Zoe's Aventura Magnifica

The Garden Route

2010-02-27T12:31:00.002Z

So this is the Wicked Camper Van we hired, its called Jungle Drums.(You could see it if the photo app was working) The plan was to spend 10 days driving the Garden Route (a famous coastal drive in South Africa) before turning inwards into the Drakensberg Mountains and then onto Johannesburg and the airport home.
We drove from Cape Town, via the Cape of Good Hope along the stunning cliff top drive along to Pringle Bay, home to friends of Geoff who had kindly insisted on putting us up and feeding us lots of food. Pringle Bay is a tiny bay with a pristine beach and very few people. From the home of Dawn and Anneka I could see a couple of whales in the bay spouting water through their blow holes. As well as feeding us, they also let us luxuriate in huge showers and even did all our laundry, which after 4 months and only two hot washes on route, was not the nicest of tasks. We could have stayed for weeks but time was pressing alas. The plan was to drive around to Hermanus, which was close by, and do a shark cage dive. This is where you are place in a metal cage and lowered into the water between a lot of Great White Sharks (those from Jaws fame) Unfortunately the company contacted us on the morning we were due to go to say that due to very rough seas all cage diving had been postponed for a week. We later found out that other truck friends who were a couple of days ahead of us, had managed to go out, but they had been constantly vomiting due to the rough seas and most had been unable to get into the water through illness. So for us the cage diving was off.
Instead we turned inland slightly and drove through the winelands. Guess why the region is called the winelands. We stopped off at a couple of wineries and found to our surprise that the wine tastings were free. It’s fair to say we made the most of this opportunity. Luckily Denis was onboard and Denis does not drink so was very happy to drive. Denis is a non-drinking Irishman – have you ever heard of such a thing. He’s a rally driver back home in his spare time so when he offered to do all the driving the following day and spend the full day wine tasting – who were we to argue. The wine here was even cheaper than Stellenbosch and we picked up some gorgeous chenin blancs for just 1.50 pounds per bottle. We visited the world champion brandy maker and some highly acclaimed port producers. If we thought little Wicked was overloaded before, now there was another 15 bottles of wine, bottles of sherry and brandy not to mention 2 pink ports, 2 ruby ports and a tawny port. The worrying thing is, that the vast majority of this alcohol was consumed well before the end of the trip!
From Route 62 winelands tour we made our way to the town of Oudtshoorn. I struggled with the pronunciation of this for days! This town became rich due to Ostrich farming and the production of ostrich feathers at the turn of the last century. There are still a lot of ostrich farms in the area and we went to visit one. I learnt all about ostrich farming and that you can stand on an ostrich egg without it breaking. The egg can hold 180kg and is the equivalent of 24 chicken eggs if you are scrambling it. The highlight of the trip though had to be the ostrich riding. Only 4 people from the group tour could have a go and I was picked to be one of them. It was hysterical. I had to climb onto a fence so I could position myself on the rump of the bird – not the centre of its back. I had to grip each wing tightly (easier said then done) then the handler set it off. We went flying off around the arena. The handler ran behind to catch you should you all off. I made it all the way around before my less than graceful decent. It was so much fun, I could not stop laughing for ages. I was even given a certificate.
To the north of the town we visited the Cango Caves. These caves are filled with millennia old stalagmites and stalactites. Stalactites hang down and are hollow whilst stalagmites grow upwards and are solid. The formations within these caves were beautiful. The caves were warm inside which surprised me; other caves I have visited such as those in Slovenia are freezing inside.
We spent a day at the resort of Knysna where I gorged on more oysters. The seafood in South Africa is amazing. In the famous surfing resort of Jeffries Bay I ate calamari, scallops and crayfish. I did not try to surf though; standing up in the water there was difficult enough with the strength of their currents. We spent a couple of days at Storms River where Denis did the worlds biggest bungee jump. I went Zip lining which was a lot tamer but amazing fun. I flew across waterfalls and gorges on wires ranging from 90m to 210m long. In the mountain resort of Hogsback I climbed up waterfalls and admired the scenery.
We were able to spend a night camping within the Addo National Park and spent the day doing game drives around the park. On our afternoon drive we saw a herd of roughly 25 elephants but it was on our 6am morning game drive when we were very fortunate in what we saw. A lion must have made a kill during the night and had left its unwanted meat. Hyenas had found the remains of this kill and we saw a group of 5 hyenas eating the remains of a baby Kudu. It is rare to see hyenas like this and I felt incredibly lucky. There were also a couple of cheeky jackals who kept trying to steal pieces of meant from under the hyena’s noses. Eventually they did succeed. We were all on cloud nine after witnessing this but the day kept getting better. We came across elephants grazing at the side of the road. One elephant turned around and looked straight at us. He then started walking towards us. The air in our camper van became very tense! The elephant stood next to the van, looked into the windows and then walked on. We were less than 30cm away from an elephant! A collective sigh of relief was let out when he walked away – he was simply being nosey. The morning ended with us finding three very full lions sunbathing, these were probably the lions who had killed the kudu. As game drives go – it was extraordinary.
We have now moved inland into the Drakensberg Mountains. Getting here we encountered a lightning storm, followed by a hailstorm which I though was going to break the car windscreen. This was topped with the heaviest rain I have ever witnessed. Visibility went to nothing. We could not see the road in front of us, let alone any markings on the road. As we were on the side of a mountain with sheer drops at one side, it was not the most comfortable driving conditions. Luckily the worse of the weather passed quickly, leaving us driving in just plain nasty heavy rain.
From the Drakensberg Mountains I am planning to do a little hiking (weather permitting) and also pop across the border into Lesotho. This will be my 15th country of this journey.

To Cape Town

2010-02-27T12:26:00.003Z

We crossed the Orange River into South Africa on the 3rd February and made our way to the town of Stellenbosch, which is in the heart of the wine producing region. It would have been rude not to sample the products, so after we all dressed in jumpsuits bought in Tanzania we headed off on a wine tour. We tasted, whites, reds and champagnes (or Cape Classics as they are called here, as they are not made in the region of Champagne) not to mention a lot of homemade cheeses. An enjoyable day was had by all and quite a lot of vino purchased, especially as the quality stuff was coming in around 3.50 pounds a bottle.
The truck continued heading south and soon we were on the coast at Bettys Bay, home to a colony of the ever so cute African Penguins. We watched them for an hour before going towards our most southerly destination. Cape Agulhas is the most southern point of Africa and the place where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. It was emotional for the group being here as it meant the end was in sight. Everyone celebrated reaching this point with champagne and cakes.
After spending our final night camping at Cape Agulhas the truck departed for the couple of hours ride into Cape Town. As we all checked in to the hostel, the overland journey was officially over. Despite being free to all go our separate ways or even go home, some very good friendships had been formed and as a group we all stayed together for another few days. I ended up spending a week in Cape Town and I could have easily stayed longer. It’s a beautiful city.
Table Mountain is stunning, with views out to sea. I took the cable car up there and along with 5 friends, for some reason we thought it would be more fun to abseil down it. I abseiled from the very top down 100metres (that’s very long in abseiling terms and needs a special rope, normal abseil ropes quickly disintegrate due to the continual friction, they also need special metal grips as the standard figure of 8 ones cannot hold the pressure from the rope).I had to climb over the rock ridge and literally throw myself backward on the top of a mountain. Scary is an understatement! I am waiting for the photos to be sent to me but even looking at the photos is scary!
I did less scary pursuits in Cape Town too, I visited the Museum with was hosting the BBC Wildlife Photography of the Year, the National Gallery, the planetarium, the Slave Lodge, the Old Fort, not to mention the Waterfront which is where these statues of South Africa’s 4 Nobel Peace Prize winners are. (Mini quiz – do you know who they are?) I also visited Robben Island which is the prison out to sea in which Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were kept. Whilst I was in Cape Town, Thursday 11th February, was the 20th anniversary of the release of Nelson Mandela and I visited a couple of Mandela exhibitions of his life. Coincidently that day was also the state opening of parliament and I watched loads of police and camera crews set up shop in the city park, which is where the entrance of the parliament building is.
Whilst the overland adventure was over, I was not quite ready to come home, so along with 4 other friends I had made on the truck, we decided to hire a camper van and make our way up the coast of South Africa …

Namibia

2010-02-09T13:53:00.010Z

For the last couple of months Namibia has had alot of unseasonal rain, and so for our first few days in Namibia I saw what most people never see in Namibia - and that was grass. It did mean that we saw fewer wild animals because they have enough drinking water and so are not concentrated around the natural watering holes as they usually are. Saying that I did see hundreds upon hundreds of Springbok especially in the Etosha National Park, Springboks bounce when they run - they do look like tigger - they are so comical. After Etosha we moved along the skeleton coast, here it was pure desert. Not a blade of grass to be seen anywhere. Spitzkoppe is the large redish mountain which is called the Materhorn of namibia. We camped alongside it and I actually slept on the side of the rock under the stars!
Whilst in the desert I also climbed dune 45, this dune is famous has it is the most photographed in Namibia and often features in National Geographic. It is over 100metres high and is an absolute swine to climb. I climbed it late evening and watched the sunset from the top. I was absolutely knackered but not half as knackered as Louise who gave birth to baby Dylan the same day - Congratulations guys!
From the desert we moved to Swakopmund also known as the adrenaline capital. I went out on a two hour quad bike ride across the dunes.
this was not a nice genteel ride but quite an adventure climbing up and down the dunes. At one point we all had to come to a complete stop as we went over the edge of one dune at a 180 degree angle - it was a straight drop down. i went incredibly slowly with my heart in my mouth at all times but I did make it and without injury. Apart from the pockets of sheer terror it was a really fun afternoon. It wasn't all adrenaline though, I also went on a dolphin cruise where we followed a pod of dolphins for a while. They really are graceful animals. We also saw plenty of seals, at one point one seal actually jumped into the back of the boat. They have gotten so used to the boats that they jump inside and demand to be fed. The nine of us onboard didn't know this at first, so we all jumped six feet in the air when this seal first appeared. they are so large in the flesh. At least a metre and a half long and very wide. Its not many days you get to ruffle a seals fur - it was an unexpected treat. To celebrate our success with both seals and dolphins, the skipper brought out champagne and oysters. This was the first time I have had oysters and surprisingly I enjoyed them, so much so I had 4 - they helped the half bottle of champagne so down nicely!
For those celeb buffs amongst you, Swakopmund is also where Brad and Angelina had a house for a while and where she gave birth to their first baby. My final stop in Namibia was the Fish River Canyon - this geographical wonder rivals the Grand Canyon in its beauty and scope. I took a gentle stroll along the top - not the five day hike it takes to cover the whole canyon. From the canyon it was literally a short hop and a drive to the South African border - my final country.

Botswana

2010-01-29T14:26:00.003Z

We moved from Victoria Falls across the border to Botswana. I went on a river cruise down the Chobe river and so lots and lots of hippo’s and very close too. Hippo’s are huge and incredibly dangerous – they can bite you in two with one snap of their jaws and will do just that if you get between them and the water. They can also run very fast despite their size. Thankfully these hippos were contented munching the grass and were not slightly interested in the tourists gawping at them. From Chobe national park we moved northwards into the Okavango Delta. The traditional form of transport in the Delta is mokorro's or dug out canoes. I went for a three day expedition into the Delta - and I was poled there in a mokorro. Each canoe holds two people and is 'driven' by a poler. They are slightly like gondolas in Venice but the canoes sit alot closer to the water - in fact alot of the time was spent slightly below river level. It was ever such a peaceful way to travel. Drifting through the reeds, the water lillys and the papyrus plants. We made a camp along the banks of one of the rivers and spent the days relaxing and going for walks in the surrounding bush. Saw some elephants, giraffes, zebras and we walked extremely close to a herd of hippo's for my liking. I tried to have a go poling one of the canoes and spent half an hour simply going around in a circle. I wasn't the worse driver by far, Geoff managed to tip his canoe over and fall in, eventually I managed to pole the 20 metres it took the professionals about 2 minutes to cover the same distance! Our polers also took us all out in a mokorro safari - again we got very close to some hippos wading in the river. I also saw a puff adder snake swimming across the river - it was cool! After 3 days we were poled out of the Delta (coming out we got very wet as a torrential rain storm erupted absolutely soaking us through and filling the canoes with water) I then boarded a small plane and went for a flight above the Delta. The ariel shot was taken by me and the photo of the plane is in fact the plane in which other members of my group were on - this photo was taken out of my plane window. From the air I saw such a large herd of elephants, there must have been close to 200 elephants. The scenery was stunning. I really enjoyed my time in Botswana but time flies and we have to move on to Namibia.

Belated Photos

2010-01-29T13:58:00.002Z

Christmas day on Zanzibar - enjoying a seafood feast - along with Natalie and Malika.

My bestest tent buddy ever - Harriet and I on Christmas day.

On my birthday I got a special treat from the boys in the form of a diet coke strip tease

My birthday - complete with extreme bad taste dressing

A selection of the bad taste outfits. You were not allowed to buy your own, it was bought in secret for you. My delightful little number was put together by Henrik (he's centre in the picture) and coincidentally it was I who bought Henriks outfit. Kirstin is the third person in the photo.

Victoria Falls

2010-01-29T13:23:00.004Z

We left Antelope Park and made our way to Victoria Falls, famously found by Dr Livingstone (I presume). The falls sit on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia and I visited them on both sides. The Falls are located on the Zambezi river and are also known as the Mist that Thunders - due to the very loud rumbling sound it makes and the vast quantities of mist that surrounds it. The Zimbabwe side is very picturesque - the falls span a length of 1.8km and I only got wet when I visited the last two cataracts - then I got soaked. Or I thought I was wet - that was before I visited the Zambia side. I had only been on the Zambia side less than a minute and I was drenched. A couple of minutes late and I was completely soaked through to the bone. It would have been impossible to be any wetter. Spot the picture in which I look like a drowned rat. The volume of water on the Zambia side was so great that as times I could not look at the falls directly because the water pressure was making it difficult to keep my eyes open! The falls are absolutely magnificent - it is so difficult to put into words what I could see - the volume of water cascading over the edge was staggering. It certainly deserves its accolade of being one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. Seeing it has definitely been a highlight for me. Having said that, I was not contented with seeing the Falls from both the Zimbabwean and Zambian ground - I had to go a stage further. I chartered a tandem microlight and went for a 15minutes scenic flight over the top of the falls and the gorges that surround the falls. The flight was breath taking. I have never been in a microlight before. Its not too dis- similar to a hang glider but with the added bonus that you do not have to run off a cliff, it has an engine so you simple sit back and enjoy the take-off. Going over the falls and seeing the drop does make you stomach turn a bit, especially when the pilot banks steeply and you are pratically upside down looking into the falls! I had a little go on the controls but it is safe to say that I am not a natural microlight pilot and I don't think I will be taking it up anytime soon. All in all the three days that I spent at Victoria Falls were spectacular and I can not recommend this place highly enough. As the americans would say... Its Awesome!

Ruins and Roars in Zimbabwe

2010-01-29T08:52:00.006Z

After leaving Harare, we visited the site of the Great Zimbabwe Ruins. This site was built during the 12th century and is the oldest historical site in Southern Africa. It is also what the country is named after, when they changed their name from Rhodesia after independence. Here a king resided, along with his 300 wives and 700 children. In fact the whole complex only housed the royal family! There is still alot to see here and I did enjoy climbing to the top of the enclosure (why do they always build on the top of mountains and hills?) - the view was magnificent. From the ruins we drove to Antelope Park, a park situated on the outskirts of the town of Gweru. Antelope Park is a vast area of land where a lion breeding and conservation program is ongoing. The lions here do have human contact but they will be released into a managed park land and their cubs (which will never have human contact) will be then fully released into the wild. I was able to get incredibly close to the lions and even witnesed them feeding (which is not for the fient hearted). We even got to go inside the enclousure when the youngest cubs were feeding. I was sat about 2 metres away from 3 lion cubs eating! I participated in a lion walk with these cubs - which turned 1 year old today. The cubs (which are more lion like than cub-like at the age of 1) bounded alongside us as we walked for an hour in the bush. They were very playful and enjoyed play fighting with each other - one even climbed a tree. I got to stroke them - they are so beautiful.
When they get to around 14 months old the cubs no longer go on the walk - that degree of contact is topped. The next stage is for them to go out hunting on their own during the night. These hunts are watched by the keepers and I was able to join a night encounter and also watch some 2 year old lionesses hone they hunting and stalking skills. They are so graceful, totally silent and of course - deadly. The 3 lionesses worked together to herd their prey before going in for the kill. I witnessed a couple of failed attempts but after a couple of hours hunting, we lost the lions for a bit (we were trying to follow them in a jeep) and when we found them again, they were happily tearing a gazelle apart. Watching them was amazing. I felt so fortunate to be able to see them, it will be as close as I will probably get to seeing a lion kill. At the age of 2 and a half the lions leave the park (with their top notch hunting skills) and are placed into managed parkland. They have radio collars so that the rangers will be able to tell if they are coping all right, but they should have no human contact, unless there is a problem. From here the cubs will be truely wild.
As well as lions, there are also a few elephants and horses at the park. I had my first ever horse riding lesson but did not go elephant riding this time - I thought I might need the ability to walk for a little longer!

Blog Delays

2010-01-23T09:40:00.002Z

Apologies for the delay in blog postings - I am having real trouble getting access to the internet, and when I do get online the computers are too basic to open up the blog site.

This is a really good connection, trouble is I only have 5 mins before I am due back on the truck.

So coming up will be postings about Antelope Park (in Zimbabwe) where I walked with lion cubs, The Great Zimbabwean Ruins, Victoria Falls both from the Zimbabwe and Zambian sides and my three day trip into the Okavango Delta in Botswana by morokko (or traditional canoe).

I have just crossed the border into Namibia and will be here for a couple of weeks, oh yes, I am really loving the trip so far.

Hopefully will blog soon....

Birthday Shananigans

2010-01-12T12:26:00.005Z

Our base just outside Harare was the Lavron Bird Camp. The owner used to be a falconer so he has a centre dedicated to birds of prey and they also have a couple of lions that they took in a couple of years ago during the most recent troubles in Zimbabwe - there was no food and alot of animals were killed, so Gary and his wife saved a couple of lions. The lions were safely behind an enclosure but the campsite did have horses and zebras just wondering through - which took alot of getting used to.
The day we arrived here was my birthday so I had a little birthday bash. The theme was bad taste but we were not allowed to chose our own outfits, you had to buy an outfit for someone else on the truck. The names were drawn out in secret so you did not know who was buying yours. This afternoon we presented our outfits to the lucky intended. I ended up with orange baggy pantaloons, a zebra print shirt, and a green belt with a flower on it. I looked very special! Alot of the boys ended up with outfits consisting mainly of womens underwear, one lad even ended up in a wedding dress! Halfway through the night the power went out, but we are seasoned travellers and a little thing such as lack of electricity does not phase us anymore. The candles came out and we continued the party dancing to i-pod speakers in candlelight. A fun evening was had by all. Wait till I can get somewhere where I can upload photos - they are special

New Year in Malawi

2010-01-12T12:11:00.002Z

No photos - dodgy internet again

After leaving the gorgeous island of Zanzibar, we left Tanzania completely and headed off to Malawi. Most of the country of Malawi is centered around the massive freshwater lake that is Lake Malawi. It is so big that the lake is tidal and has white sandy beaches. You would not know that it wasn't an ocean when you are standing on the lake side beaches. We stayed in two campsites along the lake front as we made our way down through the country. It was at Kande beach campsite that we pulled in for new years eve. To celebrate the new year a pig was purchased and roasted spit style trough out new years eve. One of the other tavellers Geoff is a former chef and he took charge of making a great spread including three types of stuffing, roast pumpkin, roast veg, stuffed peppers, baked potatoes. Needless to say I did not have any pig myself but I stuffed myself on the rest. The food was followed by quite a large quantity of alcohol and the new year was brought in with fireworks on the beach. I stayed up and saw the sunrise over the lake which was beautiful - it was quite a start to 2010.

After giving ourselves a day off to recover from the festivities, it was back to a couple of long drive days. We passed through the rest of Malawi, endured a 4 hour wait at the border and crossed into Mozambique. We saw nothing of Mozambique, we literally drove through it. We did cross the Zambezi though - it is a very large river. We spent one night in Mozambique bushcamping under the local electricity pylons. When we awaoke everyone had static hair that was standing on end, quite amusing. Then on the morning on the 4th we crossed into the lush green countryside of Zimbabwe and drove towards Harare to find a campsite and to celebrate my birthday in style!

