tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22219074776260302512024-03-05T18:02:01.243+11:00The adventures of LynneWhere in the world am I and what am I up to .... best have a read and find out what adventures this vagabond round the world traveller is up to now.Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.comBlogger90125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-11674539529642559022013-05-01T22:11:00.002+10:002013-05-01T22:11:25.492+10:00Hitting the big smoke in Panama City<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Leaving the tropical delights of Caribbean island life was always going to be a bit difficult, but it was time to head to the city.<br />
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Panama City is the cosmopolitan capital of Central America. And while I had popped into a few cities while travelling through Central America, I never felt safe and these places had a distinct 'you might get shot' kind of feel. <br />
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Panama City on the other hand is cool. Now I'm not saying you wont get shot here, but the centre of the town did seem very civilised. I had a wander through some of the seedier areas where we had a taxi driver yell to us to turn around quickly as it wasn't safe, but we kept on wandering. I came out of the local markets alive, and not a sign of a weapon anywhere.<br />
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The city shoreline is packed with parks and shimmering skyscrapers. Mmmmm, I was back in civilization.<br />
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But the central hub of any city is not where you discover what the place is really about.<br />
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I headed to the colonial district of Casco Viejo to discover the true city and it's history. This part of the city was left crumbling into the sea for many years but is now part of a major regeneration project. Feeling like I was back in Havana, I wandered the twisting cobblestoned streets in awe, loving the dilapidated buildings standing next to a funky coffee shops, cute little churches and beautiful plazas. It was obvious to see why this area is now Unesco World Heritage listed.<br />
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I could have walked around here for days. In fact I did.<br />
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Mmmm, I probably got a bit carried away with the photos then, but the area was amazing.<br />
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I also went to the other end of town to see the ruins of Panama Viejo. Yes I know, I'm done with ruins but these weren't the work of the Romans, they are what's left of the orginial city after it was ransacked by Sir Henry Morgan in the mid 1600's.<br />
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We might have been told the area was closed for the day but there aren't really any (unopenable) gates, so we wandered around for a while. <br />
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But while Panama City itself is wonderful, it is the canal that shot it to world fame when the first ship sailed through in 1914. I spent a morning at Miraflores locks watching sail boats and huge freighters being raised and lowered through the locks. The worlds biggest ever engineering project is truly wonderful, but I did think it was rather narrow. I wouldn't like to be trying to steer a big boat through that little passage. Apparently I'm not the only one who has questioned the width of the canal, a project is about to commence to make it loads wider. <br />
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Panama City was also the place where I had to say goodbye to some wonderful travel buddies. That's always sad, but that's life on the road I guess.<br />
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-39478152546342987852013-04-14T14:24:00.001+10:002013-04-14T14:24:58.670+10:00Beautiful Bocas .... a panamanian paradise<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Sometimes you find a place that suits you. Over the past year I've found quite a few of this places. They typically involve sun, sand and sea.<br />
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Bocas del Toro is a place that suits me. A lot.<br />
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The name Bocas del Toro is given to the province, the group of islands and the main island. Confusing, I know. This group of islands is amazing. Just over 30 k's from the Costa Rica boarder in Panama it is a short boat ride from the never ending banana plantations on the mainland. It's lucky that the trip is a quick one as my arrival at the wooden shed that is the ferry port coincided with a tropical downpour. I was drenched just grabbing my bag from the back of the bus. But not to worry, I was headed for island life.<br />
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These carribean islands are filled with West Indians, Latinos and a few resident gringos so the pace is very relaxed. There are six inhabited islands and loads of others that dot the clear blue waters.<br />
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My first stop was Isla Bastimentos. We grabbed a water taxi from the main island and not 10 minutes later pulled up at the verandah/jetty of our home for the next few nights, a cool family run hotel built out over the water. <br />
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The water around Bastimentos isn't clear like the main island. It seems that the island picks up all the rubbish fallen in the water from Bocas town. The shore was a bit of a rubbish dump to say the least. But this didn't detract from the charm. And I've seen more than my fair share of garbage filled streets and water ways, so this is nothing new for me. Ramshackled huts and houses are built on stilts out over the water and along the waters edge. Many had seen better days but they were filled with laughing children and relaxed locals.<br />
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The beauty of this island is away from the town. The north side of the island is lined with amazing palm fringed beaches. My favourite was Red Frog Beach, although it is more developed than many of the others .... this is handy is you feel the urge for a coldie on a hot day!<br />
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The southern end of the island is covered in mangroves with lots of tiny islands and coral reef filling the marine park area. There is also a spot where you can always find a dolphin or two hanging around.<br />
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After a few days of chilling in the hammock, swimming and snorkeling it was time to see what the main island, Isla Colòn or Bocas as the locals call it, had to offer.<br />
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There is no beach within walking distance from town so I decided to save money on water taxi's and find a place with a pool. Mmmmm a swimming pools with views of the ocean. I like it. But I did grab a water taxi or two, there was so much to see, I didn't want to miss a thing.<br />
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Bocas is a wondeful mix of chilled out locals and even more relaxed gringos. The sandy streets are full of people cruising along on push bikes and there's a load of fun and unique places to eat.<br />
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If you are looking to really, really relax, head to Bocas. Mmmmm, think I could live there. Actually, I think I should live there.<br />
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Link to all pics<br />
<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/114744556410208547930/albums/5835667949045119105?authkey=CPjkt-unyIOfXQ">https://plus.google.com/photos/114744556410208547930/albums/5835667949045119105?authkey=CPjkt-unyIOfXQ</a><br />
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-27943454223063974952013-04-08T16:12:00.001+10:002013-04-08T16:12:21.837+10:00My amazing year of adventure - part 3 .... Central America<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Once again, this blog post has been slow in coming. And even worse, I'm writing about places that are yet to feature in my blog. Not to worry, I'll get up to date at some point ....<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Nov 2012</h3>
Mexico had been high on my list of must visit places forever, so I was very excited on 16 November when I flew from Madrid to Mexico City. As I skipped Spanish lessons and relaxed in the Greek Islands instead, I decided to join an Intrepid tour for much of the next few months.<br />
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Mexico City is a very cool city, amazing architecture, great food and loads of crazy people. And my travel group is very so fab. We walked the streets checking out all the tourist sights, spent an afternoon on the water in Belles Artes, hung out with mariachi bands, riot police and sampled the local food and tequilla.<br />
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As I travelled through the country, I fell in love with Mexico. Every town had it's own charm, friendly locals and amazing food. I wandered around and climbed some amazing Mayan ruins, soaking up the history.<br />
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Puebla, Oaxaca and San Cristobal were my favourite towns. Each was different, but all had the classic town square and some amazing architecture. They also served good tequilla .... my drop of choice selected from an extensive tequilla menu.<br />
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I relaxed on the beaches of Playa del Carmen and Cancun, introducing myself to the delights of an all inclusive hotel, all in the company of some fabulous new friends.<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
December 2012</h3>
I started the month in Cuba. What an amazing country, full of people who survive on a very low government wage but who are always happy and always salsa dancing. <br />
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Many buildings are decayed and crumbling, but the restored area of Old Havania is vibrant. The streets are full of cars from the '50's, music can be heard from cafes and shops and the locals smoke cigars and chat.<br />
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The countryside around the town of Vinales is so green and lush. Paddocks are full of produce, many producing tobacco for the famous cigars and beans for the very delicious coffee.<br />
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All to soon it was rime to farewell Fidel and head back to Mexico to join the next part of my tour, from Playa del Carmen all the way down to Panama City.<br />
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We stopped for a few days in Tulum to enjoy the magnificent beaches and the wonderful Mayan ruins perched on the cliff.<br />
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My travels south were mainly on the Carribean side. I landed in Belize by boat, to the magnificent island of Caye Caulker. This small island has such a Carribean feel, with sandy roads and loads of Rastas. I loved it.<br />
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The first stop in Guatemala was Flores, our base for visiting the Tikal Ruins. Just two days after the end of the Mayan calendar, I was sitting at the top of a Mayan pyramid watching the sun rise over the trees and soaring pyramids. Despite the freezing cold morning, it was magical.<br />
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I spent my birthday and Christmas Day in a fancy (by my current standards) local hotel in Rio Dulce on the banks of the river. It was a fun few days full of relaxation, laughter and tequilla.<br />
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Late December I landed in Antigua, wandering the streets and chatting (in English/Spanish) to the locals.<br />
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January 2013</h3>
New Years eve was a fun night spent in the strange town of Copan before we headed to Roatan Island. And yes, I know new years eve is actually in December, but more of the celebrations were after midnight so it belongs in this month.<br />
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Roatan is another island with a Carribean vibe, cool beaches, dolphins and hammocks. What more could you want really? I'm surprised I actually left this island ... actually, why did I leave this island??<br />
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The next country on the list was Nicaragua, first stop Granada. We hung out at the top of a volcano, wandered the markets and of course, sampled the local food. Nicaraguan pizza and ice cream is highly recommended.<br />
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Mid January saw me head to the cloud forest of Monteverde in Costa Rica. I was a long way from my beloved beach and it was cold, really cold. But the days were sunny so I headed out, strapped on a harness and jumped on a zip line. What was I thinking! It wasn't fun so I promptly jumped off and spent my time wandering around the much safer forest floor.<br />
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Soon I was back on the coast, thank god! A few days hanging out in the beach side town of Puerto Viejo was just what I needed. This town had it all, sandy streets leading to a beautiful beach, a sloth in a bar, a rasta market and a bakery with the best brownies ever. I was happy, so very happy.<br />
