Geo: -21.2318, -159.763On Monday morning we had a couple of hours with the car we had hired. We drove into Avarua and looked into a couple of the souvenir shops. There was very little there to buy but we did get a couple of wrap-around skirts for the little girls. We then took the car back to the resort. I did stop and take a photo of the very low key Parliament building.After lunch at the Edgewater we took the bus to the stadium for a meeting for all technical officials. This allowed us to meet our fellow officials and inspect the sites on which we will be operating for the next three days. After an hour or so there we returned to the resort.The highlight today was the Opening Ceremony of the Championships. This was ... read more

Geo: -21.2318, -159.763I had not been to the Cook Islands with Fletcher while he was running the RDC so when the Oceania Athletics Championships were scheduled there this year I knew we had to go. I had really enjoyed participating in them last year in Tahiti and looked forward to renewing friendships and visiting a beautiful part of the world.There is now a direct flight from Sydney to Rarotonga so we flew from Adelaide to Sydney on Saturday and then spent an uninspiring 7 hours at Sydney airport. The flight to Raro is one of the killer ones. It is only five and a half hours long but it leaves at 9-25pm and arrives in the Cooks at 7am on the same day, crossing the International Date Line on the way. The plane was packed with ... read more

Geo: -22.9035, -43.2096We arrived into Rio about 5-10pm on Thursday. It took 45 minutes for our bags to appear and then another hour to get to our hotel. The Rio Othon Palace is right on the waterfront facing Copacabana beach. From our window we have a great view towards the Sugar Loaf along the beach. We left our bags in the room and with Brian, Kim, Jim and Lorraine we walked about two blocks to Don Camillo, an Italian restaurant that Eugenio, our local guide had recommended. Here we had a very nice meal. Fletcher had a black seafood risotto and I chose the trout. Both were delicious and were large servings. It was great to be back in Rio and savour the sights and sounds of this happening place.The next day was entirely free. We ... read more

Geo: -34.6118, -58.4173On Sunday morning we arrived in Buenos Aires. We disembarked the ship and after collecting luggage we found our bus and our local guide Paola. Unfortunately it was pouring rain, the first wet day we have had on the trip. We drove into Independence Square, where the Casa Rosada is situated. Unfortunately the square has become a place of protest and that everpresent scourge of South America, grafitti. There is a tent embassy here for natives of the Chaco district who are asking for land and another demonstration by returned Falklands War veterans wanting repatriation. I am sure these claims are legitimate but it does spoil the place. However we walked to the front of Evita's palace and then to the Cathedral.This is a neo-classical building looking more like a Greek temple than a ... read more

Geo: -54.8, -68.3This morning we awoke as we were cruising along an area known as Glacier Alley. We went out onto deck to get a glimpse of the snow- capped mountains coming down to the sea. We also saw one or two glaciers along the way. We actually sailed past Ushuaia and viewed it from afar before turning back to enter the channel leading to our docking space. It was very windy and it took quite a deal of manoeuvring to line up on the pier and dock safely. It was a beautiful sunny day and we watched some of the procedures from our lunch table and the rest from the deck. At 2-15pm we went down to the Mondrian Lounge to await our tour. This was the first on shore tour we had booked and ... read more