The end for now

I keep meaning to update this. I am now back in London for the time being, looking for a job and applying to uni.

The end for now

I keep meaning to update this. I am now back in London for the time being, looking for a job and applying to uni.

RaiLey

After another two weeks in KL, I began feeling a little bored so decided to head North to Thailand with fellow couch surfer Max. After a 21 hour journey (most of which felt like it was spent waiting at the border) we arrived on the beautiful secluded peninsula of RaiLey in the Krabi region. It feels a lot like an island, but it isn't. There are no vehicles and you must reach it by boat. Jeeva (who hosted both Max and I) suggested that we come here and recommended a place for us to stay.

We found a great hotel and are paying a little bit more than you would expect in Thailand, but for $7 each we have a room with a private bathroom, fan, AC (which doesn't really work), pool and beautiful view of the island (I mean peninsula).

People come here to rock climb. There are cliffs surrounding the island. Today, Max and I took a little walk up one of them, although it was more of climb than anything else. There was a look out point where you can see the whole peninsula (pictures will be up on shutterfly at some point). There is also a lagoon that you can walk to. It was a little bit of a steep climb down though, and we decided not to risk breaking anything. So just admired it from the top as best we could.

Tomorrow we will head off someplace new, but not too far away since I have to be back in KL in a few days.

A little update

I have been back in KL for about a week now. I got a job at a dive shop in a massive mall just outside of the city. I helped sell dive equipment and I got 23% commission. It seemed like a pretty good deal, until I realised it wasn't. Things were slow and I often made only $1 in 12 hours. So I have decided that yesterday was my final day. My time can be much better spent doing other things. They wanted me to sell things to the foreigners, but the foreigners who came in were often dive instructors and got a discount, which meant I didn't get a commission. I was also the only one of the employees who had been diving before and could give some advice about things. It's also quite far from where I am staying. Things were so slow that I managed to get through a book a day. So I have managed to read about 5 books this week.

I stayed with Jeeva for a few days then moved into a guesthouse where I will be staying until I leave KL. I decided I needed a little bit of my own space for a few weeks. I am not really sure what I will be doing until I leave, but may find a bit of volunteering to do. I can keep myself pretty busy though.

There and back again...

Now it's definitely time for a new blog entry. It feels like a bit of a chore sometimes, especially when you don't feel like writing anything. I am now officially a divemaster! I left the Perhentians and headed to Bangkok. The journey took over thirty hours - a boat, two buses, a train and some walking. I was utterly exhausted when I got there, but had a nice surprise. Mike, my roomie from Santiago was in Bangkok as well. We only saw each other briefly before headed to Northern Thailand.

I stayed near Khao San Road the popular tourist road. I must admit that Bangkok was not for me. I would like to try it again sometime in the future. I was in a bad mood and tired from travelling. I definitely realised I needed a break from my break. Bangkok was noisy, polluted and I met some of the weirdest foreigners I have ever met! I had a few things stolen from my room including my only debit card and to top things off I fell and fractured my elbow.

I decided enough was enough and booked a flight back to KL after convincing a dive shop to give me a job selling equipment. I start on Monday. I am happy to be back, employed and around familiar faces, Ruben and Lara are here until Monday and I am staying with a Couch Surfer Jeevah, and am sharing a room with several snakes, a couple of lizards and some tarantulas.

Am happy to be here hanging around until I fly back to England...

Put Another Dollar In (PADI)

I figured it was about time for a new blog entry. It has been a while, but things have pretty much been the same. After a couple weeks we fell into a pretty sturdy routine which started making me feel a bit restless a couple of days ago. There has been a core group of us for a few weeks now and I think that combined with a small island have made things a bit tense. Our time is still mostly made up of diving, studying, eating and sleeping. It doesn't leave much time for other things.

There are only a few days left. I will be finishing the course on the 7th then will be making my way to Bangkok on the 8th. It will be a lovely 20 hour plus journey. It's an expensive journey though, because the south eastern border of Thailand isn't very safe due to terrorist bombing and religious conflict. SO I shall be taking a boat and then I assume a bus at some point. I think I will have had enough of beaches for the time being so am bypassing the south.

The course is going fairly well, but we have had to fit a lot into just a few weeks. We will get it all done on time. Although we have been assisting a lot with classes we really haven't been leading any dives. Will definitely be looking for some work soon so I can get some initial experience.

I have been trying to have a social life outside of our group, but that hasn't worked so well. I did run into a guy yesterday that I had met on my first night in Malaysia when I stayed in Melaka. So I did hang out with him and some of his friends last night.

Lauren my Alaskan roommate and fellow couch surfer who has been living in Thailand the past couple of years is AWESOME. I can't imagine what this course would have been like without her. We have had some new CS members join us which has caused a gender upheaval. We went from 3+ women and 1 man to 5 men and only 3 women. We have a good mix going though.

The diving here has been a little disappointing. We have mostly been doing shore dives, but the visibility has been pretty bad and the coral is bleached. It is still pretty good, but nothing like I expected.

I think this is a significant blog entry to tide me over until I reach Thailand. So until then...

Diving, Diving, and more Diving

Although I don't have much to report, I thought I would make another blog entry so people know that I am alive and well. Internet isn't great here and I am pretty busy, which means not a lot of time for skype calls. I have been in Perhentian for about a week now, diving every day and getting started on studying! Have a couple of weeks left for the course. Am really enjoying it and already thinking about work after this!

Moving On Once Again...

I have finally left KL and am starting a new adventure, this time underwater. I left KL on Friday with Ruben, my dive instructor, Lara, and Lauren. We took an overnight train and boarded a boat, finally getting to Palau Perhentian Kecil mid-saturday. Getting off the train, I noticed that my mobile, camera and headphones were gone! I guess I am back to being an unreachable backpacker. It's a bit of shame :(. Don't know what's been happening to me lately.

We arrived in Perhentian and since it's a weekend things have been pretty busy. We are starting our course tomorrow, although I have done some of the theory with Ruben in KL. We found some accomodation for the weekend, but will probably try and find something else on Monday.

The last week or so I spent in KL wasn't filled with much. I meandered around the city and spent alot of time hanging out with friends. It's nice to get away though, I am ready for some sun and ocean!

A Run In With The Po Po in Tanah Rata

I guess it time for another update. I am back in KL. My last couple of days in the Cameron Highlands was a lot of fun. On my last day, I learnt how to ride a motorbike. It took me a while to get a grip on changing the gears and going up hill. We zipped around quite a bit and saw a couple of tea plantations, farms, butterfly house (which was unbelievably depressing and I have now discovered that I have a ridiculous fear of them) and beautiful scenery. All in all it was a pretty successful trip with me only clipping a wall, nearly running into oncoming traffic three times, and getting stopped by the police. They just pulled me over, made a joke about arresting me and asked for licence. When I reached for it they just laughed and said they were messing around with me, but thought it was funny to watch me ride a motor bike - nice to the Malaysian Police have a sense of humour.

I came back to KL with an American I met in the highlands. He was in KL for a day before going to Singapore, so I decided to play tour guide.

Since then I haven't been doing a whole lot. I met up with my diving instructor Ruben and a few other CS members. I have been staying at a hostel, but will start couch surfing with a new host, Hunch tonight.

However last night I put my bag in my room for a couple of minutes while I went to the bathroom and my ipod, money, watch, underwear and a few other things were stolen. Am waiting at the hostel now for the police so I can file a report. COmplete pain and I was totally frustrated. But I have been lucky so far...

I knew there was a reason why I kept my llama socks...

I am still in the Cameroon highlands at the moment where things are pretty cold. I thought it would be nice to have a break from the heat, but now that I am here I am not so sure. I guess I am a typical Brit - there is no pleasing me. I just wish it were dry but nope!

There was a dry spell this morning where I went on a walk with three others. My roomie (English), a couch surfer (German) and his roomie (Australian Dive Instructor). We bought a map for 3.50 RM and set off on our grand adventure from Tanah Rata to Brinchang. The map however was horrible and we got terribly terribly terribly lost. We did end up in Brinchang, but had to walk on the main road a bit more than we wated to.

