Chau y Nos Vemos Pronto!

I was able to leave the hustle and bustle of the city, after hopefully being issued with another tempory visa and headed to baños, a rather touristy town in the middle of the semi jungle, which is the adventure capital of Ecuador; i was in for a treat! I So excited to do white water rafting, an adventure sport which I had dabbled in, was very exhilarating, going through class 3 and 4 rapids, so exciting that our guide decided that I was not enjoying myself enough and through me in off the boat into freezing cold water, which put me back in my place obviously! I then was able to try cannoning down waterfalls, which was so scary at the beginning, but I got so into it and was jumping in the water, and having a wonderful time, I can say there are facebook photos to prove it! I was generally just loving the wonderful landscape and going out with an extended family of people of all ages which were in the hostel. 
An adrenaline junkies heaven, however I had had my adrenaline fix and wanted to be back at one with nature, I went to Latacunga, a rather small town with not a lot, but near to the wonderful crater lake of Quillatoa, which was a marvel, amazing clear water which was turquoise which got brighter and clearer as you went down, however the going up was the hard bit, as I was back in altitude of over 4000m, not fun walking up a crater, but we got back to the town, and me and a friend were bound for the Amazon.

 After having spent over 6 months in south America it was about time that I saw the Amazon, so we booked a tour and headed to Quito, After a horrible 8 hour overnight buss ride which was constantly going downhill so I was forced out of my chair we got to Lago Agrio, a hellhole which no one would step foot in except to go to the wonderful Cuyebeno Nature Reserve, we started our jungle adventure with another 2 hour bus ride then in a Canoe, where it all began, we started seeing monkeys and birds at every corner and being in a beautiful primary rainforest was spectacular! The first activity was swimming in the Laguna at sunset, and seeing pink river dolphins, which was my goal while being in the Amazon, they were nowhere near as beautiful as normal dolphins but were amazing to see these creature in the wild! This was followed by Cayman watching by night time, which was crazy, seeing the red eyes out of the water, these Cayman were seriously almost as big a crocodiles! The jungle had more to be explored, the next day we started with a hike, which involved me falling in mud and swamp many times much to the amusement of everyone else who seamed to manage it without so many falls, we also learnt about all the plants and animals of the jungle, tricks such as how to climb the tallest palm trees to reach the coconuts, and how to make jungle fire out of sap, and which trees keep the mosquitoes away.  This was followed by piranha fishing, however on my part it seamed to be piranha feeding, as the meet was only being eaten and no catching was happening, however others managed to catch these crazy fish with razor sharp teeth, but they were much smaller than I though, the film happened to be misleading, and they don’t eat people as I went swimming in the same river as the piranhas that evening! Other jungle activities were visiting the ingenious community, which was awesome, although slightly touristy, as the Sharman went on a lot about Ayawascha, the spiritual hallucinogenic plant which has turned into a bit of a cult drug in SA,  also we learnt how to make the local yucca bread called Casave, which was a really cool process, as the lady made bread out of grated yucca, of which she grated the water out and cooked it and within about 5 minutes , the yucca root was bread, which was surprisingly good! The next day we did 5am bird watching, which wasn’t really my cup of tea, but when in Rome, with the best birds in the world, staying in my jungle hut was no real option. This was made better by having to row there, as the motor on the canoe suddenly died, however we got back, and did see amazing birds, macaws would be my highlight, as well as many colorful animals and even a sloth! Jungle time was sadly over, however this did give me added respect for the indigenous people in Ecuador who still live in the traditional ways in the communities, this was something that didn’t seam so prevalent in other countries, after returning to Lago Agrio and spending too long there for my liking, I was faced with one of the worst night buses, of which my passport was checked about 5 times, being the only gringo on the bus to the Colombian boarder.  

After a surprisingly easy 6am bourder crossing, although being ripped off by money changing, I made it to Colombia! As the south is known as dangerous, I was advised to get as far into Colombia as possible, and though Popayan was a good first stop. The journey took forever, but the scenery was incredible and the lady next to me seamed to trust me enough to blurt out her life story about her husband cheating on her with her neighbors younger sister, serious outrage, but she needed someone to listen to her, and I was the only one there. Popayan was a nice colonial town, like others seen before, but it was a nice refuge from the bus and was rather pretty, I then decided to see some more indigenous statues and went horse riding for the first time since I was about 5, this horse was seriously going for it and I was trying my hardest to stay on, but like anything I got into it and even started in enjoy galloping around the beautiful countryside of San Augustin, seeing indigenous statues of which no one knows the origin, as the indigenous people of Colombia are much less well known than the Incas who took over almost all South America, even though there are many other less well known cultures who also did amazing things, but the Incas are the ones with all the fame.

