Ever since Liz made the first Guest appearance in India i have been wondering on a regular basis how likely it was that i could get into this blog. By the time Anne-Marie showed up in Argentina i was running out of ideas and Catherine and Patrick were running out of countries. Luckily their flight was changed meaning a stopover in Madrid was a likely possibility and seeing as it was a lot more affordable to get to Madrid from Granada than to Brazil i thought to myself BINGO... So on the 11th of April i arranged to meet our [View Full Entry]

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After spending my birthday in Salvador, all of a sudden time seemed to have moved far too quickly and we only had a week left in Brazil. Some friends had tipped us off that Boipeba, an island in the Tinharo archipelago, south of the more touristy Morro de Sau Paulo, was a fantastic place to see. We were told of unspoilt beaches, dense Atlantic Rainforest and clear calm waters. Sounded great, we had to check this out! Armed with some fantastic directions (thanks Demo!), we got the ferry to Bom Despacho, the bus to Graciosa and arrived with time to [View Full Entry]

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Since we left Annemarie in São Paulo, we have whizzed around the last country in our itinerary (yeah really, this is almost it!). We've seen Curitiba, the amazing Foz de Iguazu, briefly stopped in Brasilia, witnessed Amazonian rains in Belém and hit some magnificent beaches on the northeast. All in a few weeks ... and Brazil is almost as large as the USA and just a smidge bigger than Australia. Our first stop was Curitiba, where we spent a really relaxing weekend after the mayhem of Rio. Curitiba is a sedate city, with some nice markets and an amazingly designed [View Full Entry]

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According to the Cariocas (as Rio's residents are known), God didnt rest on the seventh day, he made Rio! And you can see where they're coming from - Rio is, without doubt, the most beautiful city I've ever visited. It's home to some of the most iconic sights in the world, from the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema, to the towering Cristo Redentor statue, Sugar Loaf mountain, and the infamous favelas. Catherine, Patrick and I arrived from Buenos Aires, after a marathon journey, a few days before Carnaval kicked off. No sooner had we landed in the hotel, than we were [View Full Entry]

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In this episode, Cat and Pat are joined by Annemarie, Cats little sister. They visit the cities of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Once arriving in Buenos Aires, after travelling up the east coast of Argentina, it feels like entering a whole new country. This city is all grand boulevards, huge colonial mansions and stunning parks. Nothing resembling what we had encountered on the east coast so far. The Portenos (port people) are brash, beautiful and busy. We didn´t have a whole lot of time to check the place out initially. Just straight to our hotel and the next morning we took [View Full Entry]

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Since the last blog entry from Easter Island, Last Train To Transcentral have upped the pace even more and covered a whopping 6000km by plane, boat, bus and foot to reach Punta Arenas, one of Patagonia´s southernmost cities. From Easter Island we flew back to Santiago, took an overnight bus south to Valdivia and pushed on down to Puerto Montt, the capital of Chile´s Region X. The sun was shining brightly on this industrial town which usually sees rain, fog and winds. A quick check of the forecast for the region confirmed that the fine weather was set to continue for [View Full Entry]

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Happy New Year from Easter Island - or Rapa Nui as it is actually called by the locals. Easter Island is so remote, if you can´t pick it out on the map you should have a try. It´s part of Chile now but still 3,700km from the mainland. One of the most remote populated places on earth. So is it worth the trip? Well if quitting your job and blowing all your savings was something you were thinking of doing, then this is one of the places that makes it all feel worthwhile. Isolation, stunning scenery and literally tonnes of history [View Full Entry]

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Just a quick pre-Christmas blog, we won't keep you a moment. Flew into Auckland the "wannabee" capital of New Zealand and largest city on the North Island just 6 days ago. After spending just one night in Auckland and staying in the aptly named trendy Ponsonby area of town, we rented a car and dashed up the coast to the Bay of Islands. On the way we stopped off at the obscure town of Kawakawa which is famous for its public toilets - and not a lot else. The toilets are fantastic though. They were designed by the famous Austrian born [View Full Entry]

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So what's so great about New Zealand then? It's one of those countries that no one says anything bad about. In fact, anyone we have met who has made it this far south hasn't shut up about the place. So let's cut to it, we know you all have Christmas parties to embarrass yourselves at. So, is New Zealand: Really that beautiful? Yes. Always wet? Yes, well, we have only had 2 wet days out of ten so far - but that is very lucky. Parts of this Island get over 7 metres per year. Full of sheep? Yes, 10 for [View Full Entry]

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Australia couldn't be more different to India. India has roads with no footpaths teeming with people, grime under your fingernails that keeps growing, noises that make you wince and smells ranging from the unsanitary to the delicious while crossing one street. Then you arrive in Australia. Suddenly everything is back to being quiet, restrained, and organised. This is what makes our trip so interesting. A tornado spun us out of Mumbai and dropped us in the Wonderful Land of Oz and a new adventure begins. Our first weekend in Sydney was almost like coming home as we were surrounded by famili [View Full Entry]

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