Zanzibar

2010-01-06T11:46:00.000Z

On the 21st December I left the port of Dar Es Salem and caught the ferry for the 2 hour crossing to the island of Zanzibar. This island is famous for its spices most notably cloves and the fact it was the birthplace of Freddie Mercury. Unfortunately at the moment the entire island is without electricity - something to do with Tanzania cutting the electricity pipe line. This means the entire island is using generators but these are incredibly noisy, so they have to be switched off during certain hours and certainly during the night. Not so much of a problem you would think but the temperature is in the high 30's and 40's and without electricity there is no air conditioning, fans, refrigeration or even water - as the water pumps are all powered by electricity. On a night the temperatures got unbearable with the added plight of having no water, so no working toilets either! I spent a night in Stone Town, once home to the biggest slave market in East Africa and then it was up to Nyungi beach on the north of the island. It was so beautiful here, white sands and crysal clear turquoise waters. I spent alot of time in the Indian Ocean - it was bliss. Also went out on a dhow - a traditional fishing boat.
Had a christmas eve feast of Lobster and on Christmas Day I had even more seafood as part of a seafood buffet. Santa made it all the way to Zanzibar too with him bringing me a little soapstone dish with zebras carvings on it.

Serengeti and Nrongogoro Crater

2009-12-21T10:59:00.004Z

As soon as we left Nairobi we drove across the border to Tanzania and camped at the town of Arusha. From here I went on a 3 day two night camping trip to the Serengeti. Serengeti is a Swahili word being dry plains. The plains are certainly vast, they stretched on and on as far as the eye could see. As soon as the jeep crossed into the Serengeti my eyes were swamped with visions of thousands upon thousands of Wildebeasts. It is not the time of the annual migration so their numbers are not in the millions but there was still plenty. I also saw herds and herds of Zebras, lots of Masai Giraffe, impalas, thomson gazelles, buffalo and alot of huge birds including wild ostrich. Thaio that a leopard had ben spotted close by so we raced off. Leopards are the most difficult animal to t first eveningI was fortunate to see a herd of elephant with a handful of babies with them. One elephant was seperated from the others and we came across her later. She got that close to the jeep I was in that at one point the dirt she was flicking about her head landed in the jeep. I must admit when she was only around 3 metres away I did get a little aprehensive but she only scowled at us and walked by. Late in the afternoon a call came over the radio that a leopard had been spotted, so we raced off. Leopards are the most difficult of all the animals in Africa to find and the majority of people do not see them. We were incredibly lucky. The leopard was sunning itself on a big rock, hidden within the overhang of the rock but as we watched, she climbed out and perched herself in full sight. It was amazing. Everyone was lost for words.
We didn't think anything could top that but the following morning at sunset we came across a pair of cheetahs sunbathing then mock hunting. We followed them for ages, they are so graceful. This was followed by seeing a pair of lion cubs playing and shortly after that we came across a large male lion complete with large mane. He was laying down so we didn't have a good view but as we turned to leave he got up and we saw him and his mane in its full impressive glory. These two days in the Serengeti were simply too fantastic and awe inspiring to convey properly.
On the third day we ventured down into the Nrongogoro crater which is next to the Serengeti. It is an old volcanic crater with large grass plains inside. We desended 6oo metres and saw more and more animals, this time in such a spectacular setting. A lioness was laying next to the road, we could have reached out of the window and stroked her, but we all valued our arms more! There were black rhinos here but alas they stayed in the distance. It made no difference to the amazingness of the entire experience though. These past three days I will never forget.
From here we drive onwards to Dar Es Salem and catch the ferry across to Zanzibar where I will spend christmas.

Kenya - Gate to Hell and Elsamere

2009-12-20T08:35:00.003Z

After re-entering Kenya after Uganda we made our way down to Lake Naivasha. This is a camp ground around a giant lake that is home to alot of hippo's. Thankfully the hippo's stayed in the water whilst we were there. Next to the Lake is Elsamere - this is the home of the late Joy Adamson of Born Free and Elsa the Lion fame. We visited Elsamere and partook in high tea. For a couple of hours I felt very civilised whilst I ate cakes and drank home made lemonade in the company of frightfully posh old English ladies who are trustee's of the estate! On the other side of the lake is another national park - this one is called Hells Gate - I have literally been to the gates of Hell and they are situated in Kenya. You are allowed to cycle around this park but that sounded a bit strenuous so I opted to take a gentle stroll around the Crater Lake part of the park. I walked so close to giraffes and Zebra's you would not believe it. Giraffes are far taller in the flesh when you are stood next to them to when you simply view them from a car.
From Naivasha we made our way to Nairobi and stayed in the Karen area. This suberb is named after Karen Blixton of Out of Africa fame. It was here that we had to say goodbye to some of our group, which was very emotional. Whilst based here I visited a centre for orphaned elephants. baby elephants are so adorable and have the biggest eyelashes imaginable. I also visted a Giraffe centre where they breed Rothschilds Giraffes. From a viewing platform I was stood next to the giraffes head which is the same size as my torso! The Giraffe also licked my face, I have a cool picture which I will hopefully upload soon. From Nairobi we cross the border and head into Tanzania and straight into the Serengeti. Wild animals here I come...

Uganda

2009-12-15T13:52:00.002Z

My first stop in Uganda was the capital city of Kampala. Its a beautiful city, very green and I managed to do a fair bit of shopping. I even treated myself to a pedicure - who's says travelling through Africa has to be hardcore. We stayed for a couple of nights at the side of Lake Bunyoni - such a picturesque place. The lake has many islands on it. One of which is known as prisoner island. This is where they would take unmarried pregnant girls and leave them to die. If a local chap couldn't find a wife he could go to the island and take a woman if he could find one alive - nice! Another island is being put to much better use - it is a community for orphaned children, they are given homes and schooling. We went to visit the children, they were adorable but they did almost kill me in an intense game of tickling!
We also visited the town of Jinja. This is on the shore of Lake Victoria and is in fact the source of the Nile. There are grade 5 rapids here which many of our group ventured into but I gave the white water rafting a miss this time. Just to liven things up a bit, before pulling into the campsite in Jinja the group as a whole decided to celebrate Tranny Tuesday and we all swapped clothes. The boys, it has to be said, did look better in the dresses than the girls usually do! The girls got to spend the evening scrathing their crotches and burping loudly. Its fair to say we did make an impression at this particular campsite....

Rwanda - Genocide and Gorillas

2009-12-12T07:42:00.005Z

We drove from Kenya, through Uganda (more about that later) into Rwanda. The countryside here is absolutely stunning, its quite a hilly country most of it terraced for agriculture with lots of tea plantations. Because of the hills, mountains and volcanoes there is always low level mist in the mornings and driving through the plantations with the rolling mist is simply stunning. We went straight from the border to the capital of Kigali. Here we stopped for a couple of hours in the Genocide Remembrance musuem. The history of Rwanda is a lesson in how appalling colonisation can be. Very brief snapshot - When the Belgiums colonised at the turn of the 20th century, they introduced identity cards. Before that all tribes had been living peacefully for 600 years, The Belgiuns split the population on nose size and how many cows a person had on a certain day. THis resulted in the ethnic groupings of Tutsies and Hutu's. Then the Catholic Church made the minority Tutsie's in charge and then the French would only grant independence to the country in the 1960's if the majority Hutu's overthrew the Tutsie's, so they armed them. There was a number of small genocides towards the Tutsie people up until the 1990's but in 1990 the Hutu goverment of the day got extreme. Through propaganda they turned 95 % of Hutu's against the Tutsie's. People who were once good friends and neighbours and people who had inter-married were suddenly hated. THe government began training people in how to kill with blunt weapons and lists of people's to be killed were drawn up. In 1994 the Genocide started. In just 100 days over one million people were killed, most in horrific and slow ways, mainly with machetes. Whole families were wiped out and still have not been identified. Eventually those in power were overthrown. The problem was then rebuilding the country where most of the small population had fled as refugees, had been victims of the genocide or had particpated in it. The museum was incredibly moving and extremely thought provoking into the depths to which some people will stoop. The following day a local gentleman in his late 20's gave us his personal account. The part most of our group had trouble with is how quickly everyone is living side by side with each other again. The organisers are treated differently but the everyday person who helped with the killings are mainly still living in the same villages as the families of those they killed. They are having to do some time in prison but mainly community service, helping to rebuild. Francis told us this community way of justice is working because the perpretrators are free to come forward and recount exactly what they did. It means the families of the victims can have closure and know for certain what happened. As I say, most of our group struggled with this, as most imagined they would want some kind of vengence but the majority of Rwandans think differently.
On a must less sombre note, my other time inRwanda was spent visiting the Mountain Gorillas. There are only 600 left living in the wild and this is mainly to do with the conservation work started by Dian Fossey (of Gorilla's in the Mist fame). The Volcanoe National Park were I went has 15 Gorilla families. 7 families can be viewed by the general public whilst the remaining 8 are only tracked and studied by the conservationists. 8 people are allowed to visit each family for just one hour a day. My group visited the Kwitonda family. There are 15 gorillas in this family including 3 Silverbacks and a two month old baby. We trekked for half an hour to the boundary of the national park, then we trekked through the very thick and wet undergrowth of the park. The nettles and thistles were shoulder height and the branches kept trying to trip us up. After just another half an hour we could hear noises above us. The Gorilla's were in the tree tops. It was amazing. Then as we turned a corner a Silverback was sat right in front of us eating away. He was not bothered by our prescene at all. He was mesmorising. It is difficult to find the words to explain what we were feeling at this point. We moved on and found another Silverback, as we were watching, the first silverback came running through the bushes and charged us - we very quickly moved back a couple of metres. Hearts were in mouths at this point. Even our guide had run! He was not being aggressive though, simply showing us he was the boss. He definately was. He was so big, and the muscles on his back so well defined. After making his point, he pissed in front of us and then buggered off. We were very fortunate in that other Gorilla's came down from the trees just in front of us, including the baby. All too quickly our hour was up and we had to leave. To say this was a magical experience is not really doing it justice - it is something I will certainly never forget. I have seen Mountain Gorillas in the wild!!!!!

Kenya

2009-11-29T07:54:00.000Z

Sorry no pictures, the internet connection is not working that well.

Well we crossed the border into Kenya and I must say that the Ethiopia / Kenyan border is one of the most efficient I have been through. My first few days in Kenya however were not all that great. Due to the states of the roads, very heavily corrugated mud roads, even though on some days we were traveling for over 12 hours, we were only traveling a couple of hundred kilometres. By the time we finally reached tarmac, Franco our driver got out of the cab and kissed the road!. In total we did 4 bush camps before reaching anywhere. Thats 4 days without washing and spending 12 hours a day cooped up on the back of a bouncing truck. It was certainly an experience. We have now made it through the worst part of the entire trip, so it should be plain sailing from now on.
I'm currently in the Kenyan city of Nakuru. Yesterday I went on my first ever game drive. It was amazing. I saw so many animals, I managed to see 3 of the big 5. There were white and black rhino's, hippo's, buffaloes (they look like they are wearing judges wigs)water bucks, Thomson Gazelles, Impalas, hyena's, monkeys, baboons, zebras, giraffes and 7 lions! The lions were so close to the road - it was fantastic. The drive was through Lake Nakuru National Park, the only thing I did not see was Leopards but they are so elusive, the wardens only see them once a month. I have yet to see elephants but they should be in Southern Kenya.
We are now driving en route to Uganda. We will be coming back to Kenya but first we will be visiting Uganda, Rwanda and the mountain gorillas.

Lake Tana to addis Adaba

2009-11-22T09:16:00.004Z

I spent a couple of nights camping besides Lake Tana. This is the largest lake in Ethiopia 3673 squared km and the source of the Blue Nile. We took a boat out onto the lake to see the source of the Nile and amazing we also got to see a hippo! My very first hippo. Every one was so excited, we were like giddy school children. I also took a walk around the Blue Nile Falls. These used to be spectacular but recently alot of the water has been diverted into a hydro-electric dam. The waterfall was still beautiful and it made a lovely 2 hour walk. the biggest shock came when we returned to the campsite. There was thundering, then there was rain. In fact there was heavy rain all night. I couldn't believe it - I'm in Ethiopia and I.m getting wet. The next day we drove towards Addis Adaba and although the rain stopped it did not warm up. Spent all day sat in the back of the truck, sat inside a sleeping bag to keep warm. They do say Africa is a land of surprises!.
Had a couple of days in the capital Addis Adaba. Went to the national museum and saw the skeleton of Lucy - the oldest remains of human desent found anywhere. I was surprised at how small she was - about the same size as a modern chimpanzee. Leaving Addis we are going to be crossing the border into Kenya and then having 6 bush camps in a row. These are going to be particularly nasty. The roads are so bad that on one day we are only expecting to travel 20 km! We will be travelling until dark, setting up camp as late as possible and leaving whilst still dark so nobody knows we are there, this is to avoid any trouble with local bandits. After 6 days we should have made it to the Ugandan border so we can relax. We will be coming back into Kenya and doing the south of the country and the national parks around mid- December. This next week is going to be fun, fun , fun for me!

Off the truck for a while

2009-11-22T08:49:00.004Z

I had a mini holiday from the truck as a small group of us (6 in total) flew up to Axum to see the steelie there. We could have gone by bus but it would have taken over 14 hours on really bad roads so we opted for a $40 plane ticket instead - it only took half an hour plus we got wonderful views over the mountains. The steelie are large tomb structures but the two main steelie are 27 metres high and are carved all the way to the top. There is also the remains of a 30metre structure but this is laying on pieces on the ground. Axum is a pilgrimage site for Christians as according to the Ethiopians this is where the Ark of the Covenant is. No one is allowed inside the monastry to see the Ark but the priests are adamant it is here. The priests did show us a book over 1000 years old that is still used in services, The pictures were so vivid even after all this time. The book is being removed in a couple of months to be encased in glass in the national museum so we were lucky to see it. We arrived on a saturday and on sunday morning a speciall mass was being held in the streets. It is held every couple of months and pilgrims from all over the country make their way to it. The replica Ark of the covenent is paraded around town with the priests waving incense and playing instruments. The pilgrims all wear white robes and follow the path of the ark. Would you believe that we all got up at 4.30am sunday morning to watch the procession. Not many people can say they have seen an Ark of the Covenant but I can! As well as being home to the Ark, Axum was also home to the Queen of Sheba. Ethiopia prides itself that it could trace all its emperors down the Soloman line - the first emperor being the son of King Soloman and the Queen of Sheba.
From Axum we took another internal flight to the mountainous village of Lalibela. Lalibela is another famous destination on the christian pilgrimage trail but this time due to the rock hewn churches. 700 years ago King Lalibela wanted to recreate the beauty and sacredness of Jerusulem in Ethiopia so that devout christians would not have as far to go. So in the course of 23 years and alot of labourers he carved 11 churches into the rocks. They started at the top and carved the churches as they excavated downwards. they really are incredible to see. This is the church of St George which even has 3 crosses carved into the top of the roof. The churches are still used today although most of the underground passages that link the churches have been sealed. From Lalibela it was a 10 hour journey to rejoin the truck on the shores of Lake Tana at the town of Bahir Dar. Its going to be strange being part of a 25 person group again.

Gonder and the Simien Mountains

2009-11-22T08:18:00.004Z

Crossing the border from Sudan to Ethiopia was more like crossing a continent due to the extreme differences in weather and geography. Went from desert and scorching heat of Sudan to the lush green cool mountainous countryside of Ethiopia. It is such a beautiful landscape - not at all what I was expecting, and certainly nothing like the images of Ethiopia I have in my head! Our first stop was the town of Gonder. (This is the place you was talking about Rupert). Gonder has a wonderful castle complex built in 1632 by the Emperor Fasidar. The castle is still intact and I spent a morning climbing all over it, you can still get up onto the roof!
Ethiopia is quite a christian country and Wednesdays and Fridays are fasting days. On these days you are unable to eat meat. This is great news for me because there is always alot of veggie food on the menu. I have eaten so well since getting here, they do like their chillies though. The food is so spicy your lips are continually tingling from the chili. Traditionally Ethiopians do not use knives or forks. Instead they scoop up their food in 'injera' which is a type of flat bread. The bread is very spongy and does look like a giant ling but once you get over that its not too bad to eat! I did take a couple of days off eating to go trekking in the Simien mountains. The mountains are breath-taking and are also home to lots of baboons. I saw my first baboons here. The males are huge and when they run they do look a little like lions especially with their hair. There are also lots of eagles living in the mountains - I saw so many giant birds. The mountains do have vast canyons and gorges between each mountain and this made the trek very strenuous. It seemed at one point as if we were scrambling vertically for hours - with the altitude, this was not the most pleasant of experiences. We camped at roughly 3600 metres and it was that cold ice was forming on the tents. Although beautiful I was very pleased when we descended the mountain again. No rest for the wicked though, I return from the mountains at 6pm and at 5am the following morning I flew to Axum - but thats another story!

Sudan

2009-11-22T07:59:00.003Z

Well getting into Sudan was quite an experience. We boarded the ferry at 10am and set up camp on the flat roof, fashioning sun shades made out of sarongs. The heat was close to 40 degrees so any shade was gratefully received. After a lunch of veggie stew and rice we entertained ourselves until the sun went down by playing cards and the like - all the while the ferry continued to be loaded. Departure time of 5pm came and went but at half 7 we did set off. By this time the ferry was full and every time you moved, someone tried to take your space. Despite this I managed to sleep alright. At half past 7 the next morning the captain announced we were passing the temple of Abu Simbel. Traveling for 12 hours and we hadn't even left Egypt. By the time we docked in Sudan and passed through customs it was 5pm. Over all the journey was not as bad as I was expecting!

We drove alongside the Nile passing through small villages along the way. The Sudanese people are extremely friendly and made us all feel incredibly welcome where ever we went. Sudan used to be part of the Nubian empire, the Nubians were also Egyptian pharoah's for a short time. The upshot of this is that Sudan has more pyramids than Egypt. They are not on the same scale as the Egyptian pyramids but still impressive. The picture above is of the Meroe Pyramids.
I spent a couple of days in the capital Khartoum, staying at the Blue Nile Sailing Club. The club is famous because its headquarters is in an old gunship belonging to Lord Kitchener. To get to the showers you had to walk around the gun ship which was bizarre. The gunship is on land now not even in the Nile making it even more bizarre. The heat in Sudan was oppressive. It was difficult to do anything in Khartoum it was that hot. It was around 40 degrees but with a very high humidity making it feel so much hotter than it was. I did manage to check out the national museum's which were good but mainly I spent the time lazing around in a hammock. Apparently Ethiopia is going to be alot cooler!

Felluca Time

2009-11-01T12:26:00.003Z

I have been in Aswan for 5 days now, we have had to spend this amount of time here trying to get all the visa's ready for Sudan. The main problem has been trying to get the truck successfully through customs. The truck now is on its way om a cargo ferry, I hope to be seeing it again in a couple of days.
To help pass the time I have spent the last two days and nights sailing up the Nile aboard a felluca. The felluca is powered solely by sail so it has been an extremely relaxing way of spending the time. You simply laze on the mattresses thrown on the deck of the boat and when night falls, you unroll the sleeping bag and sleep on the deck. Even though there was 13 people on our boat and the kitchen area consisted of one camping gas ring, the captain still managed to prepare three gorgeous meals a day. Sudan is an alcohol free country (if caught with alcohol you get 40 lashes) and there was a fair amount of alcohol left from our bush camps so a giant punch was made. We were sailing up and down in the sunshine, drinks in hand. Did a bit of swimming in the Nile, very strong currents. By the time all the punch had been drunk most people were dancing in the Nile. Surprisingly given the state most people were in by nightfall, only one person managed to fall off the gangplank into the river. Still giggling over it now!
Well the next part of the adventure starts here. We will be crossing over to Sudan by passenger ferry. The ferry has 200 seats and often sells about 800 tickets. We have to arrive when the ferry opens for bording just so we can ensure we have enough space to sit down in. The ferry is due to leave 8 hours after first bording and the quickest it has taken it in the past has been 10 hours. Then we have to de-embark and customs have to check everything, this is expected to take a good 4 hours. I am expecting to spend 24 hours in a very cramped environment jostling for space with families with luggage and screaming children with no toilet facillities. Its going to be fun! After Sudan its Ethiopia and I have no idea what internet access will be like in either country so it could be a while before my next post!

