Over the next few weeks I will be migrating all the photots from the old (broken) albums, to the new one, so please revisit soon, to browse the photographs.

A Tribute To Dearest Annie and Hamish - Love and miss you

I have a new address from 1st February 2005.
No worries if you have sent things to my old address, it will still make it's way to me.
I will try and get my new details to yu'll as soon as possible.

Also I have now got broadband, so if any of you have MSN or similar, let me know and we'll have a video conversation.

Keep in touch
Adam

... and a happy new year

I'm off on my travels again, but this time, not a big'un.

All return flights to Bristol:
March 05: 1 Week in Budapest, Flight (incl tax) £31
April 05: Weekend in Belfast, Flight (incl tax) £11
July 05: Weekend in Berlin, Flight (incl tax) £31

It's just coincidence that all the cities begin with 'B'

I LOVE EASYJET

I just want to wish everyone I know the best Christmas and New Year EVER!

If you got a calendar, I hope you liked it, if you didn't and you want one, there are very few left now, let me know.

I'm working at Bristol Magistrates Courts and still part time at the Pub and Hospital, so very busy. I plan on visiting as many of my travel buddies as possible in 2005, so BRACE YOURSELF!

All the best
Adam

Well, not quite that bad!

I have no internet access at home and Bristol (Britain's 8th or 9th largest city) has ONE internet cafe!!!!

Long and short of it is I am not getting much chance to read and reply to emails. So please forgive if you have not heard from me in a while (what's changed!)

I've been taking the first few weeks easy, half keeping an eye out for work, but start huntin for jobs proper-like next week.

I have managed to catch up with most the family on my second day back in the country as it was my nans 70th birthday party (she will kill me for putting that on the net!). And I am halfway through the cider induced friends reunions.

Trips to Scotland and London look very likely over the next few weeks.

If you don't have my email details, leave yours in the Guest Book (shortcut on the right) and I'll contact you shortly, otherwise, drop me a line, especially if you are still away so I can relive my travel days through you.

I'm home!
 
Last night was my first night in Bristol. I have a pile of post the size of Ben Nevis to get through and a million things to sort out! (Like get a job!!!)
 
My last few days in Barcelona were very good. Nice blue skies and temps between 27c and 37c.
On my last day, in the last city in the last country of my trip, I went to see Salvador Dali's home town and look around his gallery. Dali is mjy fav painter, so it was almost a pilgrimage!
 
So, now it's back to reality. I'm already bored and starting to wonder where I can wander next!
 
I already have a mobile (magic of internet shopping, it was waiting for me when I got home) So send me and email and I' send you my number.

I love train rides. The almost silent and spookily smooth train whizzed past the beautiful Spanish countryside. It took five hours to get from Madrid to Barcelona, but it didn't seem that long at all. The hostel is, perhaps, the worst in the world, deffo worst than any I have stayed in over the last five months. The 12 bed dorm is actually a 24 bed dorm, but because they have a two metre dividing wall (with a metre gap at the top) down the middle of the room, they class it as two rooms.
There are no pillows or sheets, you have to supply your own, or pay €6 (£4ish) to hire. No maps, no information, nothing but a thin bit of foam on ricketyty wire frame bunkbed, with 24 other people. Lovely.
Oh Well, Only Three More Sleeps!!!

Just Five More Sleeps
I had a safe, long and uneventful flight from Buenos Aires to Madrid.
I got to the airport in BsAs extra early because I was claiming tax back (these things can take a LONG time). I checked in, and because I was so early I got a great window seat that wasn't obstructed by the wing.
Trouble was they also gave the same seat away to someone else (we both had the same boarding pass). Some how they decided mine was the erroneous seat and sat me way, way, WAY back, on the aisle, with a broken seat, and a fair mix of annoying passengers.
ho-hum, I'm here now!
The train from Madrid to Barcelona cost me twice as much as my flight from Barcelona to Bristol.

Almost ready... been doing a little tax free shopping, packing, emailing and general 'travel stuff'. Quite a boring day compared with some days in South America.

