Bolivian Marching Munky

Phew...another busy week marching around Bolivia seeing and doing all manner of wonderful things!
Before leaving Sucre I went quad biking up in the mountains which was lots of fun although a bit hairy at times as we were allowed on public roads and there were points on the mountain tracks that were a bit eeek, I have to say the adrenaline munky in me enjoyed it a lot though!

After leaving Sucre I travelled to Potosi, which was just a short bus trip away. After lunch ( I had Lllama which felt a bit naughty!) we visited some Silver Mines and went underground to see the miners at work, looks like a very tough life, lucky I am too small to become a miner. We had bought some dynamite for the miners as a gift (crazy country this is!) but kept a bit back which the guide exploded for us, honestly didn't think it would make such a loud bang, my ears were ringing for hours!

The next day I headed to Uyuni and stayed there overnight before travelling out to the salt flats, what an amzing experience that was! Just miles and miles of white...plus the piercing blue skies, amazing. There is an island in the middle, with lots of cacti, which was weird but added further contrast. Had some fun with the camera in the middle of all the salt as you can make things look really big and small depending on how you place them, very clever it is!

That night I stayed in a hostel made completely of salt, even the tables, chairs and beds! Strangely cosy! The nexyt day we went across the desert and saw flamingoes, llamas, picunas plus volcanoes, geysers and i even had a dip in a thermal pool which was lovely as it was very windy and cold in the desert. Stayed at another hostel that night, not so cosy especially when it got down to -5c in the night, bbbbrrrrrrr!

Not much to report the next day, more driving through the desert, back to Uyuni to get a night bus back to La Paz which is where I am now - I shall stay away from the Witches Market this time though!


Next stop Peru!

Busy South American Munky!

Well what a busy few days since my last post, have been zapping around all over South America and still have lots more to see and do here! To bring things up to date, I left Iguassu and took a night bus down through Argentina to Buenos Aires. The less said about the bus trip the better but was worth it as I loved BA, what a great city! My favourite bit was the area around the Camanito in La Boca, busy, bustly and colourful. I had dinner there, a whole barbecue selection at my table - pics below. Wish I could have stayed longer as two days was not enough, but I can always go back!

After Buenos Aires I flew to La Paz in Bolivia - this is the highest de facto capital city in the world and it is 3660ft above sea level - at the airport however it is 4060ft so I was a very queasy munky when i got off of the plane! The first hotel was a bit like the one in the Shining which was a bit spooky and I was glad to get to the 2nd hotel the following day to meet the group! Before that I had a wander around La Paz, it is a crazy city set in a valley so there are lots of hills in the town which arent so fun at that altitude! I went to the witches market where I learnt that Llama foetuses are often given in sacrifice to "Mother Earth" and I saw some hanging up outside a shop (pic below) which scared me so I scuttled back to the hotel before they decided to sacrifice me!

The next day I flew to Sucre (pictured at airport) and this city is smaller and much prettier than La Paz. I went out with the group last night and had a few beers which was good fun, there is a Paddington Bear in the group too so I have made friends with him (he is from Peru apparently)

Then today I went to see some dinosaur footprints, they were very good but it was quite a tricky climb to get there - see pics.

Off to do some quad biking tomorrow, the fun literally just does not stop for Milo the Munky!

Milo goes mad for waterfalls

Now, I know it looks like I am superimposed, but no! I really was there and it really was that beautiful, what an amazing experience so early in my munky trip. I had such a great time at the waterfalls, you can get right up close on the Argentinian side, basically the falls stretch nearly 3km across the borders of Argentina and Brazil, about 90% of the falls are in Argentina but the view from Brazil is better as you can see the whole thing. Unfortunately with this crazy south american weather, it was about 35c when we were in Argentina and then the next day there were thunderstorms so we couldn't see very well from the Brazillian park, it was still an amazing view but was a shame that it wasn't as clear as the day before -

still pretty cool though :)

Milo sees other munkys!

Today was great, I went to Sugar Loaf Mountain on the cable car and right at the top there were lots of other munkys, they were running about whilst i sat in a bar and drank out of a coconut. I then went to see the Christ Redeemer statue which was also amazing but it was very cloudy so couldn't really see much of what should have been a fabulous view of \Rio, managed to get a couple of snaps of the statue though before getting totally drenched! The rain was running down the mountain, never seen anything like it! Total contrast to yesterday's blazing sunshine, took a stroll down Copacabana beach, which was lovely...hopefully tomorrow will be sunny too :)

Smallest hotel room ever...

Just checked into the Yotel at Heathrow, very cool but the room is soooo tiny even for a small munky like me! Very busy day, trundling around London and saying goodbye to loved ones :( Totally ready for a holiday now so next update will be from Copacabana Beach- yay!

Milo's first blog

Hello :) My First post so am not too sure what I'm doing, also feeling a bit nervous as I have lots to do before heading off on my travels - better go and pack now but will update from Brazil - eeek!!