Luxor and Hurgarda

2009-10-28T08:22:00.003Z

Well as you can see from this rather large photo, I have made it to Luxor, home of the Valley of the Kings, Luxor and Karnak Temples to name a few and the giant collosses of Memmon you can see in the picture. It was interesting to return to the Valley of the Kings and I saw many tombs and temples I had not previously visited. We spent 3 full days in Luxor at a local campsite, however I did cheat and upgrade to a room - I figured it may be my last chance to sleep in a real bed for quite a while. Luxor is having unseasonly hot wather at the moment (great) it has been in the high 30's instead of the mid 30's. This has made exploring difficult in the day.I have taken to getting up at 6am - voluntarily, in order to see the sites before I roast.

Mel our tour leader at a little surprise for us when we reached Luxor. We were supposed to be spending 5 days here but she had arranged for us to leave early so we could take a detour via the Red Sea. We drove across to Hurgarda on the coast and got to spend a full day out on a luxury boat, snorkelling and diving. It was wonderful and we felt like proper holiday makers. It was also my tent buddy, Harriet's birthday, so that evening we had a bad hair day party, complete with cake, drinking and dancing. It was a great day and as far removed from bush camping as you can get!

Sleeping under the Stars.

2009-10-21T11:20:00.004Z

As well as visiting the famous Pyramids of Giza whilst in Cairo, I also visited a couple of other pyramid complexes including this step pyramid. This was the first pyramid ever built and was built by King Zoser who simply could not stand the idea of having to be bried near the commoners! Cairo was hot, dirty and very congested so it was good to finally set off on the truck last friday. All 24 of us piled onto the truck, the sides were rolled up and we set off to drive into the desert. Because the truck has soft roll up windows at both sides, it means a strong cross breeze is ever present when we are driving. This is wonderful in the 40 plus degree heat we are currently in.

We drove west from Cairo into the Western desert. Our very first bush camp was made that first night. We pulled behind a sand dune and set up shop. The camping equipment came out and tea for me was a spicy veg stew. We ate round the camp fire and then uncurled the sleeping bags and slept under the stars. The night sky here, away from all the light pollution, is magical. You can see thousand upon thousands of stars and even the wispy trails of the milky way. Its beautiful. In the morning we packed away and continued driving.

The next day saw us drive through the black desert (so called becuase it consists of black rock) and into the white desert. As well as having lots of little crystals in the sand making it glisten ,the white desert is home to fascinating rock formatioms. This place used to be a sea a few million years ago and fossils of fish are still being found. Local guides took us into the heart of the desert which is a national park and also cooked up a feast for us as well as providing entertainment around the fire. From here we passed through the little oasis towns of farafel and Bahayriya. Looking slighty grubby by now we pulled up into the town of Dahkla where a local restaurant owner let us sleep on his rooftop. He also showed us where one of the 650 desert hot springs were located, so in the morning we all went for a dip. No cooling off was involved as the water was as hot as bath water and alas no cleaning occurred as the water had a high sulphur content and turned us all orange. But being immersed in any water in the middle of the desert feels wonderful.

By now every one is filthy and definately not smelling their best. Another night in the desert occurs, followed by an early start and by Tuesday lunchtime we finally see signs of life and civilazation as we head towards Luxor. After 5 days and 4 nights we have crossed the desert and made it to the Luxor campsite. In all this time we have not been able to shower or wash properly and as the temperature has never been below the high 30's, you can only imagine what we all looked like. The campsite has showers and a pool, guess what the first thing we all did was. I am now based here in Luxor for a couple of days, no more sleeping under the stars but I do have access to running water. The first few days of this trip have been amazing, can't wait for the rest.

Arrival in Cairo

2009-10-13T13:17:00.003Z

After an uneventful flight I touched down in Cairo on Sunday afternoon. The hotel I am staying in is on the outskirts of Cairo and only took an hour and a half in the taxi to reach. I have spent the last couple of days sorting out paperwork and acquiring visa's for both Ethiopia and Sudan. I've met quite alot of the people I will be travelling with on the truck and so far (touch wood) they seem a good mix of people. Found a great little take away place near the hotel that does amazing falafel wraps and a deli with great baba ghounoush (aubergine dip) so I am very happy.
The truck trip starts on friday so the next couple of days I will be acting like a tourist and exploring Cairo and the pyramids. Next blog will be far more exciting!

Cairo to Cape Town: The New Adventure

2009-10-04T12:35:00.006Z

My itchy feet have become almost unbearable of late, so it is time for another grand adventure. This time I will be starting off in Cairo, Egypt and travelling down through Africa, taking in Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zibabwe, Botswana, Namibia before ending up in South Africa and finally Cape Town.
As with my South America trip I will be travelling overland style with Oasis Overland. For those that don't know the concept, myself along with twenty five or so others (that I have yet to meet) will board a big yellow converted truck that will drive us about. The truck also carries camping equipment, cooking equipment alot of food and gallons of water as well as enough spare parts to practically build the truck over. This will be vital as the truck will often be going off the beaten track and digging the truck out of mud ruts, sand ruts etc will become a far too familiar occurrance I suspect.
I will be staying in some basic hostels and hotels but for half the time I will be camping. Alot of these camps will be bush camps, ie just in a random spot, so there will be no facilities at all, not even toilets. These trips are not for those who like luxuries!
I will be flying into Cairo on 11th Oct and will spend a couple of days sorting out visas for Sudan and Ethiopia, the trip proper will start on the 16th Oct and I hope to have made it to Cape Town by the 10th Feb. If all goes to plan I should be spending Christmas on Zanzibar Island (birthplace of Freddie Mercury) hopefully swimming and scuba diving with the dolphins.
Highlights will include seeing the Mountain Gorillas in Uganda, being on safari in Kenya, in the Masi Mara, getting to visit places few have seen such as the rock churches at Lalibelia, Ethiopia and the pyramids in Sudan, Lake Victoria, the jaw dropping Victoria Falls, sand duning in Namibia and visiting the wineries of South Africa.
There will be the chance for me to go white water rafting, canoeing, canyoning, horse riding, sky diving, scuba diving, quad biking, shark diving in cages, sunbathing, oh yes and the biggest bungee jump in the world (I think not). As well as all that, there will be of course all the animals inc black and white rhino's, elephants, lions, cheetahs, giraffes, hippos, zebras and wildebeasts.
Only a week to go now, I'm getting quite excited...

Itchy Feet

2009-07-22T16:58:00.000Z

Its been a while, maybe its time to get going again...

Homeward Bound

2007-06-09T14:13:00.000Z

Well these white cliffs can only mean one thing - yes I am back in England. Unfortunately this leg of my travels is over - well almost. Due to ridiculous bureaucracy and the sheer amount of English stag parties, I was unable to travel as I originally intended to Amsterdam and then catch a ferry to Hull or Newcastle. Instead I crossed Europe and boarded a ferry at Calais. I have no intention of forgetting about Amsterdam and will hopefully be flying back there in a few weeks for a final blow out.
The first thing that greeted me in England was the torrential rain - I can honestly say it has been almost a year since I saw rain like it. Apart from a couple of showers which were over in an hour or so, I have not got wet on this journey. (The freak blizzard in Turkey doesn't count, I was cold not wet!)
I have had an absolutely amazing time and have loved the majority of it. I have met some amazing people, made great friends, had my faith in human nature restored and met some people that I am truly thankful that I will never be seeing again. I have jumped out of a plane, jumped off a cliff, almost drowned, climbed mountains in the moonlight, climbed mountains full stop, learnt to dive, swam with sharks and stingrays, survived Dracula, crossed continents, learnt to say thank you in 9 different lanuages, never mastered a single word of Hungarian, climbed inside a pyramid - I even bought a Turkish Carpet. Its been a wonderful 10 months - all I need to do now is find a job so I can start planning and financing the next adventure.

Prague

2007-05-25T11:06:00.000Z

Well what can I say about Prague - I do absolutely love it here which may explain why I have been here a week already (or that could have something to do with old friends and bizarre european rules on buying certain coach tickets!) This is the home of Good King Wencelaslas and currently home of thousand of souvenir shops selling russian dolls? Alas Prague is not as cheap as it once was or even as cheap as it was last year due to a sudden influx of Americans (Thanks alot Brad and Angelina) Beer though is still dangerously cheap, equivalent to about 75p for a large 1/2 litre glass - about half the price of soft drinks. Go to the right prices and you can get wine at the same price - wonderful. After complaining about the tourists I find myself on Charles Bridge - famous local landmark and I am overcome with sheer numbers of people. This place is a tourist mecca and I very quickly find myself short tempered and unable to see anything but bloody tourists. Most of them going around in large packs. There are many statues on the bridge and rubbing one of them is supposed to bring good look. There was a huge crowd gathered here. Only the statue is of a man and his dog - the dog went mad and mauled the much loved wife to death. Have no idea why rubbing that dog would bring you luck??? Silly silly tourists. Prague also has a huge castle and many many churches and old fortifications. Prague was extremely fortunate during the second world war not to suffer from any damage (apart from the old town hall which the retreating Nazi's burnt down as they left) and becaue of this the old town square is incredible from a stunning architectural angle. Another famous part of Prague is its astronomical clock. It was made around the 1400's and as well as telling the time, it tells you the position of the sun, moon and other planets. Even shows you which astrological period we are in (if you know how to read it). The grateful townsfolk liked it so much they cut the eyes out of the clockmaker to stop him from making another even better one for another town! When it came to the local politians and noblemen they didn't like - they simply threw them out of a window from the top of a tall building. Don't mess with them Prague folk. Whilst here I caught up with Veronica, whom I travelled Mexico to Panama with. It was great to catch up and here latest travel exploits - you also don't feel as bad drinking all that wine when there is two of you. I've seen loads and loads here, not to mention got a tan into the process as it is bloody hot, but one of my favourite things has to be in Petrin Park. They have a mini Eiffel tower which I climbed to the top off, a planeterium in which I viewed Venus and the Sun through giant telescopes but the best as to be the mirror maze. Yes you have guessed it - its a maze made out of mirrors but it is such good fun. There was even a hall of mirrors at the end when I appeared extremely tall and short at the same time. Must have appealed to my inner child cos I laughed for hours. Off back outside now, to brave the heat, the awful tourists but even worse than as, as the weekend as started again there are hoards and hoards of English stag parties. All of them wearing england football strips and exposing far too much white flabby gut. Now they should be thrown out of a high window...

Interesting? snipits on Europe

2007-05-23T17:35:00.000Z

Bulgaria is full of casino¨s and sex shops.

Romania is full of services offering erotic massages.

Romanians are the friendliest Europeans.

Hungarian is impossible to say.

The first country on my travels to offer a veggie burger was Austria. (Burger King not McDonalds).

In all countries were the little green man says it is safe to cross the street - beware - traffic coming from slip roads still have right of way to run you over.

Never ever drink more than one shot of palinka in any 24 hour period.

C + A are alive and kicking in Europe.

Hostels in Austria (and apparently other Western European countries) do not give you bedding. You have to rent sheets for extra.

The national of Hungary is Unicum. I kid you not. Its bloody digusting too.

In Prague there is a park and ride. There is also the Kiss and ride? No idea what that involves.

Romanians love flowers. Almost every other person is carrying some.

Communist staues are huge.

Austria doesn´t have Communist stautes, so they have 20 million statues of horses instead.

European horse statues are always anatomically correct.

Despite skieving off school, hanging around the local park in large gangs whilst engaging in underage drinking, Bulgarian teenagers are ridiculously polite and respectful to their elders.

European beer is often sold in half litre bottles - not the 330 ml bolltes
you get in the uk.

Every computer keyboard is layed out differently. Turkey has 2 letter i ś. You must use the right one or it blows up. This keyboard has the y and z reversed.

In Prague beer is far cheaper than soft drinks - what are you going to drink if you are on a tight budget?

My favourite European toilet so far is not the Viennese Opera toilet but the toilet here at my internet bar in Prague. It has a phallic shaped knob you have to pull. Some people could misconstrue crewd thoughts.

Vienna

2007-05-18T14:53:00.000Z

So currently I am in the city of Vienna (or as one guide book lovingly calls it - the big merengue). Its easy to see why - you are surrounded on all sides by old impressive palace like buildings.The place is also chock full of tourists - its an absolute nightmare. After going so long practically having places to myself, it has come as rather an annoyance to find I have to wait for the multitude of tour groups to go past before I can get a good nosey at whichever place of interest is in front of me. I have enjoyed being presented with a number of free food samples since being here - I have had two giant yoghurt pots (one passion fruit, one strawberry), 2 packs of gummy bears and a huge block of milka chocolate. Still hoping there will be free drink next! As well as going to the home of the Vienena Boy's Choir, the Spanish Riding school (I saw horses - well you would have been shocked if I had seen elephants) various points of interest to do with the life of Mozart - maybe I am biased but they were not in the least bit interesting, I also went to the outskirts of town to visit Schronbrunn Palace. As i arrived here on the 17th May, that well known public holiday to do with the ascension!, the guided tours had finished early.I was able to take a stroll around the grounds though, which where stunnung and had amongst other things, several follies but more excitingly a maze. Its impossible not to have a great time in a maze, even when it starts to drizzle!. But the wierdest thing I have seen since being here has to be the Opera toilet. This toilet (which costs 0.6 Euro to use) plays the Blue Danube for you and is decorated in the style of a great opera house.Well the ladies is in that style, complete with costumes, art work, royal boxes (cunningly disguised cubicles) but the gents side is even more bizarre. Those lips you can see next to the real piano are in fact the male urinals. Its not every day you see this! There is no doubting that Vienna is beautiful and jam packed full of culture, but maybe its the crowds, or the expense or the fact the everyone just looks so smart but its not the destination for me. I have an inkling that I will enjoy my next destination alot more ... Prague.

Budapest

2007-05-16T14:48:00.000Z

Without a doubt this has to be my favourite city I have visited so far. Its got tree lined avenues, wonderful monuments, many street cafes, a river ( a famous one at that) not to mention castles, palaces, thermal baths and good wine. This is the parliament building overlooking the Danube. The river Danube links the two towns of Buda on one side and Pest on the other - hence the name. On the Buda side there is Castle Hill complete with an old citadel, the ex royal palace which is now the national art gallery and the Fishermans Bastion to name a couple of things. What is the Fishermans Bastion you ask - its the merengue looking building on the right. At no point was this ever part of the city walls it was simply built as a folly. A rich mans folly at that. Some people simply do not know what to spend their money on. I could have spent my time lazing in one of the cities many many thermal pools - most of them housed in ornate art deco style buildings - and the next time I visit I will do just that. There is definately going to be a next time. With only 2 1/2 days here though I had to be more frugal with my time. After visiting the Castle Hill district, I moved to the far end of Pest to visit Heroes Square and take a peek at the art deco style zoo. This was a lovely walk helped along by the temperature - we got an unseasonal 30 degrees here yesterday. But one of the highlights for me has been my visit to the House of Terror Museum. This is a normal building on one of the nicest streets in the city - only in the mid 40's it was home to the Nazi's, then it was home to the Arrowcross Party and eventually the Hungarian / Soviet Secret Police organization. Basically since 1944 it was home to whichever group of the day was responsible for torture and confessions and informing on your neighbour. Hungary was the battleground between Germany and Russia during the second world war. After the war, the Soviets took control (although Hungarians never voted in the communists). The Hungarians had a revolution in 1956 and ousted the Soviets and put their own prime minister in charge. Despite officially agreeing to this, just a few days later the Soviets brought the tanks in, killed the prime minister and the government and siezed power - which lasted till the 1990's. The museum inparted alot of information, most of which I was totally ignorant of before. It was fascinating and chilling at the same time. What really makes this place creepy is that you visit the cellars - a labyrinth of cells that ran the whole length of the street - and see the cells in which the 'confessions' were gained and the executions carried out. If you are ever in Budapest, this place is a must. After the intensity of the House of Terror it was great to be able to sit back on the shores of the river Danube drinking a glass of wine, watching the world go by. The only thing I have to worry about at the moment is the ever increasing weight of my packpack...

Heart of Translyvannia

2007-05-13T13:55:00.000Z

This is the medieval town of Sighisoara in the heart of Translyvannia. Its a tiny place enclosed in a citadel on the top of a hill. It does have a new town attached to it at the bottom of the hill but that is neither quaint nor historical. The whole village in on the Unesco world heritage list - its that good. Tiny is not a good enough adjective to describe it - minute would be better. It takes all of a good 10 minutes to circle the place but somehow once you enter the city walls it seems to be hours before you re-emerge. That is certainly what happened to me. I ran into so many friends I had made in previous Romanian towns that the day soon passed in a haze of laughter and very good cheap wine. It meant I could spend another day here taking in the many sights! Apart from the clock tower the main reason people flock to Sighisoara is to see the house on the right. It is the birthplace of Vlad Tepes - son of Vlad Dracul - who later was known as Vlad the Impaler and Dracula (which literally means son of Dracul). Vlad Senior was made a member of the order of the Dragon by other members of Eastern European royalty. It was a society whose members fought together to try and stop the Turks from conquering their lands. Vlad Senior minted all his coins and his own seal with the symbol of the Dragon and hence became known as Vlad Dracul (meaning of the Dragon - notof the Devil as some people mistakenly think) Not alot of people know that! Sighisoara is a very rural place and I saw more horse and carts going past than I did cars. Stunnigly picturesque but still very small so it was time to move onto my final stopover in Romania. Cluj-Napoica.
Cluj is very different to the last few places I have visited. It is a university town and has a big city feel to it with its many bars, clubs and restaurant. I have certaintly moved away from the rural Romania. I have been spending the day here chilling out - I should really baking in the heat. Here it is hot. No idea if the heat wave is still in England but its definately in full swing here. Tomorrow morning at an ungodly time (5.15 am) I will be bording a train bound for the Hungarian capital of Budapest. Tomorrow is going to be fun!

Brasov

2007-05-09T15:26:00.000Z

The train dropped me off at the beautiful medieval walled city of Brasov - in the heart of Transylvania. This really is a picture postcard perfect little town and I fell in love with it straight away - so much so that I stayed an extra night. The town square is dominated by the Black Church- home of the largest organ in Europe - oohh. I voluntarily climbed the mini mountain behind the town and enjoyed the hike. The town has lots of hills in which to go hiking plus you stumble across old watch towers and sentry posts.
From Brasov I took a couple of trips into the nearby countryside. I visited Bran Castle, built on the hilltops as a line of defensive against marauding Turks. It was a Royal getaway in the 1920's so the interior is crammed full with ornate furniture - not really matching with the exterior. Alot of tours visit this place as Bran Dracula's Castle - it has nothing at all to do with Vlad Tepes but it does mean that there is a wonderfully tacky Dracula themed tourist market outside. Get your Dracula T-shirts here! It took all my will power but I did manage to resist!.
From Bran, I visited the medieval fortress town of Rasnov, only a short distance away. Rasnov was a citadel city atop a hill and the citadel still exists. It is the best preserved example of its kind in Europe. The film Cold Mountain was filmed here - it was mountainous but nowhere near cold. Romania's weather goes from downpour one minute to absolute scorcher the next. The great thing about the citadel is that it still has its original torture implements intact. Apart from the usual and common to find stocks and yokes, this place has an iron cage suspended from one of the high points in which to lock people into until they die. It also had a hanging frame in which you could be tied and hung by the wrists. Great fun was had by everyone hanging themselves up! After viewing even more torture implements I had to come back to town and immerse myself in the great outdoors.
I really am amazed by the outstanding beauty of this place but I am told that my next destination is even more stunning... can it be possible.

