I´m still alive, and Rio bound soon!

Hi everyone! I was seriously out of internet access for 2 weeks. Feels good to be back in civilization again. Civilization would be Salta, Argentina, by the way.

I did end up doing that Coricho road mountain bike trip. The road really was the most dangerous one in Bolivia. There were two trucks that went over the edge in the past week. I wanted to get a photo but Julio, the guide said it would be in poor taste since people died. He´s right, but the photo would´ve been cool.

After that, riots started erupting in La Paz, so I got out and went up to the Amazon for a week. I treked in the jungle, czeched out all the "toxico" insects, drank water out of a tree, and swam in the Amazon river. After that I headed to the pampas to meet all the alligators, monkeys, pink dolphins and stuff. The guide, Juaquin, would make Steve Irwin look like a pansy. He grabbed alligators for us to inspect, wrestled cobras and andaconda snakes out of the marsh for photos, and showed us how to fish for pirahanas. I was the only one who caught them. Must´ve been all that wonderful fishing Papa and I did when I was younger. I also swam with the pink dolphins and alligators. You know, alligators will only bother you if you are near a nest. Not that I´m speaking from experience or anything...

Then the rainy season really did arrive and I was stuck in Runnebaque until the grass runway dried enough for a plane to take off. There were tons of other backpackers in the same boat as me so it made for a very entertaining time. The only bar there floods in heavy rain. I met my first farmer traveler. He runs a sheep and corn farm in Australia and takes time out inbetween harvest and shearing to travel. The plane that finally took me away was so small that we had to wear oxygen masks in flight. I got a photo of the pilot taking photos out the window while flying the plane.

By the time I made it back to La Paz, the riots had stopped. I was done with the city anyway though and went on to southern Bolivia to czech out those salt lakes everyone kept raving about. I went on a group tour, and the other backpackers I was with were hilarious. Good thing we all got along since we were seven in a small 4x4 jeep for 3 days. The first night we played a game of strip poker and when Jilian, the French dude, had to start showing skin, all the other French backpackers in the hostel shouted, ¨Viva la France!¨and took their clothes off as well. Just in case any of you are curious, I fared very well in the game. No worries.

Our guide didn´t speak English, the tour reminded me of the one I did in Turkey. He´d make random stops at various places and just point and say the name in Spanish. I did work out most of it, like vizcahas are like large chinchillas, and live in the random rock islands in the salares. Aren´t you glad you know that now? The best part was the Sol de Manana. There were geysers, mud pools and a NON- sulfur hot spring where we soaked all morning, feeling quite in need of a bath after 3 days without.

I nearly missed the bus to San Pedro de Alcama, Chili. Just my luck that the bus driver happens to be the only anal-retentive Bolivian in existance (My friend Gary calls Bolivia the country of "nearly"). I couldn´t find my ticket fast enought and had to throw myself in front of the bus shouting, ¨No salga, por favor!¨ The last thing I needed was to be left stranded in the middle of the desert. I got quite an audience, with my little spectacle, but it worked. I got on the bus and then found my ticket. I also became friends with two wonderful Brazilians, Shenk and Mauro, who let me come along with them in their comfy SUV to Salta, Argentina. It was a 12 hour trip, and I kept them entertained with travel stories. They wanted to hear every bit about my journey, since May, and said not to leave out details, since there was loads of time. I learned Portugese, got great tips for Rio, and ideas for places to go afterward, in Brazil.

I feel like this is long enough as is. I have too many emails to read and try and answer now. Hope you are all well and the Bostonians are surviving the snow.

All my love, Carla