Partying Hard

The party in the hostel on Friday night was savage. They had loads of those UV lights so the white outfits went down a treat until all the boys kept approaching us with these cheezy lines about being sick and needing our attention. What do you say to that? Cringe, then run! Had sense and went to bed about 6 with a sleeping tablet that sorted me out nicely cause the party was banging till midday. There are about 12 of us hanging out together at the mo (mostly Irish). We dragged ourselves out of bed circa 4pm and went for a full English. We managed to get our act together, just about, the vodkas perked us up and then we headed off to a party up the mountains. It was their independence day, I think, anyway we didn´t care the reason. The thing turned out to be this mad outdoor rave with a huge bonfire and (top?) DJs playing all night. We went mental, stayed till the sunrise, got taxis home, surpassed our tiredness and then watched videos till lunch. We crawled out of bed circa 4pm again and managed to get to the Irish bar for food and more drinks. The madness will stop now though cause Ive booked a 5 day trek to Maccu Piccu leaving at 4.30am tomorrow morning. Its midnight so I really should pack and go to bed soon! Ill have to run out and get some booze for the trek first though. Maybe I´ll stay up all night. Its amazingly common in this hostel.

Last day volunteering

Yesterday was my last day painting the house. I got food poisoning the night before though (again) so I spent the morning lying on one of the mothers beds. Went to bed early last night in preparation for the weekend. Its the one year anniversary of the hostel tonight and there is a white theme so myself and my American friend Becky spent the day shopping for nurses outfits. Were going to look hot!

Still in Cusco

Tuesday night is huge here. I was determined not to go out cause I had volunteering today again but EVERYBODY (well all the cool people) in the hostel were on a mad one. We went to Bar 7 (very famous, just like Vivienne´s in La Paz if you know what I mean). I was well behaved. Only had about 6 vodkas and was home by 3 ish which isn´t bad going for here. Still got slagged for leaving early though. There were 4 different people all leaving for Maccu Piccu at 7am who were still there when I left but amazingly made their train this morning, although god knows, what state they were in.

Volunteering today was a bit hard going cause I was tired and my arm is still sore from my rafting fall, but I made it through. Today I also helped out with the children. Keeping them amused is hard work and changing not-plastic diapers is no fun, but its not supposed to be, I guess. Still waiting for that maternal instinct to kick in....

When people ask me how old I am now, I get to tell them 27 as it was my bday last week? month? what day/date is it? and everyone keeps saying that I look younger then that. That has never happened to me before. Im not sure if it is cause of my clothes (runners, hoodies etc), my streaked red hair, the lack of stress or the fact that Ive just turned 27, but whatever, it feels great. Keep the compliments rolling.

Volunteering

Spent the day painting the courtyard walls in Casa Mantay. Was hoping to be doing it with some hot American boys but unfortunately the others who are doing it are church going families from Ohio. Ah well.

Rafting

Ive just got back from a 3 day rafting trip. Absolutely amazing. It had class 3,4 & 5 rapids. I went in a group of 14 people- a Belgian couple, 11 Israelis and me! I nearly died when I realised. I figured it served me right for bitching about them on my blog. I was determined to make the effort to get along with them. I needn´t have bothered. I now think that they are not only scaby but extremely rude, selfish and lazy as well. The girls never stopped complaining and in the end there was only 2 of the guys that I could actually get along with. Didn´t stop me having a great time though. We camped by the river every night which realy reminded me of scouts. Pity the Israelis didnt have the team mentality that the venturers do. They wouldn´t split from their friends to go in different rafts so in my raft of 3 with the two Belgians we had to work twice as hard as them every day. Didnt seem to make them feel guilty, nor did they when they lay around while the guides and us helped prepare dinner, clean up afterwards etc. I got eaten alive by some sort of sandflies despite dousing myself in repellent- they appear to be immune. My cankles are all swollen I have so many bites in that area and I can hardly walk. I want to rip off my skin it is so itchy. Im tempted to start a course of antibiotics but Im not sure if that will have any effect. Anyway, the trip was absolutely wicked but I did fall out of the raft on the last day and smack my arm against a huge rock. I got a golfball sized lump on it immediately which has gone down now but Im left with a massive bruise. I was supposed to start volunteering yesterday but there is no way Id be able to paint so Im off there this morning to try and smooth things over. I fell out on the first day aswell and the raft flipped on top of me. Scariest thing ever!!

Bungeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Today I went to do a bungee jump- the biggest in north and south America at 120 metres I think. I was fairly nervous going up but when I got to the top I was so scared. I was confident that it was safe but it was just so high that I started having doubts. I know from when I jump off diving boards that it ususally takes me about 5 mins up there to psyche myself up. However, the longer I stayed at the top, the more nervous I got. I was battling with myself about whether or not I was actually going to do it. In the end, I just couldn´t bring myself to do it even though I knew I would loose all my money. I didn´t care. I dont know how it is so popular and I always thought of myself as brave but I just couldn´t.

They took pity on me and let me go back up half an hour later. On the way up, I kept my eyes shut the whole time and just kept repeating the mantra to myself, "1,2,3, jump". When I got to the top, the guy half pushed me off which helped. I know this isn´t very common to say, but it actually wasn´t that enjoyable. I wouldn´t go around reccommending it everyone. Im really glad I did it but I doubt I´ll ever do one again.

Quad Biking

I did quad biking for the first time today. They took us up the mountains to some superb tracks for 4 hours. (Derek you would be proud. It was Yahama bikes all the way). Having never driven a car, the concept of gear changing was completely lost on me. Do you go down a gear when you are going up a hill? I dont know. The guide had to jump on the back of my quad for the whole day so that he could whisper in my ear "up one, down two" or whatever, and even then I managed to confuse it. I had a few hairy moments where I thought I was going to topple the bike, but that only added to the excitment. It was a really wicked day.

I was slightly peeved when I found out that the Israelis on my tour paid half what I did. For those that dont know there are millions of Israelis travelling in South America (The Irish are a close second!) and they are the scabbiest bastards you will ever meet. Theyd eat tuna out of a can for lunch, that sort of stuff. Some of them are really cool by the way before you think Im racist but they are so tight. Apparantly there is a two tier pricing system going on in South America- one for Israelis who get discounts everywhere and one for every other traveller. Rage. They even have a word for Europeans- they call us "payers"! Next time I book something im going to ask for the Israeli price and see what happens.

Casa Mantay

The venturers came to Peru in 2004 and while they were here they helped build a safe house for teenage mothers who had been raped. I took a trip to see the house and meet the mothers. It was really cool to see in the flesh the patio they built, the butterflies theyd painted on the bedroom walls, and the mosiacs theyd done in the bathrooms, cause Id seen all the photos a million times. The organisers remembered Donnybrook Venturer Group fondly and all the great work theyd done and I felt so proud. I decided that I too would like to get involved somehow and so next week Im going to join a group who are going to repaint the whole house cause its looking a little shabby now. It makes me feel good to part of the project that the Venturers started a few years ago.

Cusco

So far Peru seems exacty like Bolivia, only a little more expensive. The food menus are exactly the same which is a little worrying. The lads think I have that syndrome where I make myself physically ill through the power of my mind even though there is nothing wrong with me. Im not allowed moan any more unless its from a hangover.

Cusco seems like a great place so I´ll probably end up staying for a while. Really nice looking city. Makes a change from filthy La Paz. We stayed in a Frankenstein themed hostel last night. V Cool but moved today to the wicked Point hostel because it is THE party hostel in Cusco. Got blind drunk last night in the Irish bar and had the craic with a gang of Irish lads from Stillorgan. Dying today. Crawled back to the Irish bar for lunch but could only stomach half a sandwich.

I need to make a decision about the Inca trail. The proper one is fully booked for months ahead but there are loads of alternative trails ranging in difficulty. Getting a train up is even a option, although the venturers would probably be disgusted if I didn´t trek seeing as they have all done it. The two Irish guys (Yeah, Im still with them!) think its hilarious that Im even contemplating doing the 5 day trek. They´ve seen me get taxis up the hill to our hostel in La Paz and the resurrgance of my asthma since Ive started smoking again.

