COPACOBANA
The journey from Peru into Bolivia was a picturesque drive along side Lake Titicaca that straddles the borders of both countries and is concidered the largest high altitude lake in the world (3808m) When we reached Bolivia we stopped on the shores of the lake to stay in the town of Copacobana. We arrived after dark so in the morning I went for a wonder around the small bright town and a visit to the sparkling Cathedral that looks over the town.
After a look round the market I went back to the shores to find the food stalls for my trout lunch - fresh from the lake... yum yum! The afternoon seemed to speed by and after a short siesta the sun was already setting. From our balcony we watched the sungo down behind the lake and to finish our short stay at Capacobanna I went back to the food stalls for dinner for more trout, it was that good! 
There were two other riders on my trek as well as the guide who took us throuh deep gorges, cactus forests and across fast rivers that formed the dramatic backdrop to our ride. As we rode up the San Juan River we reached our stop for the night, a small farm where our room was next door to the horses paddock. It had been a fantastic day but so tiring! During dinner , a hearty farmhouse casserole preared by our hosts, I could barely keep my eyes open and we all ended up in bed before 9pm!
The next morning we were up early and back on the horses. I don´t know what they had been given for breakfast but they didn´t seem to want to stop! We were all galloping and racing through the villages and across the flood plains - felt like a real cowboy! Exhausted, we broke for lunch but this only seemed to re-boost the horses for the rest of the afternoon, maybe they knew we were heading home.
I has an incredible 2 days out on the trek, however I was glad to get back to the town having spent about 14 hours in the saddle in total gave me quite a sore bottom! I had also caught the sun a lot too and had ended up with a very red nose that sould only really belong to an alcoholic! Even so, I would do it all again in a flash, it was such a brilliant way to go sight seeing =)
After a look round the market I went back to the shores to find the food stalls for my trout lunch - fresh from the lake... yum yum! The afternoon seemed to speed by and after a short siesta the sun was already setting. From our balcony we watched the sungo down behind the lake and to finish our short stay at Capacobanna I went back to the food stalls for dinner for more trout, it was that good! LA PAZ
The first glimpse coming into La Paz is pretty interesting, the buildings are packed in nd cling to the sides of the canyon we drove into. Although unfortunatly this means that the smog and pollution is easily trapped and seems to smother the city. I didn´t really like La Paz, maybe i didn´t give it much of a chance as we ended up getting the bus out the next day...
TUPIZA
If ever there has been a place during my travels to get bak in the sadde - Tupiza was it! Reminisant of the American Wild West - but more spectacular the tranquil settlement is ringed by an amazing landscape of rainbow colored rocks, hills, mountains and canyons of the Cordillera de Chichas. I took myself off for a couple of days and went to meet amy new travel buddy - a beautiful piebald gelding, who got the nick name "The Cow"!
If ever there has been a place during my travels to get bak in the sadde - Tupiza was it! Reminisant of the American Wild West - but more spectacular the tranquil settlement is ringed by an amazing landscape of rainbow colored rocks, hills, mountains and canyons of the Cordillera de Chichas. I took myself off for a couple of days and went to meet amy new travel buddy - a beautiful piebald gelding, who got the nick name "The Cow"!
There were two other riders on my trek as well as the guide who took us throuh deep gorges, cactus forests and across fast rivers that formed the dramatic backdrop to our ride. As we rode up the San Juan River we reached our stop for the night, a small farm where our room was next door to the horses paddock. It had been a fantastic day but so tiring! During dinner , a hearty farmhouse casserole preared by our hosts, I could barely keep my eyes open and we all ended up in bed before 9pm!The next morning we were up early and back on the horses. I don´t know what they had been given for breakfast but they didn´t seem to want to stop! We were all galloping and racing through the villages and across the flood plains - felt like a real cowboy! Exhausted, we broke for lunch but this only seemed to re-boost the horses for the rest of the afternoon, maybe they knew we were heading home.I has an incredible 2 days out on the trek, however I was glad to get back to the town having spent about 14 hours in the saddle in total gave me quite a sore bottom! I had also caught the sun a lot too and had ended up with a very red nose that sould only really belong to an alcoholic! Even so, I would do it all again in a flash, it was such a brilliant way to go sight seeing =)UYUNI
The bus journey over to Uyuni was a little scary. The single lane, unpaved roads are said to be some of the most dangerous in Bolivia. Drivng through the mountains we often had cliff face on one side of the bus and sheer drop on the other. After seeing some of the vehicles which had skidded off the road and hadnt made it to their final destination´I decided to draw the curtain and cross my fingers that the driver would complete the 6 hour roller coaster ride safely!
