Had toast and coffee for breakfast - nice to have something this early in the day without Jalapenos. We were all running low on cash so headed off to El Banco. The bank was shut - it's Sunday. The ATM however was working fine, gave me cash but got so confused when I asked for a balance that it took my card. Damn. I have to queue tomorrow morning to try and get it back ... I have no idea how to explain it in Spanish - 9am though is when I'll be there, and I'll be back every hour until I have my card again... I don't have any other option. The 1000 pesos ($100) will have to last me until then - I think it will, though I won't get far without the card. ... read more

Ensenada boasts Mexico largest flag. The Mexicans really like their flags, this one is about 100m across and dominates the landscape, visible from nearly all parts of the city. I think that I should introduce the team for phase II of Mexico properly. Me: Ali - 26 year old transient - enough has been said already. Matt: 26 year old English guy with an American passport - love of alcohol, women and spicy food. Used to work in London in the city for Abby National - thought there must be more to life and decided to travel the world just in case he was right... seems familiar. Robbie aka Boghen/RoboGhen: 24 year old Canadian from New Brunswick, loves women, soccer, mild food and adventure - good looking guy gets lots of attention from the ladies. Bi-Lingual ... read more

After the road trip across from Utah I needed to rest a little. The USA Hostel, down town San Deigo had large airy rooms, friendly staff and free waffles for breakfast - all for $19 per night. I've been told that Oz is way cheaper - but that is the cheapest hostel so far - I booked up three nights. The hostel was located in the Gas Lamp Quarter, real scenic, lots of bars. America does actually have some nice beer. Samual Adams - real beer - like the english stuff - hops and malt and flavor. At $5 a pint it bloody well should be nice - had one pint and went to Ralphs supermarket - picked up 12 Corona for $9 and went back to the hostel - getting in training for Mexico. So ... read more

The drive to Zion National Park took us through Hurricane, a small town that obviously makes nearly all of its money from the traffic on the way to Zion National Park, stopped for breakfast at Jerry's' Diner and had the best 1/2 pound cheese burger in the US so far - $3.70 with fries. At Zion National Park we hiked up a trail known as Angels Landing, about 4 hours trek there and back and a treacherous section involving steep drops and chains. Again we were treated to some spectacular views. But the weirdest thing was the people we got chatting to at the top. One guy from the bronx knew London as he had appeared on Top of The Pops in a band called Soul System, another guy was seeing 2 Shakespear plays a day ... read more

We stayed in a real American motel - got the room cheap as the receptionist could go home early after renting out this last one. One king size bed - three guys - shit. Enough male bonding for one lifetime has already happened on this slightly crazy road trip. In the morning after an uneventful night, we made our way to the Hoover Dam - its big impressive etc etc. Las Vegas is one of the most excessive places I have ever been, we parked the cruiser at Bellagios - the biggest, first, most expensive casino/hotel of them all. After walking around a while in the desert heat and checking out the Hotel prices for the 4th of July - $179 was the cheapest - we checked into another hostel. After sorting out our new hostel ... read more