Well... new for us! The old girl might be getting on for sweet 16 but she still knows how to hold her curves. We picked up our excellent little 1992 Mazda 323 Astina for just under $4,000.. and it has everything that opens and shuts - surprising for a car of this vintage, but I guess the Mazdas have always been good on those little extra flashy things. It has been invaluable already in getting us around to all the blasted furniture shops, Roads & Traffic Authority offices, property inspections and god knows all the other shite we've been flat out [View Full Entry]

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For the next couple of weeks we got stuck into finding a place to live, buying a car, catching up with friends and family, buying some normal clothes and stuff (I was sooooo over my daggy backpacking gear after 6 months I didn’t care if I NEVER saw them again!), doing wedding stuff and introducing James to life in Sydney and how it all works..! Benji’s housewarming party on the first weekend we were back was like a baptism of fire... huge night. We actually arrived home at about 8am, passing my parents on the driveway as they were heading out [View Full Entry]

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We arrived with a plane load of World Youth Day loud mouths in matching red sloppy joes who couldn’t seem to stay in their seats. Tens of thousands of them were pouring into Sydney to take part in the festivities - the Pope was the guest of honour - which all turned out to be a huge success and a wonderful display of cooperation and people getting together to share the strength of the human spirit. Mum, dad and Gowz were all at Sydney Airport to greet us with their James and Erin welcome t-shirts (thanks guys!) and we were just [View Full Entry]

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We had very high expectations for the Galapagos. It was the last blast on our trip, and one of those things that people save for and dream about their whole lives, only a few lucky enough to actually get there. So we made that part happen and for the most part weren’t disappointed. The islands and the animals were amazing. Everything they say about the Galapagos Islands in that respect is absolutely true. We: - Swam with sea lions, penguins and other mammals - Snorkelled every day in amazing reefs and rocks FULL of huge fish and other marine life [View Full Entry]

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After our Galapagos experience we were really happy to land in Quito, Ecuador’s capital to find our land legs and to sleep in any sort of normal bed that wasn’t built into the side of a curved wall like a shelf. So Perry, Jennie, James and I headed straight for The Secret Garden Hostel.. four weary backpackers who just wanted to stay in and take part in the hostel’s ‘Thai Night’ - great food upstairs on the terrace. One massive long table on a long veranda overlooking the entire, beautiful Quito skyline filled with ornate, domed buildings across the old and [View Full Entry]

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Montanita is on the north coast of Ecuador. Ecuador is right up near the top left of the South American continent and is the world's largest exporter of bananas! Arriving in Montanita was very, very exciting. It was the first time we'd been at a real beach since....??.... Copacabana, Brazil I think, and that was in the first week of March, nearly 3 months before. We were ready to leave the Andes behind us and get back down to zero altitude.. brilliant..!!! Montanita's high season for tourists peaks in January and hits its low in June. Throughout the year tourism in [View Full Entry]

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Lima gets a bad wrap. We didn´t even intend to go there but were persuaded to stay one night en route to another destination by some crazy Dutchies and an Australian. Never ones to turn down the prospect of a memorable night out in a new city full of possibilities we accepted the offer / temptation and met them all in Miraflores, the nice part of town in the centre of Lima. We all went out for dinner to Lima´s nicest dinig area (can´t remember the name). It´s right down on the clifftop above the beach and has been developed to [View Full Entry]

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After the Nazca lines we bolted for a bus with our backpacks on in the heat and managed to get it. It was a dodgy local bus so we were on high alert, especially as it was packed. My goodness it was boiling in there. Two or three hours and we arrived in Ica north of Nazca on the coast. The reason loads of people go to Ica is actually to go to the tiny town of Huacachina about 5 mins away in a taxi from Ica. It´s gorgeous. Fast facts: Huacachina is built around a small lake in the desert. [View Full Entry]

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Much has been said about Lake Titicaca.. and all of the reviews we received were mixed, usually contradictory so we didn´t have much idea what to expect. As it turned out we liked what everyone else thought was tacky and disliked what some even said was the highlight of their trip. I guess it proves that you really do have to see for yourself. Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world. Whatever navigable means apart from the obvious. There is the town of Copacabana on the Bolivian side - full of travellery clothing stands, hippiefied restaurants and locals [View Full Entry]

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This is the place deep in the mountains where the Death Road finishes up. Well actually its 7km vertically uphill in a very dodgy mini bus full of locals, chickens and moving things in rice sacks from there but it is worth the breath holding. We decided to stay in Coroico for a few days to chill out and get some sleep after manic La Paz and our ride down the infamous World´s Most Dangerous Road. So glad we did... it was gorgeous. That was, when we finally found the right place to stay. We tried a few different places first, [View Full Entry]

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