I arrived in Buenos Aires in February.
Took a flight to Ushuaia, the most southern city in the world.
Took a ship to Antarctica.
Took a bus to Torres Del Paine in Chile
Back in to Argentina for Spanish lessons in Baralochie.
Learnt nothing
To Mendoza for more lessons and lots of fun with the American girls
Then to Chile, Santiago and San Pedro De Atacama
Into Bolivia and climed to over half the hight of Everest
Suffered altitude sickness
Awed by the Salar del Uyuini
Potosi, Sucre and a few more Spanish lessions
Learnt nothing
In to the mighty Amazon Rain Forest.
La Paz and our bus is stoned and held up by masked men in the middle of the night
Lake Titicaca another border crossing, another bus stoning
Peru, Nazca Lines, The Inca Trail and Lima
Ecuador, and the stunning Galapagos Islands
Back to Argentina and Iguazu Falls
Back to tonight, back to my hostel, back to Buenos Aires and tomorrow
Back to the airport and back to Europe.

Before the whole South American thing happened I had ten days in Thailand, four months in Australia and 13 months in New Zealand.

I have met some fantastic people and I have made some new, very close friends.
I'm not too sure what I have done to deserve such luck to experience such a trip.

I have visited all seven continents on Earth and now I am really looking forward to going home.

Fantastic and utterly beautiful. The falls are stunning. Its actually a collection of 120+ falls. Because they are not the biggest or the tallest or the biggest volume falls in the world, they seem to be almost unknown.
They are certainly worth the visit and a great way to end my trip in South America.
I fly to Buenos Aires tomorrow and then stay for one day (the 8th).
On the 9th July I fly to Spain.
Only 8 more sleeps

12:00 Argentina - Boarded bus (40mins, 80p)
12:40 Brazil - Get off bus and start walking across HUGE bridge to Paraguay
13:10 Paraguay - Arrive Paraguay, look around Tax Free shops
15:30 Paraguay - Leave Paraguay, walk back over bridge
16:20 Brazil - Board bus for Argentina
17:00 Argentina - Arrive 'home' and head for restaurant that serves the biggest steak I have EVER seen.

Please Note: The International Rules for a 'True Visit' to a country must be followed for the visit to count. You must have at least one true statement from each of the sections:
Section A:
i) Traveller must clear customs, immigration and leave the airport AND not just visit the airport hotel.
OR
ii) Traveller must leave bus/coach/train, clear customs and immigration and leave the station
Section B:
i) Traveller must sleep one night in the country (not in Airport, on bus/coach or Train whilst in transit, and must be outside of airport or station area).
OR
ii) Traveller must have a dump in the country (not in Airport, on bus/coach or Train whilst in transit, and must be outside of airport or station area).

Using the above criteria I did visit Argentina and Paraguay, but did not fill the criteria for section B for Brazil. So in my list of countries visited Brazil does not count.

12 more sleeps before hometime

I have booked a flight for Sunday going to Iguacu Falls. The people I have met, who have been, absolutely rave about them. The are a collection of falls rather than one big one, so don't get into the record books like Victoria Falls or Niagara Falls, but apparently, on a scale of beauty and awe, they are right there at the top.

I think it's going to be a great end to my trip (of course I still have a few days in Madrid and Barcelona, but they are more like 'half-way-houses' for getting home)

OUTRAGEOUS...
Can you believe that in Buenos Aires Cadburrys produce a nut chocolate bar and a raisin (fruit) chocolate bar, but NOT a fruit and nut chocolate bar. I have been forced to buy and eat both at the same time!
UNBELIEVABLE...
In Buenos Aires it is cheaper to by a litre of wine than it is to buy a litre of milk, My cornflakes taste wonderful.

My web-based email account has been off line now for five days, and shows no sign of coming on line again.
They have a message posted on their site, which basically implies that all mail sent in the last week will be lost.
If you have sent me a message, please send it again.
Until the PostMaster account comes back on line I will not have access to my address books (I didn't back them up, naughty boy!).

Without wishing to blow my own trumpet (why stop now!) I thought I would show off my award for a photo I've put on a online photo magazine. You'll have to scroll down below the profile for the photo's.


