After 6 months in Latin America I was sad to leave its amazing sights and culture. It would have been much harder if I knew I wasn’t going to return before this trip is over. I flew from Peru to a changeover stop at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Our pre-dawn flight path took was over the Florida Keys, where the dotted lights below indicated the line of small islands and connecting bridges Shazza and I had driven over 9 months earlier. On landing, the culture shock of being back in the USA was startling. Apart from the outspoken and pushy people at [View Full Entry]

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Heading to the Lake From Arica, Chile, we joined up with a couple from our relaxed hostel and bartered a ride in an old V8 taxi to take us the 10kms to Tacna, Peru. There we had a few hours to walk around the central park-area of town before getting an overnight bus up to Puno. The small city sits on the edge of ‘Lago Titicaca’; one of the world’s highest navigable lakes, which splits the border between Bolivia and Peru. We parted ways with the others and joined up with a tour at the busy lake-port, which started with a [View Full Entry]

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Santiago Our spectacular bus trip through the Andes brought us down to the smoggy Chilean capital of Santiago, situated in a deep valley. Most backpackers in Santiago have either just arrived or about to leave the continent and don´t really stay long, but we again had some local hosts to show us around. I had met a group of local girls while travelling in Central America and they had given us the tip to stay at a relaxed hostel in the lively suburb of Bella Vista. The rooftop bar was perfect for drinking our precious bottle of Argentinian Torrontes wine (we [View Full Entry]

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Buenos Aires We arrived in Buenos Aires feeling like middle-aged housewives of a morning, following our champagne and Valium-fuelled bus ride from Iguazu Falls. Jimmy, Dylan and I were staying at the renowned party hostel- ´The Milhouse´, in downtown B.A., which turned out to be a trap for all the young Pommie and Aussie backpackers who never seemed to leave the bar. We found that out on our first night, but luckily for us, a friend (Pablo) of a friend from back home was a local and keen to show us around. First things first though- we were in the land [View Full Entry]

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After moving to Australia, a Brazilian friend of mine once said the biggest difference between our two cultures is that Brazilians drink until they’ re happy and then they dance, whereas Australians drink and drink until they fall over. It didn’t take me long after arriving in Brazil to see what she was talking about. Salvador-Bahia I flew into a hot and sunny Salvador-Bahia 2 days before the world’s biggest party kicked off. I stayed at a hostel in Pelourinho- the city’s beautiful heritage part of town and waited for my younger brother, Jimmy, to arrive. It was gre [View Full Entry]

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Crossing the border from Mexico to Guatemala, you can adjust your clocks by as little or as much as you like as you go from General Mexican Time to Guatemalan Mean Time. I was aboard a Mexican tourist shuttle that was to meet up with a similar service on the Guatemalan side. For almost 2 hours we waited at the border, sitting outside the ´immigration office´ in the blaring mid-day sun. Luckily our international crew had all the ingredients to keep us entertained. A Canadian girl had a guitar, a German couple had some snacks, and of course the 2 Aussie´s [View Full Entry]

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Mexicans have a laid-back attitude that makes Aussies look like a nation of workaholic, 'Punctual Pete´s'. The country operates on G.M.T. but its not Greenwich Mean Time like you might think. It stands for General Mexican Time, and it means something can take anywhere from 2 minutes to 2 weeks. As long as you're prepared for this, then its alright. Since Tara and I left the US on the last day of my visa, its been an action packed month in Mexico. We flew from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas at the bottom of the Baja California peninsula. The area [View Full Entry]

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With our big road trip finished, it was time Shazza and I parted ways. During her smog test, I found out she was originally from California, so I really brought her home- the long way. It wasn't so easy to move on though, with most people not interested in her because she was high maintenance (manual gears), too old (1997) or had been around too much (197,000 miles). Even the internet dating sites I put her on (craigslist & auto trader) didn't help find her match. In the meantime, I hung out with Tara and her friends, taking to the 'So-Cal' [View Full Entry]

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Leaving Florida, Shazza and I spent an uneventful night in Mobile, Alabama, before making it to New Orleans, Louisiana, N.O.L.A. for short or "Nawlins" if you're a local. My 3 day-old mo was revelling in the humid growing conditions, but Shazza wasn't convinced. She thought she had a more substantial one made up of squashed bugs on her front bumper. Still I was determined to spread the mo-ssage to the people of the Deep South. At least it may bring some comedy value to an area that has been through some tough times. Although Hurricane Katrina hit the area over 2 [View Full Entry]

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Florida, with a population almost the same as Australia's, is a unique U.S. southern state. Being a haven for retiring Yankees from the north and Cubans and Mexicans from the south, it doesn't feel like the rest of its confederate flag-flying neighbours. Even the southern-drawl seems to disappear down here, where the environment turns to flat marshland and over-developed beaches. Being a surfer, people always ask if I'm afraid of getting attacked by sharks. I often state the fact that you have a greater chance of being struck by lightning. Well in Florida they have both the world's highest [View Full Entry]

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