Potosi, Sucre and Santa Cruz

Just a short blog entry today as I'm now home so will be seeing you all soon so 'can't be aaaaaaarsed' to do a long one :)

So, in Potosi there was a strike. Not an exciting strike, just a long, boring, dull, nothing-is-open-strike. So the buses weren't running either which meant the thermal baths just outside of Potosi were unaccesible. The strike was over by Tuesday which meant we were able to go down the mines. We'd heard that they were scary and dangerous but paid our money to go do them anyway! We bought gifts and things for the miners, got all dressed up in the mining gear (does my bum look big in it?) and then walked (more like crawled) 2km into this mountain. It went from 10 degrees max on the outside to probably about 35. It was haaaaaaaaawt! It was also very difficult, as Potosi is the highest city in the world (4090ms btw) so breathing in a hot, dusty mine was really crap!

From Potosi we went on to Sucre, the judicial capital of Bolivia. It's nicknamed 'la ciudad blanca' and you can totally see why. Every building in the centre is painted white and it's very pretty. Chilled out there and went to some museums and bars here. Had lunch one day at the highest point in Sucre so we could see the whole city.

Then came my fave bus journey of every trip in Bolivia. The road from Sucre to Santa Cruz was closed so we had to go a different way. A 17hr, non paved road way. Funtimes! We arrived in Santa Cruz with very numb bums, found a hotel (ooo posh!) then went out and about. Went to a zoo here with a random sloth just wandering around and there was aslo a chocolate festival RIGHT OPPOSITE OUR HOTEL! Lucky us. It was lush :L

Travelling over, I came back to Cbba for a few nights for my family goodbye, the final volunteer bbq and a last visit to Casablanca.

Good flights back, better movies and am now home!

See you all at some point :)

A x

Salar de Uyuni... I heart cubic lattices :)

After spending the day in Oruro, we got the 'semicama' bus to Uyuni. Semicama my arse and the roads were super bumpy so we didn't sleep for about 10 hours while we were there. Eventually arrived at 7am, Thursday morning, got off the bus and almost froze to death right there. It was freezing. Found our tour company who took us to get breakfast where there was a giant fire which was lush.

We met our driver at 10.30 and started the mammoth tour. First stop was the train cemetery where you could climb all over these 'dead' trains. It was like Thomas the Tank Engine gone wrong.

After that was the real Salar. Dazzling white everywhere which ma de for really good photos! We got to a point where all you could see was white salt, blue skies and mountains in the distance. It was really cool.

We had lunch in a salt hotel (I ate llama!) and then drove some more to the Isla de Pescados where we climbed to the top. Bloody windy which added to the freezingness. Also helped the 'fro grow a bit and my hair went horizontal more times than I can remember!

Once we'd done the Isla, we took some more photos with a dinosaur (I almost got eaten, truely) and then made our way to the salt hotel where we would stay the night. The whole place was made of salt; the walls, the floor, tables, chairs and even our beds - although we did have a mattress on top which made it slightly more comfy. It was freezing (again) there, but under the covers we were really warm and toasty... although this may have had something to do with me wearing 6 layers and anything llama I could possibly find. I'm the llama queen :)

The next day the itinery changed a bit so to fit everything in on the Friday we had to get up at 3.45 AM to be able to leave at 4.30. It was horrible. Getting out of the toasty bed onto the cold salt floor, to the freezing toilets and then outside into the wind (all in the dark btw... only electricity between 7 and 9 pm) was awful.

Our first stop on Friday was the volcanoes, which we reached at about 7am. This means we got to see the sunrise on them which was really cool. Still cold too! After that were the first few lagoons many of which were frozen over. And the ice was thick! Many more lagoons, volcanoes and barren orange sandy landscapes followed. Very beautiful.