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But life was about to get a whole lot better.<br />
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The Bocas Islands just over the border in Panama are amazing. So good in fact that I left the group for a few days, they headed inland while I island hopped. I swam in crystal clear water, gazed at dolphins, picked up a water taxi when I needed a different beach view and wandered the streets of Bocas del Toro. <br />
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I grabbed a flight to Panama City to meet up with the group for the farewell dinner.<br />
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I spent a few more days in Panama City, exploring the streets of Casco Viejo where magnificent restored buildings sit side-by-side with crumbling ruins. I shopped in a local markets in the ghetto area and wandered the never ending shops in Allbrook Mall.<br />
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No visit to Pamana would be complete without a visit to the canal. What an amazing feat of engineering, and what a cool site watching yachts and freighters slowly make their way through the very narrow canal. Photos to come in my Panama blog post.<br />
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A spent a few days in Miami at the end of the month. What was planned as a beach stop over quickly became a hectic few days as I discovered all that Miami has to offer. You will need to stay tuned for my Miami blog post for pics and details.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
February 2013</h3>
My twelve month loop of the world finished where it started ... back in Rawai, a little fishing town in the south of Phuket. Yes, I am back training muay thai 4 to 5 hours a day in the heat and humidity. It's amazing and I'm loving every minute.<br />
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Yes, I am in the ring with a broken wrist. And yes, you need to wait for that post to get the details.<br />
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What an amazing year its been. I've seen so many amazing places and met the most wonderful people, many of whom will be friends for life.<br />
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And the adventures continue ...<br />
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-88944173221825388012013-03-16T13:46:00.003+11:002013-03-16T13:46:43.447+11:00My amazing year of adventure, part 2 .... Europe with a touch of Africa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Big apologies for the delay in blog posts. I could blame my broken wrist or the hours of muay thai training but in reality I've just been a bit slack. Anyways, moving on ....<br />
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I'd spent nearly four months in Asia and had visited 4 countries. My plan of travelling slowly was working, but things were about to go crazy quite quickly.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
June 2012</h3>
The plan for my round the world adventure was to follow the sun. All was going to plan until I landed at Heathrow on 4 June. It was cold, really cold ... and it's supposed to be summer London! I was met at the airport by my fabulous friend Kristen. In all of my travels I've just sauntered out of the airport past all of the people being greeted by friends and family, so to have someone waiting for me was so very special. It called for a celebration ....<br />
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It was Jubilee weekend in London, so the streets were full of parties and people enjoying the extra long weekend. It was an amazing atmosphere and I was having a great time despite the weather.<br />
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I had a ball playing tourist, visiting all that London has to offer. I popped to the palace to have a cup of tea with the queen, watched the changing of the guard at Windsor Castle and marveled at the site of Stonehenge.<br />
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Taking a break from London I hopped onto the Eurostar to Paris. My first glimpse of the Eiffel tower made me laugh out loud and wandering the streets of this very chic city was so much fun. I'm not sure why, but I didn't encounter any of the typical French arrogance that people talk about. <br />
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I got up close and personal with the Mona Lisa, was amazed by the Notre Dame but even more blown away by a little chapel hidden in the Latin quarter.<br />
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The end of June I was back in London, catching up with a load of friends I'd made during my time at Rawai Muay Thai training earlier in the year and some fabulous friends from home.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
July 2012</h3>
I had started to get chills in my bones from the London summer so decided to find some sun. Sunny Beach, Bulgaria was a very cost effective destination so I popped over for a week. The weather was hot, I spent my days in the ocean and reading on my beach sun lounge. I had a blast but found Sunny Beach quite an odd place.<br />
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Back in London, Kristen and I decided to head to Brighton for a Sunday by the sea. It was pouring rain when we left Balham, but the sun shone down on us as we walked the pebbled beach of this famous seaside town.<br />
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My stay in London was longer than initially planned due to my favorite Aussie '80s band Cold Chisel playing a gig at the O2 in Shepherd's Bush. We had an amazing night, drinking cheap wine and singing at the top of our lungs.<br />
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(This shot may be blury due to too much cheap wine.)<br />
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All too soon it was time to pack my bags and head to the airport. After a very sad goodbye to Kristen, I hopped on a plane bound for Cairo. Due to the unrest in Egypt I decided to join an intrepid tour. <br />
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Egypt is one of those countries packed full of amazing sites ... from the pyramids, Abu Simbal, temples, burial chambers in the Valley of the Kings and museums better than I'd seen anywhere in the world. <br />
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I spent a few lazy days drifting down the Nile on a felucca, diving into the cool clear water when the heat got too much and kicked back for a few days at a beach camp on the Red Sea.<br />
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But I think the most amazing moment I had in Egypt was seeing the sun rise over the Nile and the Valley of the Kings from a hot air balloon.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
August 2012</h3>
I landed in Jordan at the beginning of August. It was still Ramadan so the streets of Amman were nearly deserted during the day with the city springing to life after sunset when the day's fast was broken.<br />
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The reason I had decided to visit Jordon was to explore the lost city of Petra. And it didn't disappoint. This is one place that I wish every person could experience. To stand in front to the enormous buildings carved from the rock just makes you marvel at how these structures were actually built thousands of years ago. Bloody amazing really.<br />
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Turkey was my next stop and I had decided to stay about a month. And it seemed my instincts were right, I fell in love with Instanbul on the first day and it just kept getting better and better.<br />
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I explored the Gallilpoli Peninsular, such a sad and sombre place to visit. It made me feel very proud to be an Aussie and quite homesick as I walked around the graves at Lone Pine and Anzac Cove<br />
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The ruins of Ephesus near Selcuk in Turkey are about the best roman ruins going around .... and I'd know as I've seen A LOT. (Read previous blog posts and you'll get an idea).<br />
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Turkey is a miriade of amazing landscapes. I spent time in Pamukkule and Cappadoccia .... both places are like another world. So very crazy ...<br />
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I relaxed on the amazing beaches near Fethiye then popped to Rhodes in Greece for a few days.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
September 2012</h3>
I finished touring Turkey and grabbed a flight to Madrid, keen for some sangria and tapas. Madrid left me slightly undewhelmed but I fell in love with Valencia, amazing architecture, manicured parks and very cool street art. <br />
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I also fell for Barcelona, the cathedrals, museums, wandering along La Rambla ... and the wonders of the perhaps crazy Gaudi making this city very unique.<br />
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Late September it was time to put Spain on hold for a bit and pop to Greece for some island hopping. Together with Kris, Tash and Jen, we relaxed on Paros and watched the sunset from Ios on Santorini.<br />
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It was a fun trip with these crazy girls, relaxing on the beach and swimming in the beautiful clear water.<br />
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I finished off the month checking out the city of Athens, a city that was quite underwhelming. It felt like the financial troubles of the past few years have sucked the life out of this once magnificent city.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
October 2012</h3>
I started the month in the magnificent city of Vienna, Austria. Magnificent architecture, cathedrals, palaces, parks and oh so much more.<br />
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I headed south to Velden to catch up with my friend Andre. This town is like a postcard.<br />
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After a quick stop in Venice .... which I can't talk about .... I flew back to Spain to check out Seville and Granada. These two places quickly became favourtis, full of Spanish charm and friendly locals.<br />
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Once again it was time to leave Spain, this time I was off to Morocco for a couple of weeks. I covered so much of the country ... the middle atlas and high atlas mountains, slept in the Sahara Desert and wandered the medina and souks and enjoyed the beachside town of Essouira. <br />
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November 2012</h3>
Portugal was to be my home for a few weeks in early November, but I only lasted a week. Lisbon is a fabulous city but I was so sick (I blame Venice) and it was so cold that I had to head to a warmer climate.<br />
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After a quick google search I found that Malta was warm, booked a very cheap ticket and hotel. I spent a week recuperating, finally getting my voice back (it's hard to be me and not talk and even harder to travel solo without a voice!) and shaking the awful flu bug that had knocked me for six.<br />
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I popped back to Spain, got caught up in a protest that shut down the city and hung out with riot police <br />
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Phew ... what a hectic time. Fourteen countries in five months, I must have been crazy. But it was a blast.<br />
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Now bring on Mexico!<br />
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-75734634080031035852013-02-20T23:23:00.001+11:002013-02-20T23:23:06.071+11:00An amazing year of adventures .... Part 1-Asia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In the last year I've visited 4 continents, 28 countries, made so many great friends, visited so many amazing places included more UNESCO world heritage sites than I ever knew existed and seen more ruins that I ever cared to see.<br />
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It has been the best year ever!<br />
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I am asked all the time what my favourite country is (Turkey or Mexico probs) or my favourite place. This is really tough as I've loved most places I've visited. Except Venice. Never go to Venice!<br />
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Rather than pick a few highlights I thought it would be easier to review the past twelve months one at a time. But as I started to write I had way too much copy for one post, so I've split up my one year of adventures into three parts. Here goes Asia...<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
February 2012</h3>
I took my only slightly fit body to Thailand to train muay thai, traditional thai kick boxing. I've no idea why I thought this was a good idea. The initial plan was to train for a couple of weeks then relax on a beach for the next few weeks. Somehow I decided to book the training camp for a month .... and that was before I'd even set foot in the ring.<br />
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Training muay thai 4 - 6 hours a day in high humidity is the most exhausting thing I've ever done. But for some crazy reason I love it.<br />
