24 hours in Rio

In the sun on Copacabana beach

Me on copacabana beach

Drinking a coconut on copacabana beach

Looking down on Rio at dusk from Sugar Loaf

A mad artist and me

The mad artist's steps

Graffiti man and Richie

Tram in the old part of Rio

My new strapline

Christ the Redeemer ... captions please! Even though i was standing at his feet, his face was hidden from me. Perhaps in the cloud of unknowing.

A huge room for the 2 of us in Rio

Ilha Grande

Ilha Grande is a large, natural island off the coast of Rio with no cars at all and it is stunningly beautiful. We arrived late yesterday afternoon and walked up the hill to our Pousada. It's run by a German and his Brazilian wife and is the nicest place we'v stayed to date. Simple but in a beautiful setting next to a river with a pool/waterfall in the grounds.

Today we woke up to a perfect sunny day and took a boat ride to Lopez Medes beach which was excellent. The sand on the beach was powder fine and squeaked underfoot, the sea was warm with great waves to play in, and the weather was just right. It was idyllic.

We ended the day eating in a fish restaurant down by the beach, in a thunderstorm watching the lightening light up the sea.

Kristy in our room on Ilha Grande, waiting to walk down the hill to catch our speedboat!

Crabs eating rice on Ilha Grande

Did I mention the amazing cake stalls on Ilha Grande?

The transport to the boat bar where Kristy and me spent 2 hours having lunch in the rain

The speedboat that took us away from Ilha Grande, towards Rio

Paraty

View from our room in Paraty

Having a beer on the beach at Paraty

Today we made our way to Paraty by plane and minivan. It is very lush here, beautiful scenery and an old Portuguese town with cobbled streets that are difficult to walk on.

Unfortunately we can only imagine the beautiful scenery as our minivan made its way through round the winding roads hugging the hills as we we seemed to spend most of it in the clouds and rain! It´s rained since we got here this afternoon, on and off. We found ourselves a great restaurant with live Brazilian music and spent a few happy hours there, oblivious to the flooded streets outside.

Next day was brighter so we took a bus ride up the coast to a lovely cove and spent much of the day chilling out on the beach and playing in the huge waves in the sea.

Iguazu Falls

I think this was our 6th UNESCO world heritage site of the trip so far. Absolutely stunning and breathtaking.

275 falls over 2.5k, I´ll need to post some photos to even give an idea of how amazing these falls are. We walked around, over and under falls on the Argentinian and Brazilian sides. I also took a helicopter ride over it for an ariel view and a boat ride up to and into the falls - v v wet!

Bonito

Swimming with the fish at the 'municipal' swimming area in Bonito

Our group all ready for snorkelling down the river in Bonito

Toucan at the bird park in Bonito

After the same lengthy journey out to the Pantanal (this time in daylight) we took a minivan to Bonito.

As our guide described, this is something of a holiday resort for richer Brazilians.

The highlight of our time here was a snorkelling trip down one of the most crystal clear rivers in the world teeming with beautiful fish. It was an incredible experience. (More on theat later)

The next day I went with a couple of outher members of our group to the ´municipal´swimming which was a beautiful recreation area alongisde the river with swimming in the river and a lagoon area (with plenty of fish again). I think we were the only non Brazilians there. It was really great!

The Pantanal



Tubing in the floodwater of the Pantanal

View from my hammock in the Pantanal

 



Tubing in the floodwater



My first Pirahna

My room mate Kristy helping to eat the Pirahna we caught (on her birtrhday)

Caiman in the Pantanal


   I´ll expand on this section later (it´s late here and I have to be up at 4am to catch a flight). We had a really wonderful time in the Pantanal.

We went tubing in the tannin coloured floodwaters - it wsa a lovely, peaceful experience. I think someone may have got into trouble for not making us wear life jackets, but it didn~t really bother us at all - we had the tubes!

After that we waded into the water round our island (I was in up to my shoulders) and we fished for Piranha. Unfortunately we didnt catch any there´, but people did a few days earlier.



Then we had a lovely lunch and lazed in the hammocks for a while. Did I say that it was a beauticul, warm sunny day?

In the afternoon  a few of us took a boat trip and had a nother go at catching Piranha. This time we were much more successful. I caught 5 but only managed to get 3 into the boat. A balck one, a beauticul purple one and a golden yellow one. In total we caught 6 (which were later cooked for our teat - and very nice they were too!)



The hammock camp would we have been staying in ... if it were not flooded



We found some dry land and went horseriding for a while, seeing more wildlife.