I think I will stay a few more days here before heading back to KL. The plan is to rent motorbikes tomorrow and somehow not kill ourselves. There is a strawberry farm, butterfly house and I hope to get to the top of the highest point in Malaysia!

James arrives in Thailand pretty soon, so we will somehow coordinate meeting up before my diving course.

The England - Germany match is definitely in the plans for tonight and hopefully some nice hot tea to get into the spirit.

Moving Onwards

I think I have definitely neglected writing in my blog lately, but I guess that just shows I have been having a lot of fun in Kuala Lumpur. I have however moved on. Mun left for Europe early this morning (which meant a 430am wake up for me to see him off) and I didn't want to overstay my welcome at my host's. So I thought it was finally time to move on and see a bit more of Malaysia.

So here I am now in Cameron Highlands. Think I will be here for a few days. It is much cooler here, but also raining. I have managed to find a fairly nice hostel with hot water, so may be a place to hang for a few days to do some walking and relaxing. My lack of sleep has finally caught up with me, so I think I need several long nights to recover.

Am trying to make some more plans for what I want to do. I think Penang and Lankawi are next and by then will have a couple more weeks till my dive course starts so don't know if I want to spend some more time in Malaysia or head to a couple of places in Thailand. Probably will stick with Malaysia for now to save money as I will be meeting up with James somewhere in Cambodia, Laos, or Vietnam...

*Sigh* I guess it's time for another update...

It's been a while, but not a lot has happened. I am still in KL and not moving very fast, but am enjoying everything here. I have a couple of really good hosts and feel like I am seeing EVERYTHING. Will probably head off on Friday to travel around a bit, starting with Cameroon Highlands. We'll see where things take me afterwards. I have until the 17th which is when I start my dive course in Perhentian.

Kuala Lumpur

I arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday afternoon. I met an Australian guy on the bus who had been to KL before. He was staying at a hostel in an Area called Chow Kit. It was a really nice hostel, but the area not so much. So on Sunday I met up with Mun, a Couch Surfing member who took me to a nicer and much more central area Bukit Bitang. He then took me or a Malaysian breakfast where I had Canai Roti and showed me around Kuala Lumpur. It was definitely a whirlwind tour. I saw all of the main sites - petronas towers, museums, oldest mosque...etc Mun took me to an indian restaurant where I had some awesome food served on banana leaves.

On Monday Mun took me to Batu caves which is a temple in a cave. Very very cool. We also went to see the national monument which was pretty cool. I will hopefully be putting up some pictures soon.

I have done so much the last few days that it is all beginning to run together. Mun showed me around some more and yesterday took me to Putra Jaya where there are all the governmental buildings. I am now couch surfing with a friend of his. There is tons to do here. I am eating well and last night went to a bar to see my host perform with his band. They were very good!

I think I will stay in KL for a few days longer. I am enjoying the rest, eventhough I have been up late every night. THings seem to be running here 24/7 especially with the world cup going on. I have my DM course organised and should start that on the 14th of JUly. So I am very excited about that!

Melaka, Malacca - Potato, Potahto

I ended up spending three nights and two days in Singapore. I couchsurfed with a Filipino guy named Alex, who has been living in Singapore for a few years and is currently sharing a three bedroom flat with five other people from the Philippines. He was working during the day so I was free to roam around. I arrived quite late Monday night. I decided to get a bus from the airport instead of a taxi to save money, it ended up taking about an hour and a half, but I managed to see a lot of the country. I didn't realise how small it was. Alex said something about how his house wasn't too from Malaysia.

My first day it was pouring, as it seems to have done in every major city I have been in recently. I went to the Asian Civilizations museum and walked around part of down town. I headed over to China Town and had a bite to eat and bought some new headphones, since mine mysteriously stopped working on the flight to Singapore from Cairns. Oh dear! I wondered around for quite a bit that day actually and took some pictures. I then went back to Alex's and took a quick nap. He came home with Vaughn, another couch surfer from California who was passing through on his way to Indonesia.

The next day was much better weather-wise. Vaughn and I went to the American embassy since he needed new passport photos. Afterwards we went to Reservoir Mcritchie (or the name was something along those lines...) It was really pretty. We went for a walk and saw loads of monkeys. We didn't get to go on the tree walk though, because it was already closed. We then met Alex who had organized a couch surfing meet up. There were 8 of us in total. A mixture of locals, new arrivals and travellers. We ate at Lau Pa Sat, a GIANT food court in raffles. There was every type of Asian food imaginable - yummy! Afterwards we went to a bar where there were even more couch surfers!

The next day I left fairly early to get to Malaysia. It was by far the easiest border I have ever done. I arrived in Malacca (or Melaka), early afternoon. It's about two hours south of Kuala Lumpur (KL). I took a bus into the centre and walked around forever trying to find a certain hostel. I finally found A hostel, just not the one i was looking for. It was small and really run down, but it was pretty much myself and a canadian guy, Brent.

Melaka was a pretty cool town. Very historic and nice to walk around. It has changed hands a lots (England, Holland, Portugal, China, then England again and now Malaysians). So there are a lot of different areas. The first night Brent gave me the grand tour and we ate a really good meal at the marina.

The next day (yesterday) Brent left and I went to Mini Malaysia about 14km north of Melaka. It's a touristy thing, but there are thirty something houses from the different Malay states as well as Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines...etc. It was really interesting for the first ten houses or so and then by the eleventh I just though "oh wow, another house..." they were all just variations on the same thing. I was supposed to go to the yoga class of a couchsurfer that Alex knows but I got a bit stranded. Of course the bus dropped me off at the stop, but there wasn't one to pick me up. I found that out after about two hours of raining when it started POURING. So I broke my rule *tear* and took a cab.

Last night I went on a walk through China town where there is a weekend night market it was PACKED. I grabbed little bits and pieces for dinner. I still have no idea what I ate, but I was assured it was vegetarian and I am pretty sure it was different variations of Tofu. I then started walking back to my hostel or so I thought and got so LOST. I ended up on the North side of the city while I was staying in the south. I went into a 5 * hotel and asked for directions. On my way back I walked by the restaurant that Brent and I ate at and saw that the Mexico - South Africa match was on so I watched the first twenty minutes of that. Everyone was going CRAZY for Mexico, although I still have no idea why (I was told by someone it was because nobody like South Africa... okay). I then walked back to my hostel and passed two mcdonalds that were PACKED with people since they were showing the game. Hopefully tonight I will be able to catch the UK/USA game.

This morning I left for KL. I met an Australian guy on the bus who is making his way to Europe. I have settled in a hostel, but it is a bit out of the way, so I may find another one tomorrow closer to the hub bub of everything. I am meeting up with some people tonight, and a norwegian girl I was stuck with at the border in Bolivia is here as well. Tomorrow I will be meeting up with some more couch surfers as well as in the beginning of next week. It's nice to have a full social calendar for the first time in the year. I even got a sim card!! I did however, lose the number. I will call someone later and have them give it to me. I don't know if I will be able to accept international calls though.

In L-O-V-E

Que?? You might be saying. Just thought I needed to practice a bit of spanish, but it is pretty appalling. Anyways the more thorough understandable blog entry for today:

I spent about four days in Cairns at a really nice hostel on the outskirts of the city, just a short walk from the centre. My first night was a pretty early one and I managed to catch up with my sleep.

The next day, I woke up late and had a fairly day lazing around the hostel. I went for a run and explored the city. I went out to a bar that is popular with the backpackers in the area that night. I met a couple of swiss guys who are at the end of their six week Australia trip and ended up hanging out with them most of that night.

Saturday I went on 3 dives on the great barrier reef. It was absolutely amazing! It was breathtaking. Not quite as amazing at the Galapagos, but not too far off. There was all sorts of wildlife, but the coral is what was really spectacular. I am still absolutely blown away by it all. I really wanted to do one the next day, but unfortunately didn't have hte money or the time. I saw turtles and 3 metre sharks! As well as sorts of fish. I saw a cuttle fish for the first time which was pretty interesting.

