http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Gerry-and-Denise/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Gerry and Denise en-us Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:56:25 +0000 Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:56:25 +0000 The holiday started slightly ominously with one of those annoying arguments where you're told off by your wife for something they think you haven't done you feel innocent of the charge but for whatever reason you can't be bothered arguing about it but go into a 24 hour huff as a precaution. Considering we only had a couple of hours sleep as we had to be up at 2.30am to catch the flight that ad http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/Ionian-Islands/Kefalonia/Katelios/blog-410289.html The second half of our 2 week holiday in North America was spent in Canada. The weather improved drammatically from what had been rainy and overcast in the US. Our first destination was the Niagra Falls meaning 'The Thunder of Waters' in Iroquois. We drove from Boston across the top of New York State and around the corner of Lake Ontario into the sprawling town of Niagra Falls where we met http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/blog-230609.html Our annual winter trip Joe Hellawell Andrew Whyte and Gerry last year and Joe Andrew Gerry and Mike Maybury this year headed for the Sherry Triangle of Southern Spain. A cheap Ryanair flight to Jerez last year we went to Lamezia in Southern Italy and 4 days in nearby El Puerto de Santa Maria on the coast. We stayed in a restored 1700's aparthotel called Casa de Los Leones. A good choice http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/El-Puerto-de-Santa-Mar-a/blog-246040.html Our two week holiday in August started off in New York for 3 days then we hired a car and set off up the coast to New Haven the home of the prestigious Yale University. We stayed there for two nights with a friend Lumor who attends the University. We met Lumor while we were volunteering in Peru in 2005. From there we headed for Boston via a cool little place called Mystic. In Boston we sta http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Massachusetts/blog-222305.html Loved New York even though the weather was rotten. Manhattan with its awesome art deco skyscrapers is out of this world. We only had 3 days in New York arriving at JFK airport on the 18th August we hopped on one of those classic yellow cabs to our hotel Deauville which was small quaint and reasonably priced. Things we did in 3 days Visited the UN building and took a guided tour round i http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/blog-195197.html This was a free holiday courtesy of Opodo website for British Airways Lufthansa and seven other airlines whose photo competition Gerry won We stayed in the Villa Gabriele d'Annunzio Hotel a former monastery a fair bit out of town in an area called Fiesole. The village of Fiesole is worth a visit as it is high up on a hill overlooking Florence and is a pretty place with some old Roman ruins. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-214568.html Denise had a 3 week break between leaving her old job and starting her new one so we took the opportunity to head for the sun for a week. We found a cheap holiday in a self catering apartment in Fuerteventura one of the Canary Islands just off the coast of Morocco in Africa. The Canary Islands are actually Spanish and made from volcanoes. The volcanoes came first and then in the 1400's the S http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Canary-Islands/Fuerteventura/blog-136525.html It was Easter and stupidly I Gerry decided to drive up to Scotland. I left work in London at 2.45pm and didn't get to my mum and dad's until 1.45am an 11 hour drive on my own Denise couldn't make it The worst bit was about half a mile from my destination when I hit some road works not literally and was stuck in a nonmoving traffic jam for an hour and a half Not what you need after a lon http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Lesmahagow/blog-146930.html The anticipation started weeks ago encouraged by planning meetings at our local pub. Now we Joe Andrew and Gerry were in Aquapessa Calabria Southern Italy for a long weekend. Fantastic value at 99 each for 4 days including return flight 3 star hotel and hire car. Gerry remarked that when he first flew to Italy 23 years ago the flight cost 150 Who would have believed it would have http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Calabria/Acquappesa/blog-123050.html Haven't done a travelblog for ages so a weekend down to the Isle of Wight will do for my next entry The day we were due to leave started off a bit ominously. Mark our friend we were travelling with had arranged the caravan and ferry for the weekend. After Denise had gone off to pick up Mark I suddenly remembered I had forgotten to double check with the travel agent if we needed separate tick http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Isle-of-Wight/Shanklin/blog-91364.html On the 1st of June 2005 we caught a bus from Uyuni Bolivia to Potosi still in Bolivia the highest city in the world 4100m or 13500ft and a UNESCO World Heritage City. By this time the campesinos farmers and rural workers had mobilised and had set up road blocks around most of the country. There had already been trouble in La Paz the capital and now it was spreading to the provinces. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-12704.html Four boys played tennis in the departure lounge of Sucre airport oblivious to the chaos outside. The members of Congress had just flown in to get away from their usual haunt of La Paz and the madness that was ensuing there. The President had just resigned and they needed somewhere to convene to discuss the appointment of a new President. Problem was the trouble followed them Crowds of protes http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Chuquisaca-Department/Sucre/blog-13798.html Sitting in a pasta restaurant with Denise during the height of the Inti Raymi Festival parades at 9 o'clock at night in Cusco the ancient capital of the Incas I look out the window onto some curving stairs to find umpteen men peeing in a steady stream which cascades down the hill into the ancient Inca drainage system One can imagine this has been the practice since the 1400's Now I know why http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Cusco/blog-13908.html Greetings from Uganda For those who don't know I Gerry am here for 6 months working with our great old friends Sam and Eva who run an organisation called 'Uganda Family Resource Link'. They have done wonders here the project in the village is called 'Bushfire' within 2 or 3 years they have built 4 homes for 60 childrenatrisk mainly orphans staff houses a huge communitycumchurch http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Uganda/Eastern-Region/Iganga/blog-30863.html I Gerry read an inspiring story in the 'New Vision' my favourite newspaper about a Ugandan guy who has set up the 'Rwenzori Finest Coffee Company' in the mystical Mountains of the Moon which borders Rwanda. The small coffee farmers they're not pygmies they just own small amounts of land each used to sell their coffee beans for a pittance partly because the quality wasn't great and they h http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Uganda/Eastern-Region/Iganga/blog-35153.html Livingstone my Gerry's boyhood Scottish hero would have been ashamed of me. There I was sitting in the Source of the Nile Cafe tucking into a longawaited and muchappreciated meal of sausage eggs and chips while this poor man endured 22 bouts of malaria as he spent his whole life in search of the elusive source of the Nile and never did find the place. No such problems today as this pla http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Uganda/Eastern-Region/Iganga/blog-46424.html My Gerry's last week in Uganda was a bit frantic as the lawyer informed me that 'Uganda Food Company' had been incorporated as a limited company and the documents could be picked up the next day which gave me one day Friday to open a business account at the bank. I'd found another very good candidate for being a manager of the company and I introduced him to the manager I've already employed http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Uganda/Eastern-Region/Iganga/blog-56808.html The morning of our horse riding trip started well enough when a woman collected us from our casa particular our lodging house but we were soon to discover we were in the hands of cowboys We were left standing at a street corner to await the arrival of the other tourists. They took so long that eventually a woman who lived nearby let us sit in her living room to get out of the already intense http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Centro/Trinidad/blog-22822.html Having got to the last week of our 4 week language school in Cordoba we couldnt take any more punishment so we plotted our early escape on the Tuesday We said our goodbyes and adioss and fled to Villa General Belgrano a beautiful Germanesque little village in the sierras. Apparently some German naval officers who escaped the sinking of the Graf Spee battleship during the Second World War se http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Cordoba/blog-9539.html From Salta in North West Argentina we started our overland leg of the journey up to and through Bolivia and into Peru. Bus travel in Argentina is easy as the buses are normally luxurious double deckers with toilets and allyouwanthelpyourselfcoffee someone told me that the night buses have beds and red wine on offer We wanted to go on the Tren a las Nubes Train to the Clouds which is one http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/blog-10215.html