Had tea, and then an evening boatride. Another boatdide in the morning and then it was time to leave the Pantanal.

Fishing for Pirahna at our camp in the Pantanal

Getting into the Pantanal

Alex, Richard and Gail on the trailer about to be towed by the tractor across the flooded roads in the dark

The flooded road - note the underwater bridge over the river to be negotiated (this pic taken on the way back in daylight!)

The washed away bridge where we had to use a small boat as a ferry

The Pantanal is one of the largest wetlands on the planet (or is it the largest - it´s v big!)

The journey in usually takes about an hour by truck on dirt roads and we were to be staying in a simple campe, with no power and a space with hammocks for us all to sleep in. The problem was that the Pantanal is currently suffering the worst floods for over 40 years and that´s causing all sorts of problems for people who live and work there.

For us it meant that instead of s imple truck ride in taking an hour, we would be travelling by truck, then boat, then truck, then 4wd, then truck, then tractor and boat - taking around 3-4 hours, on flooded roads and swollen rivers - in the pitch dark!!!

The good news was that our simple camp wsa totally underwater and we were upgraded to much better accommodation on what is small patch of dry in the pantanal.

I could write for a long time about the journey. Perhaps the highlight was the dodgy truck with a dodgy driver. We´d just crossed a deep, fast flowing river by boat (as the bridge was completey washed away) and got on the truck. It stalled. So the driver decided to bump start it my taking it down the bank into the river (it was the only slope);. It didn´t work first time, so he did it again then swung the truck round in the water and pointed it up the bank, where it stalled again. Somehow he managed to roll it backwards into the river. I should explain that we were all sitting with our packs on a trailer attached to te back of the truck. This was completely in the flooded river. And remember it was pitch black!!

When the ´raod ´got too bad for 4wd trucks we got on a trailer with a tractor in front. At one piont the driver had to negotiate onto an underwater bridge over the swollen river.

I could go on and on about the journey in but I´ll stop there. It was a great adventrue but not one I´d wish to repeat!

On the plus side was saw a lot of wildlife - including caiman (crocs)

We finally arrived at our island around 11:30pm for a welcome meal and were very happy to get into our bunks!

Crossing the border to Brazil

We got taxis from the train station to arrive nice and early at the border crossing into Brazil. It seemed to take an age at the Bolivian side as we had to Q up and then visit 3 different desks were things were written out by hand. But after an hour or so we were all through into no mans land and on our way to the Brazilian side. That´s where it all went wrong.

´The computer says no´ sprang to mind as we found out that the system was down on the more sophisticated Brazil side of the border. It was only 9am, so we had plenty of time. We waited until 11:30am in the baking heat of what looked and felt like a petrol station, only to be told that the border was now going to close for a 3 hour lunch break!!! Fortunately there was a cafe of sorts in no mans land so we were also able to have lunch, and a decent traditional one too.

It was a very long, boring and hot day ... we finally got through at 4pm.

Next stop, the Pantanal which we would attempt to get into at night - they guides were not sure about whether we should try it and we found out why later!

Santa Cruz

Have been away from internet access for a while, so lots to catch up on here! I´ll try to stick to the highlights.

Santa Cruz was very ´civilized´compared to everywhere else we´d been. Lots of proper shops and nice places to eat, and a real city feel to it. We didn´t have long there and it was v hot, so we didn´t overstretch ourselves. Had a couple of nice meals and just ambled around taking in the culture.

There weas a demonstration going on that added some spice to the afternoon. Lots of people shouting and letting off firecrackers, loudhailers, banners, etc. But all the locals were just taking it in their stride - I think it´s a fairly common occurence in Santa Cruz.

Early evening we made our way to the train station for our (upgraded) overnight train to the Brazil border. Just two very luxurious carriages. Huge comfy reclining seats with leg rests, and dinner served at our seats. Movies (in Spanish!). Got a decent sleep, which I wasn´t expecting!

35 min flight from Sucre to Santa Cruz

This day was a lowlight of the trip! We arrived at Sucre airport at 9:30am for a 35 minute flight to Santa Cruz. The airport is tiny and the runway is short, so planes need good visibility to land. Unfortunately the cloud hung low for most of the day. So we were stuck there for hours and hours waiting for our plane to come in. The only fun was playing cards all day! Finally at around 6pm we were informed that our flight was cancelled. Great!!! We were given the option of free accommodation in Santa Cruz (with the possibility of a repeat the next day) or a flight to La Paz (in the wrong direction) with onward flight to Santa Cruz. We opted for the latter.