Romania - Land of the helpful

2007-05-09T13:15:00.000Z

I crossed the border into Romania by means of a sleeper train. What a wonderful experience, I could have so easily been back in the 1920's (I think the train was), watching the countryside roll by, whilst I had the luxury of an entire compartment that sleeps six to myself. A group of Australians next door where squashed in, 5 in their compartment (he he). For the first time in its entire history, the train managed to pull up almost 2 hours early into Bucharest. It meant I arrived at the station at 6am! Not surprisingly, there were not many people around I could asked for directions to my bus stop. I spied an out of service bus (complete with driver) and thought I would ask him. He was a good 5 mins away in the wrong direction, which when your carrying my luggage is a huge gamble! But he was the nicest man on the planet (well one of them anyway. He gave me loads of info about Romania then drove me a couple of blocks to the stop I needed. He even apologized for not being able to take me all the way to my hostel, but his bus was due to start running in the next 10 minutes. What a love. When I turned up at my hostel at half 6 - the owner let me have a bed straight away, gave me a free breakfast and then did all my washing for me (free). Later than evening I got given alot of free beer, toasted cheese sandwiches and apple pie!

Did I actually do anything in Bucharest I hear you wonder (apart from eat and drink). I had to visit the Palace of the People, the extremely ugly building you see above. Nicolae Ceausescu destroyed most of the historic city of Bucharest to build this - it turned out to be the second largest building in the world (the pentagon is bigger) It 10% percent larger in volume than the great pyramid. Ceausescu even had the road in front of it widen so it would be bigger than the Champs Elyse. These days it is known as the Palace of Parliament as guess what - it houses parliament. I took a tour inside some of the rooms and my goodness it is grand on a gigantic scale. The floors are marble, as are the columns, it is literally dripping in crystal chandeliers. One room has 50 of them. Works of art, paintings, sculptures, busts - all line the corridors. After a while I was stunned by the glare coming of all the crystal and marble!

I spent the reminder of my time in Bucharest, walking around the area of Lipscani. This is the last of the historical district - the part that escaped Ceausescu's large sledge hammer. The architecture is magnificent. Every building has a different style, though they are all ornately and intricately finished off. That afternoon I turned into architecture student - I just couldn't stop taking photo's off the different buildings. This area was also known as Little Paris because of the cafes and boutiques that lined the streets. There are still pockets of these cafes in existence, and sitting there, enjoying the most wonderful cakes, in a 1870's cafe complete with original wrought iron fixtures and fittings was a very pleasant way to wile away the time. After saying that a couple of days in Bucharest was plenty for me, I was longing to go someway alot smaller with alot less traffic. I boarded a train to take me to the town of Brasov. As I was entering my carriage, I was finding it very difficult to haul my backpack onto the overhead racks. An elderly gentleman appeared from the next carriage and despite my protests, picked up my pack and threw it into storage. He was shorter than me but refused to let me keep trying. Romanians are by far the friendliest and most helpful people I have come across so far. I am determined to be able to say more than Moultzoomesc by the time I leave!

Bulgaria

2007-05-03T16:03:00.000Z

Well after many months of group travel I have finally ventured out on my own and I have made it all the way to Bulgaria - to the capital Sofia to be precise. Sofia is a small city for a capital in fact it is roughly the same size of York - which makes it great to walk around. Must admit it is not quite as pretty as York though. Although Bulgaria is now a republic there are so many left over reminders of Russia. Bulgarians use to love Russians because they defeated the Turks on their behalf, then after WW2 when Russia moved in - communism and the associated problems with the regime were unsurprisingly not as popular. So Sofia is a curious mixture of love / hate towards the Russians. This is the Nicolai Alexander Memorial Church - Bulgarians most popular sight whilst the 1300 year monument is in such a bad state of repair there are large chunks of it falling off. The Communist Monument has all been abandoned and a skate park has been built up around it.

Facts about Bulgaria you probably did not know:
1. The country's president used to be its former King Simeon 2nd. He was disposed just before the war at the tender kingly age of 6. His full name is Simeon Saxe - Coburg
2. Spartacus came from these parts!
So after a day or two of chilling out, enjoying the best nights sleep I have had in months I took myself off, 200km south of Sofia to the little town of Rila in the mountains. Here is situated a beautiful hidden monastery. The architecture is quite stunning and its central church is covered every inch from brightly painted murals showing biblical images. It is still a working monastery and monks dressed in outfits similar to the Greek Orthodox church wander about freely. You feel like you have stepped back in time a couple of centuries. Next to the monastery locals are tending crops by hand and getting around on mule driven carts. Its not all 18th century though - look closely and you can stop monks whipping out their mobile phones to check their text messages!. So apart from chilling, have I done anything else whilst in Bulgaria. Sofia is famed for its dance clubs but I have not been boogieing. Instead after a glass or two of rather nice Bulgarian wine, I took myself off for a night at the opera. I realized it has been a while since I did anything remotely cultural so I went to the royal opera house and watched a production of Carmen. The voices were amazing but the women were all extremely scary looking. Couldn't imagine this Carmen teasing anyone. (She looked like an aged Mrs Kemp - yes that bad). I'm afraid Easter Europe does conform to all the stereotypes where looks and dress sense are involved. The tight fitting stonewashed jeans coupled with shirt made out of shell suit material is still very fashionable as are the mullets. The people though are very friendly and find my attempts at Bulgarian extremely amusing!

Istanbul

2007-04-29T09:44:00.000Z

My last few days have been spent in the enchanting city of Istanbul - the city where Asia and Europe meet. I have heard so many travel writers claim that Istanbul is their favourite city and it is not hard to understand why. The city should be approached in terms of a small country, there are that many different areas and regions to explore. 4 days is no where near enough time to see even a small part of it. This stunning photo is of the Blue Mosque - such a magnificent building and the decor inside is breathtaking. The name comes from the delicate blue tiles that cover the inside walls. Opposite the Blue Mosque is the Aya Sophia - it was once a church, then a mosque - now it is a museum. The dome inside is the largest unsupported dome in the world. You stand underneath, looking up, wondering why it doesn't fall on your head. For many centuries Istanbul (nee Constantinople) was the centre of the Ottoman Empire. Apart from the Blue Mosque there are many more reminders of this once oppulent empire. The largest of these has to be Topkapi Palace. As well as the many rooms, including throne room, library, great halls, breakfasting pavillion, kitchens, circumcision room (yes you read correctly) and various living residences there is also a treasury and a harem. Harem actually means private and it was for all intents and purporses a closed city within the palace. The Sultan could ave up to 400 concubines in there with the 15 current favourites taking precedence. Their main goal was to produce a male heir to the Sultan. The mother of the Sultan was the most important woman. When a new Sultan was throned all his other half brothers of which there could be hundreds would be murdered. This was later abolished to the half brothers beeing locked up in a cage for their entire lives. Live at the palace was not fun! It was all in fighting and murder. Extremely few Sultans died of natural causes. The treasury is still home to some of Turkey's most precious treasures. Within I saw jewel encrusted pendants, bowls , plates, thrones, chainmail, arrow quivers. The famous Topkapi dagger is breathtaking as is the 86 carat diamond (the fifth largest in the world). This was originally found on a rubbish dump by a beggar and sold on for the princely sum of 3 spoons! The weirdest treasure is the arm of St John the Baptish encased is a gold glove and his skull encased in a solid gold skull case! You may remember I have seen other parts of John at the Ummayyad Mosque in Damascas.

No trip to Istanbul woud be complete without visiting the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market. I've visited a number of bazaars now and to be truthful these are not a patch on the ones in Damascas. But you cannot come to Istanbul without visiting the Grand Bazaar. Even if I wanted to I could not buy a simgle item more. Tomorrow I start making my way through Eastern Europe and already I cannot pick up all my luggage. I wonder if tht has anything to do with the silk carpet, ceremics, perfume and art work I have already bought. One thing is for sure, I will be alot stronger by the time I get home. Istanbul has been a fantastic city and I will certainly be back here one day!

Anzac Day

2007-04-28T14:48:00.000Z

The Gallipoli Penisular in Turkey was an extremely important battleground during the first world war. If the allies could gain control it would mean a supply route into Russia had been opened up. Unfortunately the narrowest point of the Dardanelle Straits is only a few Km wide and the Royal Navy could not make it through. They lost 4 battleships in the space of 5 minutes due to mines when they attempted to take it. So instead the allieds decided to send a land army to take it. British and Indian soliders were sent alongwith almost every Austrailian and New Zealand solider that had volunteered. They became known as Anzacs. (Austrailian and New Zealand Army Corp). They were different to the majority of soliders who went as they had all volunteered and had not been conscripted. They had also had very little training and had never fought before. The forces landed in April 1915 and came up against an extremely well trained Turkish army. For 9 months the allies dug in - the area around what is now known as Anzac Cove is very inhospitable, strong biting winds, no naturally growing food or water supplies amd open land - it was alos very steep. The Allies lost many thousands of soliders before being evacuated although the Turks lost alot more - around 250,000. What makes this battleground different to many others is the respect the Allies and the Turks had for one another. When the war was over Ataturk (the Turkish leader) made a speech directed at the mothers of the Anzacs

Those heroes that shed their blood
And lost their lives...
You are now lying in the soil of a friendly Country.
Therefore rest in peace.
There is no difference between the Johnnies
And the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side
Here in this country of ours...
You, the mothers,
Who sent their sons from far away countries
Wipe away your tears,
Your sons are now lying in our bosom
And are in peace
After having lost their lives on this land
They have become our sons as well

Today there is a very strong commaraderie between the Turks and the Anzacs and this is evident at the Anzac day Rememberance Services. On the morning of the 25th April, I joined 8000 others who had camped out at Anzac Cove to take part in the Dawn Service. After the service was completed a further 3 services took part at different cemetaries in the vaccinity. An Austrailian service, a Turkish Service and a New Zealand Service. At all three there were representatives of the three governments, all three national anthems were played at each service and were attended by the different nationalities. It was an incredibly moving experience and I am so pleased I was there. It was the complete respect and shared loss between the former enemies that made this service so much more moving - it seemed to honour the pointless loss of life more. I only wish all remembrance services could be like this.

Guess where I am?

2007-04-28T14:23:00.000Z

This is the library at Ephesus, probably one of the best preserved Roman cities almost still standing. The site boasted two amphiteatres, public baths, public toilets, many temples and statues not to mention the obligatory brothel. In the last year a nobleman's house - well really a bishops house has been unearthed and the floors are still covered with fine mosaics and marble. It was stunning - Oh how the other half live. After leaving Ephesus and seeing the site where the Temple of Artemis once stood (one of the original ancient wonders of the world) - the temple is now just one column with a stork nesting atop it - I made my way to Troy. Troy is the city of Greek legend where the Greeks and the Spartans fought over Helen. The city of Troy really exsists and archeologists have discovered that the city was sacked and burnt to the ground at the same time that Homer indicated in the Illiad. At the site now it is possible to see 9 different levels - where the city has been rebuilt ontop of the previous city 9 times over. But the biggest attraction has to be the huge tacky wooden horse that the local government has built for the tourists. This really is it and yes I did climb inside it and yes it was alot of fun. You can't beat good solid tack! And as for the title question, both the incredibly preserved Roman city and the most famous city in Greek legend are on the Turkish coast. Turkey is urning out to be a remarkable country!.

Getting Hotter

2007-04-22T11:02:00.000Z

As I moved form the region of Cappadocia towards Turky's coast, a miraculous thing happened. The snow stopped, the sun came out and it began to get warmer again. I stayed on the Mediterranean coast of Olympos. I actually stayed in a tree house which was rather cool - alas due to a fire last year the trees did not survive but the houses have been rebuilt on stilts. I was even able to sunbathe briefly on the pebble beach - after the blizzard it was great. In the evening I climbed a local hill to see the Chimera. According to Greek legend (thıs area used to be Greek) the monster Chimera was imprisioned in the mountaın. The chimera are actually flames that could be seen from sea originally and use to guide sailors. The flames were supposedly coming from the monsters mouth. They are also known as the eternal flames and are used to light the Olympic torch. It is fascinating to watch them - the flames just leap from the rocks. They do not need to be ignited. Even today scientists are not quite sure how or why they exsist but they are exceptionally good to toast marshmallows on. The flames gıve out heat but not smoke.The next day I treated myself to a traditional Hamman or Turkish bath. You lay on a heated central marble slab and begin to get hotter and hotter. You are then massaged and then scrubbed down with a loofah mit. The amount of dirt that was extracted from me was shocking. Thıs was followed by being covered ın warm soapy bubbles and massaged again. After an ice cold shower you are pronounced clean. As if I wasn't pampered enough I followed this up wıth a deep oıl massage. I was floating for the next two days. It was blıss.

All the good work was overıdden when I got to Pamakkue a couple of days later. Agaın these are natural rocks but they are brıght whıte. To stop dıscolouratıon you have to take off your shoes when climbing on them. Its not that easy on the feet.

So currently I am in Selçuk. I will be visiting Troy before going up to Gallipoli in time for the Dawn memorial service on Anzac Day. After the servıce I will be heading towards Istanbul and Europe agaın. My middle eastern adventure ıs almost over - looks lıke I wıll have to start shoppıng sooner rather than later - carpets anyone?

Cappadocia - home of the fairy chimneys

2007-04-22T10:27:00.000Z

Crossıng Syrıa ınto Turkey, I headed for the regıon known as Cappadocıa. My first ımpressıons of Turkey were of how cold it was - then the weather turned bad. Whilst those in England were lapping up the sunshine I was experiencing freak blizzards. Great! İ haven't brought enough jumpers wıth me. The landscape around the area ıs known for its bizzare rock formations. These were caused millenia ago wıth volcanic erruptions. The wınd and rain erossion have the left the rocks ın odd shapes - some of them extremely phallic. After peering through the hail and snow at the formations I made my way to the more sheltered spot of the underground city. I have been fascinated by this place sınce I saw Dan Cruickshank do a tv programme about it a couple of years back. These hidden cities housed up to 50,000 people - all hiding out due to wars and religious persecution. The tunnels leadınd down the cıty got extremley tight and narrow and at one point I was crawlıng to get through. Not a good home for the claustrophobic. As the people couldn't go outsıde for at least 6 months at a time - ıf any body died they had to be sealed up ın gıant urns and stored ın the corner of the living room. Nice! After exploring Gorome's underground cıty I went back to the fairy chimneys and as the sun had come out, I could actually see them. St Simon is reputed to have lived ın one on the cave houses carved into the rocks. Accordıng to legend he was there 40 years only ever leavıng the house to get food. He certainly wasn't suffering from wonderlust. The whole landscape around here is just magical -the weather couldn't spoil it - in fact seeıng the snow laying on the 'fairy chimneys' made them seem even more magical. Whilst I was ın Gorome I was staying in the Flintstones Pension - which was a cave with a door attached to it. Fun but caves are not renoun for their warmth especially during blizzards. Do hope it warms up soon though as typing ıs very difficult without feeling ın your fingers!

Syria - Probably not what you are expecting

2007-04-16T14:07:00.000Z

Not knowing what to expect I crossed Jordan into Syria (according to some an axis of evil) but what I found was an incredibly friendly country jammed packed full of ancient history. My first stop was the city of Damascus, reportedly the oldest continually inhabited city in the world. It was on the road to Damascus that Saul was converted to Paul and I visited the church that stands on the site of the baptism. I also visited the Ummyyad Mosque in the centre of the city. This place is huge and so ornately decorated. 3 out of the 4 walls of the courtyard are covered in a fine mosaic - it is so beautiful. The Mosque is also home to the tomb of Saladine and the tomb of John the Baptist (although it doesn't have his complete body) My knowledge of the Bible has certainly improved during this trip!
After Damascus I moved northwards to the town of Palmyra. This is one massive site of what looks like Roman ruins - only they are not Roman. When the Palmyrans built the city it was a vital trading city on the Silk Route - I saw the remains of the trading areas including the hitching posts to tie your camels up whilst you engage in a bit of haggling. I visited the temple of Baal (Dad, I'm sure you'll recognise the name) and the pits where animals were sacrificed to appease Baal. It was a fascinating site not least because I got to climb to the top of a funery tower (it even contained bones).
I was really looking forward to the next stop. The crusader castle Crac des Chevaliers, This was one of 7 in the vacinity but due to a restoration in the 1960's by the French - it is in a great condition. It has been labelled as one of the best examples of a castle in the world and it lives up to its reputation. You get to explore right into the heart of the castle and that includes the secret passageways leading through the moat, the tunnels that run underneath the kitchens and the maze of alleyways under the baths. Even saw the dungeons and the vats in which they kept the boiling oil in times of seige and attack. The castle came complete with its own round table. In short it was a proper castle - almost complete - not just a pile of foundation stones. It was great.
My final stop in Syria was the country's second largest city - Aleppo. As well as being a maze of Souks selling everything you could imagine under the sun including so many sweets and pastries, the city also has a citadel above it protecting it from any would be attackers. This country really does medeavial castles well. This citadel came complete with its own palace inside. It was stunning. For those of us for whom the souks and the many hours of haggling does not appeal, Syria is great because you can go climb and explore instead. Something for everyone. Have overdosed slightly on the hummous and baba ganooush (aubergine dip) you get out here so I am looking forward to pressing northwards into Turkey and perhaps some different food specialities. But for anyone who thinks Syria is not a holiday destination - get out here - its great.

Jordan -A wonder of the World?

2007-04-10T11:41:00.000Z

After the longest ferry crossing known to man (the crossing took 4 hours but we were on board for over10 hours) I left Egypt and entered into Jordan. The first stop we made was at the Wadi Rum national reserve. This is a desert with incredibly large rocks within it. Due to the strong winds the wind erossion over a couple of million years has left the rocks with interesting shapes and features to them. Wadi Rum is a beautiful place and was also the home of T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) for many years. It was from here he masterminded the unification of the Arab tribes and the subsequent defeat of the Ottomans during World War 1. This is the seven pillars of creation, the mountain that bears the same name as Lawrence's book. From the desolate landscape of wadi Rum wemoved northwards slightly to the town of Wadi Musa. Here I had my first Turkish Massage. This involves time in a steam roon followed by being vicsiously rubbed down by a large scrubbing brush. The amount of dirt that came out of me was worrying! But at least I had the jacuzzi and massage left to make me feel alot better about myself. At the outskirts of Wadi Musa is the centuries old city of Petra. This city was only rediscovered (ie by westerners) in the late 1960's. The city was built at the bottom of a gorge and the temples were literally sculptured into the rock face. They are truely stunning. You may recognise the Treasury from the Indiana Jones film. I had entered Petra at half 6 in the morning which meant for a couple of hours we had the place to ourselves before the tour groups arrived. Visiting all the sights of Petra involves alot of hiking - most of it up incredibly steep hills / cliffs. But the views are well worth it. By the time I descended from the Place of high Sacrifice it was 1pm and Petra was unfortunately sinking under the weight of all the tourists. I was so lucky to get to see the entire place without any crowds - it makes a place feel alot more special. As I was leaving a large group of people entered, chanting and waving banners. They were campaigning on behalf of Petra. Worldwide there is a competition going on at the moment to rename the 7 wonders ofthe world. Petra has made it onto the shortlist. The locals feel it deserves to renamed as a wonder of the world - and I must admit I agree with them. Petra is spectacular - makes the Pyramids look like a childs sculpture!
It was almost time to leave Jordan but on the way to Syria we passed the lowest point on Earth - 400 metres below sea level. The Dead Sea. So called because hardly anything can survive in the water as the salt content is almost 80%. The evaporation of the sea has led to this high salinity. The most famous side effect of this is the high buoyancy of the sea. It is nigh on impossible to drown in the Dead Sea - its impossible to stand up in it. the water just makes you float. The white lumps in the photo are giant salt crystals - you have to walk over these to get into the sea. Its certainly a novel experience and so much fun - the only drawback is that you cannot get water into your eyes or an open cut because by gum it stings. It was great fun though. My final final stop in Jordan was at Mount Nebo. This is where Moses looked out and saw the promised land. It is also where he is buried. I visited the church atop Mount Nebo and saw the promised land for myself. Coincidently it was Easter Sunday when I was on Mount Nebo so the visit had extra significance especially for the Christians within our travelling group. If Mount Sinai and now Mount Nebo was not enough my next stop will be the city of Damascas within Syria - a city brimming over with its biblical roots. I'm not sure what to expect at all from Syria but I'll soon find out...

Coral spotting again...