When I booked my dive, I got a free trip to Green Island the next day. It's a little island 50 minutes from Cairns. It was definitely beautiful and I got to do some snorkeling. It was pretty good as well and I saw a turtle.

On sunday night, I went out to dinner with the two Swiss guys. Christian caught a 3kg coral trout which was apparently worth over $100. They took it to a local restaurant along with another fish and the chef cooked it up four different ways. They were all pretty pleased - it was definitely quite amazing. The chef then got to keep the rest. I almost broke my vegetarianism for it, since I knew who caught it, but in the end didn't. The smell was enough to satisfy me though :).

I am on the flight now to Singapore. Am thinking of a change in plans. I am supposed to fly to Bangkok on wednesday but with everything that is going on there now, I am thinking of just making my way through Malaysia into Thailand and then onwards, possibly getting my divemaster in Malaysia. There is a place called Palau Perhentian which is well known for diving. Elvira gave me the name of her exboyfriend who is a free diving instrucor there so I have sent him an email seeing if he can recommend anyone there. If not there is a well known dive school that has been recommended to me.

As for some other news - I managed to apply for a job kind of on a whim. I was with Marco (the other swiss guy), we were chatting and he asked me what my dream was. I said that it was to visit every continent by the time I am 20. That just leaves Antarctica. Not exactly easy to get to, adn I don't know how much time I would really want to spend there. I am neither good with the cold nor any use to anything going on there, but he gave me the idea to find a job on a cruise ship that goes there. I did alittle research and asked around a bit. Somebody put me in touch with a company running out of the southern most point in Argentina. I sent in my CV and an application and have an interview next week. It's in spanish though, which makes it even more nerve wracking. They need people who speak spanish and english. I figure it's a long shot, but still worth one. I would be doing pretty menial tasks, but it would be a fantastic oppurtunity plus a great way to save money. Earning almost a couple grand a month while having no expenses. Am very excited about this idea, and will see what happens. But it never hurts to give it a shot, right?

Estoy Enamorada.

Pase cuatro dias en Cairns en un hostal muy bueno cerca de la "ciudad". Esta un camino corto del centro de la ciudad. Cairns esta muy pequeno, tiene alrededor 150,000 habitantes. La primera noche, dormi mucho porque tuve noches muy tardes en Sydney.

La manana proxima, me levante tarde y pase el dia en la hostal. Hay muchas hamacas y empece un libro nuevo de chuck pal...pala?? El escritor de "fight club". Se llama "Pygmy". Fui al centro y correo en el barrio del hostal. Esta noche fui a un bar con amigos y encontre dos caballeros suizas. Ellos estan en el final de su seis semana vacion en Australia. Pase mucho tiempo con ellos.

Sabado, fui al "great barrier reef" con un barco con 80 gente y hice tres dives. Huve mucho snorkelers y solo dos mas en my grupo. El diving estaba muy precioso, con mucho animales. Vi tres o cuatro tortugas, un "great whaler" de tres metros y un cuttlefish. Huve muchos pescados y plantos tambien. Los galapagos son un poco mejor pero no como mucho.

Cuando pague por el dives, recibi un viaje gratis a la isla verde. Es una isla pequena 50 minutos de Cairns. Es muy bella y hice snorkelling. Vi una tortuga y un o tres pescados pero nada mas.

Ayer noche (sabado) fui a cena con los caballeros suizas (christian y marco). Christian fue a un barco y tomo un pescado muy grande con el valor de $100 o mas. Lleva el pescado a un restaurante y ellos cocineron el pescado en 4 varidades. Pero no come porque soy vegetariana!

Estoy en el avion a Singapore ahora. Estoy pensando sobre cambiando mis planos. Tengo un vuelto a Bangkok a miercoles pero hay muchas problemas alli y no me gustaria ir un ciudad peligrosa en mi primer vez en Asia. Entonces quizas voy a Malaysia despues Singapore en autobus. Hay un lugar en el norte de Malaysia que se llama Palau Perhentian que es famosa para las escuelas de diving. El exnovio de Elvira esta alli pero el es profesor de "free diving". Pero se envie un correo pediendo si el conoce un profesor en Malaysia uo cerca de alli que el puede recomendarme.

Hace dos noches, marco me pido que es mi sueno... no se, pero me dije que me gustara ir al todo siete continentes despues tengo veinte anos. Visitaba seis, pero no fui a antarctica. Tengo un idea y applique de un trabago en un barco que va hasta el sud de argentina al antarctica. Tengo un interview la semana proxima pero es en espanol y necesito practicar, practicar, practicar.

CiaO!

Sydney

So exciting, I can now write my blog entries offline, and just copy and past them when I am online next. Saves a lot of time! I am on the flight from Sydney to Cairns. Had mixed feeling about leaving. Part of me was super happy to move on - one step closer to South East Asia. At the same time, I was leaving Elvira! It was actually quite a sad parting - but we shall hopefully be meeting up at somepoint in the next few months.

The weather in Sydney has been horrible! Rain rain rain! Not good for my already short/frizzy hair. What was i thinking? At least it'll grow back. Very flexible, not like the tattoo or marriage I just got....

...Joking?

I think I last wrote about monday. Or something around there. I have mostly been hanging out with Elvira. Doing CVs, and helping her job search. We did a tad bit more of walking aorund, but not too much with the rain. We did go to the aquarium. Just saw the outside never managed to actually by the ticket and walk in. Maybe it was the $35 entrance fee or laziness or something esle entirely, but I am sure James will be disappointed. He told me that while I am in Sydney I MUST go to the Aquarium and the chocolate. Neither of which I did.

We went to Bondi beach tuesday afternoon with her roomie Jenny. It was actually quite pretty. There is a walk that you can do to Cogee beach which is supposed to be lovely. We only did part of it because I didn't have enough time to do all of it. I met up with someone from Couch surfing. He had said I could stay with him, but I had already paid upfront for accomodation, so we just met up at a Thai restaurant in the city and then grabbed a coffee tueday evening. We met up again on wednesday and he gave me a little tour of sydney.

All in all it was a good stop and am now lookig forward to doing a dive in Cairns. I keep hearing really mixed things about the diving here. A lot of people say it's not worth paying all the money, that it's better to just snorkel, but I am dying to do a dive again, so I hope i am able to organize it quickly. Because of flying there is only a short window where I can organize it.

Not a lot else is going on right now. I am hoping the hostel I booked in Cairns is a little nicer than the one in Sydney. It's a little one just outside of the town. I think there will be more travellers then the one in Sydney. Most people were staying there while working in Sydney for a few months. However there were also a lot of permanant residents - someone had been staying in a 10 bed dorm for almost two years. I know GOOD GOLLY! I really can't think of anything more horrible, but he said he really liked the social aspect of a hostel and never got around to finding an apartment or anything.

We are about to land, so hopefully this will get posted soon.

Kangaroos and Chocolate Biscuits!

I guess it was about time to let everyone know that I was still alive. I have been very bad about emailing and skyping since I have left South America. Maybe I left my brain there - time to go back and find it then! I am writing this offline because internet has been very frustrating! It seems to cost a fortune everywhere except my hostel where it is just annoyingly slow. I have just found out that libraries and McDonalds both have free wifi, but it is 10 pm and I am in my pyjamas so it'll be another day.

I spent five days in Melbourne and had a very good time. I stayed with some friends of ours from London who moved back a couple years ago. It was nice to see them and have a break from hostels. I still haven't quite caught up on my sleep, but I am getting there. My first day was rather boring. I spent several hours at A & E. It was definitely needed though. I got my foot xrayed to find out that it is not broken like the Ecuadorian doctors told me, but I have done something to the tendon. Just needs rest and ice. Which means a longer recovery time, but they taped it up differently so I am alot more comfortable.