We got to La Paz just around 7pm and they would not let us on the connecting flight to S Cruz as it was full. The next plane was delayed, and took off just before 11pm. We finally arrived in a hot, sticky S Cruz just before midnight. All our bags had arrived except for the rucksack of my room mate. After a lot of tears and batting of eyelids etc. at a young, helpful Bolivian guy, he eventually searched the outgoing plane to Miami and found it in the hold. Lots of cheers, clapping and hugs from us all at S Cruz airport.

What a day. Our room was around 30c at 3am. What a change from a few days ago.

Carnival in Tarabuco with the Bolivian President

Bolivian president and his wife

On our full day in Sucre we were lucky enough to coincide with a carnival in a large village nearby that was brilliant: It was very, very traditional and the Bolivian president attended. There were many different groups of musicians, most of them playing pre-Spanish traditional wind instruments. No pan pípes, mainly very long quena type instruments. These group´s had dancers with lethal jangly things on their heels. Think of cowboy spurs and expand them several times to saucer sized circular saws on the back of wooden platfrom soles. We did notice a few cut toes from the odd accident! There were also some groups playing charangos, guitars and accordions. It was a real treat to the eyes, but not the ears - without exception all the music and singing was absolutely dire!! Tuneless and out of tune, especially the female high pitched singing.

The costumes were also colourful and traditional to the area. The president was dressed in the local traditional clothes, as were many of the locals. We were surprised that there was relatively little security for the president. Our guide had only seen him once before, in La Paz, and said that on that occasion there was significant security.

I took a lot of pictures and a fair bit of video. We were so, so lucky to coincide with this local carnival - definitely a real highlight of the trip so far!

Journey to Sucre

This will be a short entry! Woke with the runs ... not sure whether it was the 96% alcohol, the coca leaves, the Burrito last night or any other dodgy Bolivian things I have been consuming but it was ñot good. Slept a lot of the morning.

Fortunately was OK to do the 3.5 hr taxi ride later in the day. Although it was not cold I travelled in thermals, 2 fleeces; hats and gloves with goose pimples! Although I slept a lot of the way i did manage to notice the scenery change as we descended to a lower altitude (2500m) - it became a lot greener and the housing started to look a little more affluent. Oh, that is definitely the wrong word!! I meant that we saw a few more real breaks rather than mud based bricks, and the occasional house with a tin roof. And the people got paler.

(BTW, I am better now)

Potosi mine, Bolivia

In the morning we got kitted out with our wellies, overalls, helmets and lamps ready to visit the mine. Our Bolivian miner talked to us about the mine, its history and how it works today - as a collection of cooperatives. We were taken to the miners market to buy gifts for the miners to take on our trip. While we were there we each toasted mother earth and our group with a drink which was 96% alochol. It burnt from the lips and all all the way down, real fire water! We were also introduced to coca leaves, and tried our best to chew them up (a little, without the stalk) and make a ball in our cheek ready to face the mine. I managed a small ball, but have no idea how the miners themselves create them bigger than golf balls - they must spend at least an hour doing so. Did I say that we also played with dynamite at the market?

The mine was hell on earth. The locals believe that God looks after everything above (there is a Cathedral and lots of churches in Potosi) and the devil looks after everything below. So just after entering the mine we had to visit the devil and toast him and the miners with more 96% alcohol.

The conditions in the mine were horrendous. There was no light anywhere, except for our helmets. They were repairing holes made from all the recent rain and flooding. It was very wet underfoot. Initially it was freezing cold and then it got very hot and airless. The air was thick with dust, which we´re told was noxious. There was little in the way of roof support for the tons of rock above us.

All the miners we met were working manually. They used picks, shovels, hammers and carried their loads in trucks - pulled by rope and pushed from behind. The life expectancy of the miners is not great, both because of the day to day danger and lung disease from the dust. They don´t earn much money either. They start work in the mine as young as 15.

We walked for a while along a tunnel, frequently having to duck under the roof, bits of wood or assorted other things. There were occasional big holes along the way and shafts going up - just big enough to take a man (we realised when we saw someone disappear up one).