The bus journey over to Uyuni was a little scary. The single lane, unpaved roads are said to be some of the most dangerous in Bolivia. Drivng through the mountains we often had cliff face on one side of the bus and sheer drop on the other. After seeing some of the vehicles which had skidded off the road and hadnt made it to their final destination´I decided to draw the curtain and cross my fingers that the driver would complete the 6 hour roller coaster ride safely!
Like Tupiza the main attractions of Uyuni are not in the town itself - more in the surrounding areas so we signed up for a 3 day adventure to cruize the sights with a 4x4...
First stop, Salar de Uyuni - the worlds largest salt flat that blankets a huge 12, 106 square km! We spent hours on the salt flat visiting the salt extracting village of Colchani, Isla del Pescado - an island at the heart of the salt flat covered in cactus´and stopping in what seemed like the middle of nowhere to marvel at the unworldly sceenery that surrounded us.
Becasue of the time of year that we we went, rainy season, a lot of the salt flat was under a couple of inches of water which projects the perfect mirror image of clouds, sky and land to the horizon... Absolutly stunning!
That evening we reached our over night stop, a small chalet made completly out of salt - the walls, tables, chairs even the beds!
On the seconde day there was a fair bit of driving to do. We passed through the surreal landscape that is nearly treeless and only punctuated buy gentle hills and volcanoes along the bolivian/ Chilean border. For me the best part of the day was our lunch spot where we stopped at a lake filled with pink flamingos. I loved the chance to just sit and watch there beautiful creatures.
After lunch, again, there was a lot of driving , passing interesting rock farmations created by volcano explosions years ago. Gradually the weather turned from bad to worse and eventually we ended up dribing across snow fields! Our accomodation for the night was pretty basic and everybody wrapped up in all the olayers possible for the evening - there was a small fire as an attempt to keep us warm although i can´t say that it really worked.
Our last day of the 4 x 4 trip wpuld take us into Chile. We were woken up at 4am which none of us liked or could understand. Back in the car we drove past geseyers over to hot springs where we stopped for a pancake breakfast. I passed down the chande for a dip in the hot springs, at 6am the thought of undressing in the freezing cold did NOT appeal!
Our last stop of the trip was at the Laguna Verde (Green Lake), where the lake set below the mountains has turned green of time due to the different minerals taht have dissolved in the water.
Our last day of the 4 x 4 trip wpuld take us into Chile. We were woken up at 4am which none of us liked or could understand. Back in the car we drove past geseyers over to hot springs where we stopped for a pancake breakfast. I passed down the chande for a dip in the hot springs, at 6am the thought of undressing in the freezing cold did NOT appeal! Our last stop of the trip was at the Laguna Verde (Green Lake), where the lake set below the mountains has turned green of time due to the different minerals taht have dissolved in the water. This was our trusty 4 x 4 and the group for the 3 days around the Salar de Uyuni, Caitlin and I, Tal, Durian, Ben, Phil and Neria.
And this was where the trip ended, we were dropped at the very unofficial border crossing of Bolivia into Chile and told that a bus would come ´soon´!
And this was where the trip ended, we were dropped at the very unofficial border crossing of Bolivia into Chile and told that a bus would come ´soon´! 
Back inside the city we went to visit the National Museum Te PaPa. Situated on the waterfront this nationally acclaimed museum combines high technology with traditional exhibits to tell the stories of New Zealand's land and people. My 2 favorite things were the Giant Squid- 5.4 meters long! and the Earthquake Simulator.
We met with Alison's sister, Miranda, and her kids Ashley and Chris. The 8 of us had a huge picnic and while Caitlin and I were happy in the heat of the sun there was Frisbee games, swimming and rock pooling going on too.
On out way down we found lava caves and tunnels to explore formed years ago from previous erruptions. Luckily we were told to bring a torch and it was a good job we had a sturdy walking shoes... erm flip flops again!
Glass floors 220 meters high!
View of the harbour and Rangitoto Island on the left in the distance.
Just before midnight we made sure we were outside at the bottom of the tower to see the main firework display in the city, set off from the roof of the Sky Tower... ooh... ahh!
For the rest of the nightwe were drinking Sangria in a funky little Soith American bar with the locals!
