Roatan is probably the most beautiful place I’ve been, it’s everything you’d expect a typical Caribbean island to be. A glorious last stop on my round the world trip (if you don’t count a Miami that is). I’m not much of a beachy holiday kinda girl but I can tell you that Roatan could easily change my mind. I was staying in West Bay, reportedly the most beautiful beach on the island and maybe the best in Honduras. And it certainly looked like it to me. A wide sweeping beach, powder soft white sand and almost always pretty quiet, shady palm [View Full Entry]

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They say you learn about yourself when you travel. One of the things I’ve learned (or resigned myself too) is the fact that I don’t sleep well, or at all, on buses and planes. Unless I’m lying down my body just won’t sleep. Tipping the seat back a degree or two isn’t enough to fool the old bones into thinking it’s time for a nap. If I do nod off momentarily I wake up excited that I’ve managed to drop off for a while, until I check my watch and realise only 10 minutes have passed. I count myself lucky to [View Full Entry]

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Before I’d left Sao Paulo the people at the hostel had persuaded me to come back to Sao Paulo for Gay Pride. A 3 million people party down Paulista Avenue just 2 blocks from the hostel, the biggest Gay Pride event in the world. How could I pass up the chance to party Brazilian style? It was the closest thing to the Rio carnival I was going to get, if a little camper (if that’s possible). The best thing about the hostel in Sao Paulo has to be the staff. They’re very welcoming, friendly and inclusive. One of the receptionists was [View Full Entry]

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Feeling a little braver I booked a favela tour for my second day in Rio. These tours take you for a guided walk and talk through the Rocinha favela, the largest favelas in Rio but probably the most developed too. Rocinha, like most of the other favelas, is set on a hillside. It overlooks the beach and apartments one bay down from Ipanema. The residents in the favelas don’t own the land they have built on even if they own the house. Nowadays the houses are built of brick and mortar even if some of the roofs are still corrugated iron. [View Full Entry]

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I don’t think I’ve ever given a city an introduction quite like this before but Rio isn’t just another city. I agonized whether to go or not since I’d vowed to myself I’d never go. If I was nervous going to Sao Paulo I was scared witless going to Rio. Travellers had been very animated talking about Rio to me and they always said one of two things; either ‘it’s the most amazing place you’ll go’ or ‘I was mugged’. Like the rest of Brazil, Rio brought out tales of first-hand experiences rather than third or fourth hand acc [View Full Entry]

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Flying out of Foz de Iguassu gave me a wonderful view of what is left of the rainforest. In this State there is only 3% left of the rainforest which is a rather depressing statistic. The dark dense patches faded out as the plane continued to the coast. And what a coast it was too. Even from the air I could see enormous stretches of wide sandy beach reaching north. The plane turned left back inland and over the Sao Paulo metropolis, depending what statistics you read it can be ranked as the 4th biggest city in the world (by population). [View Full Entry]

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I left Lima under a little cloud. I had planned two volunteering projects for my next two countries but after being let down by the company organising the placements repeatedly and much heartache I pulled out from both the day before my flight to Brazil. I still had flights to Iguassu in Brazil and Hondurus so rather than waste them I decided to make the best of it and travel anyway. I didn’t have a plan at all. Turn up to Iguassu and decide from there was the best I could do, so I did. I booked accommodation the night before [View Full Entry]

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I don’t mind saying that I’d hardly slept. I was too excited. Christmas excited even. Today I was going to the much awaited Machu Picchu. I’d arrived in Peru for the first time over a month ago and the day was finally here. I was transferred to the train station for the journey to Aguas Calientes, the little tourist village at the foot of Machu Picchu. My seat was beside three Americans and they chatted the whole way. The train made its way to the Sacred Valley then followed the Urubamba River on the valley floor. We passed villages of mud [View Full Entry]

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I woke up feeling rubbish again and couldn’t eat for feeling sick. I bought a few snacks for the bus in the hope I’d feel better later. I didn’t. The journey felt like an eternity but it was only a few hours. I was picked up at the bus station in Cusco and transferred to the hotel where I promptly fell asleep at 6pm. At 8 I was woken by the phone and was completely disorientated. What time did I want breakfast tomorrow? That was planning ahead! But it was only 8pm at night. I turned over and fell back asleep [View Full Entry]

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It felt like a long 5 hour journey by bus to Puno from Arequipa. I’d woken up feeling a little under the weather and sitting on a bus wasn’t making me feel any better. Puno unfortunately is pretty high up in the mountains and at 3860m (just over 12,500 ft), I just felt worse when I arrived in the afternoon. Walking up 2 flights of stairs to my room left me breathless. I knew it was the altitude and taking it easy until I got used to it was the only answer. I ventured out for a brief walk and something [View Full Entry]

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