Hi all, I know, I know, I've been really bad at keeping this blog up to date, but I've set aside a few days now so here goes... Last time I wrote, I had just changed trucks, driver and guide in Rio, and also half the group left to be replaced by a new group of people. I am pleased to say that the organisation of the tour immediately improved considerably under the new guide, Mark. He was a lot better organised than Jo, and it probably helped that he was a 6ft 6 tall ex-professional-rugby-playing skinhead, so he immediately earned our respect. Little things like not stopping for toilet breaks every hour, instead waiting for someone to ask for a stop, and not getting plates and chairs out during our lunch stops meant that we ... read more

Hi all, Last time I wrote, I had just had my bag stolen in Buenos Aires, losing two cameras and all my photos of that wonderful city. Fortunately, I managed to replace my SLR in Paraguay so I wasn´t without a camera for long. Unfortunately, I can´t upload any images in this cafe, so there are no more pictures for now. After spending a couple of days after Xmas in the Argentinian lake district, we entered Patagonia, which is beautiful, but very bleak and windy. On our first lunch stop, the wind was so strong, we could barely hold our plates, and our sandwiches ended up containing more grit than cheese. And it was bloody freezing. We spent 3 nights in a hostel in the touristy town of El Calafate, and on the morning of New ... read more

Hi all, Just a quickie to wish you all a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year. I´m camping for 12 nights in a row, starting tomorrow, so I probably won't be in touch until well into January. Have fun David x... read more

Hi all, It´s been almost 2 weeks since I last wrote, but I´ve packed a lot into that time and it seems so much longer. Last time I wrote, I was about to meet up with the group I will be spending at least the next three months with. There are 26 of us in the group, which will rise to 34 in a couple of weeks, which makes it a very different experience to that in Central America, where we had between 4 and 12 people. There are quite a few couples and more single guys than girls, and as well as the usual Brits, Aussies and Kiwis, there´s a guy from Iceland and a guy from Japan. They all seem very nice people, although some of them are huge drinkers, which could make things ... read more

Hi all, Well, the Central America leg of my tour is now over and I am now in South America, having flown from Mexico City to Quito, the capital of Ecuador, yesterday. And amazingly, none of my luggage got lost or stolen! I have to meet my new group soon and don´t have time to do a proper entry now, so the next instalment will be double-length. I´m off to the Galapagos Islands tomorrow for 9 days... can´t wait! I doubt there will be much internet access over there, so I´ll be in touch when I get back. Hopefully I´ll have a few pictures of some boobies (the blue-footed variety of course). Byeeee D x ... read more