 After an eventful day horse riding, I was tired enough for another night bus to the Coffee region, and the gringo hotspot called Salento. However there is always a reason gringo flock to the same places, they are always amazing, Salento was no exception, it was so beautiful, and I had the opportunity to camp, back on the ground (where I belong) I was very happy, in an awesome hostel which was bonfires, shared dinners and a lovely surroundings. We did an amazing hike the next day to the Cocora Vally, one of the best , it had it all, jungle, mountains, hills, bridges, and an hummingbird santury, to top it all off! We saw the wax palms, which are Colombia’s national tree, 1000000 times bigger than me! Ad went home to the best dinner of Mediterranean vegetables, humus, pita bred and kebab, one of the best meals I had eaten in South America! Then went to a coffee farm, although I am more of a teas person I was able to appreciate good coffee when I tasted it and man it was good, the man who showed us round, Don Elias was so into his coffee and had being involved in the Coffee industry since he was 6, what a lovely family story, Saltento was amazing!

After 4 days, I had to move, and with my new travel companion, we hit another overnighter to Medalin, the city of plastic surgery and beautiful women (maybe one enhances the other)  however fitst we found this gem of a pace called Guatape, which is surrounded by an artificial lake, and the biggest rock in the world, other than Ayres rock, so tranquillo. We went on an awesome bike ride, mostly downhill, with swimming holes and ice cream, where we enjoyed watching the England Italy match, my patriotism comes out the other side of the world, as I was the only English person in the bar, the loss was nothing to be ashamed about.

As the weekend was fast approaching, we wanted to be in the bustling city of Medallin, with lots of salsa dancing and a far bit of Rum, we danced away 2 nights, and therefore the days were rather slow, I am sad to say I did not see much more of Medallin than the hostel and the surrounding area, although I did find a Mexican flute player, who made me day, I was able to rekindle my lost skills, he was wayyy better than me, but my flute had not been around the world, maybe next time!

The Caribbean was calling, and so we were going to Caratenga, the jewel of the Caribbean cost! We awoke to stifling hot temperatures, attempted walking around the city, but mainly went from air conditioned café, to air conditioned café, we did see a firbit of the city, and the fort, which Francis Drake himself could not conquer, the Spanish knew their defense, and the English could not pass to regain control of the Caribbean! It is one beautiful city, however I was beach bound, it was the Caribbean after all, so with a group in hand, we headed to an island called Playa Blanca, and there we were at 10am on a Tuesday, in the Caribbean sea, which was so crystal and turquoise, it was beautiful! When it got dark, we went exploring, and found a beach further along, where we made a fire, and went swimming with full moon and lightning storms in the distance, it was a special evening! However the sunburn brought us back to reality, and we had to go back to Cartagena, to continue the Caribbean adventure. We found Taganga, a bit of a run down beach town, witch a laid back feel and many people looking for a good time, that we found. Also some overcrouded beaches and lots of coconuts, an the most amazing restaurant, a three course meal of falafel, langoustine pasta and chocolate brownie with ice cream, was one of the highlights of this crazy place!

One f the highlight of the Colombian Caribbean are the beautiful postcard beaches of Parque Nacional Tyrona, these were special, with everything you could ever want from a beach, we slept in hammocks and watched sunsets, went midnight swimming, and jungle hiking to see monkeys, it was a beautiful few days, but like everyone else my paradise time was coming to an end, and had to leave the park after three nights and work out what I was going to do with my remaining week. We found Minca, one of the loveliest paces in my world, it was 20 kilometers from Santa Marta, in the semi tropical mountains, we arrived in a tropical storm, which was eventful, but then found Oscar´s. Oscar was amazing, he opened up his house, and built little huts around the panoramic view where you could see toucans, and monkeys on one side and the Caribbean sea on the other, it was the best possible place to spend my past weekend in SA.  We went swimming in waterfalls, eat homemade vegetarian food, and listened to Argentinean tango music, I could not be happier, however Sunday came all too soon, and therefore my flight the following Wednesday, so I boarded my last ever night bus, and woke up in Bogotá this morning!

