Well, I survived the bus journey to San Pedro. Now its time to survive the altitude!. San Pedro is at 2440m ASL, and initially it is a bit of a shock to the old system with headaches and breathlessness, but that seemed to diasppear after a couple of hours. I booked a trip to see sthe El Tatia geysers ,and off to relax in some hot springs - all with the lovely incentive of having to get up at 4am!! The geysers were not quite the spectacular sight I was expecting, in fact they were really only simmering when we were [View Full Entry]

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I´ve now arrived in La Serena, after a 7 hr bus journey , along what can only be described as a never changing lanscape, of mountains and cactuses on one side, and the Pacific Ocean on the other. I´ve managed to find myself staying in another Hostel, where I am the only one there - I seem to be developing a knack for it, and it is also the coldest place on earth - It feels warmer when you go outside! - You cant see your own breath then! I am here until Tuesday - a couple of days longer than [View Full Entry]

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Well, I've arrived in the Port town of Valparaiso, and it has already made a nice change from Santiago. I am staying in a Hostel on top of the harbour looking down. This makes for good views, and good for my fitness, as you seem to spend all of your time doing step aerobics to get anywhere! The only other option is to take on of the funicular railways up and down the hill - they are fun, but the carriages are the originals from the 1800´s and so are more than a bit rickety, and when you have to avoid [View Full Entry]

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Another day down in Santiago, and what of it so far? Well, its been not very warm, and fairly quiet, as is to be expected, as I am here in the off season - not one for skiing or snowboarding - not with my accident record! Have done some sightseeing , but to be honest, there isn't a great deal to see. There are the obligitary museums and parks ( littered with the usual petty conmen trying to get you to give them money for their studies at uni - even though they all look at least 50) The only slightly [View Full Entry]

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Well, leg two of my travels has got off to a good start. After what was meant to be a mere 12 hour flight from Frankfurt to Sao paulo turned into a 16 hour affair with an unscheduled stop for fuel at an airport that was in the middle of nowhere and a runway barely long enough to take the 747 we were on ( as we had been flying around Brazil waiting for the airport to open due to fog), I finally arrived in a very foggy Sao paulo. Great I thought, now only a short flight to Santiago. Wrong!! [View Full Entry]

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Just been for a visit down to Durbar Square in Kathmandu. It has some lovely old buildings and temples, but by the time you get there you are absolutely sick of being asked about whether you want to take a rickshaw ride, take a taxi or want a guided tour!! Had a brief stroll down the famous 'Freak Street' which was the old Hippy hangout - not much there now. The pollution as well starts getting to you, it feels like you have just chain smoked 60 cigarettes ( I can normally only manage 20 at a go!)- there are motorbikes [View Full Entry]

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What a morning,Pompey FA Cup winners , and me off on a flight around the mountains of the Himalayas, I don't think it gets much better than this ( apart from having to get up at 5am). Well I wish I could say that I saw the cup final - but I don't think my luck is in at the moment with the beautiful game - we had one of the seemingly daily power cuts in Kathmandu, that started just before kick off and lasted for most of the game. I did however manage to find an internet cafe that was [View Full Entry]

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Well, here I am back in Kathmandu - a bit earlier than expected - but being the accident prone person I am, I have managed to attain a sporting injury!!. As they say - sport hurts - and it did for me!! I was playing football with some of the kids at the orphanage, when doing one of my immaculately choreographed Cruyeff turns I heard my right calf muscle make an odd crunching noise , swiftly followed by a shooting pain down my leg. Looks like I may have torn my calf muscle!! Anyway the injury has made me a bit [View Full Entry]

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Hi y'all, Sorry It's been all quiet on the Eastern Front, but I 've been holed up in a remote village in the middle of the middle of nowhere for the last few days. Now I've managed to find an internet cafe in the nearest town ( 2hr local bus ride - which is 200 people on and in a bus designed for about 50 people and 30 min walk!!) that has machines powered by hamsters!!! So that now I have pictures to post ( with my NEW digital camera) I cant do it! Anyway I have been at an orphanage [View Full Entry]

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Well, I made it back to Kathmandu in one piece ( well minus the pieces that the 40 odd mosquitos have had out of me!). The journey back across the mountains was again fun - this time with the added bonus of a heavy downpour of rain when we reached the top , and were just about descend over the other side. The rain may seem insignificant normally, but when you are in the hands of a manic Nepali coach driver who thinks he is Michael Schumacher when he is overtaking lorries whilst going round hairpin bends that fall away into [View Full Entry]

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