Bolivia and La Paz

We made our way from Puno down the side of Lake Titicaca into Copacabana and then across Titicaca via boat (while our bus was put on a seperate barge) and then into La Paz.

Coming into La Paz is an experience. Buildings start appearing on the landscape. Then people, then more buildings, then more people and suddenly its just absolute bedlam with traffic and people and houses everywhere. Our drive in got interesting when the freeway was blocked and our driver did a ten point turn and drove the wrong way down the freeway to find an alternate route.

While I was there I did the Death Road. If you're in the area, do it. Great fun, easy and breathtaking at the same time. It's a 61km downhill bike ride from snow to the jungle down a road which is/was considered one of the most dangerous in the world. Luckily most of it is now closed to traffic, with the exception of semi-insane tourists.

La Paz was also the scene of the one and only hiccup in the travel plans. The day we were scheduled to leave we piled off onto the bus, took off towards the airport. The driver had to stop for directions which is never a good sign. Then the freeway was blocked by a protest, so we all grabbed our gear and ran along the road. (The joys of a high altitude run - lots of wheezing) Our tour leader abandoned his bag on the road and chased down a taxi. We all crammed in, with our bags and hot-tailed it to the airport.

We arrived at the airport with 45 minutes to spare. There was a big sign telling us we had to check in 30 minutes before the flight, so it was all good. Our guide goes to check in for us and he just got the wonderful look of dread on his face. The flight got shifted from midday to 8am... and they did not tell anyone. So we missed it by over three hours.

We went and had a coffee (iced chocolate in my case) while he figured it out. So we ended up having an extra day in La Paz. Walking around is great fun. Lots of things to see and do - the Witches Market where any self respecting witch gets their supplies from, although I just liked walking around watching every go about their business

La Paz was an experience. The location is strangely surreal. Why build a city there? It is a city and I much prefer the smaller places, but worth the trip.