The second day I went with Lisa to Geelong to see Harrison who is at boarding school at Geelong Grammer where Prince Charles went. It is a beautiful school - if only Bedford looked anything like that! We went to an AMAZING French restaurant where I had veggie crepes and a chocolate soufflee. I seem to constantly be hungry and tired! I am hoping some relaxing will get it all out of my system. The late nights and lack of sleep are definitely catching up to me. Will also help when I don't need to stay in dorms anymore.

On Thursday I met up with Ali, a friend from school who is now studying at Monash Uni in Melbourne. It was really nice to catch up and also saw her Friday evening, my last night in Melbourne. I walked into the city on Thursday and meandered my way through the botannical gardens and WWII memorial. You can climb up to the top and get a good view of the city. I went back in Friday night with Ali and we walked around a bit. I also purchased a netbook and got a pretty good deal. I also got some Jeans and Shoes so I am feeling like less of a hobo.

I flew to Sydney yesterday. Had to get up at 430 am! Way too early. I checked into my hostel which is in Kings Cross and is very central. I took a nap and by the time I woke up it was 3pm. I managed to pull myself out of bed. Eventhough it was sprinkling I decided to go for a walk. I managed to get myself lost in a resedencial area where there were a load of dead ends. By then it started pouring and I finally found my way to a train station and got back to the hostel. I had an early dinner and a fairly early night. The hostel is nice and small, but everyone has been here for at least a month already working, so it is a slightly hard to get mixed in. I am in a small room though which is nice. There are 3 other beds, one of which is empty. One roomie is no where to be seen and the other works nights so she was just going to bed as I was leaving this morning. In otherwords it is lovely and quiet!

I met up with Elvira today, a German girl I met in Ecuador. We spent about a week together and also met up again in Santiago briefly before I left. We had a nice girly day and walked around the city. This time I managed not to get lost and we made our way to the Sydney Opera House. We made a nice dinner and worked on her CV. She is here for a few months working and travelling before going to South East Asia. She is doing a similar RTW trip. She finished her PhD in Biochemisty last year and is taking a year off before going back. She's in a different hostel right behind mine so we are very close! Not really sure what are plans are, but tomorrow we are going to head to Bondi Beach with a picnic if the weather is nice. If not then we might go to the aquarium and maybe to a few museums.

I have had some success with couch surfing and will be staying with somebody in Singapore. I also got a message back from someone here in Sydney who I may meet up with for lunch one day and he has offered to show me around the city for a bit one afternoon.

Parenti - I promise to call soon, but this time difference is doing my head in. I get so confuzzled. When I tried to call this evening, I got through to dad but then got cut off - sorry. I then was going to try you mum, but I realised it was 2am or something in California. Will definitely try harder tomorrow!

Another day, another country...

I arrived in Auckland yesterday at a god-awful hour: 420am, after a rather pleasent flight where a boy kicked the back of my seat for thirteen hours straight. Auckland isn't such a bad place, but I am feeling that four days may be rather too long, or really 3.5 days. James calls it an "un city" although I am not really sure what that means. I asked and then forgot, but I remember him using a bunch of sounds and hand gestures to describe the meaning, so somehow I don't think it'll quite work for me to translate it into words.

We are staying at a hostel in queens street in downtown Auckland. We have done a HUGE amount of walking. It is strange to be out of Latin America and I rather miss it. We are meeting a bit of a different crowd in the hostels. Mostly british people on their gap years who have large bags and straightners. Hmmm... this will take some getting used to, along with being able to put toilet paper in the toilet (and not the bin), not haggling (although I did do that with a shuttle into the city from the airport) and wearing seat belts. But soon that will all change when I get to South East Asia - so excited!!!

I keep trying to couch surf, but am not having any luck, so it looks like more hostels and dorms - yay? I am not too excited, am definitely looking for a break from dorms. Here we are sharing with several Essex Girls and got woken up at 3am this morning after... I think I should just leave it there.

Looks like more walking around the schedule tomorrow. We did go to the Auckland museum today which was very good and saw a movie yesterday. Also have been fufilling craving like hummus, but we are still looking for Spring Rolls.

Need To Start Google Mapping Sanitariums in Santiago

When I first arrived, I thought that spending two weeks in one place would be a good vacation from a holiday. What I didn't realize is that two weeks is a very very long time. After paying for five more days, I realize that I am going to go insane here with my remaining time left. Since I have paid I am pretty stuck as Chile is expensive and a trip elsewhere just isn't likely.

Only three more nights until Auckland. I don't think I am quite ready to leave South America, but it will have to be done. At the same time though, I think I am ready for South East Asia. A stop in the modern world is much needed as purchases do, sadly have to be made as my underwear still seems to go missing. Wonder how the Santiago Police would react if I reported THAT one...

I did manage to get a new backpack though. 70 liters! MASSIVE! But it will be able to fit my future dive gear and it was on sale and less expensive then smaller bags. Still though, it is much bigger than my last one which means I will probably be carrying around even more unnecessary junk.

Have looked into couch surfing for Australia and may do a bit in SE Asia depending on how things go. A break from hostels would be nice, but more importantly it is a way to meet some locals and see a different side to a place... I hope...

It looks like I may be meeting up with a few people that I have met along the way. I am still considering doing a dive master, but that depends on a lot. I will hopefully have my foot looked at in Melbourne. Still not healing well, and I am back to being in quite a bit of pain. Doesn't help that I can't sit still to save my life.

Not a lot has been going on here. I have been ill the past few days, but James and I did walk up to Las Condes. A shopping mall over two hours walk from our hostel. We went to find a camera card reader, but got distracted by the cinema. We saw remember which was heaps better than I had hoped but still not much.

Since that is all the news I have, it just shows that I need TO GET OUT OF HERE!!

I have withdrawn my application from UCAS so won't be going to uni in September. I decided that I do not want to study physiology and would like to pursue languages. That does mean another A level or two, but I know it's definitely the right direction for me. Tomorrow will probably be one of those fun filled days where I try and figure out what I am doing with myself. But for now I will bid adieu as it is 1am on a sunday night.

I think another Volcano might be in order for tomorrow. I tried one the other night. Pineapple ice cream, white wine and some liqueur or other. They were pretty strong, so am glad that I had a meal pretty soon after a couple of sips. They taste lovely but gross at the same time.

A "Holiday" from a holiday

Still in Santiago and looks like we will be here until I fly to Auckland on Wednesday. Not a lot has been happening. Yesterday four of us went to Valparaiso/Vina del Mar. They are two cities about two hours from Santiago by bus. There wasn't a whole lot going on there, but we had a really nice (although expensive) lunch and walked around. It was chili and I was starting to feel a bit sick. We came back around eight and I had a very early night.

Friday night in Santiago should be a little more lively. Looking to go out to the seafood market, where I will probably have trouble finding anything remotely vegetarian and then will finally try some earthquakes. They sound interesting...

Not much to report on this end...

A new country and a whole lot of driving...

The tour of the salt flats was great, except we got stranded for 28 hours longer than we expected. Apparently it snows one day a year in that part of Bolivia. Usually in June or July we were told. However it snowed and snowed and snowed our first day... the 30th April. Many cars turned back, but we kept puttering forward with the hopes we wouldn't have to return to the dreadful Uyuni (surely anyplace would be better than there!!!!) Our wonderful driver Felix navigated us through the salt flats to our first stop, The Fish Island. I foolishly thought it would be in the water, but I was then informed it was once in the water as the salt flats were a giant lake. Now it is just an island in the salt with hundreds of cacti. After hiking around and having some lunch (even a vegetarian one), we went onwards to the salt hostel. This was a warm night and I felt able to strip off one of my many layers (I was able to put on every piece I own, and the llamas socks/leg warmers were a saviour). We had a fabulous multi-lingual car with Spanish, Portuguese, English, and Italian being spoken.

The second day was really when all the snow came in. We kept going and saw some lakes, but Felix looked worry so we put on a barenaked ladies CD and sat back with our fingers crossed that we would make it to the next hostel. We did! Not as nice or as warm as the one made out of salt, but we were at least further away from Uyuni. We had been told when we booked that trip that we would be waking up at 530am, but Felix made our day when he told us that because of the snow we wouldn't have to leave until 8, because IF the border was open it wouldn't be until 12.