Wow that a whirlwind the past months have been, I can think about ever single event and I would have never pictured anything like what happened in the past 7 and a half months, its be mind blowing, but its time for Rosa to go home and for the adventures to end. But only this time… 

To Ecuador, where new and old ends meet

After being issued with a temporary Passport I was beach bound! After being in altitude for over 4 months I was very happy to be a sea level again, I could actually breathe, and did not wake up in the middle of the night with a dry month and bloody nose, which are the common features of living in Altitude! I took a 17 hours bus, sounds long but was no means the longest, I have now calculated that I have spent over 300 hours on a bus, which is over 10 days, that is a lot of time, but is the only way to travel in South America! So in Mancora, which is a bit  of  a dead, chilled beach town in the north of Peru, I could swim in the Pacific, sun bathe and just enjoy without having to worry about passports or the stress of city life. Bering low season, everything was empty, even the gringo population did not fill the bars and clubs on the sea front, but after 3 days of lying on a beach, getting tanned/burned, there was more beach to explore in Ecuador and Columbia. Boarder crossing, a lot easier than I initially though, you literally get a bus to the boarder and another one, to the next place, easy! I ended up in Cuenca, I pretty colonial town which seamed to rain a lot, a type of weather which I haven’t really had to deal with a lot here, and reminds me too much of home. With some friends I picked up we explored some market towns, one is where they make the original Panama hats, in Ecuador, being me I spent a while talking to the lady who works there and asking why they are such a cult item, she had no answer, just that is where the money is!

Being in the only South American country where I had been to before, with dad 4 years ago I was able to remember similarities, and after exploring a museum on another rainy day, I came across the indigenous group the Tsachilla, who live in the Lowlands of Santo Domingo, these people I lived with, when I was 15, chilling with the children and the animals while my father was trying to make me teach and farm the land, neither which really worked but it was an amazing experience, which planted the seed, which lead to me travelling in South America by myself 4 years later! Cuenca was nice, but a bit too rainy and I had more beaches to explore, one being to party town on Montañita, I knew it was no cultural experience, but I wanted to have a good time by the beach and that’s what I did for 4 days, met up with old and new friends  and enjoyed the infamous cocktail alley, no joke! A street full of cocktail stand!

However it was not the for me, after meeting people who had been there for weeks a decided it was time to move on , to another beach town, called Puerto Lopez, a fishing town,  where you could see the fish being brought in the morning and smell the stench! This place was know for the Isla de Plata, another poor mans Galapagos island. Seeing humpback Wales really made it, these beautiful animals that are 15 meters in length are special animals of which I felt privileged to see! Also there were such beautiful beaches, some of the best I would say, with crystal water and white sand! Not something we have at home! However the city beckoned and I had to go to Quito to do more admin work about my VISA, which is now causing problems as I go home via the US without a real passport. This now seams to be sorted so I can continue to enjoy the remaining time of  my trip, the endless 7 and a half moths is coming to an end, in about 6 weeks I will be gracing all you Londoners will my presence and endless stories of which you will be bored with after the first week! So I must fill these last weeks with more wonderful experiences and stories, keep safe, and I´m on the home stretch! 

Passportless in Peru, but never fear, mother is here!

After 123 days I finally left Bolivia, although I managed to get a job in the hostel I was staying in in La Paz, it was time to go, and leave my new favorite country and head into Peru, first stop Cusco, the Inca capital! We arrived at 5am and I found a rundown hostel by the bus station until I could organize myself and find somewhere better, I had also organized my first couch surfing experience and was excited to meet my with my host Annibet a lovely Peruvian girl who had agreed to host me for a few days, after I met up with her the following day, she showed my round the town, we eat Civiche and drunk Pisco sours, how more typical could I get, I was in Peru! Then we explored the town and walked up to the ruins a bit outside of the town called Sacsayhuaman, and then got horses to explore other ruins which was interesting, first experience of Incas, of which now I am ruined out! She showed me the nightlife in Cusco which it is famous for! I then organized my Machu Picchu trek, I did not do the Inca trail as it was very expensive and I didn’t reserve it but I did a different cheaper option called Inca jungle , which involved downhill biking, hiking a section of the Inca trail, Zip-lining, swimming in Hot Springs and many other fun exciting things including opening the only bar in one of the tiny towns in which we were staying, drinking too much Inca tequila and therefore having to carry our guide home on the shoulders of one of the other group members, which was fun at the time, but not at 6am when we had10 hours to hike, no one felt great the next day!

