http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Carl-and-Nicola-No-Fixed-Abode/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Carl and Nicola No Fixed Abode en-us Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:29:13 +0000 Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:29:13 +0000 Carl is on a trip with his MBA class to the East staring in Singapore moving onto Shanghai back to Singapore and onto Bin Tan Indonesian island just off Singapore. I will join him in Singapore on Sunday and we will be going to Cambodia for a week.I am in Edinburgh with my parents.Carl has the camera in China so photos will only come a bit laterBut here are a couple of comments from his trip http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-335039.html In February we took my car an old Honda CVR on an adventure. Doris and Oliver who we met in Bolivia joined us on the adventure.We started in Johannesburg our home town and drove to the Kruger Park. We spent a couple of days in the Kruger at Lukimbi and in the Sabie Sands at Idube. These 2 lodges belong to Carl's parents. We had the most wonderful game viewing and Doris and Oliver got to s http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Mozambique/blog-311163.html So sorry for the delay in this our last blog but we have been wrapped up in trying to settle in to our new country South Africa which required adjusting to the new culture finding jobs doing other admin and most importantly spend time with our new Golden Retriever puppy Gaucho.AUCKLAND AND THE CUMMINSrsquoSAs we taxied up the runway to Auckland International our minds immediately kicked int http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/blog-42587.html The Journey to Middle Chile 9 buses 72 hours of travel The Atacama frontier between Chile and Bolivia is a vast arid high altitude plain dotted with the occasional dormant volcano. There is little physical evidence of the border and the transition from one country to another included a visit to the Bolivian border control Chilean border control was further down in the town. However a few hun http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/blog-33742.html We took a very early morning flight from Santiago to Punte Arenas and a threehour bus ride later we arrived blearyeyed in the town of Puerto Natales. Disembarking from the bus we had to face the onslaught of accommodation touts waving their flyers in our faces and all shouting at once. Nicola found one offering a double room with an ensuite bathroom for 6000 Pesos 12 US and we caught a ride http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/blog-36399.html Back into Bolivia and the Journey to TupizaWhen we crossed from Argentina to into the Bolivian border town of Villazon we were hit by the all to familiar smell of Coca leaves they were everywhere and everyone was chewing. The sheer number of bags of leaves on sale made us wonder if a large quantity wasnrsquot destined for the other side of the border.We soon found the bus station and purchased http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/blog-29803.html As we are heading off to the internet caf to post this entry we received news of the terrible bombings in London. This is really disturbing news. We hope that you and all your loved ones are safe and unhurt.We also hear that the Olympics has been awarded to London well done on thatPicking off from where we last left you we met Carlrsquos parents in Anchoragethey had been to see the big tree http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/blog-12934.html Iguau and the Journey to SaltaExiting in Brazil in a bus adorned in Argentinean flags we passed through immigration and on into the town of Puerto Iguau where the driver kindly stopped so we could buy tickets for our onward journey to Salta. Being so used to the Portuguese not being able to speak Spanish I walked into the ticket office and asked ldquo Abla espanolrdquo Do you speak Spa http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/blog-28349.html Rio without Sun Day 1After a triple flight voyage from La Paz to Rio with some very tight connections we breathed a huge sigh of relief when Nicolarsquos bag arrived eventually appeared on the baggage carousel it was very nearly the last bag to arrive whereas Carlrsquos bag had arrived first. It had been some time since Venezuela and we had neglected to take our standard precautionary measu http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/blog-26806.html Im in Chile in an internet cafe with Real Coffee. Wow Guess its a good place to write an entry.From Rio we flew via Sao Paulo to Johannesburg for Kara and Andrewrsquos long anticipated wedding. We were quite please to be going to our new home for a short while as it gave us a chance to drop off some of the extra baggage we had accumulated. Our time in South Africa was exceedingly busy and we h http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/blog-26797.html As most of you will still be digesting our mammoth Peru blog you will be happy to see that this one is relatively short. This is not due to the fact that we are getting lazy but because we had to return to South Africa in the middle of our trip for Kararsquos Carlrsquos sister wedding limiting our time in Bolivia to only 6 days. So this Bolivian part of our trip is a ldquoto be continued http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/blog-24133.html Paddington Bear originated from darkest Peru and was sent to London by his Aunt Lucy with a ldquoPlease look after this bearrdquo label. Nicola being a big Paddington fan made sure Peru was first on the list when it came to planning our round the world trip. We only planned to spend 12 days in Peru enough time to do the Inca Trail and get to Titicaca to cross into Bolivia but as we discover http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/blog-21652.html Only a few minutes after arriving in Ecuador we knew we would like this country partly it was the beautiful night view we had flying in to Quito partly the friendly customs people and taxi driver partly the lack of military presence after Venezuela but mostly it had to do with the tiny people in traditional dress with their smart green hats. They look so wonderfully cute.FIRST DAYS IN QUITO Our http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/blog-19083.html After much delay due to minor Civil Unrest in Venezuela public holidays in Ecuador and being 30km from the nearest phone for the past 6 days we are finally able to publish a Venezuelan entry. Despite missing a bag and its vital contents for nearly the whole time we really enjoyed our time here and would love to have more time to visit other parts of the country. Our trip started in Merida wher http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Venezuela/blog-16993.html It has been quite tough writing this entry as we have found it difficult condensing things down. The blog is both to inform you of our travels and to serve as a travel diary for us. We have added some headings to the text to try make it easier to for people to pick what interests them. Of course for the people with little time we hope the photos and their captions will keep you satisfied.Arriving http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/blog-14846.html Its midnight and after flying in from the arctic we are now sitting on Cord and Leoniersquos front door step waiting for Cord to return from work to let us in. A good time to do some writing. What is really amazing is that this is the first time we have been under a night sky in 2 weeks.On arrival at Longyearbyen airport we were met by a stuffed polar bear and a very fuzzy haired Dutchman ca http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Svalbard/Spitsbergen/blog-11140.html PreparationsThe traumas that ensued after we started to pack up our lives and take a major detour via 14 countries included the followingReading travel guides and wanting to go everywhere and then trying to choose the places we want to go to most. Why is it that the place you want to go most is always the last place you read about Learning to Kayak in the wonderful British weather. Carl being http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/Wimbledon/blog-9711.html ItineraryOur Current itinerary is as follows Svarlbad Norway 81 degrees North. Sea Kayaking and hopefully meeting up with Polar bears. Alaska. Marais parents joining us for a trip round in an RV. Salmon fishing with the Bears. Belize with a short trip to Tikal in Guatemala . Manatees at Gales Point Blue Hole. Chilling zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Venezuela. Learning to Hablo Espanol. Angel Falls. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/London-City/blog-9710.html