So how to prepare for the impending week in Ibiza, well there is a God because we arrive in Logrono bang smack in the middle of the festival celebrating the grape harvest. From the off its apparent that she's not going to let us off lightly. We take in a bullfight, having seen one (which I'll admit I wanted to) I'll agree they're as mindlessly gruesome as you might imagine but the 30,000 locals in a purpose built arena suggest it'll be around for a while yet. The old town is buzzing so after a spot of people watching we go [View Full Entry]

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Having given up on the sunshine ever returning we try our hand at some mountain climbing and drive into the Picos de Europa, taking the mountain pass an impressive sight meets us as we cross the peak (that and the road abruptly ending leading to some dicey ´offroad´moments). Ignoring the arm wrestling contest that occupies the town square on saturday night we bed early to rise for the mountain trek in the morn. And what a sight it is, a sheer wall of rock rising 700m above. The weather isn´t kind and some of our fellow climbers seem to be expecting [View Full Entry]

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The sky still looks dark so we decide to keep heading west. To contrast yesterday´s contempory art showing we hunt down some paintings that have been around a little longer, 20,000 years to be exact. The cave housing them is pretty impressive itself, all huge stala-ctites/gmites and where minerals have ´flowed´over rocks over the centuries creating an odd vision like a solid waterfall. Then continuing the historic theme we bed down for the night in Santillana del Mar ... a 16th century preserved village. When we wake the sunshine is still not playing ball so we go on a little trip [View Full Entry]

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We leave the blue sky behind as we head over the border into Spain and on to San Sebastian. Lonely Planet rave about the place and it is a pretty mix of narrow old streets, bar tops stacked high with extravagantly prepared tapas and several beaches right outside the door. However the image is tarnished once the sun goes down by the number of english (well aussie actually) touts trying to coax you into bars ... just not prepared for that in this spot. Plus the rain comes in spades which doesn´t make for happy travellers. So being the troopers we [View Full Entry]

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So we make our camping debut at a great spot due west from Bordeaux, in a forest and next to Pyla, a sand dune some 100 metres high. Time passes quickly without apparently achieving very much. I realised this when trying to explain to Juliet how I´d spent my day when she´d been working until 10pm ... the list of activities was so short that eating a cake was worthy of a mention (it was something pretty special though). The dune is heaving with paragliders by day but deserted by night and after steak on the bbq it provides the best [View Full Entry]

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So here we are on the road again, this time with Stuart and Stella (our hopefully trusty steed). Leaving the grey and gloom of Blighty behind we settle in for the overnight ferry. Uneventful, the Captain warned of rough seas but we braved the restaurant and slept like babies. Things take a turn for the worse in Nantes where our first meal, in this country renowned for its food, is a kebab. I blame the bar we stumble across where the only available drinking receptacle requires you to hold it at arms length and catch the resulting spout of liquid. Takes [View Full Entry]

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So the end of part 1 and we're back in the UK. We land to wind, rain and grey skies ... good 'ol Blighty never fails to give a warm welcome. Last day in BA was spent at by far the grandest cemetery I have ever seen, row upon row of two storey marble tombs for the great and good of Argentinian life. Finished off with an evening at the tango hall .... superb show. Specifically for Pete ... to your New York barmaids perfect stomach I can now add an exquisitely toned back, the one in the middle in the [View Full Entry]

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So after a brief 5 hour flight pretty much due North and we´re still in Argentina, swapping warm and sunny for the chill of the past few days. Here to see Iguazu falls and what a jaw dropping sight it remains. Its my second visit after a trip with an old schoolfriend (evening Dunc) back when we were all young, free and single and before he tired of my relaxed approach to rising in the mornings, thankfully (for me at least) now I have a new victim. They´re currently bidding to be one of the new 7 natural wonders of the [View Full Entry]

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We seem to have arrived in the wild west, half built roads that just stop and the airstrip that doubles as the main street of the town. In fact we´re so far south that if you set off swimming due west, you wouldn´t reach land again until you´d gone all the way round the world. Still found somewhere that serves a decent bottle of wine though, they´ve got their priorities straight here. But what we´re here to see is the Perito Moreno glacier, 30km deep, 5km wide and almost 200m high ... quite simply an awesome sight when it appears over [View Full Entry]

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Getting a bit citied out so we escape into the Andes for two days of trekking. Meet up with a couple of doctors from London, our guide Roderick and his trusty dog Mork (named after our alien friend, yep it seems Mork & Mindy made it as far as South America). Day 1 we summit to what must be the windiest place on earth, only about 1km vertical rise but enough to get the heart pumping when you start at 2500m. Then retire to a refuge in the mountains for red wine by the fire and poker by candlelight. Waking on [View Full Entry]

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