Bolivian Heights

Hello kiddo's

After a breathtaking visit to Machu Picchu, Peru, it was time to set sail for the next country. The continents highest and poorest: Bolivia! First stop: an overnight stay on Isla del Sol on Lago Titicaca. We soon realized that from now on our trip would be crazy cold!








The next day we took a bus to La Paz. Bolivia's capital, and - as everything in Bolivia - the highest in the world. We soon discovered that in La Paz everything is possible.



Via via, we obtained the phonenumber of one Daniel, an Afrikaner who was locked up in San Pedro prison for drug-trafficking. We managed to make an appointment (with surprising ease) and for some 250 Bolivianos worth of bribes we got a tour INSIDE the prison, some free whiskey and a whole lot of obscure stories. Basically, 7 inmates (known as "the 7 sins") run the show. They have cellphones etc., and are improving the quality of life in La Paz prison by organising these tours. Of course only possible by bribing the hell out of every official involved.



Off to Potosí! The worlds highest city (4060m). Quickly after the Spaniards took over in the 1500's, Potosí became the worlds richest city because of its silver mines. The wealth long gone, the mines now rely on tin and lead and tours for tourists! This was an utmost claustrophobic and life-changing experience. Not to mention the 14-year-old boys that we saw working in the mines... Man, we have a good life, rest asure.

Potosí is also the only place in the world where one can freely buy dynamite. Yes. DYNAMITE! Needless to say how yours truly felt about that! :-)

After that we ate Llama steak.

So far, we've traveled for three months. Time for some staggering statistics:

RARITIES ENCOUNTERED
quetzal bird
shooting star
FBI in action
woman with beard
lavastreams
fireworks exploding in a car
woodpecker committing suicide
nurse shark
seaturtle
kolibri
tamed owl
a David Bowie but not THE David Bowie
Lasgo in a Cusco discotheque
walking in and out of prison
buying dynamite off the streets

TRANSPORTATION
motorcycle rides: 1 hour
metro rides: 3 hours
bicycle rides: 4 hours
horseback rides: 8 hours
train rides: 14 hours
flights: 16 hours
boat trips: 21 hours
taxi rides: 29 hours
busrides: 329 hours
walking: didn't count

FINANCIAL ISSUES
money spent: $4300 each
items lost: Nick: sunglasses, 50 euro shirt, 3 towels; Sebastian: sweater, sunscreen, cellphone, flip flops, towel, sunglasses, booklet English-Spanish, watch
lucky shots: car rental company forgot to charge $300, Nick won $5 on a Vegas bus for knowin' the capital of Tasmania, Sebastian intercepted fraude at the Guatemala-Belize border: $3, a 3 to 1 bolivares to $ exchange rate on the black market
unfortunate spendings: payed $20 each to see leatherback turtles and didn't see any, Sebastian mistook the flight hour, we missed the flight and had to pay $20 each to transfer it, both exchanged fake money at the Ecuador-Peru boarder.