Blogs from Croydon, Greater London, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Dear All Greetings, on the eve of another summer journey! The holidays have arrived, and I have packed my bags once again, ready for a five-and-a-half-week trip to Peru, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, which begins tomorrow – yay! My current system of “Latin America, Africa, Asia” continues, as I return this year to Latin America once again. This will be my fifth time in total in Latin America. In actual fact, it’s a journey that began in the pipeline nearly 20 years ago, in the year 2000 at the tender age of 22, when I felt the world was just waiting to be explored. I had just finished university and took my first teaching job as an English language teacher in Paraguay. During my summer holidays there, I took an epic two-month journey by bus, ... read more

Dear All Greetings from home! Yay! I arrived back safely this morning after what felt like quite a long journey from West Africa, though comparatively speaking it really was only a trip down the road when compared to the long-haul flights from South America or Asia. I am tired, absolutely exhausted if I’m honest, and have been since yesterday morning. I believe yesterday my body realised I had just about come to the end of my trip, and decided to let me know it – I felt exhausted all day, and just stayed in my hotel room mainly until 4pm, when I thought it’d be a good time to take a taxi, brave Dakar’s traffic for one last time, and begin my final journey home. A taxi ride later, a five-hour wait in the airport (my ... read more

Dear All Just a quick one from me this time, just to let know that I've arrived home safely after an overnight British Airways flight from Cancun direct to Gatwick, and from there a train direct to East Croydon and a taxi home again. It has indeed been a wonderful trip, and it's so good to start counting countries again! Up to 73 now, and the next step is to think about where to go this time next year...! Whilst as always there's been the not-so-good combined with the good, I've learned over the years that this is part and parcel of the travelling thing. I've been able to mix up the experiences quite a bit, taking in cool highlands, tropical lowlands, verdant jungles, ancient ruins, colonial cities, smoking volcanoes, Caribbean beaches, and oh, a hurricane ... read more

Dear All Greetings from…Croydon!! Yay! I made it home safely, and it is just so wonderful to be back in my lovely little home again. This is the first time I’ve been away and come back to my own house, since moving in here three years ago, and it is such a little sanctuary to come home to after weeks on the road. If houses give hugs, mine embraces me each and every day, and I like to think I do the same back. I can’t believe that the last time I wrote an entry I was writing about looking for tigers and avoiding charging bison in the depths of the Indian Jungle. And now I am here all safe and cosy in my spare bedroom, with the beautiful tall trees across the road moving gently ... read more

Well I'm not as efficient as John Denver, but I will be packed later this evening in preparation for an early start tomorrow morning. A cab is booked for 05:15 to go to East Croydon for the train to Gatwick. I'll post again when we've landed at Skiathos, caught the ferry over to Skopelos and checked into what I'm promised will be sea view rooms at the Aeolos Hotel. Yasso!... read more