2007-04-03T13:57:00.000Z

The resort of Dahab on the Red Sea peninsular is famous for the diving and snorkelling opportunities it has. Dahab is different from other dive sites as due to the geographical nature of the coral reef - the snorkelling is almost as good as the diving. I went snorkelling at the blue hole. It is the proximity of the coral to the surface that gives it the destinctive shape. As you would expect the coral was spectacular. I saw so many varieties of the most brightly coloured fish not to mention the wide variety and different coloured corals. The only problem for me was the temperature of the water. Even though I was in a wetsuit the water was still very cold. The second time I braved the water I could only last 40 mins before the shivering got a bit much. Apart from snorkelling the rest of my time in Dahab has been spent relaxing. It has been difficult sat about relaxing, reading, chatting, generally doing nothing. The sea food has been amazing too - as I say its a hard life! I will definately be coming back to Dahab - primarily to take advantage of the great diving opportunities but I will come back slightly later in the year - giving the water a chance to warm up slightly. I am leaving the coast now, crossing over the water to Jordan and the land of deserts.

Pilgimages

2007-04-01T14:21:00.000Z

As promised by time in Luxor was spent visiting the temples of Luxor and Karnac. I decided not to go again to the Valley of the Kings as the tombs I would most like to visit are currently closed - anyway my memories are still very fresh of the tombs there. I used my extra time to visit the Sunshine Orphanage instead. This place was set up by an English lady a couple of decades ago and is currently home to over 70 children. They have recently moved the younger children into a purpose built centre full of everything the under 5 could possibly want - including a ball pool. Was tempted myself - I^ve never been in a ball pool. Its the kind of place you come away uplifted from.
From Luxor it was a 9 hour drive to our next location. This should not have been a problem but the bloody annoying Egyptian government will not let any tourist travel freely in mainland Egypt. Everyone has to travel in massive convoys that only leave once a day and at the most inappropriate times. There are checkpoints every few miles and you can not get pass them unless you are in a police convoy. The convoys were set up in 1997 after the tourist shootings and everyone is heartily sick of them - it also means you arrive at monuments alongwith every single other person who wants to visit them that day. Alas the convoys are funded in the majority by the equally annoying American government (their citizens must be safe at all times) so they will not dissappear anytime soon.
En route we passed the town of Suez - home of course to the suez canal. Unlike at Panama there is really very little to see here. In fact you cannot even see the water. It appears as if the ships are floating by on the sand. What was cool though was that we went under the canal. A bridge has not been built to cross the canel as that would get in the way of the ships. Instead you go under the canel in a huge tunnel - it was fun.
So it was half past 9 when we arrived at our destination and half ten by the time we had eaten. Normally these times would not be that bad - but we were going to climb a mountain - and now just to make it more fun , we would be doing it in darkness. The mountain in question is Mount Sinai - the place where Moses recieved the Ten Commandments. Never attempted a mountain climb in the dark but luckily for us, the moon was out so most ofthe 2285m were visible. The last bit was a particular steep part and it was here that the track changed into huge steps. Most people ^s legs were shaking as we reached the summit. At the top we hired mattresses from the bedouins and settled down for a couple of hours sleep. Yes there are people at the summit selling and renting out equipment. We were all settled down by 1am and in fact we were the first there. By 4am the place was heaving. Hundreds of people make the pilgrimage up the mountain in order to watch the sunrise. The singing and clapping started around half 4 dispelling any notion that sleep may be possible. Everyone fell silent though as the sun rose at aroud half past 5 - and for the first time, I got a glimpse of what the mountain and surrounding range looked like. We were treated to a stunning sunrise before the mad clambor down the mountain started. Trying to get hundreds of people down a narrow set of steps all at once is not easy and incredibly frustrating. But I made it - and a couple of hours later I was back at the base. Before leaving I went to visit St Katherines Monastry - this is a greek orthodox church but is also a place of pilgrimage as it is where the burning bush is situated. After 4000 years there is nothing left of the bush except some roots, but a new bush has been planted there and people offer up prayers to it. Again crowd control is a bit of an issue and I am so glad that I was here this friday - nstead of next friday - Good Friday.
We left the mountain ranges and continued driving through the Sinai penisular until we reached Dahab. This resort on the Red Sea is famous for the snorkelling and diving opportunities it has. I imagine I will be checking those out soon...

Land of the Pharoahs

2007-03-28T14:49:00.000Z

I have started my Egyptian adventure in Cairo. After a couple of days aclimatising and browsing through the bazaars, I paid a visit to the Egyptain Museum. If you spent just one minute looking at each exhibit you would be in there over 9 years - I cut my visit shorter. The highlight as to be the Tutankhamon room where I saw all the treasures that had been excavated from his tomb including the world famous death mask. It is inlayed with so many precious stones and gold that it doesn't look real. I also saw a mummy exhibit containing 14 mummies all over 4000 years old. Some even had some of their hair remaining. It was amazing. After the museum I travelled to the outskirts of the city to visit the pyramids and the Sphinx. The Sphinx is the head of the Pharoah Cheopys and the body of the lion. This is becuase when the Pharoah is reincarnated he will retain all his intelligence but have the body of the king of the beasts. This will make him truely unbeatable. I was able to go inside a pyramid into the burial chamber, this meant climbing a steep descent whilst bent double in a tiny tunnel. It was quite unpleasant but well worth it. I also was stupid enough to take a camel ride around the pyramids. I'd forgotton how much I hate camels. They are giant beasts whose mission in life is to scare me. All the time I was upon it, I thought I would fall any minute. They are uncomfortable, there is nothing to hold on to and going down hill is taking your life into their hands. Never again. If they are the ships of the desert - next time I will fly!

From Cairo I caught the overnight train to Aswan - more miraculously I even managed o get a couple of hours sleep on the 13 hour journey. Aswan is the most southernly city is Egypt, closer to the desert and therefore hotter. From here I took a trip further south to revisit the temple of Abu Simbel - definately a wonder of the world. This temple would have been lost under Lake Nasser when the dam was built, if it had not been rescued and moved 60 meters up the cliff face. The stone statues of Ramesees 2nd are huge. A person only comes halfway up the entrance way you can see inbetween the statues. Not only was the facade saved but inside the temple there are many rooms and anti chambers, tens and tens of pillars and all the walls are covered in hyrogilfics. Well worth my second look. Back at Aswan there was an increased military presence. I was stood outside the Old Cataracts hotel (where Agatha Christie wrote Death on the Nile) when who should drive into the hotel in a large motorcade but the Egyptian President followed by Condellisa Rice and representatives from other Middle eastern countries. I'd managed to stumble across a middle eastern trade negiotiation - as you do!

By jouney back from Aswan northwards to Luxor was far more relaxing. It was a two day trip spent lounging about on a traditional felucca. These felucca simply have a deck with mattresses thrown down - meaning there is nothing to do but nothing. It was great. Sunbathing and reading are hard work and I was exhausted after the trip. Mind you when we did sail it was an adventure. Due to the time of year there are very strong winds on the Nile. We were onlt sailing for a couple of hours each day - the rest of the day spent moored along the Nile. Because of the strong winds, the felucca moved at a breakneck speed. It meant the boat was tilted heavily into the water. We had to sit at one side weighting it down whilst the opposite side skimmed the watres edged. When we tacked and changed direction it was a quick rush to the opposite side of the deck to weight that side down. It wasn't a jouney for anyone afraid of the water! So currently I am in Luxor. My time here will be spent visiting the temples of Luxor and Karnac and recovering from the slight sunburn I managed to acquire on the felucca!

Trip 2 - the sequel

2007-03-20T16:09:00.000Z

Well I left a freezing snow and hail covered Yorkshire and 16 hours later I have arrived (via an even more snow covered Zurich) in Cairo. The weather here is lovely. Not too hot - just the early 20's, so walking around in vest tops is incredibly pleasant. For anyone wishing to travel to Europe may I recommend the wonderful Swiss Air - the best airline by far I have ever been on. The ecomony seats were a leather style, more leg room than normal, and the stewardesses kept coming around with the free beverages (which included alcohol) not to mention the tasty food. It was a joy and you don't often say that about airlines!

So what am I doing in Cairo? Well after spending a week exploring the delights of Ancient Egypt Iwill be moving on to Dahaba- and a little scuba diving. Then it gets really interesting. I will be travelling around the Middle East going into Jordan and visiting Petra, travelling through Syria via Damascas amongst others, spending the day in Lebanon, before going into Turkey and ending up in Istanbul. For this journey I am joining up with another truck trip as it would be difficult to do on my own. Being blonde and not speaking any languages is not standing me in good stead at all! By the time I get to Istanbul I should be able to cope all by myself and from there I will make by own way back through Europe. Well thats the plan. So the next couple of days will be spent in Cairo visiting the Pyramids, Sphinx and the Museums. Arabic - here I come ...

Wunderlust ...

2007-03-19T01:13:00.000Z

Well after the carnival I decided to hang around in Rio for a little while longer - although I never did wear the mask again. As I sunbathed on Copacabana beach in the soaring heat, watching people go by wearing next to nothing - yes the speedo thong is extremely popular here with overweight men, I thought I would be able to cope with England and the not so hot temperatures. Well I was wrong. My plane finally touched down in Manchester (after around 30 hours) in March and true to form it was raining. I can't remember the first two days back as I managed to contract some bug - it must be something in the water and was asleep for the majority of the time. When I did awake again it was still raining. Then it snowed. Then it hailed. Then there was gale force winds. I couldn't cope by this point so I have booked another trip away. In my short time here I managed to visit a few people - the sun even came out whilst I was in Suffolk. I didn't make it to York or Portsmouth or Devon for that matter but hopefully next time. Lets see if Cairo can help my itchy feet...

Carnival time

2007-02-24T20:22:00.000Z

On Friday 16th February the keys of Rio de Janiero were given from the mayor to King Momo (king of the Carnival) and the Carnival was officially open. All the locals have a long weekend off work and the drinking began. The streets were full of vendors selling food and lots and lots of alcohol - mainly cans of Skol, but if you searched long enough you could also find the occassional can of Stella. For most residents of Rio, Carnival simply means getting a bank holiday and drinking on the streets. Very few get to see the floats and costumes as all parades go on within the Sambodrome.
The sambodrome is very similar to a giant runway with concrete stands on either side. The samba school compete here to win the title of best school. Each scool is allowed 90 mins to proceed from one end of the runway to the finishing line. Within this time they can send down as many floats or people as they wish. All the time they are being judged by a team of 40 judges sat along the runway. They are being judged on dancing, samba intrepretation, musical direction etc. As they are making their way down, a band and a singer usually towards the back of the procession are performing the song that has been specially written for that school for that year. This song is repeated for the entire 90 mins. As you can imagine at times this does get a little repetitive! On Sunday night I was seated towards the end of the Sambodrome watching the first 6 schools compete. The floats are so impressive - they are huge - you could hide an entire army within one. Some of them had obvious themes, wonders of the world, animals of Africa, Ancient Greece, Mayan Civilisations etc but some of them were down right bizarre. One was a giant lime green brain that every now and again fired glitter into the air! Most schools seemed to have around 7 floats each and alot of dancers. One school had over 5000 people in the parade. I was watching a sea of colour - they were so many dancers you could not make them out individually. One bonus of being sat near the finishing line was that I got to watch the floats exit the stadium. This was no easy task. It required a team effort. First the dancers at the top of these floats had to be lifted out by giant cranes. These cranes then had to dismantle the top sections of the floats and lift them over the walls - the rest of the float could then be pushed through the gates. Some of the schools with lots of floats created their own problems as the early floats could not be dismantled quickly enough before the rest of the floats caught up and created bottlenecks - you ended up with lots of dancers stuck with nowhere to go unable to cross the finishing line. If anything, person or float was not over the line after 90 mins the school got penalty points. As the night progressed the atmosphere within the Sambodrome got more and more electric - dancing and singing in the aisles was the norm - nobody was sat down to watch. Our group only lasted till half 3 - the parades continued on till 6am.
The sambadrome had schools competing on Monday night as well with the final results not announced till Wednesday - it takes that long to count them. I spent the rest of Carnival weekend drinking alot of Caprihinis and generally recovering. Oh, one thing they never mention on the telly about Carnival is the smell. Everyone is drinking on the streets - but there are no toilets so the street literally becomes an open sewer. Its not cleaned until the following Wednesday, 5 days later and what with the heat (at least mid 30´s every day) it is extremely unpleasant. One of my strongest memories of carnival will not be the costumes, the shootings on the way home from Sambadrome (tell you about that later) but the stench of the city. Such a shame because the costumes and the floats were amazing!

Final Destination ~ Rio

2007-02-22T16:50:00.000Z

The final stop before Rio was the little cobbled stoned village of Paraty, home to a number of beaches. I took a boat trip along the coast, visiting more tropical looking beaches and diving into the crystal blue water. It sounds idyllic and under normal circumstances would be. Paraty were preparing for their own carnival but not only that but as Paraty is just a stones throw away from Rio all the other overland trucks who were going to Rio for Carnival arrived here on the same day. Thats 23 trucks all with around 25 people on them crammed into a couple of tiny campsites. The place was heaving, everyone was in a party spirit and sleep was simply impossible! So on Thursday 15th Feb (at half 5 am - to try and get a head start on the other trucks) will left Paraty for the final 5 hour stretch to Rio.

Rio is a huge city, home to 12 million people. Our hotel (air conditioned - bliss) is located in the Lapa district - not too far from the Sambadrome (that may be handy later). Obviously you cannot come to Rio without visiting the Big Man, so transport was arranged and I paid a visit to Cristo Redentor and was rewarded with amazing views over the city. J.C was not as big as I was expecting, given that you can see him all over the city - he is about the same size as the Angel of the North. I then went out to the other famous attraction Sugar Loaf mountain. There is no other way to reach the summit than to take 2 seperate cable cars. (Mum you would never have got up). Again the views were spectacular and I was so lucky that there were no clouds in the sky to detract from either view. Normally the top of both Christ and SugarLoaf are hidden in cloud. As well as seeing the sights I have also taken in the local culture. I have been drinking copious amouts of Caphrihini´s and Caprioska´s (the national drink made with sugar cane rum, limes and sugar), I have also embraced the national passtime of football. Brazilians can certainly play football so I went to watch a local match at the Maracana stadium (once the biggest stadium in the world seating over 200,000 people). The crowds were very passionate and as for the game itself - I have never sen as many goals being scored. The final score was 4-4 and the Vasco supporters whose stand I was sitting in were very happy with that!

My truck tour is now officially over - although we are all staying on in Rio for a while yet - apparently there is a party happening in the next couple of days. Decided to celebrate in style - managed to find an activity I haven´t yet experienced. I ran off a very high cliff face. It was extremely nerve racking but the tandem hang glider I was attached to didn´t crash to the ground but floated silently over the city landscape and the beach. A relaxing and serene experience ~not going to get any more of those in the next few days!

Mutant Killer Mosquitoes

2007-02-13T18:59:00.000Z

After leaving the beauty of the waterfalls my truck headed northwards towards the eco capital of the world (apparently), the little town of Bonito. Here I snorkelled in the crystal clear waters of a local river and saw an amazing variety of fish. These rivers are very well protected - you can only stand up in certain places so you don´t disturb the river bed. They also do not allow sun tan lotion or insect reppellent in the water. Makes perfect sense - this is why they have the clearest river water in the world, until you realise to get to the correct entry point into the river a 30 min walk through the jungle is required. You also have to wear a wet suit. Walking through the jungle in a wet suit, temperature over 35, wasn´t too bad. The fact that the wet suit stopped above the knees and no repellent is allowed is very bad. This region is famed for its mosquitoes but at the moment they are witnessing a record number of the little buggers. The guides have never seen anything like it. The record numbers have even made international news - great - and we were not allowed to wear repellent. I was lucky - I only got approximately 50 bites on my legs. Some pour souls had their faces chewed up - one lass has over 100 bites. Tip: never walk through a tropical jungle during record mossie season not wearing repellent - its not fun. The snorkelling though was well worth it. The fish had no problem with people and were swimming around - visibility was beyond belief - far better than the Carribbean Marine Reserve waters. I even saw a Caiman hiding out in its den under the surface!
From Bonito we entered the Pantanal. This is an area the size of France - it is incredibly humid - with alot of rivers. It is categorised as a giant swamp but it is a beautiful place. We had been warned about the bite through anything mosquitoes here but after Bonito they were in fact tame. I got to see so much wildlife here. People go on Safari into the Pantanal especially to see the birds. I saw Toucans, Tiger Herons, Storks, Eagles, Hawks to name a few. Also saw alot of Capivari´s which is the worlds largest rodent. They don´t do much and reminded me of wombats On one of the jeep safaris I took I also saw alot of caiman - they were in the water, sunbathing at the side of the road - some were even playing chicken with the jeep. Caiman are the smallest of the crocodile family and do not attact humans - we are far too big for them, so they are quite safe to be in close proximity to, both in and out of the water - unless of course you do something stupid such as trying to annoy it! Another thing that is present in the rivers here are Piranha fish. Our group went Piranha fishing - although we stood in the boat to do it. Between us we caught around12 and some of these were cooked up for tea. Piranha taste really good - one of the best fish I have eaten. Alas they are terribly boney and picking all the bones out gets very frustrating. Ah the price you have to pay in these parts to get a good meal!

What a Waterfall

2007-02-05T17:59:00.000Z

Next stop on my journey north was Puerto Iguazu, home to the spectacular Iguazu falls. The rivers that contribute to these waterfalls are the natural boundries between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. This natural phonenenum is simply magical. From the Argentinian side I walked around the falls and took a speedboat ride under some of them. To say I got wet is an understatement. Even in the high 30´s temperature it took me all day to dry out. It was so much fun though. Not only does Iguazu have 10 or so smaller waterfalls, it also has a huge one known as the devils throat. The best thing about the Argentinian side is that you can get so close to this fall and be amazed by the sheer volume and power of the water cascading just a few meters away from you. Not content with seeing this up close, the following day I crossed the border and viewed them from the Brazilian side. Again the views were breathtaking but I decided to go one better. I took a helicopter ride and went aerial. Helicopters are nothing like small planes, the ride is alot smoother but so much noisier. The copter turned sharply a couple of times and you can really feel the g-force on your body. This is something else I would definately do again. Damian you would have loved this! I am travelling with a few people who have seen both Niagra and Victoria falls and this place beats them hands down apparently. Because of the power of the river (its one of - if not the strongest river in the world), Foz de Iguazu (the town on the other side of the falls) is home to the worlds biggest hydro-electric dam. Itaipu Dam was built on the river that divides Brazil and Paraguay. It took over 9 years to complete and become operational but nows supplies 90% of Paraguays power and 25% of Brazil´s power. The volume of the water coming through its spillway is 40 times that of the water going over the falls. This part of the world really knows how to do huge fast flowing rivers. Iguazu is ismply one of the most magical places I have visited so far - the beauty of the place is astounding. You come away thinking how amazing the natural world can be - cheesy I know but true. This place also symbolises the last leg of the South American trip for me. I have left Argentina for the last time and I am now in Brazil. Only a couple of weeks left before the carnival starts!

Uruguay by hook or by crook

2007-01-31T16:48:00.000Z

After leaving Buenos Aires the plan was to drive the truck into Uruguay and visit the towns of Colonia, Salto and the Capital Montevideo. This however was impossible to do. All the borders between Argentina and Uruguay are currently closed to traffic. The Argentinians are not at all happy with the Uruguayans and it is all because of a paper mill (hope you are following this Paul!) The Uruguay people want to build a paper factory on their side of the river. The Argentians don't want this because of all the pollution it will create. The local Argentians have taken matters into their own hands and protested by closing their sides of the borders. The Uruguay government has even taken the Argentian government to court demanding they act against the local Argentian people. Uruguay lost the court case and the Argentian government are leaving the local people alone to protest any way they like. And all this has been going on for 18 months now. Uruguay is believed to have lost over $400million in lost tourism. In a nutshell it meant the truck was not going anywhere near the Uruguay borders. But becuase we were foot passengers, we were allowed to board a ferry to Colonia. So the group abandoned the truck and went on foot to Uruguay by ourselves.
Colonia is a beautiful little town, cobbled streets, old city walls and I spent an enjoyable day wondering around. Unfortunately Damian the walls were only ruins and you couldn't walk around them - I know you will be dissapointed!
We then took a bus and made our way to Montevideo, the capital. This is not the most attractive city in the world - in fact the locals don't live there - they live out in the vast suberbs and commute in. It also has a large naval base and harbour but most importantly they had a very nice stretch of beach. I spent a very relaxing day on the beach - building sandcastles, having sand fights, messing about in the sea - generally acting like children and it was great. For the first time in many many months, I felt as if I was on a normal relaxing holiday. It won't last long - I'll be back on a very hot truck before I can say "Its not a holoday - its an adventure" Glad I have seen Uruguay - well as much as you can fit in in 3 days and very glad I got to taste the Urugauyan wine - Don Pascual. Tip for all wine lovers - Uruguayan wine is the way forward!

