joools

Days 124 - 149: Bogota (Col), Jericoacoara (Bra), Rio De Janeiro (Bra), Paraty (Bra), Iguazu Falls (Bra/Arg), Itaipu (Bra/Par), Buenos Aires (Arg) Executive Summary Status: Backpacking with my mum - how cool is that! Current location: Buenos Aires, Argentina Notable incidents: Kite surfed in Jeri, many Caiprinhas in Caipi Street, enjoyed the drizzle and concrete in Rio more than you might imagine, abjectly failed in Rio to meet mum’s sole pre-trip requirement, blended in seamlessly with the beautiful people on Ipanema beach, ‘what could have been’ in Paraty, two marathon bus journeys, got very wet at Iguazu and finally saw a Toucan. Full Report Jules: So when I last wrote, I was literally on my way to the airport in Bogota to head to the north coast of Brazil to try my hand at kite surfing. ... read more

Days 85 - 109: Quito (Ecu), Bogota (Col), Medellin (Col), Cartagena (Col), Santa Marta (Col), Parque Nacional Tayrona (Col), Taganga (Col), San Gil (Col) Executive Summary Status: Everyone’s left me Current location: Bucaramanga, Colombia Notable incidents: The arrival of the boys, small world Bogota, coldest bus ride ever, homeless at 4am in Medellin, Fred takes on a plate glass door … and loses, “My Lord it’s hot here!” Cartagena, Darwinian evolution of sleeping furniture, beautiful Tayrona, Sim leaves , damn Indigenous people and their ceremonies upset the itinerary, the boys go sub-aqua and adrenaline sports in San Gil. Facial hair status: All gone - after a brief Merv Hughes episode. Full Report Jules: So after having way too much fun, spending way too much money and ... read more

Days 44 - 62: Copacabana (Bol), Puno (Per), Cusco (Per), Machu Picchu (Per), Arequipa (Per), Huacachina (Per), Lima (Per), Huanchaco (Per), Mancora (Per) Executive Summary Status: Alive and back at sea level Current location: Mancora, Peru Notable incidents: Dodging stone throwing road blockers, visiting some floating islands, “Sexywoman”, Jack’s pancakes, hat shopping, Inca ruins (lots!), Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Condors, dune buggying and sandboarding, erotic pots, missing a bus, finding the sun (eventually). Facial hair status: 2cm and decidedly bushy … until I trimmed it, and the rest of the hair on my head! Looking decidedly military at the moment! Full Report Jules: So, the last time we wrote, we were stuck in Copacabana cos some dudes in Peru were striking and constructing road... read more

Days 10 - 23: Iquique (Chi), San Pedro de Attacama (Chi), Uyuni (Bol), Potosi (Bol), Sucre (Bol), Cochabamba (Bol) Executive Summary Status: Alive but on the run Current location: Cochabamba, Bolivia Notable incidents: Not so thermal thermal baths; budgetarily damaging trip through San Pedro de Attacama; fantastic trip through the Uyuni salt flats despite worst night’s sleep ever; narrow escape from Bolivian law enforcement officials in Uyuni (resulting in current fugitive status); and the bus ride from hell! Facial hair status: Back to 3mm and itchy after the previous beard effort was aborted at 5mm when itchiness got too much to bare! Full Report Jules: So, when I left you last, I was in Iquique in Northern Chile anxiously awaiting the safe delivery of one Aussie/Yank girlfriend from Seattle via... read more

Day 0 - New York, NY - The trip begins ... As some of you may know (but most probably don’t), I’m currently sitting in the communal area of Hostel Don Santiago in Santiago, Chile, and today is day 2 of my 6 month sabbatical. Well strictly speaking, my sabbatical is actually now a 165 day sabbatical after a somewhat stop-start start. I was supposed to leave NY on May 1st but it quickly became apparent that the amount of work I had to finish divided by the number of hours left pre-departure was not a number I liked the look of so a revised departure date of May 11th was considered more reasonable all round - and also allowed for a couple more rounds of leaving drinks/dinners So as May 11th approached, the list of ... read more