After we´d been going for a while our guiding miner declared that the last part of the visit was only for those who were young and stupid, and suggested I wait with some other´oldies´. I thought about this for about 10 secs and decided that I was definitely up for anything and he let me join the young (stupid) ones! I´ve been caving before so I knew what it might be like. We crawled up filthy tunnels, clambered up loose rock and down rickety ladders. We eventually came to a miner working in a very tiny space with a small hammer, just picking up bits of rock, examining them and then tapping them with the hammer. Our guide told us he was a real expert and was looking for bits of silver. Getting back to the main tunnel was a bit worse than going in, as we had to go ´downhill´on loose ground and were told not to hold onto the rocks as they just broke off - as I found out!

We got back to the main tunnel and started making our way out but were blocked by miners doing their work so had to wait. We were very tired by this point, and it was stuffy and dusty. One of the young members of our small group almost passed out and we got a little worried about her. Once the working miners realised we had a problem they let us pass and we made our way out. Glad to see the light and breathe the fresh air.

It was a hell of an experience and not one I´d want to repeat. Those poor miners who have to go down there every day ... what a life they have.

Arrival at Potosi

We´ve just arrived in Potosi after a 5 hour bus ride on bumpy dusty Bolivian roads through the mountains. Potosi is the highest city in the world at over 4000m, and is a Unesco world heritage site. It used to be the richest city in Latin America due to its silver mines. Unfortunately many many millions of people lost there lives over the centuries extracing the silver to make other people rich.

The same goes on today, but with tin. The mine is run as a cooperative and the local miners each have their own stake in the mine. Tomorrow we are going for what we are told is a shocking tour down the mines to see for ourselves the horrendous working conditions.

Salt flats & 3 day 4wd tour

Yesterday we completed our 3 day trip in toyota land cruisers 0 we had an amazing time. I wish I could upload some photos to show you but the Internet connection is v v slow here in Bolivia!

Our first day was on the massive salt flats themselves. As there´s been so much rain here recently the flats are under a few inches of water so we ´paddled´on the salt flats. It´s difficult to describe what it feels like to be on the salt flats - telling you that they are large and flat and white doesn´t really sound that inspiring. If you are interested I suggest you google ´uyuni salt flat´and look at some images. What had a beautiful warm sunny day out there, took some funny photos and ate a traditional bolivian lunch (i think it was llama steaks) in a hotel made entirely of salt - including all the tables and chairs. On the way back i rode on the top of our land cruiser - it was great being able to see the panoramic view.

On the next couple of days we travelled around this part of Bolivia on very, very rough tracks - actually, sometimes we were hardly following tracks at all. We went through water, up steep inclines and over rocks - it reminded me being with brother Rob when he was off roading!

The whole area was desloate, apart from the occasionally village of a few mud houses in the middle of nowhere and a few llamas. The scenery was quite spectacular though. We were taken to a wide variety of lakes - red, aquamarine, black, white and others, some with flamingos and Indian geese. We saw plenty of llamas and all the time we were in view of snow capped mountains. We were also taken to some really weird rock formations and bubblig geysers.

My favourite part of this tour was when we were bathing in a lovely hot mineral pool, overlooking a beautiful lake, with snow capped mountains behind and llamas grazing alongside. It was idyllic - until we had to get out, because the outdoor temperature was v cold!

The highest point we reached was 5400m -  that is v v high, but fortunately I haven´t really suffered too much with altitude sickness. Just the occasional mild headache and feeling the lack of oxygen when walking uphill (i was never good at going uphill even at sea level!)

On the trip we stayed in very simple hostels, with shared rooms and no showers. So we were all glad to get back to Uyuni and a warm bed and hot showers.

This was a spectacular and very memorable part of the trip.

New fellow travellers

In Oruro our last two travellers joined us - a dutch couple in their 40s taking a break from life. They have been travelling for about a year now! They are both ´body psychotherapists´: apparently the answer to the meaning of life is to move, breath and sing! They are a great couple and we are glad to share are journey with them.

Hairy moment in La Paz

I´ve just had a very hairy moment in La Paz. having spent some time wandering round the streets I thought I go for a stroll to the ´green´area on my map. I must admit to feeling a little aprehensive as I got further away from people but was joined by a Venezualan tourist with a map, also on her way to the park. Then we were apprehended by the ´tourist police´with offical badge and everything that wanted to see our passports. I refused to hand mine over to begin with but my Venezualan ´friend´ insisted that I must cooperate as the tourist police can be very strict etc. Anyway, to cut a long and hairy story short (as my bus is about to go) I stupidly got in the car with the policeman and the other ´´tourist´and he started to go through all our stuff, sniffing for cocaine and looking for forged banknotes. At the point where he had my Barclays and FairFX cards in his hand, and my passport and purse, I was extremely concerned. (Did I tell you that we were driven to an out of the way road below the park??) Then she started writing down her PIN for him!!! At that point i wrestled the cards out of his hand, grabbed all my things (which I had been watching like a hawk) and got out of the car. They tried to stop me, and tried locking the door etc. but I managed to get away and walked as fast as I could up the hill (difficult in the La Paz altitude) all the way back to my hotel, not looking back!!
It was a very hairy moment indeed ... I won´t be doing that again!!!

