4.30am. Get up after 5 hours of sleep. For some reason, it’s easier than dragging myself out of bed at 7am.

5.15am. Our tour bus leaves La Paz for Oruro. I get some sleep.

9am. We take our seats at the stands on Avenida 6 de agosto (aka Avenida Folclórica). Parade’s already begun, other stands are gradually filling up, sun is out.

Partly what you’d expect when you think of carnaval in Rio …

… And partly not.

So not.

Dancers need drinks!

And this one’s super thirsty!

Each group is headed up by a car bearing the Virgin. As in a doll, one of many. I have an automatic reaction to this idol, which I don’t have to any other part of the parade – not the devils, not the skimpy clothing, nada. I blame two years as a missionary in Ecuador.

12.30pm. After lunch, the rain buckets down. Some…