Bolivia is exciting, scenically stunning and the people are lovely. But it's the poorest country in South America and getting poorer because of the war against drugs. It was once the world's third-biggest producer of coca, the raw material for cocaine, but a controversial US-sponsored coca eradication plan has wiped out 90 per cent of the crop. The economy has collapsed, bringing anarchy. Impoverished campesinos , rebelling against the coca clampdown and ethnic discrimination, frequently blockade the roads for weeks at a time. Be careful: the people aren't dangerous but as they get increasingly desperate the protest is escalating. If you're travelling around Los Yungas, Chapare or the Altiplano you could get trapped. Bullets fly when the army and farmers, who are mostly unarmed, come into conflict. The 'hottest' area is the Altiplano, the high plain, by Lake Titicaca, where 25 tourists were recently trapped for two weeks. No one speaks English. But don't be put off - I would go back tomorrow.

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