Tiwanaku

Some of the younger/fitter members of our group opted to mountain bike down the ´road of death´ yesterday, but I opted to go instead to the Tiwanaku ruins with the older Australian couple. The journey itself was fascinating, being able to look down on high into the ´bowl´of La Paz, and go up onto the Altiplano seeing how Bolivians are still living a very traditional life in very harsh conditions. I am still amazed at how many of the women wear the traditional multi-layered skirts, carry various loads in colourful blankets on their backs and have these ridiculous looking bowler hats perched on the top of their heads!
Tiwanaku was interesting. The name means ´children of the sun´ as they were sun worshippers (not the beach variety!). They were a pre-Inca civilization who dominated the area from around 600BC to 1200 AD (I think), much longer than the Inca or Spanish. We visited a couple of museums and then spent some time wandering around the ruins, taking pictures of the Sun Gate and various other impressive looking things. The site used to be in the middle of lake Titicaca, before it got smaller. I did get to see lake Titicaca, in the distance! We went for a traditional Bolivian meal in Tiwanaku, which we all enjoyed.

Later in the day I did a little more shopping (a couple more quenas, and a warm poncho for the next part of our trip) and then a few of us went out for a pizza in the evening.

Fellow travellers

I´ve now met and spent some time with my fellow travellers. All of them have been travelling for weeks already in South America, I´m the only one just starting. There is one other person from the UK, he´s mid 30´s from Oxford and works for The Times as a digital journalist. There´s a couple in their early 60s from Australia - doing some travelling while they are still fit and able! There is an Australian zookeeper/vetinary doctor in her mid 30s, I´ll be sharing a room with her. Then there is a couple, also in their 30s - he is Australian and has just given up his job, sold his house/car etc. to travel and she is a South African living in Australia who runs her own interior design business. There are another couple of people we will be meeting at a train station later today.
An interesting bunch of people! We also have a local guide and her brother who will be with us for the whole trip, and she´s already been really good to us - managing to exchange an uncomfortable 23 hour train journey on the ´train of death´ for flights at no extra cost. Thank you Patricia!

La Paz

Finally arrived in La Paz late yesterday, quite exhausted. I was so tired that I slept through the safety briefing and take off on the flights to Santa Cruz and then to La Paz. It´s good to be here at last though.
I was expecting La Paz to be freezing cold, but we´ve had a lovely wam sunny day today. It´s high altitude here, and that´s OK as long as you don´t try to walk uphill, which is impossible in La Paz because most of the streets are steep here. I don´t seem to be suffering with altitdue sickness!
First impressions of La Paz are that it´s a noisy, smelly (traffic fumes), colourful and friendly place. I´ve spent most of the day just ambling around the city streets soaking up the feel of La Paz. I haven´t seen that many tourists here, it´s mainly Bolivians with a fair number of women wearing the colourful traditional blankets with a bowler hat perched on their heads.
There are ´market stalls´ everywhere, all very colourful and selling everything imaginable and uninagnable. I´ve seen those selling dried llama foetuses - used to bury under new buildings, for luck!
I popped into the Cathedral which was very impressive, there was a service taking place and a lengthy sermon in Spanish - unfortunately I couldn´t understand any of it.
Next stop was the musical instrument musem, showng musical instruments usd in Bolivia from 000´s BC almost to date. After that I headed for their recommended musical nstrument shop to pick up a professional quality quena, set of samponyas (panpipes) and charango strings for Alan. I may well visit them again before leaving La Paz, the shop is a stones throw from our hotel - if only I had more space in my rucksack!
The hotel we are in is grim but functional, as expected. At least we have hot showers in this one!
I´ve already met our Intrepid guide, she seems very nice and will be with us for the 26 day trip. I´m told that there are going to be 9 other people on the trip. Various nationalites, and many doing the trip as part of a longer time spent travelling in South America. We´re all meeting each other this evening for a briefing and dinner.

