Karl and Kara in South America

Kara says: We've made it to Chile and have bedded down for a few days on the coast so i can reflect on the beauty of southwest Bolivia from the safety of a bed, the Champions League final (Man U currently 1-0 down and Karl yelling at the TV), beer and Pringles as flashbacks of the intense cold gradually lessen. We did a 4-wheel drive tour across the southwest part of Bolivia to the Chilean border. There's not alot there. One day we drove through salt flats all day, the next day and a half through desert. The oddest thing was to see the occasional local bus passing by because people (CRAZY PEOPLE) actually live out there in the middle of nowhere. Photo of Karl fulfilling his dream to be a steam engine driver at a "train cemetary" near Uyuni (freeeeezing town in the middle of nowhere). When steam trains were replaced (in the 70s!) they couldn't agree on what to do with the old ones (or who owned the rights to the scrap metal) so they built some tracks into the deser...

Potosi. Quite the surprise - great town. Another colonial town, highest city in the world at 4000m (puff, pant, puff), and very pretty, churches, plazas, nice atmosphere, places for lunch (take that Cochabamba and Sucre) and genuinely lovely cosy pubs and restaurants. Photos of the town nestled below the mountains, the cathedral and a street (with me leaning against a streetlamp). The reason it exists is the mine that we went to visit. It has been mined since 1540something, the Spaniards getting their hands on all the silver. The state stopped running the mine and now the local miners work it themselves, these days there's not alot of silver left and they extract a mixture of silver, zinc and lead. So we dressed up as miners and went up to the hill - see photo of me with the hill in the background, apparently it used to be 1000m higher but over the 500 years of mining the constant excavations/cave-ins have reduced the height (I have yet to confirm this fact on google). First we wen...

Sucre. Still technically the capital, sort of, not really but at least it has the courts. Another old colonial city, pretty architecture, lively pubs and restaurants at night and nothing to do during the day (I think we were doing it wrong, should have been so hungover during the day that we couldn't make it out 'til the next night). There was a parade with brass band (playing a much livelier versions of the tune that Simon & Garfunkel made into "I'd rather be a hammer than a nail...") and parade, maybe as part of the upcoming bicentenary celebrations (of independence from Spain) or just because the Miss Bolivia competition was in town. Causing quite a frisson of excitment - even Karl took a photo of a bunch of the gals on the town.

Kara says: Cochabamba. An ordinary city in the east of Bolivia. A genuinely ordinary city - there are well-off people here with new cars, 4-wheel drives, normal houses (albeit surrounded by barbed wire), Burger King and cinemas! It has a university and therefore a lively selection of restaurants and bars. And interesting goings on in the plaza - see photo of guy recruiting poets. Unfortunately nothing opens during the day so a couple of innocent tourists can find themselves forced to avail of said Burger King because there is nowhere to have lunch. Colonial churches and plazas (but nowhere to sit and have a coffee/beer and peoplewatch around the plaza). And a large statue of Jesus overlooking the town - see photo of practice for Rio. Most self-respecting towns here have a statue of Jesus on a hill overlooking the town. I don't know it they're just following Rio's lead or if it's just something that every town has always had and Rio's is just a bit bigger and more im...

Kara says: La Paz. Breathtaking. But only 'cause it's the World's highest capital city at 3600m. Had some fun on the way crossing the lake. Turns out you don't need a bridge to get some buses across a body of water, you just load 'em on some.....planks of wood powered by a single outboard motor (proving all aussie tinnies are overpowered) and off you go! thankfully they shipped the passengers across in the little boats. See photos. Also a photo of me having my final relaxation in a hammock overlooking copacobana before heading to the big smoke again. La Paz. Impressive setting (that i couldn't get on photo) in a canyon/valley/bowl with the city thrown into the middle and trying to crawl out of the sides and a snowy mountain in the background. The town is one big, crazy market. The only sound louder than the traffic (an impressive feat) is the bus conductors yelling their destinations. You can actually buy anything (I don't say that lightly) at the markets sp...

Kara says: At the Copa, Copacabana. The coldest spot south of Havana. Bolivia, a whole new country. So far just feels like Andean Peru but with heaters. Wonderful spot here, having a few days of R&R at this resort. Covering all tourism bases it's on the shores of Lake Titicaca, had an apparition (how do you spell that?) in the late 19th century of Our Lady of Copacabana and so has a cathedral that's a centre for pilgrimage and has a hill with the stations of the cross for extra pilgimage points. It's like having Knock by a lake with Croagh Patrick next door. Very pretty bay, you can hire kayaks and paddle boats, and such an interesting town. On weekends people bring their new cars to be blessed - see photos - they decorate them with flowers (apparently it is not possible to overdo this - see photo), the priest comes out with some incense and a blessing (see photo), champagne seems essential but haven't worked out yet what they do with it, and then they drink beer. A...