Bolivia

High altitude and low temperatures combined to give us both colds at the start of November, on the Lemsips, just like being back home. The heavily polluted capital of La Paz didn´t help. In fact all of Bolivia had such terrible air pollution from the traffic. Old Japanese buses chuggin out thick black smoke straight into the lungs of the gasping tourists trying to breath in the thin air. From La Paz we took an overnight bus to Sucre, a pretty colonial city, surprisingly wealthy compared to the rest of the country. A bit dull though to be honest with most cafes and restaurants closed whenever we fancied somthing to eat - a continuing theme throughout the country. Bolivia was unlike any other country so far in that the shopkeepers really didn´t mind if you bought something or not, a bit strange but refreshing after the pestering we´ve been getting. A highlight of Sucre was a visit to an orphanage run by nuns. We took along some crayons and books and played with the toddlers, Julie even got roped into the nappy changing. A visit to see some Dinosaur footprints was fun too, lots of lifesize replicas. Getting a bit sick of the buses (of which Bolivia had the worst so far) we decided after some advice from Julie´s ex-work colleague in Oxford transport, to take the train!