Trainers and children

My trainers really stink. I´ve had them for a couple of weeks, since being in Chile and wearing them on the horse has ripped a small hole in the front. They are getting close to death row. I had to leave them outside the window of my room and hope they air out enough before we go on the tour. Otherwise the others will have to deal with them in our shared accommodations.

In Argentina I had to accustom myself to slow service and a possibility of dying before food arrives. Therefore, became quite used to arriving to restaurants way before I was hungry. This however, didn´t prepare me for Bolivian service which is somewhat sporadic. In one place you can be waiting for two hours for food, in another, your food is slopped on your plate almost before you order it and you are barely asked if you want any, let alone showed a menu. This is not easy to prepare for. How hungry should I be when I go to a restaurant? Basically, don´t be hungry and just hope you get fed, and worry later if you are hungry again or stock up on snacks. In the lonely planet recommended restaurant we were served by a 15 year old and he cooked the food I think. The pizza was actually delicious but that might have been because I was so hungry.

The walk back from the horse ride had taken us passed a strange gold head statue - to be quite a popular object throughout Bolivia - I´m still to find out why. Then we came across a mass of table football tables and a bunch of kids fanatically playing on them while their proud mothers and older brothers and sisters watched. Amazingly, here we were ignored entirely unless we caught someones eye and smiled. A lady was selling home made ice cream at the side of the road, ofcourse I tried some. I thought I was getting coconut and was pleasantly suprised by banana flavour.