Sao Paulo airport

Had a good flight to Brazil. Watched The King`s Speech - brilliant, although it would have been better on a bigger screen without all the plane engine noise! Also watched the latest Harry Potter film - maybe I was just getting tired by then, but it seemed a little tiresome.
Arrived early in Sao Paulo, and found that my next flight is running an hour later than expected ... so I have an 11 hour wait here! It also means that I will only have 25mins from landing to take off in Santa Cruz, which I´m not optimistic about. Have communicated with my travel agent though and I have the option to take an even later flight to La Paz if necessary. So my 33 hour travel day could get even longer.
There´s not much to see of Sao Paulo from the airport ... but it´s very green out there, hot and humid.
I´m tired, but chilled out, and enjoying doing not a lot.

Journey through Lent

(Photo by Luca Galuzzi at Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia. http://www.galuzzi.it/)

 

It was only after I’d booked this trip that I realised I’ll be flying out on Ash Wednesday, and will be away for the first 35 of the 40 days of Lent. That time when we are encouraged to take time out to reflect and prepare. In a way that is relevant to each one of us, we are encouraged to follow Jesus as he withdrew from everyday life and spent his 40 days in the wilderness preparing for Easter.

And so I am going to leave everyday life behind … my family and friends, my work, my home, my music … and setting off with as little as I can in a backpack to places where I will be physically challenged. Places where there is sometimes no hot water, no warm bed (not even a bed at times), no electricity, where it’s at or below freezing and where it’s hot and humid. Places where I’ll be emotionally challenged too … by the people and places we are visiting (I’ve read about the situation in the Potosi mines), and by fear - like being in the water with anacondas/alligators/piranhas, etc. But I also hope to experience much joy and rejuvenation from the adventure, the people and the wonderful places we are visiting (including some of the best tropical beaches on the planet).

Going back to reflect on Lent. When Jesus went out into the wilderness, it was after he’d been ‘active’ for 3 years. It’s been 3.5 years since I took on Christian Research. It’s been a challenging time with plenty of ups and downs, but at this particular point I am feeling more confident and comfortable than I ever have about the future of Christian Research. It feels like we’ve spent the last few years ‘getting ready’ and are now about to start work properly on realising our vision: to see a day when research is helping to shape the visions, strategies and activities of all those in our sphere of influence.

Jesus was in the wilderness reflecting and preparing for something spectacularly major. Whilst no-one else can claim to be about to change the world like he did, I am also preparing for major change on a number of fronts and was seeing this trip of mine as a time of reflection, preparation and regeneration to get ready for the year I have ahead. 

On the work front, we’ll be taking on two new full time members of staff (tripling the one we have at the moment!), so that is going to result in major change for me and for Christian Research. My role is inevitably going to change, I’m hoping to spend more time Directing than I do at present, and the scope of Christian Research will change with our new capabilities.

On the domestic front, although we celebrated 25 years of marriage a few days ago we also agreed (jointly) that our marriage is now at and end, even though we want to remain friends. So there’s a lot of reflection and preparation for all the changes that relate to us both starting a new life. 

There are other changes too (like our son graduating and coming back to live with us for a while) but these are minor compared with the two I’ve just described. 

As I’ve said, I didn’t plan any of this to coincide with Lent/Easter it’s just coincidental timing. But the fact that it all starts on Ash Wednesday has certainly made me think differently about the trip already.

It starts with one very long day

I've just worked out that on the first day of travel (from Kettering to Heathrow, to Sao Paulo, to Santa Cruz, to La Paz) I'll be in transit for about 33 hours. That may sound a bit daunting, but I'm really looking forward to doing nothing much at all for that length of time - catching up on some sleep and amusing myself with light entertainment and reading.

Forecast temperature on leaving the UK - about 6 degrees, in Sao Paulo where I'm stuck for 10 hours between flights - about 28 degrees, on arrival in La Paz - 4 degrees with forecast of snow on the way.Think I'll need to be wearing layers!

La Paz mudslides

I am a little concerned about the state of the roads in La Paz (and the people, of course) following the mudslides at the weekend. There is a state of emergency in Bolivia at the moment due to the problems being caused by all the rain ... and the department of health issued a state of emergency because of a large increase in the number of people with Dengue fever ... and the foreign office warns of continual risks due to public protests and strikes, and the risk from express kidnapping. [I do hope my mum isn't reading this!] Sounds like I'm going to have an interesting time. 

Wonder who the other 6 people are who have booked onto this trip?