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I seem to get some crazy looks on my face when training ... must be the focus!<br />
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I suffered busted toes, bruises and a world of aches and pains but as the days and weeks progressed my form got better, I got much fitter and dropped a load of weight. I also met some amazing people who have become good friends.<br />
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Leaving Rawai and all my new friends was really hard, but it would have been much worse if I had known that this was going to be the longest that I stayed in one place for the rest of the year.<br />
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March 2012</h3>
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I finished off my month of muay thai training, sadly said goodbye to many amazing people and boarded a flight to New Delhi.<br />
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Saying that India is an assault on the senses is the understatement of all time. There are so many people in this country and it feels like they were all trying to get to the same place that I was. <br />
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I had prepared myself for the worst in India, but it was loads better than I imagined. Yes people use the streets as a bathroom, yep I saw too many rats for my liking and yes everything is so very loud and chaotic .... but the people are amazing. They are so warm and welcoming and they loved that this Aussie could talk cricket with them. And the food .... mmm the food. Despite picking up a couple of tummy parasites on my travels, I managed to taste so many wonderful indian dishes, and I even learnt to cook a few.<br />
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Amid the dirt and grim that is India, there are so many amazing buildings. While the Taj blew me away (unbelievable really!) there are also thousands of temples, castles, forts and tombs that are also spectacular. I did get a little templed out, but kept visiting these buildings so I could see the intricate detail on every surface.<br />
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Low points in India ..... Definitely the toilets on the overnight trains. It is a fine art using a squat toilet on a moving train whilst trying not to touch any surface.<br />
Highlights in India .... Attending an IPL cricket game was insane. I loved every minute of it. <br />
Oh and sleeping in the desert near the Pakistani boarder. The 2 hour camel ride wasn't a whole load of fun but drinking Indian rum and making music around the camp fire was a hoot.<br />
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I also got caught up in some Happy Holi celebrations, so much fun ...<br />
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And I can't leave out watching the sunrise over the Taj Mahal.<br />
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And the beaches of Goa ...<br />
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April 2012</h3>
Most of April was also spent in India. I headed south to Goa for a wonderful week of relaxing on Palolem beach. This part of the country is a world away from life in the north ... loads more tourists but so much more relaxed. <br />
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My first two weeks in Sri Lanka were spent at an Ayurvedic health retreat. I know, what was I thinking! It was two weeks of weird but delicious food, all sorts of massage and loads of yoga. Sounds amazing doesn't it, but I got bored very quickly. And I missed coffee. But I got through the two weeks ok with only a busted knee from a tough yoga pose.<br />
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I was invited to the local temple for Buddha's birthday celebrations. It was a big day as it was also the biggest full moon of the year. All the people from the area came to the temple and helped the staff from the retreat serve them lunch. Beautiful people.<br />
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May 2012</h3>
Still in Sri Lanka....<br />
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After I left the retreat I quickly re-toxed then went touring with my friends Rukshan and Rosalie from Sydney who were back in Sri Lanka visiting their family. We climbed Sigiria rock which was a lot of climbing but loads of fun.<br />
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I travelled around the country on the local buses, so very cheap but packed to the rafters. Had my first experience with couch surfing in Kandy, visited tea plantations in Nuwa Elyia and swam with dolphins in Marissa.<br />
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I left Sri Lanka on 21st May, destination Tokyo. I was excited to be staying with my sisters in Tokyo for two weeks. I was also excited to have a futon to sleep on .... but that novelty soon wore off.<br />
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Tokyo was such a change from Sri Lanka and India. It took me a little while to get use to everything although I was very use to the hordes of people everywhere.<br />
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My days in Tokyo were packed with loads of interesting activities, Kathryn had everything organized which was such a great change from how I had been travelling. We shopped in Harajuku and Shibuja and laughed at the very, very long line of people wanting to buy macaroons in a new department store. We wandered around their neighbourhood, discovering little lakes where men were fishing and I chose my lunch from a vending machine. Initially I thought the food came from the machine but thank goodness it just gave you a ticket to take to the counter. Brilliant idea as I didn't have to try and communicate, my japanese is about as good as my spanish or arabic!<br />
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I won a water cooler while we were in Shinokubo, had some random Korean lady put eye cream on half my face, wandered around the fish markets, ate amazing food (everywhere!), hung out in the park in Kichijoji and did a day trip to Kamakura. Mt Fuji wasn't visible as there were too many clouds so Anita did a mighty fine imitation.<br />
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We celebrated Anita's birthday at the baseball .... gotta love those girls with kegs in their backpacks, and had birthday dinner at Anita's favourite restaurant in Chiba followed by loads of laughs at karaoke. <br />
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We took the bullet train to Aomori with a lunch stop for gyoza in Utsunuiniya. After some mighty fine gyoza we toured the town on the loople. I kid you not, the tourist bus was called a loople! Aomori was amazing, we went up the big A building, wandered through a fake Jamon period settlement, ate the best curry ramen and checked out the museum with all the famous parade floats.<br />
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The best curry raman in all of Japan .... well the best I've tasted anyway ....<br />
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The bits of Japan I saw amazed me ... such a contrast between modern and traditional. And it was so good to spend time with my crazy sisters.<br />
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I loved my time in Asia but it was time to move on. Next stop London. Stayed tuned for part 2 - the european edition.<br />
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And if you are interested in more photos than the loads in this post then check out my earlier posts as there is a link to each album.</div>
Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-60341741253587359212013-02-16T20:33:00.001+11:002013-02-16T20:33:17.357+11:00Pura Vida Costa Rica<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Costa Rica is the 'must go to' country in Central America. While the country gets around 1.5 million tourists every year, that's loads of people for a very small country, I was unsure of what I would make of the place.<br />
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The first stop was Monteverde. This Quaker settlement is in the cloud forset, around 1200 to 1600metres ..... what the hell. Now while it may be said to be the best place to view the famous quetzal bird, I wasn't sure how much trekking I wanted to do. But then again, it would be very cool to see a sloth. But it had to be cold, right?<br />
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And my mum was right when she messaged me to see if I was ok, being in the jungle and all. It is a long way from the beach!<br />
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But I was in the jungle so decided in my wisdom to try zip lining. The canopy tours, as they are known, are said to be some of the longest and fastest going around. I know, what was I thinking.<br />
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I joined a bunch of the group and we got harnessed and hooked and kinda tied up around ourselves. Stops you losing body parts I guess.<br />
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All this carry on was a bit of a waste of time for me .... I retired from the zip line after only a few goes. Not an adrenalin junkie .... who knew! <br />
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But I did walk up and down the paths and played team photographer for the guys .... who all completed the 16 zip lines and jumped off the crazy Tarzan swing. Impressive.<br />
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It was cold in the jungle at night. I holed up in my room from sun down and put on as many layers of clothes as I could manage. What was I doing this far from the coast?<br />
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But the trip through the countryside from Monteverde to Laguna de Arenal was very picturesque.<br />
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We boarded a small ferry and headed across the lake to La Fortuna. The views of Volcān Arenal from the lake were quite cool.<br />
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Now this volcano, just outside of our base in La Fortuna, is said to be Costa Rica's most active volcano. You're not allowed to climb it as some poor hikers were killed by explosions, but that must have been a while back. Locals told me that there has been no activity from the volcano in over two years .... not a puff! I was a bit disappointed in this, I was looking forward to a bit of a natural fire works display. Oh well.<br />
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I did check out the thermal springs while was I was in town. Baldi Hot Springs is not exactly in the wild. A resort with dozens of pools has been built to capture the hot bubbling water. A visit comes complete with a buffet lunch, swim up hot spring bars and sun lounges.<br />
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Oh, and I did see a sloth. I didn't have to trek through the wilds to discover it, this sloth was hanging out on the side of the road. Quite handy really.<br />
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It's true, sloths don't move much at all. I watched this dude for ages and he didn't move a muscle .... bit like a few people I know really.<br />
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More pics ...<br />
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<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat left; height: 194px;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/CostaRicaMonteverde?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLfluvjc-obnpQE&feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-QDuCkXpG7Rw/UPCGW5lOMwE/AAAAAAAAgGA/cXIwBWit6ic/s160-c/CostaRicaMonteverde.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0px 0px 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/CostaRicaMonteverde?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLfluvjc-obnpQE&feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Costa Rica - Monteverde</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat left; height: 194px;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/CostaRicaLaFortunaArenalVolcano?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJuX3LKb_6OpPw&feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-awmaK3154gs/UPYcQS0mVhE/AAAAAAAAgLU/QkjVdQSUd2c/s160-c/CostaRicaLaFortunaArenalVolcano.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0px 0px 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/CostaRicaLaFortunaArenalVolcano?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJuX3LKb_6OpPw&feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Costa Rica - La Fortuna & Arenal Volcano</a></td></tr>
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-4316491091519311012013-02-10T13:37:00.001+11:002013-02-10T13:37:13.042+11:00Crossing into Costa Rica<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We were squeezed into a chicken bus as we made our way to the Nicaragua / Costa Rica border. I was lucky enough to snag a seat so had an enjoyable trip watching the goings on and listening to the preacher who had jumped aboard at a road side stop. But I was looking forward to getting out and getting some fresh air <br />
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As we arrived at the border crossing it began to rain. It seems there has been a lot of rain recently ... the bus was parked in a big pile of mud. I grabbed my bag as it was thrown from the top of the bus and squelched through the mud in my flip flops.<br />