Once we reached Machu Picchu, which involved climbing up 3000 steps at 5AM to see the sunrise which was covered by clouds anyway, we were so tired me and some other members of my group went to sleep, yes I had a nap at Machu Picchu, one of the new wonders of the world!

Once back in Cusco I had to sort out my lost passport, which I lost before Machu Picchu helped by a bad batch of food poisoning, no sleep and being in a rush, I still don’t know how I lost it, as I was sure I put it back in my bag, but the culmination of events was not the best way to start the trek, passportless! Once I had the police report I was able to keep travelling, Arequipa was my next destination, so after a night bus, I then was up at 3AM 5to start another trek into the second deepest canyon, deeper than the grand canyon, we saw condors at breakfast and went down 1000 m by lunch, it was a busy day! The next day was spent chilling in an Oasis at the bottom, followed by the inevitable assent, at 5AM, which was very challenging, especially when there were lazy people on mules which were running past you as you were sweating and using you legs!

Arequipa was beautiful, but I had a date with the UK consulate and my mother and had to head on, however my path was stopped by the Peruvian miners, who had decided they needed better working rights and more autonomy over the mines and therefore blocked the Pan-American highway with rocks, trees, telephone poles and themselves, 100000 of miners in 3 different towns! After 2 nights and one day of being in a standstill in these tiny town in the middle of the desert it was time to go, me and some gringo friends, walked through the picket line of these miners, who were all shouting and rather angry, definitely a thing to add to the experience list, and to attempt to get transport to the following towns, and repeat the escapade twice more, the last resolved in us walking about 5km in the desert to get the last transport to Nasca, and then Ica, where we finally arrived to go to Huacachina, an Oasis in the middle of the desert, this was beautiful but there are not many things to do, other than drink and sand board, which we did the next day, a lot of fun, especially going down sand dunes of board travelling really fast and being transported ins Sandbuggies! As we had done the two things to do in Huacachina, we were out, to Lima.

Arriving at nighttime I was amazed at the 6 lane motorways and Mc Donald’s signs, to me it seamed just like the US, but with a city the same size of London, what else was I to expect! I was then very disappointed by the UK consulate as it was not open on a Friday, as well ad taking long lunch breaks, they now decide Friday Is the weekend, I would usually agree to this, but when it does not work in my favors, the Latinos should get there act together, especially the British ones! Anyway, as there was nothing I could do I was then reunited with my mother after 5 months it was nice eating delicious food and staying in Hotels! She decided we couldn’t wait for the consulate to reopen on Monday so we went to Huaraz ,a mountain town, 7 hours north east of Lima! Yay, more mountains to climb! Mum was very impressed by the bus companies, of course we went with the poshest one and had nice days doing some hiking, swimming in Hot springs and seeing lovely turquoise lakes, it was a nice break, but after returning to Lima, where we stayed in the Hip, modern part, which was full of nice cafes and art galleries, there was even a Sofa café which looked more in place in Islington than Lima! Mum then left me to return to London and I am back solo, although I am never really solo, there are so many travelers, until I sort out my passport situation, then I’m headed to the beach and then Ecuador!

I am now reunited with a Camera, so if it doesn’t get stolen again you should be able to see what I have been up to, not just imagine, from my great description! Sorry for the essay, lots of things have happened; I hope to be more to the point next time!

Back to Bolivia and Beyond!

