Bienvinidos a Bolivia

Uyuni was my first experience of Bolivia and for the first time I felt something approaching culture shock. Travelling in Chile and Argentina I felt like I was in a western country, but not in Bolivia. This really feels like somewhere different.

In Uyuni the streets were filthy and barely paved (as municipal services had ceased to exist) . And for the first time the people looked different too - most of Bolivia's population is indigenous.

The bus ride from Uyuni to Potosi was on an unpaved road in a crappy, over-ful bus - no more luxury sleeper buses ala Chile and Argentina.

Potosi is the highest city in the world (4,070m), and home to Cerro Ricca, a cooperative mine dug into the huge hill overlooking the city. For 2 or 3 hours we crawled through the mine's dusty narrow tunnels suffocating on the fumes and the dust. Miners still eke out a living (of sorts) scratching around for lead, tin and zinc. The conditions were worse than I had imagined - it was hot, difficult to breathe and the smell stayed on my clothes and skin for days after the visit. For the miners it's a matter of lif and death. A frighteningly high proportion die of silicocis and/or other respiratory diseases within 10 years of entering the mine.

From Potosi I headed to Sucre, formely Bolivia's capital, and home to a fantastic collection of Spanish colonial architecture around the main plaza. Sucre was an excellent place to hang out for a few days and take some Spanish lessons (for a staggering US$5/hour!!).

I arrived in La Paz this morning after a hellish 13 hr ride from Sucre. En-route I was nearly robbed in Potosi. When the bus stopped I headed for the toilet. A bloke pointed the way so I followed. It was dark and we went behind the back of a building. He then pointed to a gate and said the toilet was through there. The fact that he wasn't leading the way anymore made me slightly suspicious. As did the realsiation that I was suddenly alone in a very dark alley. Predictably, it was the start of a scam.

Another guy came round the corner wearing a (false) police badge (but no uniform). He asked to see our passports and cash (to supposedly check we weren't carrying counterfeit currency). My companion (his accomplice) all to readily complied. I told the 'policeman' that all my stuff was on the bus, and twigged what was happening once he started lifting my shirt to see if I was wearing a money belt. Freaking out, I hit him as hard as I could, which cleared an exit, and made a run for it. Back by the bus I never saw the 'policeman' again. I was lucky to: 1) know about this scam and, 2) to get away. A French guy I met in Sucre lost 500 Bolivianos to the same scam in Potosi (he had told me the story the day before).

Now La Paz, which is as crazy as you'd expect. First impressions of the city remind me of Kathmandu - loads of people in a very big, very poor city surrounded by mountains. The more time I spend in large cities the more I realise how much they do my head in. I won' be staying here long.