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I stopped to change my money, not too worried about the rate as the rain kept coming down.<br />
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We ran past shop stalls along the muddy street and found some shelter near passport control. Mud was flying everywhere! <br />
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The queues at immigration were long, very long. We managed to reduce the 1.5 to 2 hour waiting time by chipping in some cash and paying a local dude to get us to the front of the line.<br />
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Money well spent I say!<br />
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With our passports stamped we were out of Nicaragua and made the mile long walk in the mud through no man's land. The rain had stopped and once again it was steamy as trucks roared by splashing us from the large puddles everywhere.<br />
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Costa Rica immigration is very fancy. There is quite a new building and ropes to sort the queue of people. Not the normal central american experience.<br />
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I got through passport control really quickly and easily and was relaxing with a cold drink waiting for the rest of the group. It seems that some of the dudes get a bit self important sitting in their glass partitions .... they were demanding to see tickets out of the country and all sorts of mallarky before they would let some people through. It caused a little bit of angst to say the least!<br />
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I assume I was too soaked and covered in mud to worry about. Or maybe my innocence got me through ..... mmmm, maybe not.<br />
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But finally, it was welcome to Costa Rica.<br />
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We piled in to mini vans and began the four hour drive to Monteverde .... or the jungle as I prefer to call it.<br />
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Mmmmm away from the beach ... was I going to be ok with this?<br />
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-84075749032287099432013-02-06T21:52:00.001+11:002013-02-06T21:52:10.964+11:00Getting to Ometepe .... when a ferry becomes a freight carrier<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Ever boarded a ferry that you thought was packed. Then sat there as dozens and dozens of people kept coming aboard?<br />
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Jumping on the little ferry to Ometepe Island In Nicaragua was exciting. We had to jump over mud and puddles, carry our bags up a gang plank then grab the last remaining seats squashed up with the locals or park on the deck.<br />
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I thought we were ready to leave, but boy was I mistaken.<br />
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More people kept appearing and squeezing on as the ferry sank lower into the water.<br />
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Finally the gang plank was removed and I thought we were ready to go. But once again I was mistaken. The gang plank thingy was replaced by a bit of timber .... so a dude could get his motorbike on board. This required quite a bit of jostling from the many passengers but finally everyone settled and was ready to go.<br />
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Then a truck pulled up .... stacked to the brim with bags of rice.<br />
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Next thing the dudes are loading the bags into the below deck seating area. I was up on deck but knew what they were doing cause they were just standing on the bank turfing the large bags through the glassless windows.<br />
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By this stage the ferry so very low in the water.<br />
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It was so entertaining.<br />
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I was a bit sad when we finally left the dock, I was sure we could have fitted more stuff on board if we'd tried.<br />
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I was a bit over playing tourist, so my time on the island was very chilled. It's not a bad place to relax.<br />
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And as for the ferry trip back to the mainland .... the boat was really small but as it was 6am there was loads of room for us and for the motorbikes.<br />
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Pics of Granada and Ometepe<br />
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<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat left; height: 194px;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/NicaraguaGranadaOmetepeIsland?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMTf8sq4vsei0wE&feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-tSqdAgDdXOk/UO93hqmYR2E/AAAAAAAAf-Y/CSyKHwn5y7c/s160-c/NicaraguaGranadaOmetepeIsland.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0px 0px 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/NicaraguaGranadaOmetepeIsland?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMTf8sq4vsei0wE&feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Nicaragua - Granada & Ometepe Island</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-83544788877416018782013-02-02T14:16:00.001+11:002013-02-02T14:16:22.042+11:00Welcome to Nicaragua ... hello Granada<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's a long way from Roatan Island in Honduras to Granada in Nicaragua....</span> <br />
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Wanting to make the most of the idyllic island we decided to take the afternoon ferry. We then jumped in a mini van and drove for 3 or 4 hours to the non-descript town of Comayagua. It was after 11pm when we arrived and as we had to be up at 4am the next day it was straight to bed for me.<br />
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The next day was a long one .... 12 bloody hours of travel on not much sleep makes for a grumpy Lynne. Throw in the fact that we were supposed to survive this 12 hours on service station food and there was nearly a riot. Thank god for the Nicaraguan version of KFC is all I can say.<br />
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The boarder crossing from Honduras into Nicaragua was slow but smooth. There seemed to be at least three people assigned to every task, meaning nothing much got done.<br />
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The boarder security was tight, a rope tied to a couple of drums across the road.<br />
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It was a relief to get the stamp in my passport and get back on the road.<br />
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Arriving in Granada I was surprised, very pleasantly surprised. The town has some amazing churches and loads of cute houses. Our hotel was on a cobble stoned pedestrian street. As it was early evening when we arrived the cafes and restaurants had their tables spilling onto the road and people were everywhere.<br />
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Granada is Nicaragua's oldest city and was founded in 1685. It sits at the foot of Volcano Mombacho and is on the shore of Lago de Nicaragua. Now the lake may sound lovely but it's not. Swarming with mosquitoes and swamped with rubbish it's lucky you can't see the shore from the charming town.<br />
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Granada was torched in the mid 1800's during the civil war but many of the buildings have been rebuilt and restored so the colonial charm remains.<br />
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I set out the next day on a tour to explore the surrounding area. First stop was up a volcano. It wasn't a tough climb - we were in a bus. The volcano is still active so youre not allowed to climb to the top or wander around aimlessly. I think it was Volcano Mombacho but I was a bit too consumed by sulphur smells to remember.<br />
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We drove to a look out are and while it was really nice, I was more amazed to see gum trees. Mmmmm gotta love a touch of home.<br />
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Next we stopped for a spot of shopping in a local market. Crazy what you can find in these places.<br />
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I really wanted to buy some of these toilet pictures, just because they were the most random art I've ever seen!<br />
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We travelled up to the village of Catarina for lunch. What a view...<br />
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Before heading back to Granada we stopped in to a local potter's workshop. These guys create amazing pieces using the most basic of equipment... turning the wheel by foot and carving every design by hand.<br />
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As I am a traveller not a shopper (oops I forgot about that when I was in the market!) I stayed away from the pottery that was for sale at ridiculously low prices and amused myself by playing with the local kids.<br />
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But Sarah managed to find a few things that she liked ...<br />
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Back in town I wandered the streets and hung out in parquet central, watching the locals do their their thing.<br />
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I like this town, it has enough to keep me busy but still relaxed and chilled out in that typical Central American style.</div>
Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-30595961144149069872013-01-31T13:56:00.001+11:002013-01-31T13:56:33.954+11:00Relaxed on Roatan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Sometimes getting to another piece of paradise requires a bit of effort. Roatan Island is one of those places.<br />
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We left Copan at 8 am and travelled about 6 hours on yet another bloody bus to get to the ferry. We waited for ages then struggled through the mad crowd to get a seat outside. The ocean was choppy, it was going to be a long and interesting trip.<br />
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Thank god I got a seat outside as it didn't take long for people to start to get sea sick. I put in my iPod, shut my eyes and tried to breathe the fresh salt air. After a couple of hours we had made it to Roatan. It took another age and a bit of rugby type tackling to get our bags then we climbed onto another bus for a 40 minute trip to West End. <br />
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We checked in to our very plush accommodation ... well plush by backpacker standards. There was a back deck with a hammock and views over the water. Now this is my kind of place.<br />
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I woke up the next morning and wandered off to see if this really was paradise. I wasn't disappointed.<br />
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Roatan has picture postcard beaches with the whitest of sand fringed by palm trees. It is a diving mecca with about 100km's of reef not far from shore. And it has an amazing little restaurant run by an Aussie girl .... amazing coffee overlooking the ocean. Ahhhhh.<br />
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The sandy track running along the ocean front is lined with cute little shops, bars and restaurants. This island has become a stop for many large cruise ships so the sleepy seaside village now caters to the demanding cruise ship clientele. But some of the traditions still remain .... I was looking at a dress in a shop when I turned around and saw the owner looking through a pile of iguanas. They were gutted and ready to be booked for dinner! Eeeeww I got out of there rather quickly.<br />
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I decided that if this place was a diving mecca I should take a look. We headed out with a local dude who is a dive master (and part fish) and his offsider who was about 12.<br />
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They took us along the coast to check out the dolphins before heading out to the reef.<br />
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We saw crabs and lobster, loads of small colorful fish and some amazing coral. The water was warm and so very clear.<br />
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Life on Roatan is relaxed and very chilled. No one is in a hurry, they can relax because they are already in paradise. It's my kinda place.<br />
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More pics<br />
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<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat left; height: 194px;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/HondurasRoatanIsland?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJm30ajbntWyvwE&feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NdRbSCZgu9c/UOYVG0uqpNE/AAAAAAAAgBY/9Vi-__P_gNQ/s160-c/HondurasRoatanIsland.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0px 0px 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/HondurasRoatanIsland?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJm30ajbntWyvwE&feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Honduras - Roatan Island</a></td></tr>