The third day we arose and went straight to the thermal baths, where five of us went into the hot water. Getting back into the cold was horrible, and I thought surely I would lose at least one of my limbs. We did it and were on our way again to see some geyers. They were nice to see, but at this point most of us were too cold to get out of the car and just managed to open the windows enough to take some photographs. Those who booked a full tour went back to Uyuni and those of us crossing into Chile went on. We were now composed of two brazilians, a norweiegen, two dutch, and two confused nationality children (being James and I) We made it to the border at elven, and waited nervously (playing a newly learnt dutch game) until the border opened. Twelve came and passed and no bus. The road on the Chilean side was closed (at least someone cares about road safety). This meant we had to go back to the "hostel" 5km away near the entrance to the national park. We were told that it may open at four. We played several hours of cards until four came and went.... the border was still closed. Then we were told 9am the next day. We were given food and huddled together to keep warm. It was FREEZING so we managed to fit four people on a tiny bench. It was warm but rather uncomfortable. After playing EVEN more cards we went to bed thinking we would leave early the next morning.

We awoke the fourth morning, feeling not very refreshed and rather smelly (it had been 4 days since our last shower). At nine the roads were still not opened and we were worried that we would still be stuck. Nobody had the money for another night at the hostel, so we though we would have to sleep in the snow. We played MORE cards then made a football. It was rather sunny, so we couldn't understand why the roads were closed. We were told they were still too dangerous. At four, they opened them and a bus came! We were finally on our way to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. It could have gone a lot worse. We had a good group and were with a good company. Some people were dumped at the border earlier that day and had to wait outside for several hours, not knowing if the border would be open or not.

Five of us (two dutch guys, a norweigan girl, James and I) checked into a hostel and took some much needed showers. We went out for a wonderful dinner and had our first taste of Chilean wine in Chile. After a late night (later for some), we went to bed ready for a new day.

The next day after some much needed Laundry, Ida (norway) and I rented some bikes and started biking through the desert in search for a El rio de san pedro. We never found it, but did manage to stumble accross some ruins after our picnic of Empanadas. The ruins were rather disappointing and were really just a bit of stone in the ground.

Our second day in San Pedro, James, Ida and I decided to rent some sandboards. We cycled out to some Sandunes and gave them a try. After a few unsuccessful attempts at standing up, I decided mine made a good enough sled and was able to make my way down pretty fast. This was entertaining for about 20 minutes, because the sun was out and walking up sandunes isn't a whole lot of fun. We cycled back to the town and managed to stumble accross the "river" which was really a creek. Our plan had been to shower in the river because we had to check out of our hostel. This was not possible so we returned dusty to San Pedro. The dutch guys had already gone to Argentina, so we said goodbye to Ida and waited for our 730pm bus to La Serena...

...or so we thought. We had really bought tickets for the 700pm bus, which we found out when we arrived at the station at 705. We were told that since we missed it, we could get 50% off our next ticket. It turned out to be cheapest to buy a ticket straight to Santiago. It cost the same as it would have, had we bought it in the first place. So our 15 hour bus, turned into 24. It went smoothly, and I got the best sleep I had had in WEEKS. Got to practice my spanish by watching badly dubbed bad movies and read the entire South East Asia guide book I have been carrying around for months.

We arrived in Santiago and checked into a lovely hostel. Thinking we had no money (neither of us could use our cards), we bought some cheese and bread and to our suprise I found a 20,000 peso note ($20). We spent today walking around, and ringing Natwest. We are staying in Barrio Brasil which is near downtown. Some areas look strangely by home. Especially the area which looks a bit dodgy. Looks very similar to the west way and up near the westbourne park road tube station.

We have payed for a week here. I have a lot to do. My back pack broke, my shoes have hole, and I am slowly losing my underwear (a pair goes missing everytime I get laundry done). I also need to sort out what I am doing with myself. I have changed my flights and will be breezing through New Zealand and Australia getting to SE Asia sooner than I had planned. After a week here, we should be going to Mendoza, Argentina before flying out of Santiago.

Potosi

We arrived in Potosi a couple of days ago after a fairly short bus ride. It is the highest city in the world and I am definitely feeling the altitude! It´s not quite as attractive as Sucre, but it´s easier on the eyes than alot of the Bolivian towns we have seen. We found a nice hostel and have been taking it easy. There are some mines nearby that are what people come to see. I believe over 9 million people have been killed working them. I am going to give the tour a miss as being stuck underground in a mine isn´t exactly appealing to me especially with my accident proness. We are using this at a quiet stopping point before heading to the salt flats near Uyuni. My foot was feeling better but the altitude has set it back a few days. I am looking forward to being closer to sea level.

Sucre

Our first day in Sucre was pretty quiet. We walked around the city alot. It is pretty small and easy to navigate, but beautiful! I believe it´s a UNESCO site. They have to white wash the buildings once a year. It is very clean and well preserved, nothing like the rest of Bolivia. The market was very clean and smells wonderful, not something I can say for the other places we have been.

Yesterday, we went to Trarabuco. It´s a town nearby which has a sunday market aimed at tourist which has a lot of handcrafts. Perfect place for buying presents. My bag is now much much heavier. We spent the afternoon walking around Sucre and went to see Legion last night. A step up from the last movie we saw, but still not very good.

Today we checked out of our hostel and are waiting a few hours until we take the bus to Potosi. It´s a short ride. Our guide book says three hours, best to estimate four. But much much shorted than the ones we have been doing recently. We are moving through Bolivia quicker than we had originally hoped, but maybe Potosi will be someplace we will want to stay for several days.

We don´t want to spend too long in Chile. Our guide book says to budget $50 a day. I think it exagerates a bit, but we might as well start transitioning back to normal prices for NZ and Aus.

La Paz - Cochabamba - Sucre

We found a new hostel in La Paz, and enjoyed our few days there walking around the city, looking at the markets, and even seeing a movie - the clash of the titans (not good at all). After a few days we took a bus to Cochabamba, a university town east of La Paz. We spent two nights there, and met up with a Swedish girl we spent some time with in Ecuador. At first we thought it was really nice, then when we started to walk around the city it didn´t seem that way. There wasn´t much in the way of restaurants or shops. Apparently the outskirts of the city are much nicer and where most of the students live.

Last night we took a night bus to Sucre. It was a long bumpy journey with quite a scary driver and funny sounding mechanisms. We were told there were toilets, but I discovered they were locked two hours into the journey, with another eight to go.

We checked into a hostel accross from the market in the centre of the city and went in search of breakfast. After finding a not so good place we went off to look around the market, which is lovely. We got a pastry and some hot chocolate and will probably go and look around some more this afternoon!

Boliva!

We left Aeriquipa a few days ago and crossed into Bolivia and stayed a night in copacabana on Lake Titicaca. It was beautiful. The town itself was pretty touristy with a bunch of travel agents and hotels but the next day we went to stay on Isla del Sol, an island an hour and half from Copacabana in the Lake. We had a steep thirty minute hike to get to our hostel. That combined with the altitude (11000 feet) made my foot a little unhappy but the view was worth it! I actually slept that afternoon while James went for a hike, but I went for a short walk the next morning before our boat back to Copacabana.

We then went to La Paz. I think we got the last seats on the bus because we got to sit up front with the driver for the 3 hour journey. That meant we got great views and alot of leg room! Our first impressions of La Paz were not great... It´s not a very pretty city, but we walked around after checking into a hostel and the place is beginning to grow on us. The hostel was NOT nice, so we are moving to another one today that is slightly more expensive ($6!) It will hopefully be slightly nicer and a little more sociable. We both need to take a much needed shower! The markets in La Paz are supposed to be nice so I am going to get some warm clothing as it is pretty cold here and shorts/tshirts just don´t cut it. There is also a witch´s market near where we stayed last night. With all sorts of natural remedies including llama fetuses!?!? There are also meant to be a couple of good museums - the coco museum and an instrument museum we may try and check out.

