Bolivia

La Paz
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We decided to go to Spanish school for a week in La Paz, the capital of Bolivia. La Paz is in the Andes, about 3600 metres above sea level, making it the highest capital city in the world. The altitude wasn't really a problem for us, although when walking around the city you would often be short of breath. Our school was about 5 minutes from where we were staying, with Karen taking 4 hours of classes every day and Fionn two. We both had one to one classes with our teachers.

Street markets
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Sometimes the whole city of La Paz can feel like a giant street market. There is a big population of Aymara people in Bolivia - an indigenous ethnic group whose people wear very colourful clothes. Many of them set up temporary stalls in the towns and cities of Bolivia to sell their wares. Fruit and vegetables are the most common products, but the stalls really sell anything and everything. In the area where we were staying, the stalls shut at about 6 or so, but different areas of the city had night markets, where the trading continued.

The coca leaf
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The coca leaf has been a big issue in Bolivia for years. It has been chewed and used for making tea by the indigenous people for centuries, but is very controversial as it is also used as the raw material for cocaine. The current president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, is a former coca farmer who made his name campaigning for the rights of the Bolivian people to continue growing the leaf, in opposition to the US government who have tried to sponsor programs to eradicate it. We went to the Coca Leaf Museum in La Paz for a few hours - a very interesting place with information on the history and uses of the coca leaf. Mata de coca (a type of coca leaf tea) is a common drink in La Paz, and we had a few cups in our time there.

Lake Titicaca
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Lake Titicaca is on the Bolivia/Peru border. It is the largest Lake in South America, and is about 38oo metres above sea level with a surface area of over 8300 square km. The Isla del Sol in one of the largest islands on the lake, and was a sacred place for the Incas, who believed the sun god was born there. We took the boat to the Isla del Sol, which took about 2 hours, and we spend the day walking the length of the island before returning home. It was a lovely sunny day, and we had some great views of the lake on our walk.