Tanzania day 2 Chimpanzee trekking in the jungle in Gombe, Tanzania, Africa. Sometimes I may have a little moan and often it’s about people but today, despite confusion later....was one of the best days of my life. Usually when we set off to do things we set off with low expectations so when we set off seaching for chimpanzees I expected to maybe see one...probably covered in scaffolding....about a mile away....with trees in the way and it be raining so hard we can’t get our cameras out. Amazingly though, this was not the case. After a breakfast of savoury pancakes, fruit, bread and jam and omelette it was time to head out with our guide. We had paid extra (2x£9) for two trekkers to head out before us, at 4am supposedly, to find out where the ... read more

Bulgaria day 8: Homeward bound, more urban exploring and a summary Last day and a few hours to kill so we decide to go for a walk around Borovets....well there are a few pokestops and Pokegyms to take as well. Our watches are also screaming at us to do more exercise as well. We did manage to do some more urban exploring but the one building we walked into (there was no door!) looked like it had someone living there despite its dilapidated state. They could either afford ski boots or had acquired them but we didn’t stay long enough to find out. We returned the key to a box near reception in the main building but I refused to even look at the receptionist after previous experiences there. Claire managed the drive back to the ... read more

Bulgaria day 6: A whistlestop tour with bears Neve let it be said that we are not adaptable....or we change our minds....you decide... Last night we left it too late to go to bed early for the 4am start we had planned so this morning we, wait for it, had a lie in! No alarms at all! Well we did climb a mountain yesterday so come on, give us a bit of leeway. The plan for today had been to go to a bear park and take a trip on the narrow gauge railway. Both could be close (depending on what station we board at) to each other but both are over a two hour drive. We looked at other things to do that didn’t include climbing another mountain and they are all hours away so ... read more

Bulgaria day 4: Sofia, graffiti, a cemetery and a lost car park Today I got shouted at. I have no idea what they said. Maybe they were angy at England’s victory in the World Cup last night... But more of that anon. It keeps you reading and gives you something to look forward to. We had originally planned to visit Plovdiv and just do half a day in Sofia before we fly but, again, some idiot has stuck a mountain between us and Plovdiv so we went for the closer option. Plovdiv had also sounded more appealing but Claire found some things ‘off the beaten track’ in Sofia that sounded interesting so we headed there. We found somewhere to park by a Metro station where it was Park and Ride....and then we walked. It’s only 34 ... read more

Bulgaria day 1-2 Four grumps, thunder, urban exploring and bodily functions Day one wasn’t actually spent in Bulgaria but I always like to mention the getting to the airport and then the inevitable delays getting to our destination country. We managed the appalling roadworks on the M6 without too much trouble....THREE years and counting....but a wrong turn later on saw me having to drive over a bridge that my satnav didn’t know existed. And it cost me £2! Which I had to pay online when we got to the airport. At John Lennon airport we parked on the Imagine car park which fills you with wonderful imagery from the song. The grotty shed on an industrial estate left all of that to the imagination. The best and quickest security checks ever has encouraged us to fly ... read more