In the middle of this desert we reached the 'arbol de piedra'... in the middle of a sandstorm. Winds can get up to 60mph here and the sand and pebbles were getting thrown in our faces. Completely covered when I got back in the car! But I got a photo with a stone tree so I'm super cool :)

After lunch (which we were told was flamingo but was probably chicken) we went to the Laguna Colorada. Browny red in colour because of mineral deposits but it was also frozen again. Flamingoes were just standing in it looking bloody freezing. Next were geysers where me and Annie almost fell into the 200 degree bubbling lava/hot mud. Could have warmed us up a bit!

One of the best bits of the whole 3 days was next. The hot thermal baths. It was LUSH! It was almost like a real bath which was amazing after 3 months of not being able to have one and you just lay there floating in hot water. Getting out wasn't so nice... freezing winds again and my hair actually froze it was so cold. Ridiccc! Also run out of pants so ended up going commando... surprisingly comfy if a little cold but I had to put up with it. Pants are being washed by some nice person now so soon I'll be able to wear them :)

Final stop after that was the Laguna Verde which was really pretty. Mint green and (yep you guessed it!) frozen as well. Here we could see Chile and Argentina, while standing in Bolvia. Drove all the way back to our hotel in the middle of nowhere where the wind blew though, blowing sand everywhere like a mini storm inside. The beds were super warm though as I had millions of layers and millions of covers too.

Next morning we had cake as it was another person on the tours birthday which was yummy :) Saturday was mainly a driving day to get back to Uyuni but we had a few stops on the way. My fave was this dinosaur canyon with frozen streams and rivers. Very beautiful.

Got back to Uyuni at 4ish, picked up our bus tickets and had pizza for dinner before making our way to Potosí. Arrived at 1 this morning and got the last bed in the hostal we wanted to stay in... the matrimonial suite. Haaaaaaa. It was great... we were so WARM which was nice after about 3 days of being permanantly cold!

Here we're going to go to some thermal baths (again) some mines and have a look around Potosí, as from what I've seen so far it looks like a really pretty city.

Shall update when I can next. Here until Tuesday then off to Sucre, the main capital of Bolivia.

A x

La Paz and Lake Titicaca

Friday night we set off at 11pm to La Paz on the overnight bus. Semicama, so got a bit of sleep and arrived into La Paz at about 6.30. It was bloody freezing! Went straight to the same hostal we always stay at and dumped our stuff, had some pancakes then went out to explore the La Paz we hadn't seen yet. We went everywhere! All the plazas, witches market, the zona sur (very posh) and then the coca museum where we were offered free coca leaves to chew. No taaaaaa!

On Sunday we wandered around La Paz a bit more and then in the afternoon headed to Copacabana to see Lake Titicaca. We got a bus just as it was leaving... began to be a bit of a pattern in the Lake Titicaca trip. Found a hostal pretty easily and then went to the worst restaurant in the whole world for dinner. Everything we asked for had 'no hay' as the answer so we ended up getting choclo soup which was pretty much cup a soup. So not worth my 5 Bolivianos!

Monday morning we got up early to get the boat to the Isla del Sol. Got to the isla at about 10.45 where we went to a tiny museum and then joined a group with a guide who took us around the north of the island. The views were amazing and there were so many beaches and you could see the mountains in the distance... really pretty. Once we'd reached the ruins at the north, we left the guide to do the (supposedly 2.5hr) walk to the south of the island to get the boat back to Copacabana.


This took longer than suggested. We started at 12.30 and walked and walked and walked. Mostly uphill. At about 4000m. It nearly killed me. The walk was beautiful though; we had views of the lake on both sides, one side Bolivia and the other Peru. We also built one of those little rock mountain things. Here's me with it :L We had to be at the dock for 3.10 so when we asked a cholita how much further it was and she said media hora at 2 we thought we had plenty of time. How wrong we were. At 3 we were still walking, at 3.10 too. We got to the south at 3.20 but still couldn't see the docks... at this point we started to run down the hill. We started to see our boat leaving and we shouting 'espera!'. We got to the jetty just in time; even so, the boat had to come back for us. The bonus of arriving so late, was that there was hardly any room on the boat so we had to sit right at the front... not even inside the boat. We basically held onto our bags and a rope and had an amazing view the whole way back. Here's me in (one of) my llama jumpers on the front of a boat. I'M ON A BOAT :L