Aeriquipa

I have been in Aeriquipa for three days now and will be heading to Bolivia tomorrow. Aeriquipa is the second largest city in Peru and is significantly smaller than Lima. On our first day we found an inexpensive crepe place that was also a turkish restaurant. Not exactly Peruvian food, but eggs and rice can get a bit tiresome. We have done alot of walking around, and my foot is feeling better. A couple days ago was an exciting day, I was able to put on a shoe for the first time in a few weeks. Looking forward to hiking in Bolivia, or at the very least some short walks. Last night we went to the old part of town and walked around some more. We also went to see The Hurt Locker at the cinema. I think we both found it slightly dull. We are going to enjoy our last day before an early morning to get us to the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca tomorrow!

Mancora - Huanchaco - Lima - Nazca

It´s been a while since my last update. We have had a pretty speedy trip through Peru as it is much more expensive than we had anticipated, especially the buses. I met up with James and Henri in Mancora a small beach time. I spent a couple of nights there, but it was a bit of a disappointment after Montañita. The beach wasn´t too special and it was fairly dead on the weekdays.

We took our first night to Trujillo after that. The seats reclined quite a ways and we got an okay sleep. We then got a colectivo to the nearby town Huanchaco. It´s a fishing village which is also popular with surfers. We stayed a very nice hostel - casa suiza. We went there to see the ruins Chanchan. They were a bit of a disappointment for me after the spectacular Mayan ruins in Central America. The setting was very different. It was in the middle of the desert.

From Trujillo we then took another night bus to Lima. We managed to find an incredibly cheap bus outside a gas station for 15 soles (about $5) the only catch was that we had to wait in the bus for 3 hours to leave. It worked out well though, because we got into Lima around 8 instead of at 5 am. The seats were not nearly as comfortable as the first one since they hardly reclined. I woke up several times during the night and all I could see was desert. I was groggy and half expected to see Jose - it reminded me a tad of the Nevada desert. I had pretty low expectations as everyone talked about what a horrible pace it was. We found a really nice hostel in one of the newer, touristy centres. We spent our two days there walking around the various neighbourhoods and the first night went to see Shutter Island at the cinema. It was a very exciting experience for me. Although the movie was good, it was slightly upsetting. Last night, our second night in Lima, we had planned to go out, but ended up falling asleep at 8 pm because we were so knackered.

We had a pretty early morning this morning in order for the seven hour bus to Nazca. The bus company was called cruz del sur. It was very posh and comfortable, almost like a grounded airplane. They had food - attempted vegetarian food, movies, comfortable seats, and a steward. It was the cheapest option for us. We got to Nazca today and had lunch at a local Peruvian place. I had Arroz a la cubana - white rice, a fried egg and platanos. The extent of Peruvian vegetarian food, and I was lucky to find it! Tomorrow we are going to go see the Nazca lines then we will part ways with Henri. James and I are going to go to Aeriquipa by night bus with cruz del sur again. It´s about 11 hours, but at least it´ll be on a comfortable bus. We will hopefully spend a few days there. I think my foot will be good enough to do a small hike, I don´t want to over do it.

We have decided to give Cusco a miss, which means also giving Macchu Pichu a miss. It´ll cost several hundred dollars to do as it is very out of the way. I also can´t really do it with my foot, which is a major disappointment. It gives me a good excuse to come back though and I think it is best to wait and do it properly than attempting it with a broken foot.

After Aeriquipa we are going to head into Bolivia, so should be there sometime next week. I am anxious to get there. I am looking forward to it, it seems a little more off the beaten track then Ecuador and Peru. I am also looking forward to sticking in one place for a while.

Peru!

I arrived in Peru just half an hour ago after travelling 48 hours over 4 days. Nothing great to say about the rest of time in Ecaudor. Just a series of long buses and dodgy establishments. I am here in a Mancora a nice beach town waiting to meet up with James and a few people we originally met in Baños.

Montañita

I arrived in Montañita a couple of days ago. It´s a nice beach town. Very touristy but also very lively for Semanta Sana. I am going to head to Cuenca fairly soon and then move onto Peru.

Quito y Baños

I spent a few days in Quito after dad left. I went to the basilica again and this time climbed up to the top. There was pretty much a vertical ladder that you had to climb up - much scarier than the one in Tikal. The view was worth it though. I met up with James that afternoon and the next day we took a cable car up to the top of a mountain, again a great view. We decided to be adventurous and walk down. Took a lot longer than we expected, but I guess that is usually the case when you get lost!

We went to Baños the next day, its about four hours from Quito. Its a nice place for outdoor activities. We went to some communal baths which is what this area is famous for. They were crowded and the water had a slightly "off" colour. We went for a hike up the mountain. Was very nice. Then the next day we went rafting. Was fun, but trust me to get injured. I hurt my foot and had to go to the clinic here. They cant xray so I have to wait until we are in a bigger city. We are going to Montañita this evening. I will just take some pain killers and hope it feels better. I figured a beach town is the best place to put my foot up.

A Shout Out To Georgina....

...because I miss you and you asked me to!

Met up with James in Quito. We are going to be here another day then start heading south.

Galapagos

My week in the Galapagos is drawing to a close, but I think I could stay here forever if it weren´t for the brutal heat, I hope the rest of Ecuador isn´t quite like this! I of course managed to get burnt fairly early on. Our schedule here has been jam packed with diving, snorkelling, walking and eating.

We´ve stayed on three islands; Santa Cruz, Floreana and Isabella. We´ve done two days of diving off of Santa Cruz. Today´s was something spectacular, we saw a school of about 40 or 50 hammerheads in addition to other sharks, thousands of snakes, turtles and rays. The diving on Isabella was also amazing, definitely the best I´ve done, as was the snorkelling. We also saw sea lions, octopus, pregnant sea horses...

We also did some land things and saw gorgeous scenery, iguanas, lizards and giant tortoises. Will hopefully be uploading some photos soon!

Quito

First day in Ecuador. Met up safely with dad in Miami. We spent the day walking around Quito and will fly to the galapagos tomorrow morning.

Mexico is coming to an end

I am leaving Valladolid in a couple of hours to head to Cancun since my flight is on the early side of tomorrow morning. I have begun to upload my photos: http://seetheworldthroughmytelescope.shutterfly.com/ Keep checking back though, because I still have several more to add.

Valladolid & Around

I arrived in Valladolid a couple days ago and am staying at a really nice hostel called casa Candelaria. The afternoon that I got in, I went with someone to two cenotes which are a twenty five minute bike ride from the hostel. We went swimming in one of them. You had to go down into a sort of cavern. There were bats and a hole which you could look up at. There was a tree nearby and its roots hung down the hole into the cenote. They were pretty neat. The other cenote had alot of people and it was near closing time so we went and just had a peak. One of the guys who works there pointed out some stlagmites/tites that look like various things.

I went to Chichen Itza yesterday. They are some mayan ruins which are one of the seven wonders of the modern world. They were pretty impressive, but unlike other ruins you couldn´t walk around on them, they were all roped off. There were also two cenotes although I only found one of them.

Today I went to Ek Balam. These are some more ruins which are less crowded but still pretty impressive. Not quite like Tikal, Chichen Itza or Caracol though. There was also a big cenote nearby that we went swimming in. There was a group of Mexican men there. One had a snake and the other a lizard. I held them both...

I am staying here until Wednesday afternoon, then I need to go to Cancun so that I can get my plane on thursday, I am just trying to spend as little time there as possible. I saw enough when I flew in in January.

Campeche

I got to Campeche... a few days ago. I seem to have lost all track of time. It is one of those places that the longer you stay the harder it is to leave. I was looking for a quiet city and I have definitely found it. I am staying at a pirate hostel and am pretty much the only person. They gave me a private room for the same price as a dorm because they thought some more people would be coming. It does mean I have a kitchen to myself which has been nice. Although a couple of nights ago there was a couple from Oxnard...

