La Paz

Weather: Back to 3500 meters above sea level, and the battle recommences between the tourist population and the weather. Its a riveting competition, who can change clothes/temperature fastest. The weather is definitely winning, its bringing out the big guns... we almost had a thunderstorm this afternoon.

Llama Count: Thought I saw one from the plane, but it was a brief momentary glimpse, my eyes were tightly shut for most of the night.

The death flight was delayed as the plane was broken, it turns out there is only one plane that flies between Rurre and La Paz, and that it is possible to fix said plane in two and a half hours.I bet the pilots used super glue. After a long wait and a terrifying forty minutes I arrived in La Paz in one piece, having made friends with all the people waiting for the flight, which were a Motley collection of Bolivians Dutch.... and more French.

La Paz is La Paz on a Sunday, the whole city appears to be hungover from the night before. I stuck with a french friend from the death flight, called Alizee. We wandered round the city for most of the afternoon. Even when it is quieter La Paz is a ridiculously surreal place, the city covers the whole of a crater and is surrounded by mountains. However, the tourists talk about three things here; firstly altitude sickness/suckness, how has is effected you what strange dream did you have last night; secondly national Bolivian oddities, plaits bowler hats, llama fetuses, strikes, and bowler hats; and last but not least toilet bowls, food poisoning, bowel movements, parasites, and general vomiting.

Alizee and I decided to join the other french boys in the dormitory and attempt the ´death road´tomorrow. After surviving the death flight (with added superglue) I think I am superhuman and anything is possible. We book with their tour company (a reassuringly named pro downhill). It is only on returning to the hostel that we notice an enormous sign with a broken bike photo on it, and don´t book the death road with pro down hill next to it. It is ten at night, we leave La Paz at seven tomorrow.... bit too late to change anything. Maybe the death road will be the death road after all.