they were so very hospitable, none of us has the heart not to buy anything... And, honestly, their handywork does look very nice indeed.

From there on, we go non stop to our hotel. We arrive there shortly before noon, so we can have a quiet afternoon to get acclimatised to the height. I have to wait a little while before I can go to my room: mine's not yet finished (I was the last to book for this trip, so I am always bottom of the list, even when it comes to hotels preparing rooms). But in the end I can go to my room with a view, a view over the Titicaca lake.

I do spend the afternoon very relaxed, phoning home, have lunch, writing postcards and drinking coca-tea. At lunch it becomes clear the the height is making victims in our group: three require some time at the oxygen, two more are very sick, but can go without extra oxygen, half of the group feels sick, and we all feel a bit off-colour. One of our groups describes it as having a bad hang-over without having a drop to drink. I escape without the very worst symptoms, but in the end of the afternoon, I too get a bad spell: after a little nap I feel so horribly cold, that I can't stop shivering violently for about half an hour, in spite of taking place against my heater-on-full-power.

But that subsides, and the dinner buffet helps even further, after which I even have enough energy to play a few card games with two of the group to end this first day in the Andes.

après une après-midi passée à crapahuter dans la cascade des ruines Incas, on a repris des forces à la Bodega - cave à vins - en dégustant des vins plus doux, mais aussi plus fruités et constant dans leurs qualités que les vins français !

Et puis, asado maison autour du feu, dans le désert ! Cette fois-ci Max dort dans la voiture, et je me retrouve à dormir à la belle étoile avec Héléna, une franco-russe médecin ! Pfiou !

Great city, its at the highlands of Ecuador.  I stayed at a hostel wich had everything, great food, hot water, internet and it was right beside Tomebamba river, wich was absolutely beautiful. This city has a great number of churches, which are not only beautiful but have a great historical value. As you enter this city you'll find that its buildings, parks and churches had remained practically untouched through time, in which you'll be able to see the Spanish influence 400 hundred years ago. Still having saved all of their pre-spanic culture not only in museums but archeological sites such as "Ruinas de Cojitambo", "Pumapungo Park", and "Ruinas de Todos Santos". 

Located just north of Valparaiso, Vina del Mar is a beach resort town with Chilean coastal character. Littered with restaurants and bars, this rocky Pacific coast town seems to say - casual attire only please. Having been here in the winter and spring, I look forward to my next trip there in the summer. With a drastic incline in elevation shooting up from the waterline, the architecture takes on the look of steps as every floor is afforded a balcony atop the floor below. Only an hour's drive from Santiago, one could ski the Andes in the morning, have a late lunch in wine country on the road to Valparaiso, and be on the beach sipping cocktails in the late afternoon. That's what I love about Chile!! Either walking, riding a bike or driving along the road that hugs the seawall will afford you with breathtaking Pacific coast vistas as well as quaint seaside town scenes. Highly recommended for any traveler in Santiago looking for something to do for the day.

Kuty is a chain of bakeries in Colombia, with 4 locations in Cali. It was very convenient located, just 1 block away from the hostel. It was early and the place was already crowded, a good sign! There were lines inside for buying bread and other things, and the outdoor tables were most of them full too. It's a popular spot for having breakfast among the locals. The menu is mostly about breakfast, but you can find different types od sandwiches, bread, pastries, omelettes, coffee, juices, desserts, etc. They also offer combinations, including a healthy one. I saw a Colombian sort of yogurt called "Kumys", similar to the natural yogurt. Portions are good size and prices are not high. I didn't want the healthy combination and just got a fruit salad, very good one and a tasty juice. Besides the healthy salad, I tried an arepa with egg. Arepas can be found almost everywhere, but this one was the best I've tried. So tasty! Yolk was still liquid inside and arepa was warm... If you can't decide after looking at the menu, you can go inside and watch the products and the kitchen area. I highly recommend you to go to any of the locations of this chain to have either a yummy breakfast or snack. Ask for the arepa de huevo (with egg). I'm craving for it :P

If you are in Cali and other Colombian cities, you'll find bright locations of this local chain. I'd always suggest to try the traditional food, but if you are in the mood for fast food, at least try a local chain. As the name says, their specialty are the sandwichs, but I'm not a big fan of them. No problem, they have other options. Here I tried: Thai Sandwich which is a wrap of chicken, green onion, red pepper, lettuce, carrot, onion, sesame and Teriyaki sauce and a fresh salad. Sandwiches come in 2 sizes, but not this one since it's a wrap. Also tried a fresh salad. Beverage selection includes sodas and beer. It has a nice atmosphere and kitchen is open, so you can see how they are fixing your sandwiches. They also offer delivery service and have a playground for children.

I was looking for a place to stay near the party area of the city: 6th Ave. Browsing on internet I found this place located in the north of the city, which looked nice. I sent them an email, but they told me I had to book it through hostelworld, pffff. Nevermind. When we arrived there was a girl at the frontdesk, who was just helping. She couldn't find the reservation and assumed one of the available bedrooms was the one booked, hahaha. So good she picked the right one, hahaha. The location is very good, just one block away from the busy and party 6th. Ave, but it doesn't get too loud here. It's also walking distance from the Bus Terminal. This place is a house that was turned into a hostel, therefore there are not many rooms. Place was very clean and it felt very safe. I was expecting to have a private bathroom, but there weren't private bathrooms... Ok, I can deal with that. The weakness here is the bed. It's HARD! Eventhough stayed here 2 nights, my poor back... The shower is a electric one and if you want to have hot water, have to open the tab full wait a bit and close it 1/2 way, so you'd have hot water. I learned it too late... There's a common area with a nice tv, couches and there's free wi-fi too. There's a computer too, but you have to pay for it. They also organize tours. You have to pay a deposit for the key and would get it back when you return it. They don't serve breakfast, but there's a tasty bakery 1 block away :P I don't know if the dorms have better beds, maybe... the only disadvantage here are the beds, the rest is fine.

When you are in Cali visiting this area is a MUST! This is the center of the art, discussion and Bohemian area in the city. Here you can find cozy cafes, frequented by artists. This is a traditional place, with old but well conserved houses, where it seems to be that the time stopped. Traffic is not crazy as in downtown. In fact the area is quiet. One of the highlights here is the San Antonio hill, climbing it you will be able to get a nice view of the city. On top of it, there's a lovely church. Definitely, it's worth to visit this part of the city. Your visit to Cali wouldn't be complete without walking around this lovely neighborhood and sure, have a good cup of coffee later

In the west part of the city near the traditional San Antonio area and next to the Cali River, there's a big sculpture of a cat: El Gato Tejada or Gato del Rio. I was checking a map of attractions in San Antonio area and saw a small drawing of a cat. It looked fun and cool, so I wanted to go there. It's located on a park next to Cali River. I didn't know what to expect and found fun finding a 3,5m high cat, hahaha. But he wasn't alone, there were other cats (much smaller) next to it. A couple of years ago, they started an exhibition called the girlfriends of the Gato Tejada. There are several cats, each of them with a different name and decorated by local artists in a different style. You can see a "star", an injured, a prisoner, etc. Having this park next to the river is a good idea. It's nice to have a place to walk in the middle of an area with heavy traffic. Nice place to take a walk and relax