Editor's Choice Photos on ePHOTOzine.com

Buenos Aires is a great city. It's safe (as any city could be), it's lively and very cosmopolitan. BUT....
They don't 'alf go to bed late.
Last night I sauntered home at 4am, and the cafes, restaurants and pubs were crammed-packed.
Tonight one of the long-term inmates at the hostel is having a birthday party. He is a Brit working out here and is also in a band. The band are playing live at the party. They are not even planning to arrive to set up before midnight. So bang goes any plans to have an early night after last nights outing.
I am ready for bed and it's now 7:30pm.
It's all the early mornings and early bedtimes in the Galapagos that has ruined my routine!

Oh what a night! Two flights, Ecuador to Peru, then, Peru to Argentina
First flight went okay, second flight, tad bumpy but all's well until we reached Argentina's capital.
Where the glittering lights of the city should have been, all I could see out of the tiny window was a thick smudge of orange. Scattered beyond the city limits, small towns and villages shone brightly. A thick low fog (smog?) had blanketed Buenos Aires, but quite literally, only the city, the surrounding areas were clear.
As we came in to land it was obvious the fog only reached as far as the tree tops, as tall buildings and the tallest trees poked up through the mist and were crystal clear. As the plane decended to tree level and the landing lights of the runway were just a few metres directly below us, the plane roared back into action and lunged forward and up. We lunged back and down in to our seats (Wow, Mr Einstein was right!) We climbed high back in to the city skies and was put into a holding pattern for about 30 minutes.
The captain informed us that conditions were not right and we would try again.
We did try again and this time we were engulfed in the fog before the engines roared back in to action and the plane climbed back in to the sky for a second time.
The captain came back on the intercom "the runway is not up to our standards, we land at another airport, thank you for your comprehension". I think the Spanish version was much more comprehensive, but that's what you get for not speaking the first language!
We landed at the small city airport rather than the out-of-town international airport.
I believe they must have scrambled for immigration and customs officers as the airport was not expecting any international flights. One officer cleared a winding queue of 300 people. It took a LONG time.
I, however, was not worried, as I had all the time in the world. We landed, finally, at 4:30am the fog having delayed us for two hours. This was good, as I didn't have accommodation booked for the night of arrival, only the night of the day of arrival (does that make sense?).
My hostel wouldn't really open until early morning (socially early morning, not 4am early morning) So I just pottered around the airport. Once I cleared immigration, collected my bags and cleared customs, it was only 5:15am. So I sat myself at a cafe and watched the world go by for about three hours in the arrivals lounge.
I love airports, always have. For me I've only ever been to airports for holidays and my travels. I am either off to somewhere exciting, or returning after a long time away from home and both types of trips makes me happy. Being in the airport reminds me how lucky I am.
Usually as soon as you arrive, you leave the airport, but on this occasion, I just sat and watched. Without wishing to sound like the opening lines of the film "Love Actually" watching the arrivals at the airport is a very heart-warming experience. So many smiles, hugs and tears of loved ones arriving home or visiting for a holiday.
Finally, I got in a taxi and made my way to the hostel only to find they have a 24-7 reception ... ARSE!

Yesterday was muchos busy. I booked or changed three flights, a new flight from Ecuador to Argentina (back to where I first entered South America), changed my flight home, to give me a few more days and to get out in Madrid instead of flying direct to London and finially, I booked a Barcelona to Bristol flight.
All I have to do is get from Madrid to Barcelona, which shouldn't be a problem, and I'm looking forward to seeing both those cities.
The great news is I fly direct in to Bristol, which means a 15 minute journey home, rather than a three and a half hours from Gatwick (My sister will be pleased, 7 hours for her!)
So, this afternoon I fly to Lima, and then connect to Buenos Aires arriving at 3am!!!
Still not feeling well, in the last two days I've had just one meal, and could only manage part of that. Very hungry, but the thought of food makes me wanna throw up!

