Leaving Pucon was hard. Not only was the weather really foul outside the cosy hostel where we were staying, it also meant saying goodbye to all the friends we had made during our visit. Our hosts Peter and Lorena were particularly sad to see us go as we had been their longest-staying guests since they opened three months ago! We eventually managed to get away at 1pm — our latest start yet. Our plan that day was to get to a lakeside village called Lican Ray 60km away on Lago Calafquen. However, 12km up the road and after a thorough soaking we ran into our friends Lavinia and Fernando and were invited back to their cabin for hot drinks and food. 3 hours later we were back on the road again in the wind and rain ... read more

From Curanilahue, we rode on through major forestry plantations, small farming communities and rolling countryside to Lake Lanalhue where we came across a very nice small hotel with a great room over looking the pretty lake. It was a bit more upmarket than we normally go for but we were in the off-season and managed to bargain the price down. Besides, it was getting late, we were cold and it looked like rain was coming. The man who owns it used to work in a bank in Santiago, and we could tell from his always-beaming face that he knew he'd made the right decision when he bought up here. A late start the next day and our first big mountain pass to climb to get us out of the coastal plains and back into the main ... read more

After a week acclimatising to a different culture, climate and economic situation, we are finally, at last, on the road on our bikes. Santiago is a huge, flat sprawl. The smog is really bad at this time of year, and this meant that the only time we saw the Andes that are a famous backdrop to Chile´s capital was the day we arrived. We spent the week preparing our bikes for the road, buying supplies, and planning our route out of Santiago, breaking these tasks up with a little sightseeing. The highlight was a visit to the fabulous museum dedicated to the 15 or more Indian cultures that lived in Central America and the north-eastern South American continent in the few thousand years until Columbus arrived in 1492. The inspiring collection concentrates on stone carvings, pottery, ... read more

Hola from Cuba! Three days after wearing beanies, gloves and fleeces for a hike in the Yorkshire Dales, we stumbled into the Cuban heat. The daytime temperatures are much the same as in Brisbane, but night minimums and the humidity are much more like Darwin in summer. We still have no photos, and will add some when we can get hold of them, and find a computer terminal that doesn´t have all its software locked down. This may not be until we leave Cuba. Some first impressions... Everywhere we have been we are awed and inspired by the architecture. It is, of course, heavily influenced by colonial Spanish, with Moorish touches thrown in, but with a very Cuban flavour. Even though a lot of it is crumbling, it remains stunning. In the old buildings, the ceilings ... read more

The rest of our time in Europe proved to be a mixed bag. On the one hand, we shared stories and catching up time with friends and family over enough beers that Claire now knows the difference between lager and ale. Dave couldn't persuade Claire to try a spam fritter in the old Victorian tourist hang out of Matlock Bath. There was more luck with a packup lunch in the Lakes District, at least until we were frightened by some wildlife jumping out of the bracken. We shared some lovely walks in the Lakes District and the Yorkshire Dales with Dave's family, and were ready to head for Cuba, via three days near Zurich with friends of Claire's. But... Like thousands of others, we have been affected by Heathrow airport closing down, and grinding back to ... read more