Jim somehow managed to convince me to sign up for climbing Huayna Potosí a 6088 meter mountain near La Paz. This is crazy high especially for us with little to no experience of climbing at altitude. Day 1 was training on a glacier, we climbed up and down snowy slippery slopes wearing crampons and climbed steep faces using ice axes. That night we played cards and got to know our fellow mountaineers.

Our overnight bus is cancelled an hour after scheduled departure. After a frantic search with an Brazilian tourist (Tiago) we jumped onto an expensive cockroach infested bus. We woke from an uncomfortable sleep to discover landslides had shut our road. Trucks and buses stood in an endless line weaving through the mountains. After hours of waiting I copied others and popped outside. The driver chose this moment to swerve onto the wrong side of the road and overtake the stationary vehicles.

I spent my time in Cochabamba in fear. Firstly there was the Spanish lessons and secondly it was carnival. During this time no gringo especially ladies are safe from attacks of water balloons and spray foam. We also got lost in the biggest market ever. We stumbled into the witches section that was filled with Lama foetuses and crazed animals in cages. On a happier note there were many a restaurant to put a smile of Jim’s face.

We stayed in a hotel with a wonderful name in Santa Cruz. However, we were confused to why it is a tourist destination. Maybe we missed something but there did not seem much to see or do. We made up for our disappointment by eating ice cream for two days.