Hola firstly my apologies for the text intrusions in the last blog not sure what that was all about!1 lets hope the gremlins are sorted. Cruceros Australis –well what a fantastic experience- this was be supposed to be our little jauntette ( for Lou and me while Al was battling it against the wind rain and waves) If we thought this was going to be a leisurely sail down the fjords of Tierra del Fuego sipping cocktails sunning ourselves and enjoying the view from our sun loungers, we were to be rudely awakened!!! This was four nights and five days packed with truly wonderful things, presentations and films about the areas to be visited from knowledgeable and good looking tour guides, treks, hikes, journeys on zodiac boats , not to mention great food and what is ... read more

Calafate is on the edge of Patagonia some two and half thousand klms south from Buenos Aires. It is the gateway to the Los Glaciares National Park and the mighty Perito Moreno glacier. Patagonia is wild, and in places barren but always beautiful . Its climate is temperate though while we have been here temperatures have been soaring into the late 20sc and beyond!! The area sits in the shadow of the Chilean Andes which blocks the storms and rain , though strong westerly winds gust across the plains. The town itself, named after a small berry, is small with just one main street which stretches for a klm or two, and full of well healed and trademarked outdoor wear shops and teeming with restaurants, coffee bars, chocolate shops and inviting jewellery establishments!!!. It grew significantly ... read more

Hiya Guys Mumbai - Slum dog Millionaire city, just a fleeting visit on my way home - 2 nights and I full day!. It is huge over 18 million people crammed into this peninsular of originally 6 islands once linked together by causeways now one heaving mass of roads buildings and humanity. People have come to Mumbai from all over India to find work and be a part of its success, It is the commercial and financial centre of the sub continent and was first founded by the Portuguese when vasco de garma sailed into its waters, It is on the coast of the Arabian sea and soon became crucial in the trade routes and flourished when first the East India company was involved and then the Brits took charge!! The Uk has left its ... read more

We are moving north and west through the lands of the camel trains, the old spice routes across from the far east to Europe making for the Thar desert. Rajasthan is a dry state ( water , not drink!!! ) the far NW sometimes gets less than 5 inches of a rain a year some years none others the monsoons fill the lakes and rivers and replenishes the water tables. After the fun of Holi we looked forward to the changing landscape from growing wheat and farming the land, to the sand dunes, the nomadic travellers snake charmers and musicians and the mysteries of the desert . WE would be just over a 100 klms from the Pakistani border and we noticed increased army activity and the roar of many jets overhead. We stayed in the ... read more

Hi everyone! You mustn’t believe all I manage to write in the blog so disregard the last sentence of blog 2 If you remember what it was!), we are not in camel camp yet, that is later this week!. Udaipur was our next stop. We are very lucky that we are in India for the second most important date in their calendar, after Dwali the whole country celebrates Holi. The legend behind this festival is again long , complex and convoluted , if I say a father/demon who wants to be a god, his son who wants to worship another, his daughter who is protected from disaster by a cloke , father tries to murder son 3 times but fails but manages to kill his daughter instead by mistake, in a fire and the demon dies. ... read more