Our Final Blog

Welcome to our 100^th and final blog.

Amazingly we’ve had nearly 10,000 ‘hits’ so thank you to everyone who’s read any of our blogs and a massive thank you to anyone who’s read all 100. We’ve attempted to relay our experiences both good and bad whilst making it entertaining yet still capturing the spirit of adventure.

After all the months of planning, research and saving our only objectives were to stay safe plus keep fit and healthy. We knew that if we could accomplish these then our 9 months away would be a total success. We did and it was.

In fact we feel so well that if someone could send us a wedge of money we’d carry on for another 9 months without hesitation. Unfortunately we’re not ready to come home but our time is up and we’re excited about catching up with everybody again. We realise how hard it’s going to be but no matter how difficult it is, its been worth it.

Secretly we’re very proud of our achievement and despite it being a ‘holiday’ its not as easy as it may sound when reading the blog.

A special thank you to Vanessa’s mum and Gary for using their valuable time off to fly to Bolivia and meet up with us for what was one of the highlights of our whole trip.

With mixed feelings its time to sign off and return to an English summer.
 

TRIP SUMMARY

TIME SPENT AWAY:  9 months

CONTINENTS VISITED:   4 - The Americas (6 months), Asia (10 weeks), Africa (25 days), Australasia (3 days)

COUNTRIES VISITED:  15 – Thailand (7 weeks), Bolivia (4 weeks), Namibia (25 days), USA (25 days), Guatemala (24 days), Burma (16 days), Nicaragua (14 days), Panama (14 days),  Peru (14 days), Argentina (14 days), Colombia (11 days), Chile (11 days), Belize (8 days), Costa Rica (8 days), Australia (3 days).

LONGEST STAY IN ONE PLACE:  11 nights at Haad Salad Villa on Koh Pha-Ngan (Thailand)

FAVOURITE COUNTRIES:   Guatemala, Peru, Burma and Namibia (although Thailand and the USA never disappoint)

MOST DISAPPOINTING COUNTRY:  Panama

MOST DISAPPOINTING PLACES:  Panama City (Panama), Koh Phayam (Thailand), Mendoza (Argentina), Granada (Nicaragua)

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS:   pools and caves at Semuc Champey (Guatemala), Macchu Picchu (Peru), Santa Catalina Monastery (Arequipa, Peru), riding on the back of a Harley Davidson (South Carolina, USA), Uyuni salt flats with Vanessa’s mum and Gary (Bolivia), Inle Lake (Burma), earthquake in Antigua (Guatemala), flooding in The Atacama Desert (Chile), driving a red Ford Mustang (USA), snorkelling with sharks and stingrays (Belize), flying over the Nazca lines (Peru), eating Thai curries on the beach (Thailand), Koh Kham beach (Thailand), Panama Canal (Panama), Angthong National Park (Thailand), The Spotted Cat jazz bar (New Orleans), watching hummingbirds in Minca (Colombia), Vanessa’s Sydney Harbour Bridge climb (Australia), Vanessa performing with street artist (New Orleans), staying with Al and Cathi (Charleston, USA), the thousands of temples in Bagan (Burma), floating in the bath-like sea whilst listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers (Koh Pha-Ngan, Thailand), self-drive safari in Etosha National Park (Namibia), the towering sand dunes in Sossusvlei (Namibia), the ghost town of Kolmanskop (Namibia)

BEST FOOD:  Green curry in Thailand, Jambalaya in New Orleans, sticky rice with mango in Thailand, oryx steak with monkey gland sauce in Namibia

WORST FOOD:  Everything in Panama City

BEST PLACE NAMES:  Ollaytaytambo (Peru), Bat Cave (USA), Lake Titicaca (Bolivia), Duck (USA), Ai-Ais (Namibia)

HOTTEST PLACE:  Bagan (Myanmar)

COLDEST PLACE:  Copacabana (Bolivia)

MOST EXPENSIVE COUNTRIES: Chile and Australia

CHEAPEST COUNTRIES: Thailand and Bolivia