The next morning we explored Copacabana a bit more. We'd heard there was an amazing viewpoint a half hour walk from the town so we decided to do that. Half an hour my arse. Walk my arse. We eventually reached the top after about an hour and a half vertical climb to see some amazing views. It was really pretty and after we'd caught our breath, we made our way back down to catch the bus back to La Paz for the night.So... this morning we got a bus from La Paz to Oruro to see Annie's host dad. He's a celeb chef and has cooked for Bill Clinton among others and gave us a free meal. Score!! I had lamb and it was lush :)

Getting yet another bus tonight to go to Uyuni to start our Salar tour. Salt flats, coloured lagoons and volcanoes wait for me there. And temps of minus thirty possibly. Will post up pictures if I can live through the cold!

A x

Goodbye Cochabamba!

Today I say bye to Cochabamba for the next two weeks as I start my travels with some other volunteers. I've packed hardly anything... just some hippy pants, my vests and a llama jumper. I bet you're all looking forward to the photos. I've also packed hair serum and nail polish... Priorities!

I'm off to La Paz, Copacobana and Lake Titicaca, Oruro, Salar de Uyuni, Potosí, Sucre, Samaipata and Santa Cruz (basically a massive circuit of Bolivia) before coming back here to get my flight home. Shall update and put photos up when I can.

Finished my medical placement on Wednesday night / Thursday morning. Yes... night shift! Celeste and I went to another health centre in Sacaba where we saw loads. We also got to give shots and suture to which was really cool. Here's me giving anaesthetic. You could feel his skull through the wound. Noicccce!

My host mum is also giving me a little party to say bye. I love her :)


See y'all soon!


A x

I survived the ROAD OF DEATH!

I have finally seen births! I'm seeing about three a day and learning a bit more so I'm more happy with work now. Only took a month :L Oh well... that is all I have to say on my placement.

So... this weekend we decided to go to La Paz. To do the Road of Death. It. Was. AMAZING! We went on the overnight bus to La Paz, getting there at about 5.30 in the morning. After getting breakfast, we were met by the guys from Vertigo Biking at 8ish to take us to the beginning of the road. This took us about an hour, climbing up from La Paz up to 4700m. It was really pretty; cloudless skies and a massive blue lake (some of which was iced over) and it was bloody freezing - even I was wearing four layers.
We left here at about 9.30 after we'd put on our hawwwt orange jackets, our elbow and knee pads and had our safety talk. The first hour and a half was easy; all downhill, on a paved road and you could just go as fast as you wanted. Once we'd reached the bottom of that section we got into the support vans to drive the only up bit of the ride. Lazy! We came through this valley above the clouds and they were like a blanket... absolutely beaultiful.Here was the beginning of the death road. The previously smooth, paved road had changed into a dusty, gravely, bumpy, pain in the ass (literally... my right bum cheek is still not the same!) road. It was all still downhill too so breathingwise it was fine, but the constant vibrations from all the bumps turned your arms to jelly. It killed.
There were alot of stops along the way for snacks, water and photo opportunities (one by a 600m drop). We finished the road at about 2.30 and after stripping off our gear (we'd descended down to 1700m into the rainforest and it was now pretty hot) we got back in the vans again to make our way to the hotel for the afternoon, where a buffet lunch, swimming pool and shower were waiting for us. It was a brilliant end to the day.We still had to make our way back to La Paz though... this time luckily along the new road that has been made. This took about four hours half of which we slept ans the other half singing all the songs we knew at the top of our voices (the Bolivian world cup song kicks ass on the UK's). When we reached La Paz again we got our free T-Shirt and our CD of all the photos and videos that had been taken on the day.

The road was great and I'd reccomend it to anyone who comes to Bolivia as one of the things to do. I can't think of another day where you begin it freezing cold and can see snow all around, to ending it in a swimming pool in the boiling rainforest. It was immense.

