When I got to Cochabamba, I went to a very cool hostel called Hostel Elisa which is, apparently, in a very very rough part of town. I know this because last night I was walking around at 10PM and wandered into a restaurant and met some locals who were about my age. One of the guys named Ariel who lived in Virginia and spoke english invited me to sit with his table. Then after we hung out at dinner for awhile, he tells me that the highest crime rate in Cochabamba is in this very area. Its so bad in fact that he insisted on walking me home.

We decided to meet up the next day and go to the market so he could help me buy shoes and a bus ticket. I found lots of shoes I liked and for about $11-14 american, but when it came down to buying them, none of the vendors had my size! They all acted like they had never seen a foot that big! So eventually, me and Ariel just asked if they had ANY shoes in size 13. Only 2 vendors had shoes in that size and they were 350 Bolivians, which is about $44 dollars :( But I really needed a new pair of shoes because mine got destroyed mountain biking, so I was stuck with buying a pair of brnad new Adidas that I would have never bought in America.

Then we went to lunch and he took me to a cool restaurant and we played chess. I beat him 2 times before our food arrived. I wanted to go back to the hostel to rest before the long bus ride tonight, and when I got back the owners gave me a room with a double bed and a tv so I could chill before the bus. I read 100 pages in my book and watched 2 episodes of Prison Break.

Tomorrow I arrive in Potosi at around 7AM and have a sweet hostel to stay at. Then I´ll plan a tour of the mines and get a bus ticket out for the Salt Flats.