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-37265223078014555642013-01-29T01:27:00.000+11:002013-01-29T01:27:07.455+11:00Happy new year Honduras style<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Writing about special occassions such as Christmas or New Year on the road is fun, but it is also a problem.... it let's you know how far behind I am with my blog.<br />
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Not to worry.<br />
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I was up at 4.30am on New Years Eve ... crazy, I know. I hopped onto the bus quite bleary eyed and ready to go back to sleep then realized I'd left my bloody passport in my back pack. I had to get off the bus (a struggle in the cold, dark morning), climb onto the roof of the bus, across all the bags, take the lock off my pack in the dark and find the bloody thing so I could get back inside and try to sleep. Some how I managed to get it quite quickly. Thank god.<br />
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The boarder crossing from Guatemala into Honduras is quite civilized. After some quick paperwork and a couple of passport stamps, it was back in the bus and off to Copan.<br />
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After the touristy town of Antigua I was a bit surprised by Copan. It is a bit of a one horse town with the common accessory seeming to be a gun or a very big knife. Oh well I'll give these dudes the benefit of the doubt and assume the weapons are for farming or hunting or some such normal type activity.<br />
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At least the police were friendly.<br />
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As I wandered around town I got the feeling that the locals didn't come across many travellers .... we seemed to get stared at A LOT. Getting stared at by people with weapons can be a little disconcerting.<br />
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Note: there are no pictures of people with weapons ... I'm not that foolish!<br />
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We headed out to a restaurant bar type place for our last dinner of 2012. The food was good, the strawberry margaritas even better and the tequilla shots kept appearing.<br />
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Then the band started up. I'd obviously had enough tequila to think I was a rock star because I soon found myself on stage belting out a tune or two.<br />
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Funny thing was the band kept inviting me back. Those of you who know me well will know how funny that actually is.<br />
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We saw in the New Year with fireworks over the town square. The men with guns were now throwing crackers .... I toddled off to bed before they really let fire.<br />
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Happy new year!<br />
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Pics of new year shenanigans<br />
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<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat left; height: 194px;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/HondurasCopan03?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNfMiuej7OPFmwE&feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-g5k5oprfs0Q/UONK3I_9Z6E/AAAAAAAAfYk/zUEea4S35Ko/s160-c/HondurasCopan03.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0px 0px 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/HondurasCopan03?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNfMiuej7OPFmwE&feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Honduras - Copan</a></td></tr>
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-28368877188209665102013-01-24T11:23:00.000+11:002013-01-24T11:23:37.051+11:00Soaking up the atmosphere in Antigua<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I decided to take a few days to relax in Antigua. To ensure I made the most of this downtime, I checked in to a hotel with a pool for a few days. Well it isn't really relaxing if you don't have a pool now is it??<br />
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This place also had amazing bed linen ... well it was probably just basic 'nice' linen but I've been sleeping in such dodgy places for so long I'd forgotten what nice linen felt like. Oh, and the bed was so very comfy and so were the pillows. A few nights without lumpy rock hard pillows ..... paradise.<br />
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Antigua was founded in the mid 1500's and was the capital of Guatemala until it was devastated by the 1773 earthquake. The town was slowly rebuilt with much of it's original character retained. The town has been declared a national monument and is also a UNESCO world heritage site. <br />
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I spent my mornings by the pool or in the pool as it was bloody hot, and wandered in to town in the afternoon when the weather started to cool.<br />
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There are many Spanish language schools in the area so there is a constant stream of travelers hanging out. I probably should have checked into language school as my Spanish is really non-existent but decided my miming skills had done ok up until now so why spoil a good thing.<br />
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The influx of travelers in Antigua has led to a load of westernized restaurants and cafes opening. Now I'm all for eating the local fare but it was great to have a change from rice and beans.<br />
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I did indulge just a little in the great coffee and may have tasted key lime pie and chocolate cheesecake with my friend Senait. Well we needed to eat something while using the free wifi.<br />
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Wandering the streets there are some beautiful buildings and some crumbling ruins. <br />
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The streets in the centre of town are cobble stones .... large and very uneven cobble stones. I stumbled along not looking where I'm going, admiring the locals in traditional dress. Some of these people are dressed for the tourists and try and sell all kinds of tat, others are living the traditional life and love to have a chat with an English speaking crazy person (aka me).<br />
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These dudes aren't in traditional dress, they are just random street performers who really weren't at all entertaining.<br />
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The town sits at the base of three volcanoes, Acatenango, Fuego and Agua. I didn't climb any of them ... I preferred to admire the view from my poolside sun lounge. Well with views like this, who could blame me?<br />
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More photos<br />
<table style="width: 194px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat left; height: 194px;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/GuatemalaAntigua?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNDXn7bk_q_iDw&feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yJ2JFlkLnos/UONJ0LlkgnE/AAAAAAAAfPE/2yRgWYza40o/s160-c/GuatemalaAntigua.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0px 0px 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/GuatemalaAntigua?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNDXn7bk_q_iDw&feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Guatemala - Antigua</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-59714998376000696402013-01-18T04:35:00.000+11:002013-01-18T04:35:18.619+11:00Small group travel .... boozed up abroad<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I'm not sure if I've told you, but I decided to do a small group tour through Central America. I'd met loads of travelers full of horror stories of being robbed, held up at knife point etc. I wanted to travel on chicken buses but I also wanted to remain alive. <br />
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Also my very poor (read that as non-existent) Spanish would impede my ability to travel from Mexico to Panama .... if I wanted to find a room, book a bus ticket or eat that is.<br />
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The six week tour I was on can be broken up into 3 x 2 week trips so I've had a few travel buddies with me since Playa, with others coming and going.<br />
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All was going well ... I'd met some amazing people and made some good friends. The basics trips with intrepid are usually made up of like minded people who often travel independently and like to have a bit of fun.<br />
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Then we picked up a few new people in San Jose.<br />
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A very random, mumbling anti-social mid 50s woman joined Vic and I in our room. I thought she was odd but tried to chat to make her feel welcome. My attempts were unsuccessful, but I thought whatevs.<br />
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During the night she had a bit of a screaming fit then early the next morning was mumbling 'don't throw me in the river' when Vic turned the shower on. I had a bit of a giggle but didn't think too much of it. I was also just a little bit disturbed by the aroma she was emitting but she didn't see the need to shower so who am I to judge.<br />
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We headed to the station and boarded the 6am bus bound for Puerto Viejo. Just my luck, I had to sit next to the unwashed one. I pulled out my iPod and settled in for the 4.5 hour trip, trying desperately not to breathe through my nose. At close range she smelt like a homeless, very unwashed wino .... kinda like the dudes living on the streets around my old neighborhood of Kings Cross.<br />
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All was going as well as could be expected when I noticed she was had started sipping out of a cask of wine .... then she started skulling loads of booze. At this stage it wasn't yet 8am. <br />
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Picture it .... it is really, really humid, the road is windy and the great unwashed one has turned into a mountain of jelly. Every time we went round a corner she ended up nearly on top of me. I was slightly disturbed.<br />
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We finally arrived in the amazing beachside town of Puerto Viejo and I scrambled off the bus. I thought the drama was over .... but the best was yet to come.<br />
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The great unwashed one was so drunk ... her eyes were glazed and rolling around in her head and she had trouble standing. She stumbled down the steps of the bus, pushed through everyone then toppled over as she tried to get her bag. She then stood in the path of a moving vehicle before being rescued by our group leader.<br />
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We headed down the sandy road to our accomm. We'd gone about 2 minutes when she bit the dust. Sprawled on the road she was helpless. She was so pissed she was a rag doll ... poor Mong had to use all her energy to try and get her on her feet.<br />
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I kept having a giggle .... well you need to keep your sense of humour or life would be very sad.<br />
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We got to the hotel and the great unwashed one fell into a chair, rolled her eyes and promptly went to sleep. <br />
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The bonus was she was in her own room ... there's no way I'll be bunking down with her again.<br />
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The last I saw of her she was walking around the hotel in her flowing leopard nightwear wearing a headlight on her head!?!<br />
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It is very sad really. I only hope she can pull herself together and she doesn't injure herself ... or one of us for that matter.<br />
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OMG the next two weeks are going to be interesting!<br />
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Update ... It's the next morning as I'm writing this post. She's been out for a walk. Mmmmm, seems she found the liquor store. Oh dear, she's now the proud owner of another stash of wine casks.<br />
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Please note: The people in the photos above are generally normal or only slightly crazy and are only found drinking at 6am if they haven't been to bed yet. There is no photographic evidence of the great unwashed in action as this would be uncharitable.<br />
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-59199394293042040052013-01-16T07:25:00.000+11:002013-01-16T07:25:41.274+11:00It's my birthday!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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I woke up at 4am on Christmas Eve to my phone ringing. I couldn't find it in the dark but it was so nice to know that friends from Australia were calling me for my birthday ... thanks Helen x<br />
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My roomie Sarah wished me a sleepy happy birthday, I sang 'Happy Birthday to me' and prompty went back to sleep.<br />
