The Last Blog Home. Home sweet Home. Questions, Queries, Challenges, Confusion, Excitement, Anxiety, Sadness, Awe and Pride. Needless to say, at the end of a trip like the one we've had, a plethora of feelings and emotions come flying in from all directions. So, we're back at home. Are we different? Did we accomplish what we set out to achieve? Was it worth all that money? What have we learnt about ourselves, each other and the world? Big questions, no? And to be frank, I don't think we have all the answers. With more time and distance from our experience of 2006, maybe things will become clearer and there'll be that lighting-bolt moment. But for the time being we have to settle with what we have, and in this, our last blog, will attempt to ... read more

Bienvenidos Y'All! So these three quotes potentially sum up our Mexico experience: 1. Larry (South Carolina-Former Hippie-Done Time for Dealing in the 60s-Living Retired Life on The Pacific Coast in Mexico) to Dom & Yvette (your average travel punters) insert southern drawl "Do you guys know what all the pyramids have in common? (dramatic pause) They're all on the same latitude! And why do you think that might be - how on earth could they know? (second dramatic pause) They're road signs for alien ships!" 2. Typical Traveler Dude in Backpackers Hostel: "I tell you man, Tulum without a mosquito net... you might as well just slit your wrists!" 3. American Tourists in Cancun to Dom & Yvette as we rush to get on a bus with our backpacks insert gregarious american accent "Are you ... read more

Southern Splendour in Patagonia In a nutshell, Patagonia is spectacular. Politically, it encompasses the southern tip of both Chile & Argentina, that pointy bit you see when looking at a map of South America; but geographically, it is a stretch of land that on its western edge contains beech forests, crystal clear lakes, towering granite mountains, glaciers and even the world's largest non-polar ice cap. It is the only significant landmass (siginficant enough to take over 20 hours to drive from end to end!) to lie between 40 degrees south and Antartica. To give you an idea of how south that is, Patagonia's most northerly point roughly runs in line with New Zealand's most southerly. We landed in Santiago from Rio de Janeiro and after a 8 hour layover, pressed on to Pucon in the Chilian ... read more

Bolivian Biking to Brasilian Bats! Sorry Mum! "Do not take the´El Calle De Morte' (Road of Death/Worlds Most Dangerous Road) to the Rain Forest!" I was advised by a good pal (Mr C Large) and told by my Mum. Well, we didn't take the bus, but we opted instead for a bike... But surely only a fool would spend 5 hours hurtling down a narrow track on a mountain bike with 400 feet drop offs waiting to catch you as you fall. Indeed, I thought, but what is it they say about Mad Dogs and English Men? However, before we jumped on our bikes we spent a week in Copa Cabana and the Isla Del Sol on "Lago Titicaca" (on the border of Peru and Bolivia). Here we stayed at a great hostel on the hill ... read more

A Spanish Dolcevita and a Footballer´s Mecca It appears both Dom & I took our Accounting lectures at uni just that bit too seriously - as after 5 months of travel, we have perfected and should re-write the chapter about Just In Time theory. Despite our heightened awareness regarding our pending heathrow-post-terrorist-alert experience we still were capable of sleeping in until midday on the day we were to fly out at 5pm. Now, this may not sound quite so bad, however when you´ve got to get to the post office to send home un-needed luggage, pick up necessities like a passport from the Brazilian embassy in town and then travel over an hour to get to the airport, for a 2.5 pre-arrival check-in, we were pushing the limits!! But as always, (touch wood) we managed to ... read more