We still had another day in La Paz on the Sunday so we had a look around the markets and then went to this musical instrument museum where i found a piano that I was allowed to play (look how happy it made me!). I was crap... really need to practice before Chets this year otherwise it's going to be an epic fail of a week!
This weekend was easily the best weekend in Bolivia... but it may only hold that title until the next time I update as I start my travelling next week.

I also only have three weeks left. It's gone so fast and I'll see you all soon!

A x

Buscando... a good medical placement. If anyone has any idea where to find one contact me!

Started my new placement for real on Tuesday. Felt alot better after a relatively quiet weekend and was ready to help! Tuesday work was good... They taught me how to feel where the baby is in the tummy, listen to the heartbeat and finally feel how many centimetres dilated someone is. It was great and I went home finally feeling like I'd got something out of doing a medical placement here. However, the next 3 days were me sitting there and watching, as a new intern had come in and totally took over. Added to the fact that the doctors work 24 hour shifts so there were different doctors each day, and they had no idea that I was actually meant to be there doesn't make for an interesting placement! Very frustrating. In births this week... maybe this will finally be the medical placement I'm searching for?

I went and visited the orphanage this week as Annie is trying to sort out the garden there and some of us went over to help. All the kids greeted e with cries of Tia Sofie... then Tia Emily. Still no Tia Amy. There are no Amys in Bolivia I don't think! We chopped and raked stuff up ready to be burnt and once we have paint we're going to paint murals on the walls and possibly paint inside the casita. It's going to look so much better!

The volunteer group is dwindling... two people left last week, two are leaving this week... sad times! Thursday night was Catherine's leaving do so we went for sushi and then to Dumbos for the most amazing ice cream ever. I have photos, but can't upload them here. They were mega! Friday night was Jamies do and we went EVERYWHERE before finally ending up in Pimienta... possibly the best club in the whole world! Again, possibly not the best idea as we had to be up early the next morning for painting!

With my amazing 3 hours of sleep, I was out of the house by 8 and hopped on a bus back to Sarcobamba to get painting. I felt rough :L We set up scafolding, mixed the paint and did the whole waiting room, only stopping for sandwiches for lunch. I also managed to drop my camera in the massive pot of paint. It broke unsurprisingly! Or so I'd thought...

Sunday was football day. We went back to Dumbos to watch it. We failed miserably... the only bloody football game I watch and England sodding lose. Fail :( Had lunch there before going to La Cancha (again!). I love it. We need one in England. Went home after that to find my camera worked! Brilliant! Just needed to dry a bit :) Got so excited I managed to shut myself out of my room, with the keys inside and no spare. At 8 on a Sunday night. Balls. Ended up having to go back to La Cancha to find someone to open in for the extortionate cost of 7 pounds (you think I'm joking... he was literally there all of two minutes picking at the lock. That's like 210 pounds an hour!). So that finished off my week perfectly!

We also planned the travel route we get to do at the end of our placements. We'll be going to Lake Titicaca, Salar de Uyuni, Potosi, Sucre, Samaipata (to maybe see a little bit of the Che Trail), Santa Cruz and finally back to Cbba for my flight. Going to be amazingggg!

Road of Death next weekend (3rd of July, the padres bday, lets hope I don't die!) so get ready for some epic pictures of me in a florescent jacket :)

A x

I got sick... Will got robbed with an orange... Great weekend in Bolivia for the ones from the shire!

This week we gave our breastfeeding presentation to the waiting room at Chavez Rancho health centre. Two weeks of researching and writing in spanish, all to be over in about five minutes. It went ok (better than my student president presentation for anyone that saw that) but apparently I was talking too quietly and quickly... what's changed? We also made posters to stick on the wall at the health centre so they're up, with information to aid breastfeeding mothers.