Land of the Tango

2007-01-31T16:08:00.000Z

After a couple more long driving days we arrived in the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires. This is supposed to be the home of the tango. I spent an evening at a tango show in a cafe that would not have been out of place in Paris a hundred or so years ago. The show was spectacular. How an earth both the man and woman manage to kick their legs simultaneously through their partner's legs without doing themselves an injury, is beyond me. These people have alot of skill - and you realy wouldn't believe what they could do with wooden balls on a rope!! It was nice to spend a few days back in a city after the camping and tiny towns of the last couple of weeks. Felt very civilised to be able to go out for drinks and meals until the wee small hours. Nobody here even bothers eating before midnight.
I ventured into the Recoleta Cementry. Its famous for being the final burial place of Evita (Eva Peron) but the place itself is a work of art. It does not have graves but tombs and vaults. Each tomb is built by the family and they are very elaborate, most have imported italian stautes within them not to mention being covered in marble. Evita's tomb by contrast is not at all elaborate it is simply a plaque on the wall of her families vault. Mind you it has been sealed with alot of concrete and metal to stop anyone else stealing the body. Her sister only got Evita's body back 50 years after she had died. I know this as I also went to the Evita museum. Another region of Buenos Aires that was breath - taking was that of the Boca suberb. Footie fans will recognise the name but as well as housing a very famous stadium - it has a very colourful approach to homes. Boca was the first settlement in Buenos Aires and it was were all the extremely poor Spanish and Portuguese workers first landed. The area is still the poorest neighbourhood and therefore at night becomes the most dangerous part of town but during the day it is beautiful. To try and eleivate the harsh conditions they found themselves in, those first settlers painted their houses a myriad of colours and the houses are still kept in the same way. The place had such an artesian / old parisian atmosphere with alot of tango going on. One old chap (he must have been late 80's) even got me tangoing in the street. Alas I was useless but good comedy value for my friends! Buenos Aires is a great city but after 4 days there I am looking forward to seeing some more beautiful scenery and natural sights. There is only so much city life I can take at the moment - I have turned into a great outdoors type. Mind you its alot easier to do here due to the very comfortable weather conditions!

The End of the World

2007-01-24T07:24:00.000Z

After the breathtaking sights of Patagonia we ventured as far south as possible over land. I arrived in Ushuaia, the most southernly city in the world. This is the place to come if you want to go to Antartica. Alas I didn´t have $3000.00 to spare so I couldn´t go. Tierrra del Fuego (where Ushuaia stands) is actually an island off the bottom of Argentina and Chille - not part of the mainland. A ferry needs to be caught from Chille to get there at all. Tierra Del Fuego is cold - in the height of summer the average temperature for Ushuaia is 12 degrees. With wind chill factor this becomes alot more colder. Apart from having too many american tourists for my liking Ushuaia wasn´t too bad. I went out for a catamorran ride in the Beagle Channel. The waters around Antartica are the roughest in the world and coming back down the Bagle Chanel by sea can be likened to being on a continuous very high roller coaster. The waves were huge - totally encapsulating the boat. I totally loved it and my stomach wasn´t bothered by the waves - but I was in a tiny minority - I have never seen so many people vomiting in the same place before. This is the lighthouse in the middle of the Channel on a much calmer day - I was unable to take a photo as it was literally impossible to stand up and hold a camera at the time we were passing. After eating what is possible the nicest food of the journey at a very posh seafood restaurant (giant mussels for me) - it was time to start going north again. There is not much between Ushuaia and Buenos Aires except scrub land - so we drove for 5 days solid. Look at a map - the distances are immense. To break up the journey we stopped at the Valdez Penisular - a giant national park. I saw hundreds of penguins not to mention elephant seals, sea lions, armidillos, guancos and grey foxes. We were not lucky enough to see an Orca but to tell you the truth I was over the moon with the Armidilos. What bizarre little creatures these are but my goodness - they are fast. Looking forward now to being back in a city and being able to shower again!

Breathtaking, breathtaking, breathtaking...cold

2007-01-14T19:10:00.000Z

Have been moving further down South America, remaining in the jaw dropping beauty of the Patagonia landscape. Patagonia is an area of South America that runs down the western edge. It encompasses many national parks and has areas in both Chile and Argentina. Whilst camping at El Chaten (Argentina) this is the view that greeted us from our tents. It is the Fitzroy mountain range and I enjoyed a leisurely hike up one of its many paths. Slightly further south I ventured out to the Moreno Glacier. This glacier is the only one in the world which is static - that is, it loses approximately the same mass each year at the front (by ice falling off it) as it gains from the back which the formation of new ice. This is the first glacier I have seen and impressive does not do it justice. It is very difficult to find the words to describe adequately the sights I have seen in Patagonia, so I´m afraid impressive, breath taking, jaw dropping will have to do. Its 5km wide and 30km long and has a depth of 170 metres - so in glacier terms it is not the biggest but it is one of the best. We took a boat trip up to the north side of the glacier and watched as the ice creaked and cracked and large chunks fell into the sea. Spent most of the afternoon stood transfixed at the beauty of it all. You need to come and see this place. Then I spent the next few nights camped out at Torres Del Paine (Chille) - where my luck ran out. The weather turned on us, and instead of the unseasonally high temperatures, they returned to what they should be for this part of the world in January. Bear in mind tht January is high summer here - the average summer temperature is 12 degrees C. That wouldn´t be so bad but alas rain and gale force winds are also the norm. Attempted to hike the very difficult two towers walk (there is actually three towers so I am confused about the name). Got half way when the blizzard, hail and wind strong enough to knock us over made us turn around. This is what I should have seen if the weather had held out. But I´m not disheartened - they will be plently more walks to do in the next place. That place is Ushuaia. Its the most southern city in the world - the last stop before Antartica. The average high summer temperature there is 9 degrees C. So glad I´m going now and not in winter. You all know all good I am with the cold!

Celebrations all round

2007-01-06T21:01:00.000Z

Happy New Year to you all. I spent my new years eve at Bariloche, an Argentian ski resort. its summer here at the mo and very hot (we had alot of sun - sorry Steph) so there is no skiing but there are loads and loads of chocolate shops to make up for it. The place looks like it is an Alpine village complete with Swiss chalets - It doesn´t look like it should be in the middle of South America! Obviously I had to toast the arrival of the new year with a couple of drinks. But seeing as I am with a large group of people, I also had to toast the arrival of the new year in each of their countries of origin. As we have Kiwi´s with us that meant having a drink at 8am local time (new years eve), going through all the other countries represented eg South America, Greece, Germany, England (at 9pm), Argentina obviously at midnight and then we kept going to try and mark the Canadian new year at 5am. I´m afraid to say I didn´t quite make it - but then again neither did the Canadians so I didn´t feel that bad.
Crossed the border yet again to Chile where I spent a couple of days relaxing upon a riverbank in the blazing sunshine. We then drove down Chile in the shadow of the beautiful Patagonian landscape. Its mountains, glaciers, ice blue streams and lakes not to mention thick lush forrestry as well. The road we are on has been called the most beautiful in the world and I can well believe that it is. The road is only accessible for 2 months each year during the height of summer - all other times it is a mud and ice road too dangerous to use. It was these surroundings that greeted me on my birthday. The truck I am on had been decorated with ribbons and balloons and I was made to wear a special pink crown for the day. Diane my tour leader had even baked and iced me a huge chocolate and caramel cake complete with candles. I doubt I will ever have a birthday with such a spectacular backdrop again - good job I made the most of it!

Christmas Cheer - I´m still alive

2006-12-29T21:24:00.000Z

Happy Christmas everybody from the very hot city of Santiago, Chile. It felt very strange celebrating christmas in shorts, t-shirts and factor 30 sunscreen - keeping alcohol chilled whilst sat around the pool is very difficult but I tried my best. I had a great day with the rest of my group, santa had left us all presents under the tree - we even had stockings full of sweets to nibble upon whilst we waited for lunch. Lunch was a variety of pasta and rice salads served alongside the roast meat (obviously not for me) and was delicious. Needless to say after 14 hours of continual drinking we were all feeling a little merry. The photos and video evidence (especially of the wonderful dance routines) make compulsive viewing - even if they are totally embarassing but all are testament to the amazing atmosphere of the day. Even better the hangovers were very mild on boxing day!

I am currently in Pucon - the Lake District area of Chile, the scenery is fantastic - especially if you view it from above in a tiny plane. What was I doing in a tiny plane I hear you ask. Well as a special birthday gift to myself, I thought they could be no better way to mark the passage of time than to jump out of a plane. Yes I have done a SkyDive!!!!!!!
What an utterly fantastic experience. I jumped at 9000 feeet and freefell for over 40 seconds. There are very few words I can use to describe how amazing it was. (The words I want to use come under the term "flowery language") Obviously this is not me in the photo - ours haven´t been uploaded yet but this is Peter the skydive master whom I did my tandem jump with. (Just pretend the girl is me). I even managed a perfect landing which was remarkable as I couldn´t really stand up for 10 minutes after the dive ended. I was literally floating on air. To anyone thinking of doing this - go for it. It is the best experience of my life.

Doing nothing in Argentina

2006-12-21T17:33:00.000Z

After a couple of horrendous driving days on the worst roads in South America (they are not actually roads - they are dried out river beds) we finally spotted the border to Argentina. The prospect of decent driving conditions was overwhelming - unfortunately there was a price to pay for our combined euphoria. It seemed as if everyone else in the country also wanted to cross the border at 9am on a saturday morning. We were stood in the queue - in the baking heat (no sunscreen or water as they were in the truck on the otherside of the border) for - wait for it - over 4 hours. Wasn´t that a fun time. Argentina recently updated all its borders to computerised borders - no old fashioned stamps for them - unfortunately none of the bloody computers work!
We spent that night and the next morning in the city of Salta. Strangely enough following Saturday - the next day was Sunday - being a strict Catholic country obviously not a single shop was open. To make matters worse all the shops were full of lovely very cheap good quality things laughing at us.
Feeling dejected we moved out of Salta to a campsite by a deep ravine. The heat in Argentina is immense- we are moving into summer here but it is so much hotter than the Carribbean was. Factor 40 is having a hard time coping. I guess the weather is similar in the UK though (ha ha ha) To cool off I went Zip lining. Zip lining or flying fox is simply dangling off a metal line and going down it. The safety equipment has improved though since I last did this - then I had to grip on to a wooden handle with all my strength - if you fell - tough. Nowadays you are strapped into a harness and attached (safety rope and all) to the line - falling out of this would be a minor miracle in its self. Good job too. There were 9 lines, the longest 500m long, another 365m long. They criss crossed across the ravine a number of times. As you were fyling down them you were 140 m above the river and at times going 35kph but is was so relaxing. I was gliding down the lines feeling on top of the world. I reckon even those not too great at hights would have enjoyed this!
Its taken another couple of very long drives and camping at the side of the road but we have now reached Mendoza. Its a city in the middle of the Argentinian wine district. Got here at midday just in time for Argentinian siesta. Siesta lasts from 1 or 1.30pm to around 5pm. Everything and I mean everything shuts downs. Not only shops but banks, other services, even most restaurants! Have well and truely given up on the notion of trying to achieve much in Argentina. (Even the skydiving is not possible as the plane is being serviced for 7 days). Instead tomorrow I am going on a 2 day wine tasting tour. To make it even more amuzing, the first day will be on bicycle. Sun, sun, bicycles and lots of lots of good wine. There cannot be a better way to spend the run up to christmas...

Whistestop tour of Bolivia

2006-12-17T14:50:00.000Z

I left Cusco heading towards the border with Bolivia. Lake Titicaca is the natural border with both countries claiming half of this lake each. It is the largest freshwater lake in South America and the highest navigatable lake in the world at over 4000m. There are still communities of Uros Indians who live on floating reed islands in the lake and the things they can make out of reeds are truely impressive. We spent the night on the lake staying with local families. In the evening, we were all dressed in traditional clothing and made to dance alot. The boys got of alot easier than the girls- they just had to wear ponchos. Female outfits consist of multiple skirts, shirts, corsets and shawls. We were certainly not cold! I looked very colourful in my heavily embroidered outfit - wait till you see the pictures. After formally crossing the border we headed towards the Bolivian City of La Paz. All of Bolivia is very high - most over 3700m and the towns are all built on the sides of mountains - making walking up and down the streets very difficult. Alas I still hadn´t manage to shake my infection totally, so could not take advantage of the shopping to be had in La Paz.
By the time we got to Potosi though I was completely recovered so I was able to take a trip down the mines. Potosi had a moutain full of silver until the Spaniards discovered in and mined it completely - killing millions of slaves and locals in the process. Mining practices have changed little here in the last couple of hundred years and I watched as the miners dug the minerals out by hand. I also listened apprehensively as the dynamite explosions were going off in the mine whilst we were they. There has been enough Silver taken out of this mine to create a bridge that spans all of South America and reaches Europe. Ironically Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in the world as it was the Europeans who took all the money. Potosi mine is also the largest cemetary in South America with over several million workers buried in the mountain. When the Spaniards first starting forcing people to work in the mines, most only lasted 3 months on average before dying! Standards have improved since them but it is still a haunting experience. I did get to hold some dynamite though, and we blew a stick of it up - all for the grand total of 75 pence! It was great fun though!
After the thrills of blowing things up I headed off for the amazing visually spectacular Uyuni Salt flats - If sunglasses are not worn here you become blind as the reflection off the salt burns the retina - like snow blindness but worse. It is so white and bright here- The salt flats cover a vast distance - the only activity being a couple of towns on the edges where the locals dig out the salt and process it - selling it on to businesses. It some places they have found the salt to be over 50 metres deep. It was here I aso saw the oldest catus in the world - over 1000 years old - very tall it was too.
Bolivia has been a strange country - very high, with Salt flats at one extreme, and the continents largest body of water at the other. It also has the worlds most dangerous road within it but going on my past performance you will be pleased to hear that I was unable to cycle down it. But now I´m fully recovered I will be able to do the next madcap thing - which rumour has it may well be a skydive. Watch this space...

Machu Picchu ... eventually

2006-12-03T18:39:00.000Z

Well the plan was to spend 4 days hiking the Inca trek up to Machu Picchu - the lost city of the Incas. This place was never discovered by the Spanish and as a result is largely intact. The trek itself is very challenging, climbing and descending some incredibly steep mountains. Some of the passes are above 4200m and the altitude only adds to the challenge. I have been looking forward to hiking the trek for a number of years now. Well that was the plan. I only went and contracted a particulary nasty kidney infection the day before. The doctor would not let me start the trek. He may have had a point as at the time I couldn´t stand up! I was gutted but the antibiotics I was prescribed kicked in quickly and in a couple of days later I was declared fit enough to take the train up the mountain. The train journey was so picturesque as we climbed into the Andes. This is no ordinary train track - the mountains are so steep the train is unable to go in a continuous path. Instead it has to stop every 10 mins or so and change direction, climbing the mountain in a zigzag fashion. I spent the night in the town of Agua Callientes (Hot water) where I did partake in the healing qualties of the hot springs. First thing the next morning (at half 5 to be precise) I caught the bus to take me the final way of the journey to Machu Picchu. I was so pleased to see the rest of my group arrive via the Inca trek. Some of them looked very much the worse for wear - most of them doing good impressions of the John Wayne walk. We all entered the site together and what an amazing view awaited us. The mist hadn´t quite lifted from the top of the mountain making the place look even more magical. The stones that Machu Picchu are built from are immense, some well over the size of 5 adults - some of them weigh over 130 tonnes and they all fit together perfectly without any assistance from any type of mortar. They were also built to withstand earthquakes which is why so much of the site remains. After exploring the royal tomb, sun temple, quarry and sacred plaza to name a few we made our way to the famous hitching post of the sun. This was some kind of altar although some acedemics believed the Incas thought it to be a hitching post to the sun - the place where the sun was tied to the altar. It is suposed to give off magical healing energy so I placed my hands as near to it as I could without touching it. (Well I need all the help I can get at the moment!) After a couple of hours exploring our guide suggested we climed the nearby Waynu Picchu to get an excellent ariel view of the site. Waynu Picchu is that incredibly steep looking mountain in the background. Well since I was here I thought I may as well give it a try. Didn`t manage to get anywhere near the top before my body had had enough but I did climb high enough to get a good view. Climbed back down and spent the rest of the day exploring this site firther. By half past 4 it was time to catch the train back to Cusco. I would suggest that everyone comes to visit Machu Picchu and to be honest arriving there by train seems the more sensible way of getting there

Sky High

2006-11-28T21:41:00.000Z

After surviving the sandboarding, I decided to punish my body further my taking a flight over the Nazca lines. These lines were built by an ancient civilisation primarily as an astrological calendar. However as they are only visible from the air they are also thought to be an appeasement to the Gods, as only the gods can see them. I boarded a small aircraft along with 4 others and took off. Due to some wierd geological phenemenon there is a band of warm air that rests just aboves the lines. This has protected the lines for the last thousand years but it also makes for some horrendous turbulence. I lasted a whole 5 minutes before my stomach needed to be released. Fortunately I was still able to see the lines which are just amazing. The one above is the monkey whilst this is the spaceman. (Its really a farmer but spaceman is more popular with conspiracy theorists). After Nazcs we left the desert for Arequipa, the white city, a truely beautiful city. From here we arranged a trip out to the Colca Canyon. This canyon was thought to be the deepest in the world until another canyon was found a short distance away that is 50 metres deeper. The landscape around the canyon is stunning but the main reason people visit this spot is beacuse it is one of the few places in the world so you watch condors in the wild. At the moment it is nesting season so there are not many condors about but I was fortunate to see a couple soaring high. These are magnificent creatures and until you see them you really cannot comprehend how huge they are. Their wingspan is close to 2 metres. Returing from the Canyon we climbed to an altitude of 4900m, believe me it is really cold at that height. Luckily I did not seem to be suffering as much as the others with shortness of breath but the nosebleeds began to get annoying. That altitude is further than we go on the inca trail so touch wood I should be allright. Speaking of the Inca trail I will be setting off tomorrow on Wednesday the 29th. I´m off now to get a good nights sleep. Wish me luck...

Queen of the Desert

2006-11-23T21:48:00.000Z

Headed into Lima the capital of Peru where yet again we managed to arrive on election day - wonder if we will be able to enter any town in South America that isn´t in the middle of an elction campaign? After a couple of days sightseeing we left the comforts of the big city and headed off into the desert. The east coast of Peru is one rather large desrt with reportedly the worlds biggest sand dunes. Foolishly? we decided to take advantage of these rather large dunes. We strapped ourselves into dune buggies (10 at a time) and were driven off into the desert. The buggies did not go slowly, and the dunes are not tiny. This was no normal car journey it was more like a roller coaster ride, we were going up steep sides and down what seemed like vertical drops. My stomach seemed to land in my mouth on a number of occassions but the buggying was only a warm up for what was to come next. On the back of the buggies were sand boards - these looked just like snowboards but tinier. At the top of the dune, the board was balanced whilst you tried to lie down on it - head first on your stomach - keeping all your limbs on the board (you try keeping all you limbs on a board only 30cm wide!). Then you were pushed down the dune. What an adrenaline rush! You are inches from the ground picking up speed, on a steep incline with absolutely no control over where you are going. After my initial fear subsided, it was great fun. After 4 runs on different dunes (each one getting progressively bigger and steeper) the sun had almost set - I didn´t think we would have time for another go. How wrong I was. We were taken to the top of a dune that was so steep, you were scared to look over the edge. This dune was around 100 metres tall. As you peered over the edge you couldn´t actually see the slope as it curved under the ridge. The idea of going over this dune was petrifying. I was almost last in line and could hear the screams from the others as they went over. The chap in front of me came off his board and I could hear shouts of "Is he ok", "Oh thank god - he has got up" This does not too anything for confidence levels - let me tell you! Then I was pushed over. To slow down you are supposed to lower your feet in the sand behind you as a brake. I started picking up alot of speed, I knew I was going way too fast and desperately tried to brake. Nothing happened - I kept getting faster and faster. I hit a bump and my sunglasses flew off and still I was getting faster. By this point I knew if I came off I could do myself serious injury so I was clinging on with all my strength. As the slope hit the flat I hit alot of bumps and was bounced about on the board. I knew it was painful but I was too busy concentrating to care. Finally my board began to slow and I could hear whoops of delight and alot of cheering. I had managed to get my board alot further than any of the others and was going by far the fastest. I was later told I was going around 65 kph. My group actually thought I had gone at that speed on purpose - do they think I am that mad? The next day I was covered head to toe in very purple bruises but at least my pain had not been in vain - I had been given the title of Queen of the Desert!