Im thinking about giving up but Im not sure I have the energy for it. Im hoping when we part ways in a day or so and Im away from their bad influence, I may be able to do it. My nodules haven´t noticably flared up YET but its surely in the post. God I hate being an addict. Maybe I´ll start biting my nails again instead.

Im getting really sad at the thought of leaving the lads cause weve been travelling for such a long time together now. Weve had a real laugh and the thought of having to talk to new people again was daunting me a bit. Luckily though I met a wicked American girl on the bus and weve really clicked so were going to stick together for a bit. Usually the Bostonian accent goes through me but for whatever reason, hers doesn´t grate at all. Its nice being around a girl for a change and should soften the blow of leaving the lads.

Back in La Paz & Lake Titicaca

We went back to La Paz and ended up staying much longer than expected. Blame Viviennes. Enough said!! La Paz is a bit like Buenas Aires- very difficult to leave, but we finally made it out this morning and made it to Cococabana which is on the edge of lake Titicaca. Got up early and took a boat to Isla del Sol which is an island in the middle of the lake. Saw some Inca ruins which weren't that impressive at all, but I suppose still good to say that Ive done it.

We are leaving for Peru tomorrow. Thank god. Im sick of Bolivia and being sick in Bolivia. Ive had food poisoning 3 times. When Im not shitting or puking, Im dying of a hangover, or just dying of altitude sickness. The boys are sick of listening to me moaning all the time.

Good news. Ive stopped biting my nails, a life long habit I haven't been able to break until now. I treated myself to my first manicure. Silly cow filed them down so far, they are as short as when I used to bite them. Bad news. Ive started smoking again. Im not sure if the two are related.

The Pampas

In the end decided not to do the jungle tour as I'll be able to do that from other countries, but did a Pampas tour with the 2 Irish lads instead. It was a cool experience although an animal lover would have enjoyed it more than me. We saw monkeys, alligators and caymens, a load of birds, an anaconda, pink river dolphins and the most disguisting animal I have ever seen which was this huge rodent that I can only describe as a cross between a rat and a pig. (Its made me think twice about the Galapagos though seeing as I just couldn't get excited at every new animal we saw). We sailed up the river every day in a dug-out canoe and stayed in wooden houses where locals cooked all our meals. Despite covering myself in repellent and sleeping under a mozzie net, I got bitten alive. The only thing worse than white legs are white legs with bites all over them.

Rurrenbaque

Survived the plane ride-it was a 20 seater, quite turbulent, no flight staff, you could see the captain, the landing strip was a field and the airport was basically a shack. This place is great. The town actually has about 15000 inhabitants but it has the feel of a remote village despite the backpackers wandering around and the internet access. The girl at the local shop asked me where I was from. She hadnt heard of Ireland or England but she thought she might know Europe. Myself and two of the Irish (the other 2 have gone on to Peru) treated ourself to one of the best hotels in town. Its got a private bathroom and even a fan. For 3.50 euro per person per night we cant complain. Best of all its hot hot hot here. Time to bare my whiter than white pins again. In Ireland I didnt relaise how bad they were because I ususally had some semblance of fake tan on. I havent been able to eat yet but hopefully by tonight I can stomach something as we are heading into the Amazon tomorrow on a 3 day trek.

Most dangerous road in the world. Sick again!!!

Yesterday we cycled down the most dangerous road in the world and I dont mean leisurely bike ride, I mean we were on top class bikes with front and back suspension ripping it up at every corner. It was the most fun thing I have ever done. Beats the skydive by far. Anyone who has done it will understand. The only thing to spoil the great day was that I then got food poisoning and have been up all night. You dont want to know the details but Im in a dorm with 14 other people and the lads were out clubbing so I was looking after myself. Not fun. Im still ill but have to get on a plane now to the jungle for a few days.

La Paz

This place is crazy. It was one of the Irish lads bdays and we tore it up big style. All I can say is that the owner of the famous bar Vivienne´s knows us all personally.