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For a return travel time of 8hrs+, I really was expecting the highest lake in the world to be a bit more, well, interesting. Our stop in copacabana is supposed to be the best bit. I was expecting Italian lake like beauty but on a massive scale and it just wasn’t that. It reminded me of the rubbishy bit of the Adriatic coast in Croatia. Maybe I’m just incredibly spoilt.

My highlight was crossing a thin part of the lake to avoid crossing the border into Peru. They load vehicles on to what looks like home made barges with a tiny outboard motor strapped to it. It looks a bit precarious at best!

Now I’m not an especially super stitious person, but I didn’t really fancy running the risk of being cursed by one of La Paz’s 8 witch doctors. A photo which they didn’t like could cause this. This is no place for La Paz’s crazy people. The witch doctors (chosen only by being struck by lightning and surviving) will come up with potions for anybody to help with any life situations. Creating love, easing pain etc etc. It seemed to be a genuine place which locals go to. Proper Harry Potter stuff. There were loads of llama foetuses as well, deceased only from natural causes which were hung up all around the stalls. Can’t remember what they meant but I’m sure they have their reasons 😒

I don’t have many photos of La Paz in general, it’s not a photogenic city. It’s dirty, weird, the locals are far from welcoming and we are constantly being ripped off. At least it’s interesting. Not a place for a chilled holiday at all. More like a trip back to the Middle Ages.

They strike for everything, the guide said the city went on strike when a popular chicken shop closed down, then again when they stopped showing the Simpsons on TV. You’ll be glad to know that not only is the Simpsons now back on 3 times a day but there is also a dedicated Simpsons episode about it. The French will have to try hard to out strike that…

I think I solved the mystery of Bolivia’s consistently useless internet connection

Apart from it wasn’t really out of cars. Maybe wheelbarrows or Llamas if the seller is rich. The Sunday market at the top of La Paz is not aimed at tourists. It’s a genuine local market which stretches as far as the eye can see. They sold literally everything. Phones, furniture, flooring, used odd socks, unlableled car parts, odd shoes, broken VHS tapes, used mops,  weird street food – even kitchen sinks. The weird thing is, people were buying this utter tut.

I couldn’t help but think as we weaved our way through, ducking under the many low canopies, furiously holding on to our pockets in fear of pick pocket threat that the combined value of my wallet and phone was probably what a local might earn in a lifetime.

The homes around here were no bigger or more sturdy than an allotment shed. The only access to the city was via steps or cablecar. Far too steep for roads. Crazy place.

I would have liked to have got some more photos but Cholitas will come rushing up for money or worse if they catch you. All photos of people and stalls are on the sly.

Maybe a coat you bought and never wore, a pair of shoes that didn’t fit, a lemon car? I now know mine.

Cholita wrestling. Apparently it’s very popular with the locals and a newly recognised sport by WWE. I’m not really convinced.

Edit: I should also explain this is also staged wrestling (they’re acting)

For those who don’t know, this is a cholita. There’s loads around Bolivia

This hostel organises weekly trips for £10 and we figured it was worth an evening.

It wasn’t. That’s 3hrs and £10 I’ll never get back. I could have got some good scotch for that.

Giant white guy plodding on down a high street which isn’t touristy seems somewhat amusing to people. Average male height is probably about 5’6″.

Colombia it meant people rushing up and shaking my hand and attempting English. Chileans were clearly amused and overly helpful. Bolivia I’m just getting stared at. Even right now I’m sitting in a coffee shop waiting for Shahd to shake her hangover and the bar staff aren’t even hiding the fact they’re talking about me. It’s pretty odd.

It’ll be strange being back in London when even eye contact is rare.

The worlds most dangerous road. 56kms,  600m drops and 300 deaths a year. Probably not a road you should consider using if you’re accident prone. The Bolivians have finally recognised this and built another (safer) road – you’d have to be plain stupid to use the old one.

Here I am cycling down it:

There is a scene in top gear where clarkson passes a car under a waterfall – I’m pretty sure it was here:

Right near the end was this little orange juice stand run by a girl who can’t have been more than about 12. I fancied one, paid my 4 bolivianos and then immediately regretted it as she proceeded to climb a tree to get an orange right next to the big drop. I really wasn’t bothered enough for someone to climb a tree but it was at least a good orange juice!

Strange fact about death road: They all start driving on the left because heavily loaded trucks coming from la Paz needed to be kept away from the edge to minimise accidents. Fool proof plan.

Infrequent blog posts due to shocking internet connections.

Perhaps put the cash machines higher up?

Now that is quite a sight. They’re even playing loud music in the background. Nice one.

My god they need to stop trying to make their own wine though. For goodness sake Bolivia, just import Chile’s. Shahd and I couldn’t even finish a glass each. It was that bad.

Also, while I’m moaning Bolivia, pleaseeee invest in decent internet connections. People of the 21st century can’t download their offline google maps and are having to use paper maps. Yuk.

Potosi, not a place I would recommend. There was nothing there apart from some unhelpful locals who all refused to book us a cab (even the damn hostel owner!), a load of altitude and a dangerous sounding active mine which you can go down and try not to break your ankle.

Sucre on the other hand:

Wow, what an unexpected change this is. If you squint it could be a super super cheap, insect free Spanish town. Unfortunately you can’t squint because you might fall down a hole…

And I’m not convinced the brakes work on some of these rolling scrap heaps:

That’s what my parents always say. Well we just paid £3 for the 4.5hr bus from Uyuni to Potosi. Bolivia is cheap, but still, bargain right? Wrong.
Now let’s run through all the things that could go amiss on this long, pitch black mountain road. We could have an accident, well that’s clearly awful. I could be horrendously car sick- not the best. Could get lost? Again not great. Or the bus could break down? Bingo. That’s exactly what happened.

The joke is, I seemed to have the only half decent torch on the bus and tried to help by shining it through the engine hatch while this chap furiously hit the fuel pump with a broom stick handle. Yup that’s right- Bolivian engineering, the best a man can get.

I said pumping fuel pump in video. He wasn’t at all, he was simply bashing it while we drove along to keep the bus going. The moment he stopped, the engine stopped. We continued to drive like this for a mile or two until finally it seemed to work by itself.