Baths and beaches

2006-11-17T21:42:00.000Z

Survived the jungle and arrived very weary into Banos. Upon arrival into the hotel I was given a face mask and a leaflet explaining the different emergency sirens the town has. The Volcano that overlooks the town has been rumbling and smoking for the past week and if the wind changed direction we were all to wear our masks or risk choking on the fumes. Not the usual welcome gift you get in most hotels! Luckily for us though there was no erruption so we were free to explore this delightful town. Banos is famous for its naturally occuring thermal baths (that volcano again). I went along. The hot pool is certainly that. It was scaldingly hot - the temperature being in the very high 40's. The cold pool was icy cold. I only lasted half an hour and had to go home - these baths are not for the faint hearted. Alas Banos was my last stop in Ecuador - a country I have absolutely loved.
I crossed the border into Peru. The first thing you notice about Peru is the climate - northern Peru is a desert. I was not expecting that. We travelled to the western coast of Peru to spend a couple of very relaxing days at the beach at Punta Sal. The tents made their first (but certainly not their last) showing on this beach. I managed to spend three days doing nothing more taxing than playing cards and reading. Life is hard! There is only so much doing nothing you can do, so before boredom set in, the group moved further down the coast to another beach resort of Huanchaco. This town is still very much a fishing village and the locals still make individual reed boats out of tortuga reads which are left out on the beach to dry. I stress these really are boats and not giant pixie boats as someone on the truck believes! It is from our base here that I got to see the first ancient sites in Peru. The site of the Chan Chan ruins is spectacular. It is literally a mud brick city. We explored one of the palaces - it is so different from any of the other ancient civilisations I have seen so far. After the Chan Chan ruins we also looked around the temple of the moon, which is a site that belonged to the Moche - they predated the incas by about a thousand years and the murals on the side of the temple are still brightly coloured. Its been a while since I saw any ruins and these were impressive sites which have wetted my appetite before I reach Cusco and Machu Pichu. Only 2 weeks to go - so I suppose I should stop sitting about on beaches and go do something slightly more active...

Into the Jungle ...

2006-11-10T20:01:00.000Z

After meeting up with my new group and brand new truck in Quito we headed north to the market town of Otavalo. This town is famous throughout South America for the huge market it holds every Saturday and for the quality of the items you can buy there. After a little bit of shopping (I´m sure my poncho will come in very handy when I get to the Andes) we loaded up and headed east towards the Amazon Jungle. We stopped at Tena a town considered to be a gateway into the Amazon and it was from here that I decided to be very brave and brave the rapids again. After my disaterous outing in Guatemala - things surely could only get better? This time I went white water rafting down the Rio Napa, a tributory of the Amazon. Needless to say I was slightly nervous at first. The first few rapids we went through my heart was in my mouth but as I got used to it I slowly began to enjoy myself. In fact my the end of the day I was confident enough to join in stunt rafting. As you can see from the pic, the aim was to get the raft vertical and stable for as long as possible without toppling over or tipping backwards. Our raft was by far the best at this and we even managed to stay dry. By the end of the day, I was exhausted but I hadn´t fallen in once and was feeling incredibly proud of myself.
From Tena we went further into the jungle to stay for 3 nights at the Shangrila lodge. The view from my room is the one you see above - it was breathtaking. It would have been a lovely place to relax and wind down after the excitement of the rafting - but no such luck. We went hiking into the jungle and explored a series of caves. At one point we were scrambling up rocks and cliffs - having to walk up sheer faces with our legs on one side of an abyss and our hands on another. (Not easy when you are as short as me)! Crawling through other points where it was too narrow to do anything other than lie on your stomach. It was incredibly physically demanding - or so I thought until I started the following day´s activities. This was another full day climbing through the jungle but this time we had to climb up 4 waterfalls as well. The first couple were tiny but the third was huge and fast flowing but with the aid of a good rope I made it - alas the top of this waterfall only brought me to the bottom of another. My the time I reached the top I was dripping wet - not to worry I dried out on the following 2 hour hike up and down the steepest hillsides I have ever seen. Climbing through the jungle is not easy, tree roots and mounds of wet leaves try to trip you up at every opportunity. By the end of these few days my body did not know what had hit it! Luckily my next stop is the spa town of Banos, famous for it hot springs. I´ve also heard they do a pretty good massage ...

Galapogas Islands - Wow!

2006-11-04T15:03:00.000Z

After my gruelling spanish lessons were over I took myself off for afew days rest and relaxation in the Galapogas Islands. These islands are approximately 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. They are famed for their wildlife, in fact it is when Charles Darwin came to the islands he noted 14 different species of finch that had adapted to suit the very different climates of each island. These observations were the basis of the Origin of the Species. The Galapagos Islands are now a world heritage site. As the animals of these islands have not been hunted by man by over a hundred years, they do not see people as a threat and you can get incredibly close to them. I travelled to the southern islands onboard the catamoran Galapagos Vision - the same one in the photo. I saw many a blue footed boobie (these are the national symbol of the Galapogas) as well as red and grey footed boobies. I saw albatrosses with their young not to mention hundreds of sea lions. Sea lions are perculiar creatures they sound like a multitude of other animals. One minute they are barking like a dog, then they baa and bleat like sheep and goats. They are also very nosy, one sea lion tried to make off with my snorkelling equipment at one point.
When swimming they would come up to you and try to touch you before you had the chance to touch them. They were similar to children playing tag! As well as a wide variety of birds I also encountered a vide variety of iguanas close up. As it was mating season for some of them, they had turn bright turquoise and red colours. Of course the Galapogas are famed for their giant tortoises and I did go and visit Lonesome George, the only survivor of his particular species of tortoise. As well as George I saw lots of other tortoises some running in the wild (yes they can run and they go surprisingly fast). These creatures are huge and have to be seen to be believed. I would recommend the Galapogas to anyone who enjoys wildlife, the sights you see and the fact you can get so close to the animals is amazing. Pesky mockingbirds wouldn´t stop landing on my boots and legs when I was sitting down, trying to get to my bottle of water. Oh yes, there were wild flamingoes there too. Alas I couldn´t go to the more northern islands were the good diving sites are, as I simply did not have the time. Swimming with the sharks and penguins will have to wait till next time. Back to Quito now to meet the group I will be travelling around South America with.

Journey to the centre of the Earth

2006-10-26T22:35:00.000Z

Today´s grand adventure was to the centre of the earth no less. Just north of Quito lies the exact line of the equator, with as you can see a latitude of 0 degrees. Now you might expect a grand monument and perhaps a tourist trap to mark this point and indeed there is one. As you can see on the left is a rather large monument. Now this was built by the French a couple of hundred years ago and they got their calculations wrong. The big tourist complex at la Mitad del Monde (Middle of the Earth) where this monument lives, is in reality in the wrong place, a couple of hundred metres in the wrong place. I did not go to the tourist complex but instead to the museum behind it, where the actual equator lies (proven by global positioning systems). It had no grand monument, instead it had a red line painted on the floor. What it did have though is the science that proves it is the equator. I watched the famous water test. A sink is filled with water and then the plug is removed. When the sink is placed in the northern hemisphere the water goes down the plug anti clockwise, in the southern hemisphere it goes down clockwise. When the sink is placed exactly on the equator the water goes straight down the plug. It is all to do with the fact that the equator is the widest point of the earth and fractionally closer to the sun and moon and therefore has different gravitational forces. Sounds boring but trust me, its fascinating to observe. Something I did not expect is that it is practically impossible to stand on the equator, hold your arms out, close your eyes and try to walk forward. It is impossible to balance - you just fall over! You also have alot less strength on the equator again due to gravity. This was proven to us by the following experiment. You stand in either the northern or southern hemisphere, clench your fists together and hold them above your head. Another person then applies pressure to your fists and tries to lower them. Using all your strength, you try to keep you fists above your head. Then you do this again whilst standing on the equator. Well there was no contest. With only one hand, the other person could lower your fists - try as you might, you have alot less strength. It was bizarre. You can also balance an egg on a nail on the equator - I saw it done. It was a truly fascinating, interesting afternoon and as a special treat the guide was allowed to speak to me in English - so I didn´t miss anything!

Quito - a misunderstood city

2006-10-22T23:05:00.000Z

For the last week I have been in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. I arrived in South America on the 15th October with the purpose of trying to learn a little spanish. A little spanish is the exact phrase I need to describe the progress I am making. It is hard going as I am not a natural linguist. For two weeks I an staying in the home of Martha and Vincente, Martha is the director of the Spanish School in which I am studying. I have one to one lessons between 8:30 and 12:30 followed by a local ecuadorian lunch with the tutors followed by another couple of hours one to one - but in the afternoon we do not have lessons per se but experience a range of cultural activities. These range from walking around the local area, to visiting important sites or churches or museums and even salsa dancing. All the time I have to speak Spanish, no English allowed. I eat my evening meal with Martha and her family again totally in Spanish and then I settle down to complete my 2 or 3 hours of homework. It is as intense as it sounds and I am shattered.
Quito is a lovely city not at all what I had expected. All the reports you hear about Quito is that it is an extremley dangerous city, very polluted and dirty. Obviously you have to be sensible about safety, ie not walking alone after dark but Quito is a beautiful place, full of museums, churches, colonial architecture and impressive statues. The picture above is of the Angel of Quito. She was built upon a hill overlooking the city to protect Quito from earthquakes. This is the view from the top. The views were spectacular, you could see the surrounding mountain ranges and volcanoes. Not content with climbing the Angel of Quito, I have also climbed a tower and spire in the basilica. You can see the spire to the right of the picture and the clocktower is on the left. To get to the top of the spire, I had to climb up a metal ladder on the outside of the spire looking down. It was slightly nerve racking. The ladders within the clock tower were all inside but as you approached the top you had to walk across the metal girders covered over in a chicken wire material. That was worse than the outside ladder! Again the views were amazing and the sense of achievement you feel when you touch solid ground again is great. When you go inside the churches here, you really do need to wear sunglasses. Every inch of the walls and ceilings are covered in gold, arranged in ornate patterns. They take their Catholicism seriously here. So I have another week of studying in front of me, then I reckon I will derserve a treat - so I have booked a trip to the Galapogas Islands - I´m even going on a luxary catamoran! Thats how much of a treat I deserve.

Panama - bridging the continents

2006-10-19T21:44:00.000Z

Our first port of call within Panama was the little town of Boquette. Boquette is nestled within coffee growing areas and the stuff is abundant. A certain coffee king would have a field day here. Not only do Panamamians claim that their coffee is the best but for the last decade every winner of the coveted world coffee championship has been from Panama. Not always the same region but always from Panama. So theres a tip for you - find the Panama coffee not the Colombian. Personally I remember Boquette for "Zanzibar Jazz Bar" a wonderful establishment where I got very drunk on a wonderful concoction called chocolate martini. It has neither chocolate nor martini in it but it tasted good nethertheless. Due to the continual afternoon torrential downpours, we opted not to spend an evening camping on a beach but headed off a day early to Panama City. This was the view that greated us as we arrived on the outskirts of Panama City. Yes those Panama people can build impressive bridges (if only they would pass their knowledge on to the Costa Ricans). Not surprisingly our first stop was the famous Panama Canal. The Canal connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and is 48 miles long. The French originally tried to build it in the 1800's but after the deaths of 20,000 plus workers and out of control costs they gave up. The Americans took over the construction and only left Panama in 1999. Ships are charged according to their mass to cross the canal. The most expensive ship cost over $250,000 whilst the cheapest crossing was done by a bloke swimming the canal. He was charged around $0.30. We stopped at the Miraflores lock. The size of the ships are immense, they really do have to be seen to be believed. The ships are built to the exact measurements of the Panama Canal. On average 90 ships per day can pass through, the canal never shuts. As they are passing through the locks, the ships have only centimetres to spare on either side. They are piloted through by smaller tugs and guided by vechicles that run on tracks beside the sides of the locks. The whole precedure only takes a few minutes as the ship passes through one lock to the next and is totally mesmorising. The next couple of days were spent within Panama City - not the most beautiful city in the world. One thing they do exceptionally well here is the fast food outlets within shopping centres. The food is up to restaurant standards at some places and costs less than $3. The taxis are also extremley cheap. We drove around the city for what seemed liked hours, to be charged the vast sum of $2. Alas this is the end of my Central American adventure - next stop South America.

Costa Rica - the rich coast

2006-10-09T19:49:00.000Z

When Costa Rica was first discovered, the Spaniards found an abundance of wealth here. In fact so much so that they over loaded some of their ships with gold and they sank with the weight. There is not much sparkly stuff left here now but what they do have is an abundance of wildlife. 25% of Costa Rica is national park and they are committed to maintaining it. Costa Rica is also unusal and unique in Latin America in that it is very stable politically. They have not had an army here since the 40´s. This is all making Costa Rica a very popular destination with nature lovers and with Americans who consider it close enough to be worth the effort (plus alot of locals can speak English - not that pesky Spanish). My first impression of Costa Rica was rain. It is the middle of the rainy season and boy can it rain. None of the other countries we have visited have had much in the way of rain - but here we are getting very wet.
Our first stop was the shores of Lake Arenal in which we could see Arenal Volcano in the distance. This is the third most active volcano in the world behind Mount Etna and one in Hawaaii. The volcano first errupted in the 60´s much to the surprise of the locals, who believed it was just a mountain. It killed 87 people and has been errupting on average twice a year since then. We were allowed to climb to the outskirts of an old lava flow but for safety reasons could not get any further. What was really impressive was when night fell and we could watch the red hot lava tumbling down the side of the volcano. That was spectacular. The lava can´t half move at a fast rate. I also indulged in a bit of luxary here, visiting a 5 star hotel to make use of their hot springs. These are a number of natural pools heated up to 45 degrees by the underground magma chambers. The pools were so relaxing, they even had waterfalls within them so your back and shoulders could get massaged whilst you just sat in the warm / hot water.
After all this luxary we moved on to San Jose (Yes I know the way to San Jose). Here I took a trip to the RainForest Arial Tram ride. Tram lines have been built above the rain forest canopy (up to 40 metres high) and you sit in a gondola as you move slowly amongst the tree tops. This adventure is not for those who don´t like heights and I must admit my heart was racing a couple of times as we just hung there, suspended, looking down. The views were out of this world though and you do get a completely different perspective on things. As well as all the flora and fauna I saw a sloth asleep in a tree (what else would it be doing) and toucans feeding and fighting. This rainforest was on the Carribbean coast of the country, we then moved across to the Pacific coast and another national park. Unfortunately the rain at this point was so torrential it was impossible to get into the park or to see anything. We did have a couple of adventures trying to get the truck over very tiny rickety bridges. Think Indiana Jones and hanging suspension bridges - those bridges were of more stable design then the ones we had to cross with a 40 tonne truck. We had an impressive 5cm to spare on both sides - luckily our driver is good. Onwards to Panama where they might have discovered the art of both road and bridge building!

Nicaragua- the 3rd best destination in the world?

2006-10-05T17:49:00.000Z

Well its great to be somewhere that isn´t over run with Gringo´s and Nicaragua is that place. According to the lonely planet this is the 3rd best destination in the world. The country is only just recovering from a civil war and it certainly has an edge to it, that the other countries did not have. Leon is a former capital and is home to the liberal party. The city was surrounded by very colourful political murals showing the social and political history of the country. After spending a day in Leon we moved to another former capital, Granada, home of the conservative party. It was because of the political instability of these two cities, both fighting for the right to be the true capital, that Nicaragua decided to build another capital, one that wasn´t home to any political party. Manangua was built, was proclaimed capital and since them most trouble has died down. Granada is a beautiful city, full of colonial architecture, situated on the shores of Lake Nicaragua. The Lake is huge, almost a small ocean. It is the 10th largest freshwater lake in the world. The lake formed as a result of a volcano, 20 000 years ago and is still surrounded by volcanoes. The lake is also home to 365 islands created by the errupting rocks and debris. These islands range from being large enough to fit a village on, to small enough just to have one house on. Alot of Nicaragua´s wealthiest citizens own a private island on the lake complete with their own summer houses. I took a boat trip within these islands and wished I could own one. One island has been turned into a monkey sanctuary, so I was treated to a view of spider and howler monkeys close up. After a couple of relaxation days in Granada, we moved to La Flors. This is a turtle reserve on a beach. The beach is on the pacific coast, so I experienced swimming in the pacific for the first time here. We set up camp on the beach - it was so beautiful and at half 11 carrying red lights (as to not scare off any turtles with white light) we headed off to find the turtles. We were in luck. The turtles are in hatching season. Not only did we see turtles going for their midnight swim but we also got to see a fair number of eggs. Turtles and turtles eggs are considered a delicacy by some (and are also believed to improve male performance). As a result the turtles are now close to extinction. This turtle reserve is one of the first in Nicaragua and was heavily protected by armed guards. It was a magical way to end our visit to Nicaragua - a truely surprising country.

Deeper and Deeper in Honduras

2006-10-01T21:18:00.000Z

Late on Fri 22nd September we crossed the boarder into Honduras. It was 8pm by this time and very dark and our driver could not find his way to the campsite. So 8 very armed policemen had to escort us 20 minutes down the road so we could stop anoying them by driving backwards and forwards through their inspection point. It was an mini adventure in itself. The next moring we went to Copan ruins. This is an impressive collection of Mayan temples and obelisks. This is the last of the Mayan sites we will visit. My next set of ruins will be Incan in South America. After Copan we drove north through Honduras and caught a plane to Roatan, one of the Bay Islands. It is a large island 40 miles long but I did not get a chance to see any of it because I signed up to do my PADI scuba diving course. The course is normally run over 4 days but we had to fit it all in, in just over 2 and a half days. It meant we were studying till 9pm at night (not easy when you have been up since 5am that morning) and then getting up bright and early the next day to do our skills and breathing techniques. We practised these on the beach before doing our first dive on the first full afternoon. It was hard work but so worth it. We did a total of 4 dives all together. 2 were at 12 metres and the final two went down to 18 metres. That is the depth limit allowed for open water scuba divers. I saw a variety of things including parrot fish, cow fish, lobster, shrimps, sea snails and sea slugs, a multitude of different coloured fish, an eel and amazingly another turtle. Turtles are even more difficult to spot off Roatan than they are in Caye Caulker but I guess we were exceptionally lucky. There was also a wide variety of corals and microscopic life. Because it is dangerous to fly untill 18 hours after your last dive (due to the risk of decompression sickness), we finished our last dive at midday. After taking the final exam (and passing with flying colours) this left me with the afternoon free. I treated myself to yet another opportunity of a lifetime. I went diving in a yellow submarine. Yes a real yellow submarine. This sub has been built by hand by Karl Stanley, who takes you down in it. He is a keen marine ecologist and biologist and he knows heaps about the wildlife. It is only tiny and it is a squeeze to get into the front but it is capable of going to depths of 2000 feet. We only went down to 1000 feet. It was fascinating. Due to the domed window everything seemed alot smaller, starfish were the same size as your little fingernail. We saw rare creatures including the sea lilly which was thought to be extinct only a few years ago. The entire experience was wonderful and eerie and to quote a cliche out of this world, but is is so difficult to convert into words what we were able to see. All in all most of my experience of Honduras has been below sea level and it has been truely magical and fasinating. It is with regret that I am going back onto dry land now but it is now onwards to the unspoilt beauty of Nicaragua.

