Duncan & Nic

Shmunkie and the small ginger one



Hellooo, it's two rather adventurous travelers from the bonny streets of Edinburgh. Taking our place in the great melee of backpackers, travelers and touts to sample just how many different animals we can eat. This trip of gargantuan proportions is sure to alter the very fabric of the Earth and we apologise to all the trees our journey is bound to kill. In fact we said sorry to the shrubs this morning and will continue to make every effort to redress the Karmic balance by holding every third breath.

And while this may seem like a cheap (ish - we are traveling for a year) way of wasting time, our efforts to better understand the globally community and their bacterial infections will be shared for the good of all mankind - and trees.

Update - For those following closely two new pairs of pants were purchased and so the total was raised to six. Nic, however, vetoed one pair and the clan was reduced to five. Thought you'd want to know

Update - Ahh now that we´ve visited Bolivia we´re up to 8% of the world visited in this trip, it really does make the mind boggle.

Update - Now this is just getting silly, but with 30 days to go Belize was just too close not to visit and seeing as how we have to come back to Mexico City we might as well do it through Guatamala. That´s now 9% folks



Travel Blog Posts



As our most incredible year draws to a slighty premature close we thought we´d share some of the world´s oddities and idiots that we´ve met along the way. Did you know There is a town in New Zealand called ´Clive´. Now we´re sure it´s probably pronounced ´clee-vay´ or something equally stupid, but knowing the Kiwis and their simple honest nature it´s just possible that it´s named after a bloke called Clive. Ah yes, Clive just down the road from 'Dave' if you hit 'Phil' you´ve gone too far - priceless. There is a god. Yes once and for all there are other people out-there who believe in the Scottish Banking system. Sure they're in Chile, but it´s nice to know that somewhere in the world there is a Bureau de Change that only excepts ´Scottish´ notes ... read more




As the days count down and we face the ultimate reality that at some point we will have to return to lands where the word ´sunny´ is mearly a concept. We are determined to make the most of every little hour that remains. With that in mind we planned a wild rollercoaster week skirting through Belize (hence the title - I thought it was funny and don´t care what anyone else says) and north Guatamala. From cave to coral, Monkey to Mayan this whistlestop tour would be just long enough to stratch the surface of two Central American Republics we are happy to admit we knew little to nothing about. Oh except that we used to ´own´ Belize, but then where didn´t we. What we expected from Belize was delivered in spades. Glorious vistas, amazing wildlife ... read more



Run away ... BEES!

Published: November 23rd 2008North America » Mexico » Yucatán » Merida

Right let´s get this straight from the off - we love Mexico. So far they´ve given us the wrong bus tickets, they´ve cancelled our hotel booking when we arrived in the middle of the night (only the second booking we´ve made in 11 months!) and left us stranded by ´accidentily´ pointing us to the wrong bus stop. Yet we still love the place, it´s infectious. Try as they might they can´t hide the fact that this place has it all. From the food to the architecture to the handicrafts, oh the glorious handicrafts. They even have musuems that actually make you want to step inside (who wouldn´t want to step into the rollercoaster ride that is ´´The Museum of Interactive Economics´, I ask you). No, surely Mexcio is the country that you have been looking for ... read more




Rising majestically into the misty heavens (ah mist that's more like it!), Costa Rica's cloud forrests are a Wonka-esque wonderland of wildlife diversity. From the standard Ticos and American to Germans, French, Spaniards, Scots, South Americans and even Japanese - oh and their are a few birds and stuff too. This place is alive with the rush to see just how much stuff is ... well ... alive. So it's back on with the boots and off up the mountains where it's gloriously cool, almost always raining and full of nature. A nature that oozes from every crevas, flowing over you like the gentle mist that encapsulates it. Time has abandoned this place and so it seems have the people, leaving this (relatively) untouched wilderness free from human habitation (The state of the roads alone is ... read more




Mmm nice, everyone loves a barbecue. Just what in the name of the wee man are we doing here. To us a beach should under no circumstances be without drizzle. Preferably it should be directly off the sea as to provide ice sheering sharp relief from any possible sun that has decide to grace us with its presence in case we had forgotten what it looked like. If possible it should also contain at least two of the following - sand (being blown at face level or in sandwiches), hail, sleet, wind (a roaring gust) or donkeys. None I tell you, not one of these do they have here in this so called Caribbean 'Paradise'. Paradise my arse, my red and sun burned arse that is. So as we sit here on fire, yes literally on ... read more




Look we´re visiting Costa Rica honest, we just haven´t got round to it yet. We been ... em ... waylaid, Nicaragua´s just too cool (actually for those of a British disposition we mean that in the American sense and are not talking weather wise - If you would like to chat about the weather please contact us privately where we would love to have an indepth chat ... perhaps over tea). Yip, it´s just too friendly, too interesting and too nice to leave. We are beyond joy to realise that our previous apprehention and trepidation about the place was dispelled almost immediately upon leaving the hectic streets of Managua (Not saying we didn´t enjoy that too). What awaited us were cloud forrests steeped in local legend, smoking craters rising from cyrstal blue lakes and markets filled ... read more




Ok, thanks. Sure this wasn´t quite the welcoming we were expecting and after the bus driver, taxi driver, local security guard, restaurant waitress and two separate police officers all felt the overwhelming need to provide this introduction to the capital of Nicaragua we did begin to wonder. Had we made a momunmently silly decision, were we in real danger and just where were all the other gringos. There had been loads of them at the border crossing from Costa Rica, but it seemed that as the bus made its way further into the heart of the Sandinista Homeland their numbers had simply melted away, perhaps it was the heat. Whatever the reason we were alone in the heart of Managua and for the first time in almost 11 months and 19 countries a touch scared. Now ... read more




In the almost European heart of Argentina it´s easy to relax. Lazying around, catching up on quality nothing time and just enjoying the pleasure of once again being in a place of comfort and ease. It is not so easy, however, to relax when you have a constant sugar rush to rival even the largest consumption of Rainbow Drops. This is the world of Dulche and boy is it sweet. Here in lies the problem, what was meant to be a nice relaxed week experiencing the true cafe culture and meat of the arguablely the greatest of South Americas big cities has turned into a caffine and sugar filled binge of all that is good in life. As a result, and much to our horror, for the first time in this entire journey we´ve also put ... read more




Warning Note: To those of a frail or nervous dispossition please be aware that the author of this artical is a bit of an idiot when it comes to injurying himself (Yes it was me, Nic is quite sensible and hence safe). And while this injury has all the spectatular appearance deserving of the most tremendous of cockups, he is to all intents and purposes quiet safe. His elbow still hurts a bit though. It´s rare that one gets to take on the wisdom of the ages and prove just how right it can be. But once again in our quest to invalidate our comprehensive travel policy one of us was given just that chance. This time took place in perhaps the most peaceful of surroundings. A place that, if Montevideo can be considered quiet, is ... read more




Once again as we plough ahead the blog falls behind. The beligerent and often opinionated Journal (it has a mind of it's own - oh yes) can be want for acts of untold insight and clarity. But with such generousity (if it may be so called) comes lazyness. A big fat lazyness. One that would rather wile away the hours devouring gloriously rich ice cream, high on coffee and the waft of meat that pervades the soul throughout this part of the world. Yes once again (in case you couldn't tell) the blog has ... well ... fallen behind a wee bit. A whole country behind in fact. We've missed Argentina. Ooops Now not to worry we're going back in a few weeks and are sure to write loads about what is by far and away ... read more






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