After spending a wonderful week in Chile, and spending my birthday on the beach drinking mojitos and eating ceviche, it was time to return home to my beloved country Bolivia! I decided it was about time I got to know La Paz, the capital, after being in Bolivia so long, but I it was a bit of a climate shock, from the warm beaches of the pacific to 4000 meters in the Andes! So with my alpaca gear I went exploring, and found some interesting things, such as the Coca Museum, just to make sure Coca is not cocaine, it is the original plant which is native to the Andean region and has cultural and historical importance since before Inca times, being the Anthropologist I am, this seriously interested me! I also stocked up on all the artesania I wanted and checked out some Pre Incan ruins, which I wanted to get to know before heading to the Inca land of Peru! Although La Paz was fun, my heart was still in Cochabamba, so back I went, to see old friends, my family and to try to get rid of the ridiculous amount of stuff I had accumulated on my travels! It was lovely going back to somewhere familiar and the first day I got there my volunteering organization had a ecological celebration for world earth day! All of a sudden we were in the middle of a procession with about 30 children with stickers spreading information about world earth day, very Bolivian to be protecting the environment while producing bags of unbiodegradable rubbish, but you know, there getting there! We were the music, so I was banging a drum and shouting slogans about the planet for 2 hours, which was so enjoyable, made better by the lack of knowledge and practice we had in this field! This was then followed by a fun packed weekend of dancing, brunching, and enjoying the dia de pedeton, which was an amazing way to see the city with no cars and everyone in the streets! I even bumped into one of my kids from the orphanage, who had been adopted and remembered me from the flautas, this was so lovely and really showed that my volunteering did have some positive effects even if this wasn’t felt at the time. I had to meet up with my host family who of course cooked me a typical massive Bolivian lunch, and various other friends that I had made in Cochabamba, it was lovely going back but after almost a week I then had to move on, as there are more places to explore and I had to get back on the road! First headed to Santa Cruz, which I really didn’t like, reminded me of London in a tropical climate which is no where near as nice, London is only London with the rain! Keen to get out of the city I found the Jesuit Missions de Chiquitanos, which are tiny missionary villages created by the Jesuits in the 1700´s. It was cook just seeing amazing scenery and talking to people about their culture, but obviously not without adventures, such as getting stuck on the top of a mountain with a motorcycle taxi, which he then had to restart, and hitchhiking in the back of pickup trucks! Although being the only gringo in town was nice for a few days, I then was keep to head to the tropical paradise of Samipata, one of the nicest places ever! With perfect climate in beautiful mountains with a great hippish vibe show  that there are now 28 different nationalities living there, which was seen by the amount of cool cafes, restaurants or bars all run by gringos! A reason to why I probably liked it so much, I also saw wonderful waterfalls and more ruins did some hiking and a lot of chilling in this lovely place! But again a week was long enough and my endless time in South America is running away with me and I am still in Bolivia! So to La Paz again, the place where you have to enter Peru, I have being exploring  for the second time, about to do the most dangerous road on a bike, which is a must do, and spending some time organizing things before I leave Bolivia, hopefully by Monday, unless I just decide to stay forever which may happen! Looking forward to the delight of Peru, and also meeting my mum who is coming out to meet me which will be lovely! So, so long Bolivia, it has been wonderful and I will be back, but its time to go!

Journeys in the Southern Hemisphere

So after spending a few days in Sucre, soaking up the atmosphere, eating too much chocolate going on some great trips, one to the seven waterfalls, a beautiful place outside of the town where there are, hence the name, 7 waterfalls to swim in, explore and generally just enjoy the wonderful scenery! Another to an indigenous market village about 3 hours outside of the town called Tarabucco, which is a really interesting historically as it held one of the largest battles in the war for independence, in which the Bolivians won by pulling out the hearts of the Spanish conquistadors, a lovely statue displays this in the middle of the plaza! But I enjoyed just wondering around and admiring the homemade artisania which is all so beautiful! I finally gave in to my inner gringo and bought an alpaca sweater as the following day I was headed to Potosi, the highest city on earth, at 4,090 meters! It was pretty high and therefore my alpaca jumper was much needed! The main event in Potosi is the mines, Potosi was once the richest city in the world due to all its silver and minerals found in the nearby mountains, but all this richness was robbed by the conquistadors which left the city with nothing. The tours of the mines are really interesting especially after watching the documentary The Devil´s Miner which I recommend watching even if you don’t plan to visit the mines. We got the chance to visit the mines which were really harsh and such a difficult condition to work in, it was Hard to believe miners still spend up to 24 hours underground digging, wheelbarrowing and caring tones of rocks everyday! After two hours my lungs were full with enough dust and I really admired these miners who day in day out go down to the mines, I was talking to our guide who said how proud he was to be a miner, in all the conditions they still are proud of what they do, I can only admire them!