Had a bit of a spendy week this week, with many visits to La Cancha to buy presents and warm stuff for when I go travelling. Also got a backpack for travelling (with two different makes on... I think this makes it double the quality personally) so am ready to go now! Planning our circuit this week around Bolivia which I'll start on the 9th July. Really excited!

Officially finished my crap work placement and moved to the new one too. Started on Friday and am at Centro de Sauld Cochabamba which is alot bigger than Sarcobamba and also has a hospital right behind it where I can go to watch operations and births next week. I'm working in the obstetric emergency unit and I can already tell it's going to be so much better. However, Friday was not so fun. I got up at 6.30 to be able to get to work for 8, arrived there, the director took me to where I was meant to work... everything went really well for something that had been organised in a short space of time. When I stood up to do something I promptly lost my hearing, almost fainted and had a repeat of La Paz again (without the vomming in the street... I was more classy this time and managed to hold it in). I called my project supervisor who told me to go buy some sweets and water and the wait for her to come get me.

When she eventually arrived, I felt better (who wouldn't after sweets?) but still wanted to go to the doctors just to be checked out. Got all the general things done; OBS, he checked my tummy and listened to it, they took some blood and diagnosed me with gastroentiritus. It's not nice. Then they shoved me on a drip for two hours. This hurt and I never ever want to have one ever again. I also had to spend a bunch on all my exciting tablets that you can see in the photo. I don't have a parasite though. GET IN! Still had the most boring diet in the world for three days - bread, rice, potatoes, chicken and jelly!

We had a long weekend (Aymara new year on Monday) and I was planning on doing the Che trail to follow the last footsteps of Che Guvara and see where he was laid out once he's been killed but my crappy health situation stopped that. Instead, I had a quiet weekend.

Saturday I went to the Palacio Portales de Simon Patiño. This is a big european style house that Simon Patiño (once the richest man in the world) built but never got to live in because he left Bolivia and died before he could ever return. It's absolutely beautiful and has amazing grounds as well. We had a tour around the house and grounds (unfortunatly not allowed to take photos inside the house) but it was amazing. There was silk all over the walls, really ornate carvings, scultpures, pictures and paintings all over the place and he also had a piano for each of his three daughters in the house (which I got majorly excited about as it was maybe the second piano I'd seen in all of Bolivia). Our tour was also done with some stereotypical Americans - my favourite question they asked was 'did he introduce spanish to Bolivia?' when they found out Simon Patiño was from Spain originally. Will went to La Cancha in the afternoon but I had to go get more results so couldn't :( He did get robbed though so maybe it was best that I didn't! He's the third person to have been robbed since I've been here - one with a gun, another with a knife and Will... he got hit in the face with an orange. Could only have been him!

Sunday I had a lie in (until 9... the latest I've ever slept here!) then went to buy stuff from the supermarket for a picnic in the park. I had bread, jelly and was naughty and had crisps too. SHOCKING! Had another La Cancha trip (my third of the week :S) to buy more presents and some jewellery for me.

Monday we decided to go to Tarata, a little town about an hour away from Cochabamba. We'd planned to spend the whole day there but when we got there most stuff was shut (apart from the tourist centre which was open but empty). We managed to see a pretty church and a monastery (both pictures) before coming back to Cochabamba in time to see the Spain V Honduras game. We settled down in Dumbo's, this amazing icecream store with a wide screan where I had cake AND icecream to make up for my three days of dull food. I got bored of the football once I realised that Torres had cut all his hair off (WHY DID HE DO IT!) so after half time we walked into the plaza to sunbathe. We'd been there all of ten minutes when this woman came screaming into the plaza shouting stuff like 'te voy a matar' (I'm going to kill you) and other crazy things. She sat down on a bench near us, still screaming, and just as I thought it couldn't get any stranger, this old man on a crutch came over, they started arguing, and then he smacked her hard on the leg with his crutches. As appealing as watching two seventy pluses have a fight, we left to have a wander, as despite him being old, he had an amazing swing!

That was my week... not done the most exciting things, but hopefully I shall have many stories about my new placement to tell you next time.

A x