Carleen

Hey everyone! I'm so sorry that I've just got round to updating my blog! You all probably know I've been back a couple of weeks but I had a lot to sort out and I've started back at work....not valid excuses I know! Anyway, I spent my last few days in Japan in Tokyo. As much as I wanted to climb Mount Fuji, everything was going against me doing it (lack of money, time, it was raining constantly, I coudn't even get a japanese girl to find out how to get there, the huts were closed and I only met one guy who would do it with me and our dates didn't match up) so I had to let the idea go....but my brother is coming to Japan for a year so who knows, I might ... read more

Hey all! It's midnight on my last day of Hawaii, I have to be ready to leave in 6 hours to make my way over to Japan and whilst I'm sooooo excited about seeing Japan, I know I'll be leaving a part of my heart in Hawaii! I've had an amazing time here; the culture, the people, the landscape, the weather and the other travellers I've met have reached beyond my expectations what good a time i'd have here. It has been really easy to meet great travellers here (many of them british) and i think that definatley played a huge part in my enjoyment of the islands. My first week in Waikiki on O'ahu was quite busy. I did a tour of the island and saw the sleeping turtles, the famous north shore beaches where ... read more

Wednesday 10th May - Monday 15th May NB - I will fix and update photos when I get back to LA - this computer isn't able to load them up! After updating my blog last time our Trek leader took us on a surprise picnic to Dead Horse Point which showed some of the valleys around the Arches area and was spectacular, I reckon it rivalled the Grand Canyon (which I'll get to later). The following day we left for Monument Valley, an area still run by the Navajo Indians. It was lovely learning about their culture and we took a jeep tour around the area with a local Indian guide named Jimmy! He even played and sang some traditional music for us while we contemplated life in one of their sacred spots; 'the hogan'. After ... read more

Thursday 20th April - Thursday 27th April On the thursday I left my cousin Jon in Manuel Antonio and took two buses and a Ferry to the town of Montezuma which is on a peninsula on the west side of Costa Rica. The journey took around 6 hours but it wasn't too bad as it was broken up by the ferry crossing. I got off the bus in in Montezuma with two gorgeous and tall girls from Canada (Tamara and Jordan). We decided to get a room together at a sort of hostel/pension and from then on we hardley separated for a whole week! Unfortunatley I caught a stomach virus a few days earlier so wasn't really well enough to do much, luckily Tamara and Jordan were in the mood for a couple of relaxing days ... read more

Monday 10th April - Friday 14th April My original flight over to Washington was over booked which turned out to be quite a good thing considering how ill I was! One in the USA I managed to get a coach and metro over to the hostel in the centre of Washington which was a slight effort- despite my best intentions and last minute packing, my bag is a bit heavy! But it'll make me stronger! I didn't really do much the first night, pretty much just went to bed. On tuesday morning I joined a monument tour organised by the hostel. The guide showed us most of the important monuments (of which there are lots!) and then a few of us from the group decided to get lunch together. Our little group then pretty much stuck ... read more