mark and chrissie

It would be an adventure. Well, ok, it probably didn't really compare with our big round-the-world trip in terms of scale but taking our 6-month old away for a few days, on the train, on my own, certainly seemed epic to me! Clara and I were going to make the most of my maternity leave and spend a few days in Somerset with my parents. The first dilemma, of course, was what to pack. Those who read our last blog will know that last time we went away, our large family car was loaded full to the brim with stuff, stuff and more stuff. Our usual A4 list of required items would have to be severely edited! My mum managed to borrow some large key items (cot, car seat, high chair) and I managed, somehow, to ... read more

I can't quite believe it’s been almost 2 years since we returned home after our 27 month trip around the world which we liked to think of as our honeymoon (although we're not sure how many other newlyweds end up in bunk-bedded dorms on their honeymoon!) This isn't a traditional ‘travelblog’ in the sense that it doesn’t really involve us visiting anywhere new and exciting. Where do we start? Well, we rented our house out whilst we were away and, when we returned, our tenants wanted to stay on a couple more months. This suited us pretty well giving us time to find jobs and start to fill up our much drained bank account. Mark's sister and her husband kindly offered to put us up for a few weeks in their home in the beautiful Peak ... read more

Day 820 (28/06/09) After saying our goodbyes to Kate and Danny and making an early transfer to the airport in Mexico we got on our flight to Miami. Just a couple of hours later with customs and formalities over with we jumped in a cab and before we knew it we were installed in our hostel in Miami just off Ocean Drive. With the afternoon still ours to squander we used the local looping bus to visit the supermarket and stock up for the next couple of days. It's been a while since we were in such a well-stocked supermarket and we could have spent a fortune on all the things we'd missed as we wandered around calling to each other "Look! Cheddar cheese...bacon...etc.etc." Never before have we been so excited to be in a supermarket! ... read more

Day 810 (18.06.09) to Day 814 (22.06.09) We left El Tunco early and after several chicken buses and a couple of cycle taxis across an easy border crossing back into Guatemala, we eventually reached Antigua. We'd started our Central American journey here a few weeks ago and it was nice to complete the circle and return to somewhere familiar. The journey had taken us all day so all we really had energy for was to grab a quick bite to eat and make the most of some 2 for 1 cocktails at a local bar. It's amazing how much a fresh strawberry daiquiri can brighten a travel day! We'd hoped to meet up with a friend here in Antigua but sadly it hadn't worked out so we just spent a couple of days catching up on ... read more

Day 795 (03.06.09) to Day 799 (07.06.09) From a choice of two Caribbean islands, which should we go for? It doesn't sound like it should be a difficult decision really does it? And yet it's one we pondered over for some time before finally making a decision an hour or so before we caught the ferry. We had heard that some cheap diving could be had in the Bay Islands of Honduras, and before we made our way back to England and it's murkier, colder waters that we were sure not to want to dive into we wanted to squeeze in one last diving excursion. We could choose from Utila or Roatan but had met no-one who had been to both to help us with our decision. On the one hand we had Utila with supposedly ... read more