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Published: September 22nd 2008
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Prague in May
St Vitus cathedral and the castle Hello from ( almost ) sunny Farnborough,
I promised a 'Best Of Ghana' blog and after 5 months I feel ready to publish one.
It is still rather surreal being back in the UK.I do love being back home but I miss certain aspects of Ghana - the lack of bureaucracy; the genuine friendliness of the people ( especially the children ); the relaxed schedule and the weather !!
I do however appreciate certain things here more - our English countryside is amazing;Tesco; seeing friends and family but, most of all, the ability to have a hot shower !!
I decided while I was away that ,ideally,I would like to work for 3 months of the year and travel the rest.Sounds wonderful but obviously having come home without a job to go to it needed some groundwork.I applied to several agencies to do admin work but it was thin on the ground so someone suggested that I apply to a childcare agency ( thanks Jo)and make use of my experience and qualifications - the rest as they say is history.I have been temping in various nurseries,babysitting and had 3 temp nanny jobs- one of which was one of
the most enjoyable jobs I have ever had - Tabitha is hysterical,I am sure she is destined to be a comedienne.
I don't need much persuasion to travel so when Steph suggested,back on May 1st, going on a trip later in the year, there was only one possible outcome.
However, it is not really a just a trip anymore,more of an epic journey - the travel bug bites hard!!
We are heading to South America at the end of the year so a different type of blog will be in the offing.She is heading to Antartica in November - too cold for me - and then I fly out on Dec 6th to Buenos Aires to join her.We will be visiting Argentina,Chile, the Galapagos,Colombia and Costa Rica with day trips/stopovers planned in Uruguay,Brazil,Peru and possibly Paraguay.We finally land back in the UK on April 1st and no, that's not a joke.
We are travelling to the Galapagos with Explore - naturally - and I have discovered today that we will be there on Feb12th when Darwin would have celebrated his 200th birthday.We are travelling to Colombia on a specially arranged itinerary through Last Frontiers.We both felt that as this
Summer in June !!
Enjoying Midsummer weekend watching Crowded House - ponchos and waterproof trousers optional. country is just getting back into the tourist market we needed some expert help and guidance.We have planned the rest of the trip ourselves and this has meant looking over lots of maps and reading Lonely Planet,Bradt,Footprint,DK Eyewitness, Insight and Rough guides etc. We have also spent many hours on numerous websites to source accomodation;train,boat and bus information and general facts about the area we are visiting.We will be staying in a combination of hostels,tents and hotels as well as on boats and in specialist accomodation such as Estancias, and we will be travelling on boats,trains, buses and planes.I am hoping to see lots of penguins and frogs plus toucans and quetzels.
Luckily,Kate and Pete are happy to continue to rent my flat so my mortgage is sorted and I am working every hour I can to help finance the trip.I am networking as much as possible so that when I get back it will make job hunting easier.The 'bah humbug' reference in the blog heading is refering to the fact that I have cancelled Xmas this year.Harsh I know, but practical as I will be staying at Igauzu Falls over Christmas and will miss (?) the whole commercial
The iconic Red Arrows
Highlight of the Farnborough Airshow for me in July - note the 'summer' weather again exercise.Maybe I am getting cynical in my old age but Xmas in the UK now seems geared towards how many pressies we get and the number of cards we receive.Please take this as your earliest Happy Christmas message,I will be thinking of you all on Dec 25th !!
I had a lovely weekend in Prague in May with my friend Karen and godmother Janet.It is a beautiful city although the trip was only 6 weeks after I got back from Ghana so I found it a bit of a culture shock.I have also managed to go to the theatre in London and the cinema a couple of times - highly recommend Mamma Mia,Never Forget and The Jersey Boys.Kerry and Pauls wedding in August was lovely despite the rain.It has been great to catch up with lots of friends since I got back although I am aware that I haven't seen everyone - I am working on it.
Finally ,I have chosen some pictures that ,for me , sum up my time in Ghana.I will go back one day as it had a huge impact on me and I would love to see how everyone is getting on.When is
Scrubs Up Okay
Me with some 'old' friends at a wedding in August - I look a bit different than I did in Ghana !! Much prefer the shorts and t-shirt look. another matter.
Hope this blog finds you well and keep your eyes peeled for the next one from somewhere in South America
Take care
Coral xxx
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Barbara
non-member comment
Wow! Looks and sounds great
Hi Coral. What an exciting few months you have got coming up! I am very impressed. I shall look forward to reading the blogs again, was a great way to keep up to date with what you were doing. Hope to see you very soon. lots of love, Barbara xxxx