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When I did wake up properly I was excited. We were heading to Rio Dulce for a few days.<br />
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My fabulous travel buddies surprised me with a birthday gift of a pinata and a bottle of tequila. Apparently the tequila is for every time I miss the pinata. Oh hell!<br />
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We piled into the mini van for the 4 hour drive. Maria (the pinata) took a spot on the back seat. We arrived at a crazy busy town where everyone seemed to be in a Christmas panic. Seems like some things are the same all over the world.<br />
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We stocked up on booze and loaded all our gear into a very small boat for our trip down river. Such a beautiful place ... <br />
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Maria really enjoyed the ride.....<br />
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Our accommodation was amazing ... the perfect place to have a birthday celebration. I felt like I was sleeping in a tree house.<br />
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I donned my tiara, matching jewels and wand (thanks Sar and Eb) and settled in for a fun night. After blowing out the candles it was pinata time.<br />
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I'd never hit a pinata before so was very excited, but that feeling soon disappeared ... Maria was tough to break and I must admit it took a few tequila shots (on my part) to finally break her.<br />
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I made sure I finished her off, then fell into exhaustion.<br />
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I woke the next morning with a surprisingly clear head, it was Christmas.<br />
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We donned our santa hats (mine was a fancy one with flashing lights) and spent a day relaxing in yet another piece of paradise. The day was finished off with a turkey dinner. Who would have expected that in Guatemala!<br />
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Merry (belated) Christmas xx<br />
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<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat left; height: 194px;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/GuatemalaRioDulce?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOGHnbzGx42Bag&feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cuXMW0ToIdU/UNm5hjj8mHE/AAAAAAAAfCI/duE2r_caX1I/s160-c/GuatemalaRioDulce.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0px 0px 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/GuatemalaRioDulce?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOGHnbzGx42Bag&feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Guatemala - Rio dulce</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-10327037235770193532013-01-12T11:39:00.002+11:002013-01-12T11:39:29.778+11:00A magical morning in Guatemala<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Crossing the boarder from Belize into Guatemala was quick and easy so I arrived in the town of Flores early afternoon.<br />
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The town is on a lake and is quite cool for a local Guatemalan town, with a relaxed laid back kinda vibe. We wandered the streets, checked out a random cake stall and popped into the shops. I picked up a beautiful blanket ... well you never know when its going to get cold in Central America!<br />
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It was coming up to Christmas so the locals were in full swing with their Christmas decorations. I got chatting to a family in english (me) and spanish (them) while they were madly putting up thousands of Christmas lights around their house. They invited me in to their home to check out how they had transformed their lounge room. Crazy right? But they were very proud ...<br />
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There was a large christmas tree in the town square. Rather than have a star or angel on top it had a chicken head. Not a real one, but still a chicken head. Well the logo for the local beer is a chicken head so I guess that's the connection???<br />
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You will need to look closely but the tree is at the end of the street...<br />
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Flores is used by tourists as a base to visit the Tikal ruins.<br />
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I decided to join the group to watch the sunrise over the ruins .... so prepared myself for a 2.30am wake up.<br />
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Wearing nearly all the clothes in my pack, I grabbed my torch and jumped on the mini van.<br />
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We walked through the jungle for about an hour in the dark. We were deep in the jungle, what was I thinking?? Then we climbed a pile of stairs and up a towering pyramid. And sat in the dark. And sat.<br />
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The howler monkeys were serenading us as we huddled together in the cold.<br />
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Next thing the sun started to rise, siloutetting the pyramid and the jungle canopy.<br />
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What an experience .... it was totally magical.<br />
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We then had a walk around the site. The pyramids rise up out of the jungle and some are over 60 metre high.<br />
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The Mayans settled in Tikal around 700BC and had built a series of stone ceremonial structures by 200BC. By the middle of the 6th century Tikal covered an area of over 30 square km's and was thought to have a population of over 100,000.<br />
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The ruins of Tikal weren't discovered until 1848. What a find it was ... thousands of ruins hidden by the jungle. The most impressive structures for me were Temples I and II. <br />
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And nearly impressive as the ruins was the amazing expresso I discovered at a little kiosk on the way out. Sometimes its the big things and other times its the little things in life .... on this day I had it all.<br />
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All the pics...<br />
<table style="width: 194px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat left; height: 194px;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/GuatemalaFloresTikal?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNDzt8SI3qbIrQE&feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-M2T88mMy-SE/UNfKXt7xq3E/AAAAAAAAew0/qdGWoOxznDE/s160-c/GuatemalaFloresTikal.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0px 0px 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/GuatemalaFloresTikal?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNDzt8SI3qbIrQE&feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Guatemala - Flores / Tikal</a></td></tr>
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-7466490056624759902013-01-09T15:01:00.001+11:002013-01-09T15:01:09.913+11:00Belize .... discovering a tropical paradise<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The boarder crossing from Mexico into Belize has a reputation for being crazy. So rather than spend hours trying to get into Belize we decided to take a boat. <br />
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Our destination was Caye Caulker and there was a regular boat service going straight there .... with one stop on the neighboring island of San Pedro to pop into a sandy floored hut to clear passport control. Too easy.<br />
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Welcome to Belize!<br />
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Caye Caulker is a small island, about 800 metres long and only 3 streets across, aptly names front street, middle street and back street. There are no cars on the island but if you can't bring yourself to walk a few hundred metres there's always a golf buggy for hire.</div>
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Caulker has such a Carribean feel and the locals are some of the most relaxed people on the planet. Understandable really as they live in paradise.<br />
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Fruit stalls set up each morning and there is some amazing coffee to be had at any number of the beach front cafes. A tropical island and good coffee .... I was one happy girl!<br />
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Walking the streets I loved watching the children play. The sandy streets are their playground and the whole island is like their backyard. They seemed so happy and had so much freedom.<br />
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Being an island the seafood on Caulker was amazing. Dinner one night was had at Fran's sitting outside a tiny hut munching on delicious prawns or lobster for a few dollars ... or whatever the local currency was called. I should have taken some pics of the currency as they still have the queen on their notes. It's an old shot as Lizzie looks a teenager!<br />
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My time on the island was way too short. Why I didnt try and get residency here I'll never know!<br />
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-1074771063790408932013-01-04T11:27:00.002+11:002013-01-04T11:31:48.340+11:00Life's a beach in Mexico<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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For those of you that know me, you know that I love the beach. I crave very hot weather, powdery white sand and crystal clear waters.</div>
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I didn't have a lot of time to to discover secluded beaches is Mexico so made the most of the popular tourist haunts.<br />
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My stays in both Playa del Carmen and Cancun were little pieces of luxury. Together with three new friends, we checked into all inclusive resorts in both beachside towns.<br />
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In Australia it is rare to find an all inclusive resort so I had never experienced this type of holiday. It was good but there is a trap .... the cocktail intake was very high and drinking commenced quite early in the day. But it's hard to refuse ... actually I didn't even try.<br />
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I loved Playa. While it is jam packed with tourists it has a load of charm ... kinda like Palm Cove in far north Queensland but on a much bigger scale.<br />
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Cancun on the other hand is the Gold Coast on steroids. You wouldn't be mistaken for thinking you are in the US rather than Mexico. But the beach was amazing. And the fact that a little man would deliver cocktails to you on the beach made this place perfect.<br />
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There were loads of random dudes dressed up like this ... one way to try and make money I guess.</div>
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With my fabulous friends Teresia, Olga and Gemma ...<br />
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After this luxury I headed south to Tulum. Mmmmm amazing beaches. Think the finest white powdery sand you've ever seen .... it compares to White Haven beach in the Whitsundays. I spent a few days relaxing on the beach and swimming in the clear blue water.<br />
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But I did manage to do a little bit on sight seeing. It wasn't hard as the Tulum Ruins are perched on a cliff overlooking the beach. I wandered around checking out the ruins but actually had more fun watching the iguanas that seem to run the place.<br />
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I wandered through the ruins for a bit but soon the water beckoned .... there is nothing quite like the waters of the Carribean.<br />
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A few more pics .....<br />
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-70098998985730254802012-12-31T04:31:00.000+11:002012-12-31T04:31:38.670+11:00Cuba ... heading west<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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All to soon it was time to leave Havana and head west to explore the Pinar del Rio province. <br />
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We travelled through the national park on Peninsular de Guanahacabibes to the spectacular Maria la Gorda. This is a very remote beach which is the base for some of the best diving in Cuba. <br />
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It was a tough few days here ....<br />
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Please disregard the different coloured toe nails!<br />
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Eventually I dragged myself off my sun lounge and headed to Vinales.<br />
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The road trip was fun, stopping off to check out a rum factory, a cigar factory and eat street pizza with the locals.<br />
