So here it is the final installment, the final few days of a trip of a lifetime! After arriving into la guardia airport and meeting a lovely New Yorkian on the plane who gave us an ideal itinery, we made our way to the hostel for one last time. The first few nights we were situated in the area of Chelsea, known for its Art galleries. On our first day despite the horrible weather we caught the bus down to lower Manhatten and Battery park. We had been told of an alternative trip out to see the statue of liberty, so [View Full Entry]

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So it was bound to happen eventually, after eight months of successful flights, it all managed to catch up with us... eventually after one delayed flight, one missed connection, an overnight stay in Dallas airport and a lost passport, we arrived in the beautiful city of Vancouver!! Firstly, about the city I have just got to say I LOVE IT!! I really wasn't expecting it to be how it is, it feels unlike any other city I have ever visited in the world. Despite arriving when it was overcast and only 12 degrees, which after months of 25 degrees plus was [View Full Entry]

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San Jose was our first stop on our 2 weeks tour of Costa Rica. Compared to its South American counterparts, San Jose is a lot smaller and has a feel of a large town rather than a capital city. We had also heard reports of it being quite dangerous but the time we spent there, we met some very friendly locals who made us feel really welcome. We stayed in a local Tico (Costa Ricans) couple´s hostel, which was basic but had all the necessities. We also met up with a friend of ours from back home, Sophie. It was lovely [View Full Entry]

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I came across the following book a few days ago and in light of our recent time in Miami; I though I would share this with you... An extract taken from Bill Bryson's "The Lost Continent" (1989); "You only go on a long distance bus in the US because either you cannot afford to fly or - and this is really licking the bottom of the barrel in America -you cannot afford a car. Being unable to afford a car in America is the last step before living out of a plastic sack. As a result most of the people on [View Full Entry]

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Wow....talk about major culture shock! After our longest travel time to date (3 days including sitting in an airport for 12 hours!) and managing to battle against the smoke filled city of Buenos Aires we arrived in Miami ready for a dose of reality. I definitely got a dose of something but I am not sure I can honestly use the word reality....It took us 5 hours just to travel up to Fort Lauderdale where we were staying for the first night. It seems that Florida may not infact be used to backpackers, as remarks such as "are you hikers?" and [View Full Entry]

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Tip number 1; Know who Eva Peron is! I think I might be the only traveller in Argentina not to have seen Evita...so after some quick background reading and having to be told a number of times, I managed to become au fait with the plight of Eva Peron! We arrived in BA expecting a bigger Santiago, however I really wasn´t ready for just HOW big BA really is. It is without doubt the biggest city I have been to. So big infact that jumping on the tube to go from one Barrio to the next makes you feel like you [View Full Entry]

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It took a while to settle, once I arrived in Santiago, as the flight from Auckand over gave me crazily awful jetlag! I didn´t know whether I needed to eat, sleep or cry for about 3 days! Nevertheless, I ploughed on with 2 days of sightseeing within the city centre. Santiago is a lot more cosmopolitan than I had imagined it to be. We were staying in the area of Provedencia, with its little streets of cafes and bars lined with trees. Although the city divides itself into various suburbs, the main ones around the centre feel relaxed, friendly and safe. [View Full Entry]

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I am not sure I have ever visited a country which differs so greatly. When we arrived in Auckland, it was almost like I had entered a completely new country. Firstly there were people....more than just tourists in campervans and secondly the mountains I became used to in the south had disappeared to be replaced by small rolling hills! Our first little journey of the North, took us out onto the Northern shores, to a place called Owera. Just a little beach town, with the most amazingly active beach I have ever seen. That is one thing, I think the rest [View Full Entry]

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So here comes country number ten! Arrived at Christchurch airport after probably best flight so far; Qantas seriously get 10 out of 10 for their food and ability to make decent goblet sized G & Ts! Now I am not going to blame either those at the quarantine station or indeed those who made the goblet size G & Ts; though what happened next might have something to do with one or both of these factors! Whilst my tent was being thoroughly inspected for obvious various diseases bought over from Australia (nevermind the clothes from south east Asia!) I swung my [View Full Entry]

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Unplanned and spontaneously we decided that a trip across to Tasmania was needed in order to finish up the Australian part of our trip. For anyone who is thinking about coming over here. Do it! It is like a smaller version of the mainland; with beaches which kick other parts of Australia's butt. It was just unfortunate that we only had a week to see a bit of it. Staying with people that we had met in Africa meant that we had a real know how and where of this particular part of the island. Our first major trip out was [View Full Entry]

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