Sunday 23rdApril 2017 Blanding to Page 215 miles We left Blanding about 8.15 hoping to make good time to Monument Valley and be there by 10.00am! Wasn’t too bad – only stopped once at Mexican Hat for photos of a rock that looked like a Mexican wearing a hat, hence why the town got its name! I say town – it was just a few houses really! Entered Monument Valley ( owned by the Navajo Indian Tribe) parked up, signed in for the Wildcat Trail and set off on a 2 ½ hr trail around West Mitten Bute. It was a lovely walk across a desert trail, with loads of wild flowers, a few birds and sheep spotted high up on the Butte. The temperature was perfect – about 70 degrees, cool air and sunshine! Got ... read more

It took us 26.5hrs to get to Denver!! We got up at 4.00am 17th April and arrived in Denver about 11.30pm which was the equivalent of 6.30am 18th April in the UK. First Day Denver 232 miles Crashed out and got the car the next morning and headed for Morrison ( a place recommended by our hotel receptionist) Quite busy along the IS70 but as we headed out of the town we saw our first ‘Point of Interest’ – Dinosaur Ridge. Decided we weren’t up for hiking the ridge (especially as there are snakes about!) and took the Guided Tour Bus instead with a very knowledgeable geologist! We drove up a road where he explained that Denver used to be sea and that the rocks around were the old sea bed, showing us the ripples, and ... read more

Chris’ Birthday – Virgen de los Rondeles, Casarabonela, Spain Arrived in Gatwick from USA 10.30am, and after a change over of suitcases, from cruise luggage, to hand luggage at the IBIS hotel, and also a change of Terminal from South to North, we caught the 16.45 flight to Malaga. Quick overnight stay in the house before driving the 35 minutes to Casarabonela. Duly found Maria (In the bar opposite the Ayuntamiento) who then showed us three apartments, all very nice, for us to choose one. It was a no-brainer really, as the third apartment overlooked the main square, which, apparently, the festival was taking place in. Had a wander around the town, looking at the Xmas decorations - there was a children’s band marching and playing these weird drums, with a hole in the middle and ... read more

Panama Canal This was the highlight of the trip and it had certainly been hyped up into ‘The Canal Experience’! We had had a lecture every day, on sea days, by Bill Fall, who was excellent and certainly knew his stuff. I never knew a Canal could be so complicated!! Basically it was started by the French in 1880 – 26,000 of them died due to Malaria and the project was then abandoned. America took it on again in 1903, removing over 200 million cubic metres of material and it was completed in 1914, so is now 102 years old. Amazing feat of engineering all those years ago when you think that they didn’t have any vehicles or machinery. It is 48 miles, or 80 kms long and strangely the Atlantic Ocean is 9” lower than ... read more

Blog – USA & Cruise – Central America It was supposed to be a relaxing journey, in the campervan, up to Gatwick with a pleasant Friday evening in an airport hotel – that was before the battery light came on when we reached Swindon and we decided to get off the M4 and call out the breakdown people. We didn’t fancy the Campervan not starting the following day when we needed to drive it to long term parking and catch the midday flight! Plenty of time to sort as it was only 10.30am. Breakdown people said they would be out in 1 hour (more like 1½ hours!) Confirmed we had a problem and followed him back to his depot, where it transpired that it was an alternator problem and there were none to be had in ... read more