I have been having a relaxing few days, but have spent way too much time on the internet today trying to upload my photos. Yesterday I went to the archaeologicl museum. It was quite a hike from here, about a 4km walk each way. Seemed longer because a bit of it was uphill and my legs were already really sore from my run the previous day.

Campeche is a colonial city and is very pretty. Reminds me a lot of a quieter version of Antigua. Last night I decided to walk a different direction down the coast and though I had walked into the US. There was a sams club, walmart, office depot...etc. It sort of ruined a part of the city for me.

Tomorrow I think I will head to Valladolid and am finally ready to see more ruins. I think it will take a bit to get there. There is a straight bus that goes Valladolid to Campeche but not the reverse so I will have to back track to Merida then switch to another bus to Valladolid. Doesnt make sense to me either.

Now off to an afternoon of sunbathing and reading.

Merida

I arrived in Merida a few days ago and have been staying at a lovely B&B Hostal. Eventhough I have had a dorm to myself. You have to walk through it to get to the bathroom so I have been woken up several times and am ready for a good sleep. It is in a large colonial house that used to belong to some famous poet back in the day. It is right on the central square and has a huge courtyard.

Merida is a pretty large city and is the medical capital of Mexico, or so says my guide book. Which was great since I had to go and see a doctor for my cough. I was prescribed something and am already feeling much better eventhough my cough is still there - it´s about time!

I have done a lot of walking around. It´s a beautiful city and I haven´t felt the urge to go and see any of the ruins nearby. I did go to see a bull fight on sunday. That was the first and hopefully the last I will ever see. Not something for me....

I am off to catch a bus to campeche in about an hour and will be on my way. Merida is a place I could easily stay for a few weeks if it weren´t for the noisy door. The hostal is also quite pricey so I am happy to be on my way. Mexico is alot more expensive than I had anticipated and unfortunately it´s not easy too get vegetarian food. At least I have been staying places where I can cook for myself!

Tulum

I have been in Tulum for about four days and am leaving today at noon to go to Mérida. I went to see the ruins a couple of days ago. They were very crowded but still beautiful. This is a very touristy area, so I am going on a hunt to find a quiet area somewhere that is inexpensive and I can hole up for a bit.

I went scuba diving yesterday in one of the Cenotes - dos ojos. It was AMAZING. It was alot nicer to dive in fresh water. Didn´t need as much weight which made a big difference. It was also very cool to see all the stalagmites and stalagtites under the water. I did two dives. The first one my mask was really foggy so I couldn´t see a whole lot. But in the second one the visibility was amazing since the water is so clear.

For the people who wouldn´t answer my phone calls...

...I shall try again.

I spent a day longer in Caye Caulker then I thought I would. I came to Tulum with an Israeli girl that I met there. It´s pouring though so we are not up to much for now. We have plans to rent bikes and go to see the ruins. I also want to go diving in the cenotes. It´s not too expensive and I spoke to someone last night who said that it was amazing and like nothing he has seen before! So I think I definitely need to give it a try!

A Week In Paradise - Cayo y Caye Caulker

Last week, I took a bus from Flores to the Guatemalan border with a couple of people I met at the hostel. We spent the night in San Ignacio since mom and co were delayed 24 hours. I met up with them the next afternoon, they came to pick me up in San Ignacio and we then drove to the Hidden Valley Inn on a rather bumpy road. It was a fantastic hotel - I felt very spoiled after my week in the nice places I have been staying. We went to see Caracol the next day - some mayan ruins "near" by, It was a rather long trip on a very bumpy road and we got a puncture. So the soldiers escorting us to the sight helped change the tire. On our last day in Cayo, we went on a really nice walk through the forest and saw several waterfalls.

Then we drove to Belize City and returned the car. From there we took a water taxi to Caye Caulker where I still am. While mom and co were here the weather wasn't all that great, but we still went on a two tank dive then a snorkeling trip the next day. The diving was very good and I got to see my turtle as well as loads of other wildlife!!!

I am staying in a hostel on the north end of the island. It isn't all that night but there are a bunch of people around so it's okay. It's warmed up alot and the sun is out. Very Very Very hot!!! I haven't really been up to all that much. Today is my laundry / interneting day before hopefully heading into Tulum, Mexico tomorrow with an Israeli girl that is staying at the hostel.

Flores - San Ignacio

Have made my way here on a pretty uneventful journey and am waiting for mum, Oliver and John to pick me up. I wasn't able to make it to the hotel last night, but stayed in San Ignacio with a couple of people I met in Flores!

Coban - Flores

I have been in Flores for three days, and am about to leave to head back into Belize to wait for mom. The bus from Coban to Flores was early in the morning and very crowded. We hit a pig (or possibly a big dog) on the way and was otherwise uneventful. I am staying in a hostel called Los Amigos which has a vegetarian restaurant. SO lovely was getting a bit sick of veggie tacos and bean sandwiches.

My first full day I went to Tikal, some mayan ruins that are pretty nearby. They were much more impressive than the ones in Honduras. There was one temple that you can climb up to. The stairs are almost vertical - it was a lot scarier then it looked. Going down was the worst, but I made it!

Yesterday I did some laundry and had a fairly relaxed day. I rented a canoe with a few people and we canoed over to a town called San Miguel. You can hike up to a view point and get a pretty good look at things.

My Day In Coban...

...was pretty uneventful. I have been exhausted all day, and am feeling like I may be coming down with something. I walked around a bit and stumbled accross the cinema where I saw inglorious bastards again. Not bad for just under $1.50. I was also the only person in the cinema. They stop it halfway through to change the reels and it was a little out of focus but still enjoyable. I then went to get my dinner from the supermarket: ingredients to make refried bean sandwiches, yummy!!

Am leaving for Flores at 6am tomorrow morning. Wish I was up to doing something more in Coban but don't really and I need to keep making my way towards Belize!

Xela - Coban: I now know what crowded really means

I left Xela early yesterday morning, around seven and caught a chicken bus to Huehuetenango. It was a fairly easy ride and only took a couple of hours. The seats were full and slightly overflowing, but I only had one person next to me so it wasn't to bad. the chicken buses in Guatemala are brightly painted old school buses. I have heard some people say that they have seen chickens on them, but I have yet too. However when I was waiting for someone to get my back pack off the top of the bus they brought down a few shallow buckets that had two or three turkeys tied inside them.

After that I had to catch three more mini vans until I got to Coban. One was so crowded that the only place I could sit was on top of the engine (I think), it was super hot and I had to sit on a newspaper and my sweater and I thought I could smell my trousers burning. These buses have seats for 15 people, but on the ones I went on there was rarely less than 21. I decided to make my way straight to Coban instead of passing through Antigua and spending the night to save time and money. I don't think I saved either. It took me about 12 or 13 hours and cost 85Q (a little over $10).

I am spending the day in Coban, but am too tired to really do much. I slept about fourteen hours last night and still feel exhausted and am ready for a nap. Am planning on heading to Flores tomorrow, I am just debating whether I will take Chicken Buses or a shuttle.

Antigua - San Pedro - Xela

After spending some time in copan ruines, we took a shuttle to Antigua where we spent about three days and by the end of that I was definitely ready to leave. It was a nice little town and looked very different than the other places I had seen, but I quickly got annoyed with all the pollution and traffic, not like the rest of Guatemala is much better. The highlight was walking to the top of an active volcano. It was definitely a hike and at the top you could feel how hot the rocks were. I stepped on one which wasn´t as solid as it looked and when my foot fell through I could feel how hot it was. I made it safely down with only a few minor scrapes and such, which for me is pretty good going.

From there, we took a nice bus to panajachel which is on Lake Atitilan. We took a boat to San Pedro and spent another three days or so. It was relaxing and quiet. I went kayaking on the Lake and did Laundry (not for the first time). Also got to see a couple of movies that were playing in various bars and restaurants. Saw Taxi Driver for the first time which was pretty good.

