After returning to Dubai I returned to work the following day expecting to begin by new job, didn't really happen though, it is a new team and it took several weeks to get started so in that time I continued writing strategic products. I also began physio on the injured ankle completing three sessions over a three week period and last week l began walking home from work, it only takes about 15 minutes which is a bonus in 40 degree heat. I have four distinct sets of friends now and I try to socialise with two groups each weekend as different people have interests. When not working or socialising I have been planning a trip to Somaliland which at times has been quite frustrating, getting a visa for province of Somalia which broke away during ... read more

The adventure began at 630pm on the 10th June 2017 when the limousine service arrived to take me to the airport. After a tearful farewell with my loved ones I was soon on my way, the journey to the airport was surprisingly rapid for a Saturday night and I was soon checking in my cases and heading for the quiet of the lounge. A few beers and toasties later and I was settled in for the hour or so until boarding. Business class meant priority boarding and my seat was very comfortable, champagne in hand I relaxed while the rabble in cattle class boarded the aircraft. The flight was a little bumpy at times and I ate a fair bit as I made my way down the cocktail list the choices of beer were poor so ... read more

Time to say good bye to one of my favourite citys, will I ever get Duran Duran's song out of my head. We fly out of Santos Durmond which isn't far away so we had a bit of a sleep in before packing up and checking out. Next stop, Foz du Iguacu the step off point to the world heritage listed falls of the same name, we arrived in the rain making our way to our hotel. We have a few English channels so after visiting the supermarket we watched a bit of TV before bed. The next morning dawned clear if muggy and we walked the short distance to the bus station boarding a bus to the Iguacu falls national park arriving roughly 40 minutes later. We paid the entrance fee and boarded the bus ... read more

The next day we moved to a more centrally located hotel built in the 16th century, for the simple reason that Quito is a difficult place to arrange trips and our original hotel was useless. Early the next morning we headed north crossing the equator and traversing a forest area rich with the endangered Spectacled bears. Mindo apparently has grown hugely in recent years but is still a reasonably small village with some great natural attractions including a couple of butterfly houses and wonderful birding, I was particularly excited about the hummingbirds which were incredinle. I had never seen one before and it was a real challenge to photograph them, one location we visited was crawling with birds but they told me that in May the area is truly spectacular for Toucans and many other species. ... read more

Guayaquil was a pleasant step off to the Galapagos archipelago but it is time to go, the airport was only a short distance away and we were soon standing in front of the Galapagos window to get an immigration pass before we could check in our luggage. The airport is new so it is clean and comfortable and our two hour flight left on time, no entertainment though. Ruth took some photos from the air as we approached the airport island of Baltra and soon we were on terra firma, first step immigration followed by the national park fee then onto a bus for the short ride to the ferry. Here we saw our first Sally lightfoot crabs, our first marine iguana, frigate birds and brown pelicans. We then boarded the ferry for the three minute ... read more