Seymour Island: A repeat of last sundays program, looks like all the boats end at Seymour as it's right next to the airport. On night in Purto Ayora before flying back to the mainland tomorrow

Santa Fe Island: We awoke to find ourselfs in a very sheltered bay with swimmingpool blue waters, calm as a millpond. A wet landing on a sea-lion packed beach and a walk through the dry cactus forest of the Islands took us most the morning. On the walk we saw our first land iguanas (not quite as ugly as the marine iguanas, but they aint going to win any beauty prizes).
After a quick dash to the boat and squeezing in to the wet suits we headded to a small out-crop of rocks on the bottom of the bay. There were two giant sea-turtles resting by the rocks. On decided he didn't like the look of his new audience, so glided out of view, far from the madding crowd. We then went back towards the beach where we hand landed earlier. From the beach we could see a shark resting in the warm shallows, but on on return, this time IN the water, we had no such luck. Then we followed the walls of the bay, we saw another turtle, more seals and a wall of big-eyed fish.
South Plazas: After lunch we had a dry landing on a tiny island jam-packed with land iguanas. Great views of Boobies and other birds flying off of the small cliffs and hanging motionless in the air. Back on board for a great dinner, a goodbye cake from the crew, and cocktail and bucket of punch.

Esanola Island - Punta Suarez: We had a dry landing in the morning and our longest walk to date. We came face to face with sea-lions, marine iguanas, blue footed boobies, grey albatros, and nazca boobies. We ended the walk with a great view from the top of the cliffs, of a very powerful blow-hole, created by the waves and the holes in the lava at sea-level.
Esanola Island - Gardener Bay: Lots of time to relax on the beach and snorkel with sea-lions in the bay.

Floriana Island - Post Office Bay: We walked up to Baroness Viewpoint for a view of the bay and then took a dingy ride around the bay, spotting plenty of rays and a baby shark in the very shallow and crystal-clear waters. A tradition of leaving mail in a barrel just off of the beach had been going on for a hundred years or more, passing ships would sort through the mail and take any destined for the country they were returning to. In modern times, the tourist boats had continued this tradition and we looked through the mail. I took two postcards for Bristoilans which I will hand deliver on my return. I didn't leave any mail as I had not done my home work and didn't realise you could!
We then walked on to the entrance of a lava tube and descended in to the very dark tunnel. The slippery ground and the steep angle made it hard work, but it was very short, and we quickly came to the cavern where the rain and sea water met, and the tunnel ended.
Snorkeling - Devils Crown: On our way out to the snorkel site we spotted some dolphins just off of devils crown. As we got closer we realised that they wern't dolphins but KILLER WHALES, I had mentioned to another passenger not an hour before that I had seen lots of whales before, but never an Orca. Here were two, playing just metres off of the boat. We left them after about 15 minutes and made our way back to the crown. I must admit, the thought of getting off of a perfectly safe boat in the middle of the sea, right nest to sharp shark infested waters did not really appeal, but donned in my rather snazzy wetsuit, I did follow the rest of the passengers. We spotted a white-tip shark immediately. Most of us just floated above it as it swam slowly about 5 metres below us. We then made our way around the outer edges of the crown. The seas were a bit rough, but the waves were big enough to lift you, rather than crash over you. We saw lots of sea-life and played with seals almost the whole of the time. Inside the crown the water was much calmer, we saw some penguins (I didn't realise they had penguins so far north, but there are!) turtles, the shark again (some think it was a different one) and lots of fish, including a ball of black fish that was so dense, I first thought it was a rock.
We then boarded the dingy again and made our way to the edge of another island for some time with some very playful seals. Here though the water seemed much colder, and most of us could only mangage ten minutes. It was then back to the boat for lunch
Floriana Island - Punta Cormorant: A point named because of a boat that used to visit, not because of the bird. We first walked to a lagoon which contained some flamingo's and then to the other-side of the island where we found huge turtle-tracks on the beach and sharks in the water. The turtles had come up during the night to dig their nests and lay the eggs, returning to the water before dawn. The sharks where their for a turtle breakfast.

The Guantanamera is not quite so posh as the Aida Maria, but still VERY nice (click here for pic)
I boarded at 6pm, this time in time for dinner and this time all the other passengers had also joined today, so there was none of the clickiness of the other boat.
This time I was sharing with an American girld called Lisa, a Las Vagas casino card dealer.
There was a lot more seating space on the top-deck and the dinner tables all together, albeit back-to-back, but overall, it felt more comfy.
They also had wetsuits on-board for hire, which meant a lot more time in the water when snorkeling.