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This small town is nestled in Valle de Vinales which was declared a world heritage site in the 90's for it's rocky outcrops and amazing architecture of traditional farms and villages. We stopped at a look out on the way into town to admire the view.<br />
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I settled into Casa Pippa & Myra, my home stay for the next three days. While I don't speak spanish I soon felt at home. It may be because Myra reminded me so much of Grace, my friend Tannie's mum!<br />
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We went for a big walk out of town, through different farms and popped through a cave. The landscape is spectacular. <br />
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But even more amazing was watching the farmers at work. No machines for these guys, it's horse or oxen power all the way. It's not strange to see a farmer head through town on a horse and cart, wearing is cowboy hat.<br />
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We stopped at a coffee and tobacco farm. Yes, I know, my kinda place. While the coffee pot was set to boiling on the wood stove the old lady who ran the farm whipped up a cigar. Her speed was incredible, one minute there were some tobacco leaves, the next minute she was puffing away. So I joined in, it would have been rude not to really.<br />
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We also stopped at another farm where there was a fresh juice stall. Nothing like fresh pineapple juice right from the source.<br />
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Climbing up the rocks and through a dark cave we came out to an amazing view. And it was loads of fun climbing around in my havai's. Those flip flops make for mighty fine climbing boots!<br />
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The next day we popped to the beach, about and hour and a half from town. The beach was amazing and the water was so very clear.<br />
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We also visited a farm that has been given UNESCO funding due to the array to produce and how it is farmed. We could have played in the dirt with the farmer but I chose to relax on the balcony and sip cocktails before having a yummy home cooked meal. I think this family should get UNESCO funding for their cocktail making skills .... mmm they were good.<br />
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Evenings were spent at an open air salsa bar. Now while I suck at salsa I loved watching the locals strut their stuff. Never have I seen people so happy to dance. If the men ran out of partners they danced together. I think this was preferable than trying to teach us gringos the moves!<br />
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The locals in this town live a very basic life but they are some of the nicest and happiest people I had ever met. Its amazing what a bit of salsa, Cuban rum and a cigar or two can do to keep the smiles on peoples faces.<br />
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This is a ration store, not much on offer....<br />
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While I was only in Cuba for 8 days, it was long enough to know that I will be back for sure.<br />
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More photos<br />
<table style="width: 194px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat left; height: 194px;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/CubaMariaLaGordaVinales?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMny1erNnrC60QE&feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-crQF-ZQqu-Q/UM0NVAY3KvE/AAAAAAAAd1g/Lc2-PBeXB_Q/s160-c/CubaMariaLaGordaVinales.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0px 0px 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/CubaMariaLaGordaVinales?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMny1erNnrC60QE&feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Cuba - Maria La Gorda &Vinales</a></td></tr>
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-27944519927792859522012-12-29T07:47:00.001+11:002012-12-29T07:47:33.967+11:00Cuba. Viva la revolution!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">After a week of relaxing on the beaches of Playa del Carmen and Cancun it was time to head to Cuba. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was excited!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I had wanted to visit this country for such a long time, I wanted to see if all that I heard was true.</span><br />
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Cuba is amazing. It is like no other country I have visited. It really is like being transported back in time. And it is a series of contradictions. The people are economically poor but culturally so very rich. Many of the buildings are crumbling and decayed but the streets are full of music and laughter.<br />
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The waterfront is a popular meeting place for the locals, particularly at night. With not enough money to go out, this waterfront promenade becomes the local hangout with lots of music and of course rum.<br />
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The streets are full of cars from the 50s and 60s, some in immaculate condition but many blowing smoke and carrying loads of people. <br />
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Walking the streets of Havana you can't help but marvel at the spirit of the people. The government wage is $150 a month coupled with rations to pick up the basics from the ration stores. Housing, education and health care is provided by the government but it is tough existence. But the spirit of the people is so very strong.<br />
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Music, rum, cigars and salsa seem to be part of everyday life. Walking the streets of old Havana the buildings are restored and the people are out working the tourists. But you can't help but dance down the streets to the music while trying to dodge the ever present cigar smoke.<br />
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The people dress in modern clothes and always seem to be eating ice-cream. Well why not when it is government subsidized. I went to the famous ice-cream shop and was prepared to line up with the locals. But tourists were sent to a different ice-cream stand, no queues and a higher price .... but very good ice-cream.<br />
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Facilities in Cuba are very hit and miss. One day I had loads of water in my shower, the next day just a dribble. I wasn't there long enough to get the day with hot water. Wifi is non existent but some hotels have computers that can be used if you buy a log in card. Usually they have run out of log in cards.<br />
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But none of this mattered. It was easy to just make do.<br />
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It was magical. <br />
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All to soon I was leaving Havana to explore the western province of the country. But Havana sure gets under your skin.<br />
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My Havana photos<br />
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-82025282848989611222012-12-22T11:23:00.001+11:002012-12-22T11:23:51.875+11:00Amazing Mayans .... Chichen Itza<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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If you're in to Mayan ruins, then Chichen Itza is a must see.<br />
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This site is one of Mexico's most famous archaeological sites .... as the hordes of tourist buses would attest to.<br />
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But we arrived relatively early so managed to see most of the site before the multitudes descended.<br />
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The main area of the site is the Great Plaza which is home to the Castle Pyramid, El Castillo. It is designed to represent the Mayan calendar and our guide (who was also our bus driver) got very passionate about giving us intricate detail about angles of the sun, time of year etc etc. It was really rather interesting and he managed to hold my attention, quite a challenging thing to do at times.<br />
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The pyramid is a series of steps and if you look across the corners each step is a perfect right-angle triangle. There are smaller steps running up the middle of each side. You're not allowed to climb on this pyramid so the dude who was doing maintenance half way up thought he was pretty special.<br />
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There is an enormous ball court called Gran Juego de Pelota. The court has a ring half way down each side, but they are so high it makes you wonder what kind of game these dudes were playing. The acoustics in this area are amazing .... I clapped a few times but really should have belted out a song or two to really test it out.<br />
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The temple at one end of the plaza has a sacrifice stone. If you've read some of my earlier posts you would know that we tried to make use of these stones whenever possible. In another area around 50 skeletons have been found .... not sure if they were naughty and were sacrificed or if they were special people who were honored.<br />
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The detail in some of the stones is amazing. I particularly like the rows of skeleton heads.<br />
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As with all major tourist sites, the touts are about. Actually there is an over abundance of them. This would annoy many people but I managed to pick up a cool skull singlet at an over inflated price, but I was happy.<br />
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As we left the site we met a wall of people coming in. The ruins are cool but if I'd arrived a bit later I may have turned around and kept on going.<br />
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<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat left; height: 194px;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/MexicoChichenItza?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIrGkce9hvrE8QE&feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-IrGF0VLC7ng/ULokIR6vVME/AAAAAAAAcr4/2UM9NMzkulU/s160-c/MexicoChichenItza.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0px 0px 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/MexicoChichenItza?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIrGkce9hvrE8QE&feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Mexico - Chichen Itza</a></td></tr>
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-77567476854726266612012-12-20T05:54:00.001+11:002012-12-20T05:54:31.764+11:00Roadtrippin' thru Mexico .... Palenque & Merida <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rO6lDDUsL1M/ULWCNwTt46I/AAAAAAAAb2I/4VPAwC2mgqI/s1600/IMAGE_1000013207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rO6lDDUsL1M/ULWCNwTt46I/AAAAAAAAb2I/4VPAwC2mgqI/s320/IMAGE_1000013207.JPG" width="320" /></a>We decided to hire a mini bus to make the trip to Palenque.<br />
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We were delayed slightly (read that as 2.5 hours) when the locals decided it was time for some fund raising.<br />
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They blocked the only road through town and everyone had to pay to get through. Cars, buses and trucks were lined up for miles. Soon the streets filled with kids trying to cash in on this captive audience.<br />
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Ok so we got a little bored and had to play on the roof of the bus...<br />
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After a long drive it was a relief to stop at a waterfall and have a dip. The water was refreshing to say the least.<br />
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Palenque is famous for it's Mayan pyramids. These ruins seem to have grown out of the rainforest. The precision and detail of the buildings is amazing. While very different, there are loads of similarities to the Egyptian pyramids. Kinda made me wonder if the Mayans and Egyptians had ever shared building stories over a tequilla or two.<br />
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This site is one of the best examples of Mayan architecture in Mexico. There are hundreds of ruins spread over about 15 square km's but only some of the buildings have been uncovered. Probably a good thing as it was way too hot to walk the entire site.<br />
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The area was first occupied in 100 BC but flourished from AD 630 to 740. It's incredible to think that all the buildings were constructed without the use of metal tools, pack animals or the wheel. Quite impressive really.<br />
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We may have 'sacrificed' Fabian on the steps of the ruins.....<br />
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The walk out of the ruins kinda reminded me of being in Tasmania ... except it was very hot.<br />
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The next stop was the town of Merida. I got off the bus and headed to the hotel. It was only after I'd checked in that I realized that my bag of presents for my family were still under the bus seat. It took a trip back to the bus station and another to the bus depot the next day to retreive the bag. After all that running around I headed straight to DHL to ship the stuff back to Oz. Bloody nightmare.<br />