From San Pedro we took a boat back to Panajachel then I got my first chicken bus experience. I was definitely pretty lucky with that. Things went quickly and weren´t two crowded. They are all old US school buses where when crowded three people will sit in each seat. I have experienced some which were crowded, but luckily only for short trips. I think we took three in total to get to Quetzaltenango (or Xela) which is where I have been since Wednesday.

Xela is the second largest city in Guatemala, the biggest being Guatemala City. A lot of people come here to study Spanish and stay with a host family. I would have done that if I had more time. I am staying in a hostel type place which has been built onto a family´s house so in a way it is like a homestay. We share there kitchen and other areas.

Xela has been alot of fun. One day we took a chicken bus to one of the nearby towns where we then went up to the hot springs. They were about 8km up, but we walked down nad it was really nice. Yesterday we took a super crowded chicken bus to the oldest church in central America. It was built in 1524! Couldn´t go inside but it was still interesting to see. I was suprised by how old it was considering there were many colonies around the time, must have been one of the first things they did when they got here. You could tell that it was quite elaborate at one point. Yesterday afternoon we went to the cinema and saw a haunting in conneticut. It was a nice luxury to have. There is a big mall here with all sort of things. Today we hiked up a hill which had a park at the top and some concrete slides. I don´t think many tourists knew about it, but Mike has been here before so he showed me where it was. Didn´t go down the slides though, because there were so many children.

I am going to be in Xela until Wednesday. The plan is to go to Flores from here so I can go and see the Mayan ruins in Tikal before going back up to Belize to see mom and Co.

Belize - Guatemala - Honduras

Have had a very busy few days since leaving Ladyville. I met Mike in Belize City then went to Dangriga by bus, from there we took a boat to Tobacco Caye and spent two nights. It's a tiny five acre island with nice beaches but not a whole lot else. It was great for relaxing but was ready to go after a couple of days.

From there we took a boat back to Dangriga then a bus to Placencia where we spent the night. It was a quick stay in a pretty touristy area. From there we took the bus to Punta Gorda and spent the night as well. I was able to get some laundry done and took a nice ride around town.

The next morning (yesterday) we took the boat to Puerto Barrios in Guatemala. We spent a full day travelling to Chiqimula (I am sure the spelling is off there). We spent the night and made some bean/mayo/cheese sandwiches which were so delicious. The bus ride there took forever, there was a lot of stopping and hopping on and off. It was pretty frustrating, but not too difficult.

Today we got up early and took a bus over the border to Honduras where we are spending tonight in a place called Copan Ruinas. We saw the mayan ruins today which were amazing!!

Tomorrow we will go back into Guatemala and stay in Antigua. Am currently playing things by ear but will be in Guatemala for a while before heading back into Belize.

Belize City - Dangriga - Tobacco Caye - Placencia

Am in Placencia right now, and am doing well. Spent two days in Tobacco Caye and made my way to Placencia today. Have found someone, Mike, to travel with, so am feeling much better about things. Will write a more detailed update later. Will also get some phone cards to call mom and dad. It;s beeen a lot harder than i thought to get them. Also spent two days on a 5 acre island (Tobacco Caye).

Should make my way to Punta Gorda tomorrow and spend a night or two before taking the boat into Guatemala.

My New Friend...

I have looked and looked and looked for Jose around Belize City - but no luck, so I have had to find a new best friend, Balboa. Shame she doesn't have any thumbs though, don't know how useful she will be.

My First Pig Butchering

Georgie left today, but I was kept very busy. We butchered a pig! It was much more brutal than I thought it would be. It took a couple of whacks with a hammer for it to die! I helped to shave and clean it as well as hang it and cut it up!

There are some "VIPs" here who got a tour around Belize City and Ladyville. I also got some lunch from the outside world!

Things are quiet in the evening, and fairly boring. Everyone is in bed quite early!

Night Around Town and Caye Caulker.

Friday night, one of the care givers at Liberty took us to a bar which played very loud reggae music. We chatted with the locals and played a lot of dominoes, which is what people do here when they drink. I played several games, and have finally gotten the hang of it. Also got to try some barracuda empenadas and other delights!

Saturday, Georgie and I took the bus into Belize City. After about five minutes it was stopped and a couple policeman came on. They frisked the man sitting in front of us and they took him away. We got into Belize City fairly safely. We took a water taxi to Caye Caulker. On the boat, I saw someone I had met in Cancun. He was only there for the day though.

Georgie and I stayed in a nice little hostel and some lovely people. We went swimming and wandered around the island. It is very small and you can easily walk from one side to the other in about 10 minutes. It was very relaxing.

Today we were only there until 1, but I had a very late night and an early morning. I got a lot of sun, and eventhough I didn't go snorkeling or diving (yet) I still managed to see plenty of wild life - rays, starfish, baracuddas...etc

I did accidently drop my watch in the ocean though. Sorry John-o it was the one you gave me :(

Back at liberty now. Georgie has decided to come home and there aren't anymore volunteers, so we shall see how things go!

Never Thought I Would Be So Happy To See Ramen Noodles....

....got a little sick of the rice/beans/bread. More bread than I have ever seen!

Today we worked at the thrift store just outside of the gates. There isn't a lot of traffic coming through so it wasn't terribly exciting. I made some hemp bracelets and did some reading. Tomorrow we will do the same thing.

Another quiet evening. Looking forward to out two days off!

Gardening and Dancing

Today we started gardening. I have already learnt loads! Did some hoeing, re-planting chile dulce (aka bell peppers), planted some seeds and learnt a bit of espanol at the same time. A new volunteer arrived, and we are going to start scoping things out. Evening so far has been pretty quiet.

Things are going alot better and am looking forward to doing some exploring

Liberty House Dia Tres!

This weekend was pretty relaxed. They didn't have a lot for me to do, so I just helped around with cleaning and playing with the children. I tried to catch up on my sleeping. There seem to be alot of meals, am learning to decline food. There is alot of it and not very healthy!

I am trying to make myself useful. They don't really have a lot for me to do. I did a bit of gardening this morning, but he told me I wasn't ready for anything more. I think I am going to be given some admin work this afternoon since the director doesn't have a secretary anymore.

I was given brief waltzing lessons last night and today am going to have to teach the children how to walz - a disaster waiting to happen. Everyone is suprised by my lack of rythm and dancing skills!

Another volunteer may be coming today or sometime this week. I have been told that I shouldn't really leave the compound by myself so I have pretty much been stuck here. It doesn't help that I don't have any belizen money since I didn't get a chance between here and Mexico to get any.

I have been told that there is a thrift store nearby that Liberty house owns so I will be working there fridays and saturdays. Otherwise I don't really know my schedule or whether I will have much time off to travel around Belize.

No Spanish is spoken in this area but I can half understand Creole since it is pretty close to English. My goal is to understand it fully by the time I leave!

Cancun - Chetumal - Belize City

I arrived in cancun fairly early on Wednesday. It took a couple of hours to get to the hostel. I met a few americans and we went out in the evening. Had some "street" tacos - my first meal in Mexico!!! Had a very late night and got back to the hostel around four. Had to get up at 6 the next day for a bus.

It was a six hour bus ride to chetumal on the border. I met a dutch woman and a canadian man in the hostel there. We went for a walk near the sea. We had a good meal and then another early morning. We couldn't buy bus tickets ahead of time, but when we got there this morning. The people I was with were going to Guatemala so I negotiated my way onto their bus and asked the bus driver to drop me off in Belize. My spanish has served me well!

Arrived at Liberty house this morning. Left Chetumal at around 6am and got here at about 11 or so. They were having there christmas party and I have settled in well. Everyone is very friendly and the kids are a lot of fun!

Looking forward to some sleep and sun!

Stop Over in LA

After a long flight (and a bunch of extra stupid security measures), I got into LA last night and have been staying with Diane and Alex. We went to a nice Italian restaurant and today, I went to see Up in the air and tooled around for a bit. Not really looking forward to my super early morning rising tomorrow, but should get into Cancun early afternoon.