Highly relieved that we had made it to Sucre on schedule for Christmas, we were even happier to discover that our hostel lived up to expectations. We were greeted warmly by the owner who proceeded to give us the best introduction to a place that we've ever had, consisting of an explanation of a well-annotated map with lots of tips about what would be open over Christmas and a guided tour of the place. The hostel had a living room with loads of DVDs which we made ...

Landing back in La Paz from the Jungle was a bit of a shock. (Climbing from 200 metres to over 4,000 metres in 40 minutes.) But luckily we weren't staying long as we were on our way to the small mountain town of Coroico. So after stocking up on cash we caught a taxi across town and then jumped on a 3 hour bus to take us up over the mountains and down the other side to Coroico (at 1,700 metres). The clouds covered most of the views but we still got to see some imp...

After months of skirting the Amazon, we finally made the trip in Bolivia, where it's pretty cheap to visit. However we splashed out on a flight to and from Rurrenabaque ("Rurre") not wanting to take any risks on the notorious road there from Lima (parents be glad!): the prospect of sitting on a bus anywhere from 12-40 hours was not one we relished, particularly as we were visiting in rainy season. Even with the flight we were warned that cancellations and d...

We decided that we didn't need to pay for a tourist bus for the 4 hour journey to La Paz but had doubts when thousands of small fish were loaded onto our bus in open metal containers right next to our bags. I (Simon) started to make a fuss but as we had paid for the bus and were just about to leave we decided to cross our fingers. Luckily our bags were absolutely fine at the other end which was a miracle considering the heat on the bus and the bumpy journey. At...

After a nice bit of rest and recuperation in our lovely suite, we ventured out into the big wide world again and caught a boat to nearby Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun). We spent two hours travelling to the northern town on the island in a fume-filled boat so arrived not feeling our best. The island wasn't very far away but they go really slowly to save fuel. It was a beautiful sunny day though and we set off on our walk to the south of the island. Unfortunat...