Gods and Weavers

2006-09-21T21:47:00.000Z

After the excitement that was tubing, I have certainly been taking things easy. Stayed for four nights in Antigua which used to be the capital and is a beautiful old colonial town. Had the chance to climb an active volcano but alas my bruises would not allow it. Hopefully will get the chance of more active volcanoes in the months to come. After Antigua we moved into the cold mountains to a little Indian town of Totonicopan. There we got to spend the night with a local family. I stayed with Miguel and Raquel and their two young boys. Miguel is a weaver and tried to teach us how to weave. The weavers of the world have nothing to worry about - I was that bad. It was a great evening and Raquel was the most wonderful cook. We taught Zak (the 10 year old boy) how to play snap and he then taught us a different version of poker! He was a card shark in the making. We could only stay the one night unfortunately, so we packed up and headed off. We moved to Lake Atitlan, which as you can see from the photo is an ugly place. Its surrounded by three volcanoes and takes close to two hours to cross by boat. We crossed the lake to visit Santiago and pay homage to MozzieMan. MozzieMan is a local diety who moves around the island staying one month at a time in a different home. He is a god of drinking, smoking and womanising which the locals really do pray to. When we arrived to make an offering a local couple were praying at his feet. He is a lifesize creation, dressed in local costume with a lit cigarrette in his mouth. The cigarette is not allowed to go out and a man attends to it continually, relacing the spent cigarette with a new one. What with the burning incense MozzieMan can only be descibed as a surreal sight. 15 of us made an offering and he was obviously listening as that evening we all went out, partook in a number of drinks and had a very good night. Whats more we were all able to get up the following morning! My time in Guatamala has now come to an end and tomorrow morning we head off to the border and Honduras.

Independance Day

2006-09-17T19:41:00.000Z

Guatamala is a large country who until 1996 was in civil war. It is still very danagerous in many areas and nearly everyone in the country carries a gun as a matter of course. To answer you Paul, Guat still desputes Belize. In fact on some maps Belize doesn´t even exsist, it is all Guatamala. Whenever domestic political isssues become heated the Government raises the Belize issue to divert attention from their unpopularity. We got into the country in time for independence day - 15th September. The day before we passed loads of brightly coloured chicken buses full of teams of teenage school children. They all had someone running in front of them carrying what looked like an olympic torch. They run 2K´s each before swapping over. It is also customary to throw water over the runners as they passed through your village. Our truck got stuck in a small village along with around 50 of these buses - we also got covered with water. Very good natured fun. On independance day itself, there was alot of processions and drumming. Each school had a parade with marching bands and majorettes. Every local came out to the main square to watch the handing over of the flag. Again it was a wonderful party atmosphere but I resisted the urge to buy a hat made out of bendy balloons. Wonder how many more national celebrations we came stumble into?

Frights, left right and centre

2006-09-15T22:40:00.000Z

On the 9th September the border into Guatamala was crossed and we headed off to Tikal National Park. Some argue this is the most impressive ancient Mayan site in the world. This is the view from atop temple 4, the eagled eyed sci fi fans will recognise this as a scene from Star Wars. It was also the location of Endor the Forrest Moon. On Sat Night I climbed temple 4 to watch the full moon and see the moonlight light up the temples. The following morning I arose at 4am (yes I got up at that time) to climb temple 4 again, this time to see the sunrise. Alas due to low cloud there was no sunrise but I did get to listen to the jungle awakening. The noises were very eerie, as if giant beasts lived there but thankfully they don´t. Did see some racoon type animals up close and saw the monkeys swinging through the treetops. Not content with climbing temple 4 twice, temples 1 and 2 and the temple of the lost world I approached temple 5. This has only recently been excavated and is only open at weekends due to the archeologists still working on it during the week. Didn´t look too steep from the front but it is unsafe to climb so they have built open wooden steps up it, around the corner. From below they looked liked normal steps. Pretty soon it became apparant that they were ridiculously steep and extremely scary. They were practically vertical. After willing myself to the top I inched very slowly along the narrow ledge at the top. The view was impressive but I then had to descend. Almost scared myself to death during the descent. I went down backwards as if I was on a ladder and I went very very slowly. This is temple 1 - the easy small one!

Felt very pleased with myself none the less and was with a proud heart I arrived at the next camp site. This was a lovely place to relax, watch the world go by from the hammock house and enjoy the homemade banana bread. Why wasn´t I content with his? Feeling very brave I signed up to go river tubing (exactly as it sounds - float down the river is a giant inner tube). The poster said not for wimps - that should have warned me. The first hour was very relaxing, bobbing along even though we did go down a couple of minor rapids. The second part is where it got adventurous (bloody scary). The last two nights had seen extreme thunderstorms and as a result the river was not only high but incredibly fast. We were warned that people come back with bumps and bruises. The rocks were extremely sharp and ragged and the current beyond strong. As you have probably guessed, I was the one who came out of the tube and flung headfirst through two rapids (was wearing a safety helmet). It made temple 5 look like a picnic. After being severly battered I had to climb back into the tube to continue the course to the end. The boys had to lift me in and out of the truck to get me home, as my bruises my this point had swollen so much I was unable to move. Bruised and battered but not broken I returned to the hammock. Thats two scary things done in less than a week. Think I will take it easy for the forseeable future!

Bye bye Belize, Hola Guatemala

2006-09-08T21:46:00.000Z

We leave Belize just as it begins to celebrate its 25th anniversary of independence. Britain declared British Honduras independent in 1981 and it became Belize. The British did keep a large forces regimented over here for a number of years afterwards (thinking of you here Paul), in fact the SAS still come here to do their jungle training. Anyway starting on the 10th September (The Battle of St George's Caye - when Britain beat the Spaniards in the 18th century) and ending on the 20th September (the declaration of independence in 1981) all of Belize is going to be one giant party. The celebrations have already started in many towns and the locals are even more relaxed than they are normally. You have gotta love a country who's national motto's are "Go Slow" and " No pressure, no problems, no worries". We are leaving this carnival atmosphere and crossing the border into Guatemala. Its going to be Spanish all the way now until March!

An Underground Adventure

2006-09-08T19:28:00.000Z

Thursday 7th September found me trying my hand at another completely new experience. This time it was caving. The Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave (or ATM cave as it more commonly known) is located at the edge of the Belizean Rainforest. The name translates as the cave of the Stone Sepulcher and was a cave used by the Ancient Mayans for religious rituals mainly contacting the spirits, and in the times of extreme drought, human sacrifices to appease the gods of rain and harvests.

We reached the cave entrance after a 45 minute trek through the jungle. Then it was time to don hardhats and headlamps as we plunged neckdeep into the icy cold waters to swim into the cave. Swimming whilst wearing hiking boots is an interesting experience. Once into the main body of the cave we spent the next three hours exploring. Often waist deep in water we were scrambling over rocks, climbing through small jagged opening between rocks, generally getting bumped and scraped. Without the lights on it was bitch black and quite frightening. We encountered some wildlife, alot of bats and a very large variety of spider called the scorpion spider. You wouldn't want to wake up with that monster climbing on you.

The views within the cave were amazing. The formations of limestones over the millions of years were astounding with stalagmites and stalactite's every were you look. What makes this cave truly unique though and the reason National Geographic did a 16 page spread on it is the fact that some Mayan pots and skeletons remain in situ. The reason being that over the hundreds of years since it was last used, limestone has formed around the objects effectively sealing them into the rock floor. The pots were filled with food and drink and left as offerings to the gods. A small piece of the rim of the pot would be broken and this would let the spirit of the pot loose so the Gods and the ancestor's would be able to enjoy the offerings. A similar custom is still going today in Spain and Latin American countries when offerings are left out on the day of the dead (October 31st going into November 1st) We only celebrate Halloween.

To get into the sacrificial part of the cave involved climbing up 5 metres vertically, hauling ourselves up the rockface. This is not easy for those of us with little legs. Once up we had to make the rest of the journey in socks only to avoid damaging the cave any more. Again this was not without pain. The cave floor is not smooth but extremely rugged and sharp. It was well worth it though and to see a complete skeleton in situ is remarkable. It won't be long before this cave is either closed to tourists (It has open been open a couple of years - and only rediscovered and mapped in the early nineties) or more likely it won't be long before unscrupulous operators go in and the artifacts are destroyed. Again this has been a remarkable adventure - that's two in a week. What will I be doing next I wonder...

Borders, boggy spots and beaches

2006-09-08T18:27:00.000Z

On Saturday 2nd September, we bade farewell to Mexico and Billy our Mexican driver and crossed the boarder into Belize. Belize is a little country the size of Wales that until 1981 was a British Colony, the result of which is that English is the national language. We were greeted at the Boarder by the Dragoman truck which will be our home for the next 6 weeks. It is here that I also got my first experience of bush camping. That is to say we camped in a field with alot of long grass and therefore biting insects with no facilities. The next day we prepared to get going. We all sat on the truck... and the truck refused to move. It turned out the ground was a giant ant nest and the truck simply sank into it. Well after three hours of the boys digging the truck out, it was clear we were going nowhere. We eventually had to be towed out by a JCB digger. Alas the damage had been done. Everyone had been eaten alive by the ants but those who had been under the truck were covered head to foot with ant bites. They resembled a group of decaying diseased people. The next couple of nights were incredibly painful.

We drove to Belize City and caught a water taxi across to Caye Caulker. This is a little island in the Caribbean Sea. It is truly a beautiful place. The Bounty adverts could have been filmed here. The place is tiny, there is one main street which takes 10 mins to walk down and no cars are allowed. The locals drive golf buggies and the taxi service are tricycles with seats for two at the back. After a couple of days doing nothing but relaxing and eating fresh lobster, I decided to be a little more adventurous and went snorkeling. I have never snorkeled before but the barrier reef here is supposed to rival the Great Barrier Reef in terms of wildlife. I was not disappointed.

On our first jump into the sea we came across a herd of manatees. These mammals are a cross between a seal and a sea cow. They are slow, heavy and very docile. They were just milling about around us. One was asleep on the ocean floor underneath us, automatically rising to the surface to breathe every 5 minutes or so. Our second snorkel was in a Marine park were I saw all kinds of brightly coloured fish as well as coral, stingrays, barracuda's and nurse sharks.
Swimming with the sharks and stingrays was not in the least bit scary (and yes I do know what happened to Steve Irwin). After saying that we did keep a bit more distance to the stingrays than we did to the sharks. These sharks were only 1min length and alot more interested in the sardines that the local fishermen feed to them.

The highlight of the trip though had to be the turtle. We had ben searching for a turtle for around an hour and had given up when we spotted one. The turtle is a endangered species and our guide on average only finds one for every 7 trips he does. Once spotted we jumped into the ocean and spent the next 20 minutes swimming along side him. He was an incredible creature and I feel so fortunate to have been able to do it.

With much regret we left Caye Caulker and returned to the truck. The area on which the truck had been parked was rather wet when we arrived due to a recent and long lasting thunderstorm. Unbelievably the truck was bogged again and yes there were alot more ants around. After some rather strong language the JCB digger was called immediately and we were towed out. We have a three day stop over at San Ignacio now. We will all be checking the ground before we park up.

Temples, temples, temples ...ballet

2006-09-04T19:13:00.000Z

After three days we left San Christobel but not before going to the Sumerido Canyon. The Canyon was amazing, cliffs up to 700 metres towered above us whilst we took a motor boat along the river at the bottom, at stages going through waterfalls. It was a truely breathtaking place plus I got my first glimpse of a crocodile sunbathing in the distance. Our next stop was Palenque. The temple ruins in Palenque are in a jungle setting and the surrounding vegetation is home to howler monkeys. The sounds they made were impressive. In reality they are quite tiny monkeys but to hear them you would assume a monster of preditor proportions was coming towards you. Very eerie. Climbing to the top of the temple in the midday jungle heat was not the easiest thing to do. This was my first real taste of tropical weather. Up until this point Mexico had been a bit chilly - from now on in it only gets hotter!
From Palenque we moved to Merida, the capital of the Yucatan Penisular. Our group decided it was time to do something cultural (instead of the usual of sampling all the local beers). We bought tickets to see the Mexican Folkloric ballet. This as it turns out has nothing at all to do with ballet as we know it. It was a show of all the different regional dances. At one point the dancers in fantastic flamenco-equse costumes were dancing with bottles of tequilla on their head. Don't know how traditional that particular dance was!
Chitchen Itza was the next destination. This is home to some of the worlds most impressive ruins. It always features in top destinations to see. The main pyramid (picture above) is magnificant. The site did live up to my expectations and like the other sites I was looking forward to climbing to the top. Unfortunately this is no longer possible as around 10 months ago an American woman fell off and ended up killing herself, because of the law suits that followed no one else is allowed up. As we are very close to Cancun and the big American cruise ships Chitchen Itza was literally overrun with tourists. It was the first time we have encountered other tourists and we had got used to having the sites to ourselves. We will be back off the beaten track before long though.
We did stop at another Mayan site at Tulum. Here the ruins are situated on the beach head overlooking the Carribbean sea. I got very excited at my first glimpse of the Carribbean but more was to come. Our hotel was literally on the beach front. I strung my newly accquired hammock up outside my beach hut and walked the 2 metres through the palm trees into the sea. This place is paradise. I am thinking of you all returning to school whilst I'm lying here watching the world go by.

Oaxaca (O - Wacca) Or Not

2006-08-24T19:30:00.000Z

Well after 3 days in the hostel it was time to move on and meet up with the group I will be spending the next 8 weeks with. There are 14 of us, mostly British with some Aussies, Canadians and a Dutch girl. We deposited our belongings at a hotel and drove to Teotihaucan - home to some very impressive ruins including the pyramid of the sun and the pyramid of the moon. These pyramids are extremely steep with very large steps and in a moment of madness we very quickly ascended both of them. My legs certainly got a shock that day.Not only my legs as I managed to burn myself as I forgot to take the difference in altitude into account. Don´t ever try to carry a rucksack with sunburn!
The following day we all climbed into the coach to begin an 8 hour drive to Oaxaca. A beautiful town famed for its twin delicicies of fried grasshoppers and Mesqual (a stronger, better type of tequilla). We arrived there to find our way blocked by a jack - knifed lorry. On closer scrutiny our driver came back with the not so welcome news that the road had been blocked on purpose. In fact all roads into town had been blocked and no-one, not even locals were being allowed through. It turns out that demostrations in Oaxaca have turned violent and at the moment there are angry mobs throwing bricks etc. This is not so much to do with the election protests but with demonstrations by teachers. The teachers have not been given a pay rise in over 20 years - although promised many. And I thought we were badly paid in Britain. So the teachers demostrated peacefully and the president has had the ringleaders shot and killed. Not surprisingly this has led to more violence in the city. Britain as its faults but at least we know we won´t be killed for disagreeing with the government.
Because all roads had been blocked we were faced with a dilema. The coach had to double back for 4 hours just to reach the intersection of the motorway. We could then go back into Mexico City or head in the opposite direction towards San Christobel - our next stop after Oaxaca. The driver assurred us he was alright to drive on, even though he reckoned it would take another 13 hours. We agreed to get moving on the understanding that as soon as Billy (the driver) felt tired he would pull over and rest at the side of the road. So we set off. We had been travelling since 8 that morning and by now it was 4pm. At 11pm we stopped for dinner - scrambled eggs for me. Billy showing no signs of tiredness urged us to keep going. At 8am the following morning, we pulled up at our destination. Our group looking awful, Billy with his super human strength said he wasn´t tired yet. There are no laws regarding how many hours drivers can be on the road here. A 24 hour jouney such as Billy had just done is quite common. Needless to say we all think he is a hero and have got no idea how he did it - and did it very safely.
So we are in San Christobel for 3 days. It is a beautiful colonial town situated high in the mountains. Watching the sun rise as we climbed into the mountains was spectacular. It is mainly an indian population here with a famous arts and crafts market. The buildings are all painted bright colours - red, blue and yellow and much to my delight they have a veggie restaurant serving local food.
Speaking of food (again) I was served papaya on eggy bread for my final breakfast at the hostel. Obviously I thought of you - Paul. Though to be honest the taste has not approved - but there is alot of time for that to change. Off now to have a good explore.

Mexico City - A city in protest

2006-08-20T19:08:00.000Z

Mexico City is huge. Over 20 million people live here and at the moment practically all of them are unhappy. Mexico has just had an election and the outcome was very close within 20 votes. People demanded a recount - the (right wing) president who got in said he would only authorize a recount in the north - where his supporters are. The left wing people are deeply upset especially as the left wing canditate was vastly ahead in the polls before election. So the left wing people are protesting and of course the right wing supporters are protesting at the left wing supporters. Why am I telling you all this. I'm setting the scene because the Zocolo (the main historic square) where I am staying has become the centre of a massive demonstration. Pepole are camped outside the government palaces. A huge tent city has appeared near the park. On the hour every hour marches go past. The zocolo is the left wing capital of the country. Its very peaceful protesting but very loud. Food tents, music tents, even theatre tents have been errected. The tent city is turning into a cultural fringe festival. It has to be seen to be believed. The only downside is alot of museums and places of interest have had to shut down because the protestors are blocking access.
I have managed to get into the national art museum which was so impressive. The murals cover the entire walls. The work of Diego Rivera in particular was amazing. He is the bloke who painted the famous mural with Lenin in the centre, USA capitalism to the left and showing communism to the right as a utopia. This is his painting of the city of Mexico when it was an island in a vast lake. This is where the Aztecs lived. When the Spanish conquered here they drained the lake over the course of 200 years and as a result the city that was built on the lake bed is sinking. Not that slowly either. It has sunk 15 metres (in places) in the last 300 years. Most of the buildings here are sloped. Reminds me a bit of the flat in Goodramgate.
Got three days in the hostel here before I join up with the overlanding group. Everyone is incredibly friendly and it would be nigh on impossible not to make friends and even my total lack of Spanish has not been a hidrance (though it has only been 1 day) The locals are very friendly and chrivalous. One chap even gave up his seat on the metro for me. So far so good... this has been the best possible start to my trip.

At last ....Mexico

2006-08-20T18:56:00.000Z

Well after months of waiting I am finally here in Mexico. They do say the destination is not important is the journey that counts and my journey is finally underway. Was expecting a hectic time - air travel wise but it could not have been easier. Took a grand total of 10 minutes to check into Manchester and only 15 minutes to go through the advanced secuity. The advancement being I had to take my shoes off! Flew into Madrid and had to wait for a connecting flight to Mexico City. It was two in the morning when we set off and the plane followed the night cross the atlantic. Was a total of 18 hours after watching the sunset in Madrid that I saw daylight again. I know who Icelandic people must feel. Word of caution if you are veggie don't be surprised by the food you serve you on Ibera airlines. For dinner I got a portion of warm chick peas and a side portion of cold pickled artichoke hearts. For breakfast I got mushrooms, asparagus and artichoke hearts (again). Breakfast would had been nice if it was warm but it was served cold. It was a strange taste sensation. Needless to say I was rather hungry by touchdown but all this was forgotton when I tasted the refried beans in Mexico City. Bliss

The Journey

2006-06-29T19:48:00.000Z

I'll be starting off in Mexico City in August. I'll be travelling through Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.
I shall then be flying off to Quito, Ecuador where I'll be spending two weeks in Spanish school (desperately trying to become able to prononce anything with the correct accent). Then comes the South American leg of my trip. It consists of Ecuador, Peru (including the trek to Machu Pichu), Bolivia, Chille, Argentina, Uraguay and finally Brazil. If all goes to plan, I should be pulling up into Brazil in time for the carnival.
(Oh yes and the fifteenth country is ... Spain. In total I'll be spending13 hours in Madrid airport but it will feel like an eternity).

Trip of a lifeline

2006-06-29T18:36:00.000Z

I have always wanted to trek the inca trail to Machu Pichu and decided to go for it this summer. Whilst looking at the costings I noticed that you could get longer trips than the three week ones I was looking into. Then Steph mentioned overlanding to me. I couldn't put the brochures down. Deciding to take a year off work was easy, the hard part was deciding on the length and destination of this initial journey. It was always going to encompass Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador and at times the jouney was simply Ecuador to Brazil. Then I thought about carring on from Brazil to Venezuala and Colombia. Next I was contemplating flying from Brazil stright into another overland adventure centering around Egypt and Jordan. Finally I have ended up with an intinery I am really excited about. I'm still going to do the trip around Eqypt and Jordan but perhaps I'll wait until next year.