Our first week went by in a flash of Spanish learning, speaking and exploring. Having arrived on the Monday morning in La Paz, we met Matty, the rugged explorer, in a bright yellow Mr Happy t-shirt with whom we got our delayed (Bolivian style) flight to Sucre.

We settled easily into the hostel and despite not having slept since leaving home we put this off to explore Sucre and meet our teachers at the language school.  In the evening  the language school hosted  us for dinner before we finally gave in to sleep.

The rest of the week’s mornings were filled with Spanish lessons, intense but always fun! Afternoons ranged from a trip around the market which did not fail to empty our pockets and fill our rucksacks with an oversized pineapple and mangos! A trip to a hat factory, including the purchase of Matty’s walking hat.. Which quickly converted itself to a general living hat (he thinks he looks super cool and tells us we don’t understand). To taking a bus out to see the palace of the one and only Prince and Princess of Bolivia… Not to mention competitive games of walle and a hike to the top of a hill outside Sucre to see the city from above.

Sucre is a beautiful city , very much alive with a bustling market, lovely plaza always filled with people and welcoming bars for that much needed beer at the end of the day!

Our team, which often goes by the name of the Quest Chicas or Matty’s Angels is myself (Jo), Rosa, Sophia, Issy and Zandie.

Our first night out together entailed a few discoveries, the first being that the group has a tendency to salsa… with French men and the second that a certain someone could not make it past midnight – cinderella style!

 The weekend has been a relaxed combination of cold beers, hikes to waterfalls, tanning our sunburns and 12 hours of sleep, a blissful end to a fantastic week.

 ¡Hasta pronto!