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From Puno I crossed the border into Bolivia and onward to the madhouse that is La Paz. As luck would have it Kev, Claire and Fabien were in town so I dropped my bags off and hooked up with the gruseome threesome for a night on the spaz in downtown La Paz.
This time we hooked up with some local guys who were determined to show us the 'real La Paz' . This involved a nightclub and some bizarre Morris style dancing, complete with hankerchief waving, stumbling and general merrymaking. The following day we had arranged to meet them again for the first day of the new football season and a trip to the stadium to watch their beloved team, who are known simply as 'The Strongest'. However, hungover and unwilling to participate with 20,000 screaming Bolivians we politely called and cancelled.
A couple of errands run and we packed ourselves off on the bus to Sucre. We were joined by Kev and Hannah, an English couple who the other guys had met in Peru. Sucre is Bolivia's judicial capital, but despite some fine colonial architecture and some finer views over the city there wasn't that much a happening. Though Fabien did by some nice new tyre sandals from the local prison.
Next stop on the way south would be Potosi, famed as the resource of much of Spains' colonial era wealth due to the huge silver mine inside the hill that dominates the town. Apparently conditions inside have hardly changed since those times, and the entire hill is in imminent danger of collapse. Along with the poisonous gases and miners high on pure alcohol and coca leaves, I decided to give the tour a miss.
Once again it was time to say goodbye the the gang. The others were headed for Uyuni and the slat flats, but as I had already visited these on my way up the continent I would continue south. I eventually arrived in Tupiza, a charming little town in amongst some of the most stunning ravine / canyon terrain on the whole continent.
As luck would have it, once again I managed to turn up in a town whilst their annual celebrations are on. This time some small parades and a local rockband playing 80's cover versions to the assembled throng of approx 200 people, which probably constituted half the towns' population.
Tupiza's main claim to fame, aside from the stunning scenery, is that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid met their demise near here. To this end the town has a wild west feel, a feature that has not been lost on the locals who operate gimmicky saloons and restaurants. I decided to explore the surrounding area via a combination of horseback and bicycle with a Russian chick I met who could sadly ride neither, an entertaining day for sure! The next day was spent chilling before heading off on a battered old bus for the Argentine border...
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