After two amazing but frenetic weeks in NYC I was exhausted. So when booking accommodation in London, I decided to splash out. One private room, please. It was tiny, a little dingy and quite expensive, but I had a nice view of some backyards and a room where I could sleep, Skype and watch movies without disruption. Before long, I was very glad to have made that decision. Along with monstrous jet lag, I woke on my first night feeling very sick indeed. I had to stay in bed for the next 24 hours. The next day was my train to Bristol, where I was to be picked up by Jemma Heseltine (my first cousin once removed or something???) and taken to their lovely house in the country. The walk-tube-walk with all my bags to get ... read more

My worst travel blues hit me before I had even gotten home. I blame it on aeroplane travel. I had spent the last 6 months traversing entirely by buses throughout South America. Every kilometre I travelled, I felt. It was tangible. But then, all of a sudden, within 7 or so hours I was on a whole different continent. And instead of the beautiful lilt of Spanish accents peppering the air, there were the thick drawls of Texans. Instead of the fluid disregard for rules and bureaucracy, there were just lines and lines of grumpy people, squabbling with overworked employees, and I could understand every painful word of it. As I sat in that plastic airport chair, waiting for my connecting flight to LA all I could think of was how much I wanted to go ... read more

With yet another long, late, stunning and very bumpy bus ride, we left Bolivia. Jonny, the Swiss couple and I walked across the border into La Quiaca Argentina, ready to start the next phase of our adventures! It was windy and cold but the border official had a nice smile. Maria, the Swiss women spoke perfect Spanish, so was able to wrangle us the cheapest bus fare when we were too exhausted to do it ourselves. We ate steaks and mashed potato and real bread served by a lovely bow-tied local and got onto yet another bus. But this one was comfortable, we were provided food and it left exactly when it was meant to, to the minute. We all gave a little cheer as it started off. I had absolutely loved Bolivia, but it was ... read more

While backpacking, it’s rare to visit a place more than once. You are almost constantly on the move. So returning to La Paz after my foray into the jungle felt a little like coming home. Places and faces were familiar, a feeling usually unknown! With the two lovely Danes, I checked into Wild Rover hostel and settled quickly back into the whirlwind of La Paz life. I spent the following days enjoying copious white Russians, giggles and hungover shopping with my two gorgeous friends. I spent a night dancing cheesily with Shaz and Charlie, some friends from England I made on the jungle tour and bumped into randomly at the hostel. And one day, ignoring my parent’s voices in my head, I rode Death Road. Someone decided that it would be a good idea to put ... read more

Well that's a tiny plane. Really tiny. Minute. Can that thing really fly? About 12 people aboard the miniscule plane to Rurrenabaque in the Bolivian Amazon. About 12 people having a minor panic attack every time the plane bumped, jiggled or dropped. What's that beeping? I really don't like being able to see in the cock pit. That beeping is still going! Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. But then we are there, touching down smoothly at Rurrenabaque "airport" and it seems like we've all been a little silly really. The "airport" is really just one room of a house and we sit on some plastic seats in the sweltering oppressive heat and wait for our bags. Everyone is already shiny with sweat and flopping considerably, but one Swiss girl and I are loving it. Heat ... read more