Retired Headteacher of a London school, who, since the autumn of 2007 has travelled the countries of S. America - with the exception of the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana). The first trip began in September 2007 and covered Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Peru; it ended in mid December with two of those months spent in Brazil and Argentina - the two largest countries. The second trip (March 1 - April 17 2009) was shorter - seven weeks- starting in Venezuela and continuing into Colombia and Ecuador, including the Galapagos Islands.
Though I had an outline plan of where I wanted to go, nothing was set in stone; I did some research on the countries before I embarked on the trips but I also talked to many fellow travellers en route and listened to their tales and advice about the places they had visited before making a final decision of where to go next. I therefore visited many places which were not in my original itinerary and skipped others which were. In addition I had a simple philosophy which determined the length of time I stayed in a place - if I liked it I would stay, if not I'd move on. Travel arrangements were made on the hoof and the means of travel varied - bus, coach, plane, taxi, boat, bicycle and, of course, trekking. Rather than keeping a diary I compiled this blog as I travelled, using mainly internet cafes to type up my adventures and upload selected photos to accompany the script.
Apart from travelling my interests cover a wide range but include: tennis, golf, reading, gardening, chess, listening to music and improving my Spanish. My interest in travel lies not just in the fantastic variety of landscape, wildlife and fauna throughout the world but the wealth of cultures, lifestyles and traditions the different countries have to offer. Countries are shaped and influenced by the people who inhabit them and it is through mixing with and talking to these that I get a feel for their culture and background. My visits to S. America have enabled me to develop a greater respect for the customs and traditions of the people there, enjoy the variety of music, food and drink throughout, and generally broaden my perspectives on life.
If you have an interest in travel or just in Latin America read the blog and .....enjoy!

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