As Potosí does not have much we quickly moved on to start out Salar de Uyuni tour, which is one of the must see highlights in Bolivia, the scenery was amazing, the pure while for miles and the dazerling blue sky, but spending 3 days in a jeep isn’t really my idea of fun, only getting out to take photos, with no camera. It was an amazing experience, made better by the group I was with and the delicious food. Another highlight was the Laguna Colorado, and seeing 10000 of flamingos just chilling in the red lake, an awesome sight, although flamingos are a funny creature, the way they stand on one leg! From the whites of the salar we entered the baron landscape of the Atacama Desert, supposedly the driest place on earth I was told, but what bout the Sahara! Crossing into Chile was easy and we found ourselves in the hippy town of San Pedro de Atacama, which was rather touristy, expensive and not much to do! Although I did organize a bike trip to the Luna Valley, which got its name for looking like the moon with the crazy rock formations which were cool, but as it was superhot in the desert it was also kinda difficult cycling on dirt roads for 20 miles! As Chile is famous for its long and extensive cost line, it was off to the beach, either north or south and as I have to go back to Bolivia, it made sense to go north! First stop was Iquique, a cool beach town which wasn’t full of tourist, although I found it difficult talking to the locals as there accent is very difficult to understand compared to the Bolivian accent which I was now used to! I spent my first day swimming in the pacific with Sea Lions and Pelicans, which was every exciting, something I am not used to at home, and eating delicious sea food, a change from the Bolivian mean, rice and potatoes! I then took a leep, as we decided to go Paragliding, which entailed running off a cliff and falling, an amazing experience of flying, I literally was like a bird! There was more cost to explore so we continued up the cost to Arica, the northern most point in Chile. We arrived yesterday morning, and I had another fun filled day of surfing, which I defiantly need more practice at but after 4 hours was able to stand on the board for a few seconds! So its back to the beach for me, I do intend to be spending my birthday on the beach, as it is something which will not happen every year! So I will next be writing as one year older, with all the amazing experiences and skills that South America has given me!

Carnivalismo and Despedidas!

Carnival: one of the most amazing things in this world and I was lucky enough to experience it twice, the first and best which has now been rated the best carnival in the world, according to Bolivia was in Oruro, which is only 4 hours from Cochabamba. Along with the water guns and espuma (sprayable foam) attacks of which a group of about 40 gringos was the best target for all of the children and their parents in the city, we arrived on Friday safe and happy. The festivities started on Saturday and went on all day and night! The dancing, music, atmosphere was so incredible and you just have to admire these dancers who dance for about 8-10 hours, in amazing costumes, (the best have to be the osos, the bears and ositos, little bears) without stopping for out enjoyment! It was just incredible, and as the carnival progressed, so did everyone’s intoxicated level, which just turned the carnival experience into one big fiesta! The espuma fights got bigger, and we started fighting one another, to a state in which I couldn’t see due to the amount of espuma of which I was covered in! and dancing god wilder, with me almost falling of the benches many times, we carnivaled right into the night! Another rather traumatic event , in which we were trying to dance behind the dancers was being tear gassed, for the first time in my life, an experience I would not like to repeat, and then my camera got stolen, so no more pictures, sorry!

So it was a mixed experience but I just cannot explain how amazing it was, carnival is a must experience for everyone, and the Latinos do it best so just come over to this wonderful continent, I’m sure I’ll be up for it next year!

Then there was Cochabamba carnival which was on a different level to that in Oruro, the first group I saw were the tigers and babies, in which fully grown men were dressed up as babies, rather twisted but comical nonetheless! After my attempts at dancing in the carnival failed, I was still there to support my friends, who managed to make it to the practice! The Tinkus dance which is one of the oldest and most cultural dance from the Potosi region was performed wonderfully and all we could do was support them!

Since all the carnival festivities I have been trying to organize my life, which is no more organized here than in London, and therefore saying goodbye to my kids who I have been with was a difficult experience, probably more for me than them, as I was the one weeping! As well as my host family who with all the ups and downs have been lovely and I was accepted completely into their family, so that was also difficult to say goodbye. Although I have left a collection of my belongings in cocha, which is probably just a excuse to go back to my Bolivian home! I arrived in Sucre this morning after a 13 hour bus ride not made better by the crazy bus driver who kept bumping into everything, including another bus while reversing out of the terminal, and the intense rain , which delayed us even more, and the man who was sitting next to me, who would not stop snoring! All part of the Bolivian bussing experience, I am now in Sucre, which to my enjoyment is famous for its chocolate! Not sure where or what I’m doing next but it’s all part of the Adventura de Rosa which is now very much in swing!