Yet again the last few days have passed and have been filled with exciting activities!

The last time I updated was in Sucre, Bolivia. Now I am in a whole different country! But what has happened since then.

26th Jan: Went on the cemetery tour in Sucre, very interesting, our tour guide was a young boy around 13 with only one arm and he was so knowledgable! He talked about the tombs and graves and the people buried in them, rich people, previous presidents of bolivia, major people in history etc. Next went to see the Casa de la Libertad museum and went for lunch. Had a look around Bolivar park and some local markets. Had an argument with the laundry place because they lost some of my things, they didnt speak any english so the argument was in Spanish! (got everything back in the end). Went to a cake place fort afternoon tea and had a yummy peice of cake. After dinner I went to bed early.

27th Jan: Woke up to Sarah and Lola's voices (girls from previous part of the tour group). Had enough time to pig out at breakfast before flight to Santa Cruz. We landed into the heat and humidity. SO not used to this. Lunch and shopping before dinner with Pryia at a mexican restaurant.

28th Jan: Went to AQUALAND today. Big outdoor water park with wave pool, lazy river, huge slides and hydroslides. Had a great time. Had some food when we got back and bought 2 pairs of shoes from a department store for real cheap. Back to hotel to pack and get ready for the night train: DEATH TRAIN! Incredibly rattly train for about 14 hours (I'm used to long journeys now).

29th Jan: Got off train and into Private bus to make our way to the Pantanal. We also had to cross the border in to Brazil. Easier border crossing than into Bolivia and all went quickly. Drove to Pantanal. Saw first Caimans (small crocodiles) and lots of birds. Ate fresh watermelon on the side of the road. Stopped for lunch and fishing on the river (some people swam). Like bath water. Arrived at ranch where we were staying late and had our first snake incident on the way back from dinner. Our multishare hammocked room (Yup we slept in hammocks!) had a giant 2 meter long snake in the corner. Thankfully staff got it out quickly with only a few screams by us.

30th Jan: Day safari. Saw Caiman, monkeys, snakes, eagles, storks, other birds and anaconda tracks. Unfortunately didnt see an anaconda. We had lunch and sat in the shade for the heat of the day, then went horseriding. We went through the water up to our knees on the horses and got eaten by mossies. Dinner then night safari where we saw so many more caimans!

31 Jan: Left Pantanal this morning. Had lunch in an all you can eat place. Was pretty cheap, NZ$14. Bus ride to Bonito. Arrived in and spent the afternoon relaxing. Off to a pizza place for dinner.

I hope all is well at home and that you are getting more of a summer now. Not long untill I am home. Enjoying last bit of trip. Miss you all. Amanda xoxo