Saturday Day 7 It's Paddy's day! With two Irish lasses on board, the flag is flying and Irish music accompanied a breakfast of sausages and scrambled eggs. We were a bit late for our 9am departure today but soon enough we were on the road, en route to Casablanca which should take around 6 hours. A few of us amused ourselves with a game of Scrabble, after which I listened to my iPod and dozed, snuggling into my new pillow with the pillowcase I received as a gift (thanks Emma!). Pretty sure I woke up yet again with my mouth gaping open but hey, at least I don't snore... When we arrived in Casablanca, we found that the campsite had given away our reservation to the plastic fantastics so Suse found a taxi that she could ... read more

Tuesday Day three This morning most of us were woken by the first call to prayer. At 5am. I awoke in surprise but was content in my sleeping bag listening to the closest call, the mosque being just behind the camping grounds, and could also hear another call from further away, both combining to make a lovely melodious tune. It was a less hurried morning as we weren’t leaving until 9am which gave us plenty of time. The conversation was lively in the truck as we made our way to Chefchaouen which I hadn’t been to on the previous visit to Morocco and was very much looking forward to. Eventually I drifted off to sleep and awoke to winding roads which took us high into the hills to a campsite that overlooked the valley below. Tents ... read more

Sunday, March 11. Day One. After a rather sleepless night followed by a wonderfully hot shower and equally wonderful English breakfast, I made my way from the hotel to the airport to await the arrival of The Gang. Suse, our fearless, most awesomest head honcho was easy to spot as she made her way into the airport and the second I saw her, I knew things were going to be great. Apart from Carlos, Brian and myself who were already in the vicinity, everyone flew in together. The twelve of them tumbled out of baggage claim with an assortment of backpacks, duffle bags and day packs with expectant, anxious, hopeful, excited faces that I'm sure mirrored my own. Greetings were exchanged and before long, I was enviously eyeing other peoples' abilities to pack light as we ... read more

It's been a long time coming, this second entry. A few false starts on planes and trains here and there but I should probably start getting into the swing of things, seeing as I'm meant to be writing every Monday whilst travelling to let my dad know I'm alive (hi dad!)! I've done a lot since I left New York on December 2. In short, I was in Oz for three weeks, came back to London in time for new year's (nearly slept through it though!), went to Paris, Chipping Norton, Gent and even New York for a quick visit. But my time was mainly spent resting in London and I did a lot of that in front of the tv watching all seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And before you knock me for ... read more

Slept great last night, just not long enough. After breakfast we arrived at Devil's Island which is next to the much larger Vega Island in the Weddell Sea. There were so many cool icebergs and the island was cool too; so called because two hills, one at each end, look like 'devil horns'. We were the last group to go out, having been the first yesterday and our time was cut short due to ice floe around the boat. It was a fantastic visit though. A steep climb from the shore, the island was covered in penguins, as far as the eye could see! The Adelie penguin was fun to watch, collecting small rocks and depositing them a few feet away and repeating over and over, building a nest for itself. Then, when it was done, ... read more