Marching powder, mountain bikes, messed up noses and mauled hands. All in a typical Bolivian weekend.

Ok, so I missed out on this. Typical view out of the bus window in Bolivia

But I also missed going downhill on a bike down this

Loads of lorries fall off this road because it's too narrow. I already know what it feels like to fall off a road like this, I don't need to be reminded.

Maz. Top guy

A very happy Timmy

Wow! Never mind - the coffee was really good in La Paz.

They started off in the clouds - literally

Shudder. I'd of absolutely hated it

A weekend of all round excess:

Grijs and Leanne were still with us and we arranged to meet up with Zoe and Fred - another couple that we got chatting to on Isla Del Sol. We’d also met a guy in our hotel called Maz. We went to a bar, got totally pissed and wasted. We were joined by another guy who we had seen on Isla Del Sol, only he turned up with a different girl than we had first seen him with. Soon enough we were a group of friends gossiping and laughing around a table again. It was great. We hadn't done that in ages. I realised how much I'd missed it and also how much I was missing my friends at home. But these guys were great. Maz is a laugh a minute. Grijs and Leanne are sweet and funny and Zoe and Fred could have come with us from home. We were a happy bunch that night.

I have Maz to thank for the best shower of the trip so far. WE FOUND HOT WATER!!!!! And not only was it hot, it was a full on power shower. OH HURRAHH. Oh thank you La Paz. Thank you Maz for getting us to stay at that hotel. Any travellers reading this might think I'm whinging - I'm not. It's one thing having a cold shower in tropical temperatures.,, but it is BLOODY FREEZING UP HERE!! We're 4000m above sea level! You really need to be Canadian to understand how cold it is.

Anyway - back to our mental weekend in la Paz: There are some advantages to London. Tim scored some weed and some Bolivian marching powder for which he knowingly paid at least 4 times the going rate. The guy knew it was his birthday, we had only just arrived in town and we were in a bar. Sod it, we had a laugh though. We also had the last laugh. We might have paid over the odds but it was 10 dollars! Six bloody quid!!! I’m not normally into that kind of thing, but it was bloody great…you can only just buy a packet of cigarettes for 6 quid at home…..and it was Tim’s birthday….and we were in Bolivia …it had to be done. We had a great time…until the next day that is. Somewhere along the line I had got so fu**ed that I forgot about how delicate my nose is. The usual happened. A whole week I sneezed and dribbled for, if not more. Twat.

The day of the Death Road bike ride eventually arrived. It’s another one of Bolivia’s ‘mostests.’ This time the most dangerous road in the world. I'd been dreading it. Tim, on the other hand, came to South America so he could do it and has been ranting on about it ever since Venezuela. It’s a 70km bike ride from La Paz to Coroico. You ride on a cliff road, similar to the one we had the car accident on when we were kids – only this one is higher. It starts at about 4600 meters above sea level and descends 1700meters down narrow roads that are crumbling at the edges. People die on the road all the time – especially lorry drivers since the road is so bad it often collapses under the weight. Apparently it’s ‘quite safe’ to go with a mountain bike. I read that the road got its name after eight Israelis were killed in a jeep about five years ago. You cycle down, then take a jeep back up again.

The night before and Tim was nearly wanking (sorry) in anticipation. He was begging me to go with him, but I managed to convince him that he'd have a much better time without me. I was going to miss out, I knew that because you pass through waterfalls and go into the jungle at the bottom. I wasn’t even scared of falling off the edge, but I HATE going downhill more than I hate going up. I don’t like going down the hill on Pond Street never mind three and a half thousand meters worth. In fact, I just bloody hate mountain biking full stop. I spent the day shopping and lunching with Zoe and Fred and let him and Maz get on with it.

I was checking my watch all day. Tim is fanatical about mountain biking and that over-confidence was worrying me. I kept thinking back to how lucky we were during the hurricane and for the first time on the trip I started to wish the time away. He got back, pretty much bang on time and he hasn't stopped ranting about it since. I'm glad I didn't go. I would have spoilt it for him. Maz really hurt his hand trying to keep hold of the breaks for so long and even Tim said his hands were really sore and broken. I’d have hated every minute and that would have spoiled his experience. He’d been looking forward to it for so long. As it goes he finished first behind the guide and proudly wears his T Shirt.

As amazing as La Paz was, it was the place where I first started to really miss my friends. Zoe and I clicked instantly and I was really disappointed that we only had a few days together before we had to say goodbye. I think we were both feeling the same way. You meet loads of really nice people. Everyone looks out for one another and friendships are made a lot quicker than at home. You'll be chatting for an hour and before you know it you've arranged to travel the next section of a country with them. It's really nice, but just as you start to really get to know someone you go your separate ways. It means you can never get beyond the being polite stage.

Zoe and I were jabbering like old pals after the first day. They are travelling South America for another 8 months and then settling in Australia to live. They got married just before they left London in Feb, so the trip was effectively their Honeymoon. How cool is that.?! She hopes to go home for a month next summer. It would be cool to see her. Who knows.