Entry 7: Puno, Lake Titikaka, La Paz, Sucre, Uyuni, Salta, San Pedro de Atacama

Hello everyone.

I hope none of you have been waiting by your computer with eager anticipation for my next entry as it has taken me rather a while...but if you have, thanks, it's nice that someone cares.

Anyway, as you can imagine I've done a fair bit since Cuzco, so I'll waste no time in letting you know exactly what I've been up to. Actually, ignore that statement, I will waste a little time just discussing the England performance first. 3 goals scored, none conceded, performance could have been better I felt, but you can't grumble with clean sheets. Villa are also going great guns, so the world of football is pretty sweet as far as I'm concerned at the moment.

Right, what better place to start, than at the end. At the moment I'm in a town called San Pedro Atacama in Chile. It's in the middle of the desert, so pardon the pun, but at night it gets rather chilly. Yesterday I went to the valley of the moon for a bike ride and to watch the sun setting. Watching sun sets is becoming something of a favourite of mine, having also spent time in Uyuni on the salt flats observing the passing of another day. As you can imagine I have an extensive back catalogue of sun set photos now, so won't bore you with them all, but here are a few of my favourites. The two with me in are from the salt flats, whilst the one without is from the valley of the moon.

Before arriving in Chile we briefly passed through Argentina for a steak and a chance to paraglide. This was fantastic, easily one of the best activites I have ever done, just ranking underneath football on my list of 'favourite things'. I got an extended run in the air as the wind suddenly became quite strong and for a while it looked like I might never land. My pilot brushed aside fears of spending the rest of our lives in the air though and after about 6 failed attempts we were finally back on firm ground.

My time in Bolivia was equally adrenaline packed, with a ride down the 'road of death' in La Paz, apparently the most dangerous road in the world due to its proximity on the edge of a very steep cliff edge. As we sped down at break-neck speeds on our mountain bikes our guide would regularly stop to point out where a Frenchman died or where an Italian died. Having been to both countries and seen how they drive I wasn't surprised by the nationalities of the unlucky ones.

Whilst in La Paz I had my last bout of sickness, which was 3 weeks ago. I'm hoping that this means I may be finally aclimatizing to this continent.

As I have already mentioned, I also spent a little time at the salt flats in Uyuni when in Bolivia. The flats host 12,000 square km of salt and provide visitors with the perfect oportunities for photos. Here am I about to dive into a glass of wine.

Lake Titikaka in Peru was also a spectacle to behold, but will be remembered more for the momentous occasion that one of it's islands hosted....the first win of our football team on South American soil. Against a team of half-wits and pensioners we finally recorded a win, a 4-0 trouncing, in which I scored a fine half volley and a well worked team goal. Here I am wheeling away in a celebratory fashion. Sadly we then lost our next game, but the sense of achievment still resides in all of our hearts.

A few observations:

Drivers in South America don't feel the need to use lights until it is pitch black

Right, I'm off to watch the egg chasing to see if England can once more rule the world in something other than having too many chavs.

See you all one day.

Vinny/Ian