Bolivia part 1( Bolivia Parte Uno)

Well I have been in Boliva nearly two and a half months now and not written anything about it. And now because I have spent so much time here I feel like I have nothing to say. I have a good enough idea of the culture to know that there is know way I know enough to do it justice. I have met enough people that I know I will feel terrible when I forget some.
I arrived by 4wd from Chile. Bumping along high altitude desert roads and revving the engine terribly to do the cars inability to get out of 4th gear. Stuffed in with some enjoyable young english company and a quiet but amable chilean woman I made my way past lakes both malodious and colourful and other desolate and beautiful scenery. The Altiplano desert chared by Chile, Argentina and Boliva is surely one of the most inhospitable places on earth. Obviously I was struck first by the expansive dryness but learn of more things to deny life any hope the longer I stayed. Hours of driving revealed only rocks, sand and short tussocky drass. Normally sparse but at times looking almost like a lawn would after three days of people drunken whippersnippering. Unlike Australian deserts the horizon doesnt aggressively stare you down, challanging you to confront your own insignificance, instead the desert hear stokes fears. As well as the sparse dryness there is the terrible cold. The breeze cuts through clothes cruelly whilst the sun burns your skin. The thinness of the atmosphere makes any effort incredibly difficult which I was to learn at La Cuidad de Sapos or city of toads. This was one of miy highlights of the 3 day desert tour. A giant rock formation (what are so many rocks doing up so high!) that from a distant looks like it could be an ancient city. And named for the toads because some of the rocks look a little like toads if you squint. My erstwhile english companions discovered that if you squint you can find many more things, crocodiles, eagles, faces and turtles amongst other things. I think the human brain is very good at finding shapes and meaning amongst the meaningless. Happily walking alone I heard Jack call to me. He´d found himslef a wonderful perch on top of some rocks and informed that the view was truly wonderful. I climbed some rocks to get around teh back, and then a steep but easy 4 metre climb to the platform my freind was on. I was absolutely fucked. I could do nothing but lie on the rock platform and struggle for breath and words for 4 minutes, i felt like I had escaped a near drowning and not that I had navigated a short climb. The thinness of the atmosphere would be a constant enemy in my time in Bolivia. At many times after struggling up stairs hills and other similar obstacles I have asked the chuckling Bolivians at the top; ¿Donde esta la atmosphera? or where is the atmosphere.

Thats all for now, I must go and drink delicious german beer with language school freinds. I will endeavour to write more in the near future.