cj7

Hello everybody Hope you are all well and looking forward to your festive season wherever you are celebrating in the world. Promised a ' best of ' blog so here it is in picture form ( better late than never ) Have a very happy Christmas and hope your 2010 is a fun,happy and safe one , ... read more

Back home and time to write about the remainder of our time in Costa Rica. I know I left you hanging last time but obviously, despite the hiccup we completed our trip and (reluctantly) came home. On March 14th we were due to move to a hotel in Drake Bay but there was a huge mix up which left us without accomodation. Normally this is not a big problem but the only feasible way to leave the area was by the daily boat taxi leaving in the afternoon. We booked this and had an eventful journey to Sierpe later in the day. It was Spring high tide so we had to wade through waist high water to reach the boat and then travel in the dark along the Rio Sierpe, with a handheld torch and fireflies ... read more

Hello from Costa Rica and time to let you know about our adventures in Colombia ,but first a quick up date on what we did in Quito which sandwiched the trip to the Galapagos.Confused,well that makes at least 3 of us ! We flew into Quito from Lima and got a taxi to the Quito Hotel which seemed very 'un' Explore like as it was a big modern hotel. (S- we had booked our Galapagos trip with Coral''s previous employer, Explore) However, the room was large and there was a bath so very acceptable as far as I was concerned. Our GAP welcome meeting was postponed for 24 hours, as people had been delayed by the snow in the UK. (S- the trip was actually provided by another travel company, called GAP) We had dinner in ... read more

Apologies for the lack of blogs recently but the internet access has been intermittent and, more to the point, we have been far too busy enjoying ourselves !! Being on some of the Galapagos Islands was like stepping back into the dinosaur era with 1 metre long iguanas camouflaged against the rocks and large pre-historic shaped birds castings eerie shadows. We stayed on a GAP Adventure boat designed to take a maximum of 20 passengers.There were twin cabins on the upper and bottom deck with two double suites on the middle deck.The mid deck also had the dining area and a sitting area ideal for briefings.There were loungers at the front of the boat and tables&chairs at the back under cover.We were very lucky to be given a cabin on the top deck with a large ... read more

Hello folks Happy New Year from Ushuaia - hope 2009 gives you peace, good health and happiness. We survived the 16 hour bus journey from Mar Del Plata and found the hostel, our new home for 5 nights -almost a permanent location in our hectic schedule. We lost an hour in transit so settled for a New Years Eve pizza in town before falling asleep well before midnight. I think we did manage to stay awake for the New Year to arrive in the UK - about 9pm. Vaguely remember hearing some fireworks but was a bit of a blur. New Years Day was a quiet one to get our bearings and visit the beach to get sand blasted.We also found out some info on tours in the region as this is an area rich in ... read more