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Merida is known as the cultural capital of the Yucatan Peninsular. There are cobbled streets, impressive plazas and interesting little shops. I did a spin round town on the tourist bus to check out the sites.<br />
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Soon it was time to hit the road ... more ruins and some beach life coming up.<br />
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<table style="width: 194px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat left; height: 194px;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/MexicoPalenque?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIiurbPOt4unZA&feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-YQYWp8_DBHo/ULWAxhKufHE/AAAAAAAAcHE/PTh90tbOia8/s160-c/MexicoPalenque.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0px 0px 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/MexicoPalenque?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIiurbPOt4unZA&feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Mexico - Palenque</a></td></tr>
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<table style="width: 194px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat left; height: 194px;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/MexicoMerida?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCM-VuvDlwaGT0gE&feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-u-eGR340woU/ULf-tedDnJE/AAAAAAAAcds/mURTKdVGPaA/s160-c/MexicoMerida.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0px 0px 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/MexicoMerida?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCM-VuvDlwaGT0gE&feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Mexico - Merida</a></td></tr>
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-33982501432694526092012-12-17T10:04:00.001+11:002012-12-17T10:04:04.236+11:00San Cristobal ... traditional and tequilla<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Stepping off the overnight bus in San Cristobal at 7 am I was hit by a wall of cold. This town is at high altitude which means it is bloody freezing at night and early morning. But my concerns about the cold were soon forgotten as I walked through the cobble stoned streets filled with interesting people ... this place is so very charming. Even better, I found a place that has amazing coffee so all was good with the world.<br />
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San Cristobal is nestled in a higland valley and is surrounded by pine forests. It sits within a very indigenous area with Tzotzil and Tzeltal villages all around. These traditional people sell their wares at the many market stalls making for some fun and interesting shopping. <br />
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(Mum, hope you like the colourful wall hangings as you are now the proud owner of one.)<br />
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The area has a lot of Zapatista sympathisers, a few of which we came across on a drive to a nearby town. I did want to stop for a chat but thought it probably wasn't such a great idea.<br />
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We decided to visit the small town of Chamula, about 15 minutes from San Cristobal which is home to the Tzotzil people who believe strongly in tradition. The men wear tunics of homespun wool but many mix up their look with a cowboy hat.<br />
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They worship at Templo de San Juan. A simple white church that dominates the town square. Tourists are permitted to visit the church but are strictly forbidden to take photographs as the locals believe the camera removes the spirit from the body. Interesting.<br />
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The floor of the church is covered with a thick layer of pine needles and there are thousands of candles set up in rows all over the floor. Worshippers kneel amongst the pine needles and quietly chant while others are blessed by what I assume are holy people. I've been into some of the grandest cathedrals in the world but none of them has been as amazing as this simple but powerful place of prayer.<br />
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But life isn't all about churches, I am in Mexico so there is always some tequila thrown in. We had a fun afternoon on the rooftop terrace of our hotel downing a tequila shot or three before hitting a local bar. Well, what's a night out without a bit of bar dancing and a singalong.<br />
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Yes, I know, some things will never change!<br />
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Photos from San Cristobal<br />
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-15020420769794269362012-12-08T06:56:00.000+11:002012-12-08T06:56:00.511+11:00Taking to the kitchen in Oaxaca<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">For those of you who know me well, you would have heard me say many times 'I can cook but I choose not to'. And its true. I don't get the buzz out of cooking that some people do, I don't get that at all.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4ScaRYj8sjc/ULATV7eRQSI/AAAAAAAAbj8/l1d59a0_-kk/s1600/IMAGE_1000013015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4ScaRYj8sjc/ULATV7eRQSI/AAAAAAAAbj8/l1d59a0_-kk/s320/IMAGE_1000013015.JPG" width="320" /></a>So why then would I choose to spend my time and money on cooking school you may ask. Well the thing is, food in Mexico is awesome, super awesome in fact. The fact that I can't speak or read spanish has me ordering all sorts of dishes that I have no idea about, but they are all good. And spicy.<br />
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So off to cooking school it was for me and my buddies Olga, Jemma and Ryan. Well it wasn't really school, more a family home with people who taught us gringos about Mexican food. But whatevs.<br />
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We started the day at the local markets. We had loads of fun checking out where the locals do their shopping.<br />
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The flowers were beautiful but I must try and stay focussed. I'm here for food shopping today,<br />
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We bought all the produce we needed then headed to the kitchen to cook up a storm.<br />
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On the menu was a mole, that yummy sauce that is famous in this area. It has loads of ingredients, lots of kick and a big handful of chocolate. It is perfect. Oaxaca has seven different types of mole but we were making just one kind today.<br />
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We also whipped up stuffed peppers (chilli's not capsicums). The peppers were stuffed with a chicken dish that had to simmer forever. This dish was really, really hot. Poor Jemma nearly went purple when she tried it. Maybe because I left most of the seeds in perhap??<br />
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Oh, I may have needed a little rest before taking to the kitchen. The mum of the house was kind enough to rock me for a bit. Very nice of her really.<br />
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</div> Olga and Jemma shred some chicken. Please note, this is not the chicken you saw with legs in the air in the market. We're not that crazy!<br />
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Ryan is a dab hand with the tomatoes.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BGlub0eAddA/ULAT2FuiJNI/AAAAAAAAblU/RzIEhQGZK7I/s1600/IMAGE_1000013027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BGlub0eAddA/ULAT2FuiJNI/AAAAAAAAblU/RzIEhQGZK7I/s320/IMAGE_1000013027.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> What a picture of concentration I am whilst stuffing the peppers. Shame I didn't focus that much when I was supposedly seeding them.<br />
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This dish was so very good.....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H3ZGrN1gktI/ULAUm9EXI7I/AAAAAAAAbnc/hE6u3V-2GKs/s1600/IMAGE_1000013050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H3ZGrN1gktI/ULAUm9EXI7I/AAAAAAAAbnc/hE6u3V-2GKs/s320/IMAGE_1000013050.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> And these are the peppers that nearly brought an end to poor Jemma....<br />
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It was a fun day and the best part was that the food we made was edible. Well actually it was delicious. We relaxed with a magarita or two then took our tired bodies off for a massage. Well being in the kitchen is rather stressful!<br />
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</div>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-32004824689582597412012-12-06T16:20:00.004+11:002012-12-06T16:20:53.841+11:00Puebla ... a Mexican gem<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Leaving Mexico City, it was time to check out some of the other areas of this fabulous country that is Mexico. We jumped on the local bus and mmmmm luxury. This was no chicken bus, this was comfy seat, air con first class luxury kinda bus. I could sure get used to this.<br />
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Puebla was the first stop. This city is the fifth largest in the country, but has a relaxed vibe and smaller town feel. <br />
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The centre of the town is dominated by the cathedral and the large square where the locals congregate and random street performers are not fussy about who joins in on the act.<br />
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Yes that's right, if you look closely you can see that I joined in a clown act. It was quite fun for a while.<br />
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The town is spotlessly clean and there is some amazing architecture. What is it with me and buildings ... seems I've developed a fetish for cool or weird buildings along my travels.<br />
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We wandered through the local markets......<br />
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Had a quick snack ...<br />
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Then headed across town to the wrestling. This mexican wrestling lark is a scream. The dudes dress up and wear the coolest masks. While it was very obvious each fight was well rehearsed, the drama and flair along with the food trucks and cold beer made for a good night.<br />
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After a leisurely breakfast overlooking the square, we jumped on the local bus to the town of Cholula. This town is packed with churches and we were planning to visit the church on the hill with views to an active volcano .... but things started to go a bit wrong on the bus. <br />
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Check out the smoke coming out of the volcano ... it was very cool.<br />
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Without giving you all the gory details, it seems that the dude who made my morning coffee didn't boil the water. My tummy was gurgling and I only just made it off the bus in time.<br />
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While I did get to see a bit of the town and local festival I also saw a whole lot of the local toilets. But you will be pleased to know I made it home on the bus without incident (but with imodium)!<br />
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<table style="width: 194px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat left; height: 194px;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/MexicoPuebla?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMDiuP_5p5qioQE&feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-e3sgwu7shNc/UKrcwHEmBbE/AAAAAAAAa80/bsb8cEa-yOQ/s160-c/MexicoPuebla.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0px 0px 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/MexicoPuebla?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMDiuP_5p5qioQE&feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Mexico - Puebla</a></td></tr>
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221907477626030251.post-14614544969720773792012-11-30T10:54:00.001+11:002012-11-30T10:54:13.950+11:00Hola Mexico City<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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If you listen to the media reports and to many (typically non backpacking travellers Mexico City is a very dangerous place. So I was a little wary about this city. I was joining an intrepid tour through the country but had a day to myself first. I headed out bright and early to see what the city had to offer.<br />
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Mexico City, the biggest city in North America is amazing. Not only did I feel safe wandering the streets, the locals are so friendly and the street food is amazing.<br />
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I checked out the street art, sculptures and random weird people. Wandering around the packed central square was a feast on the senses and also a bit humorous.<br />
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I headed to the 37th floor of some building and checked out this enormous city, it goes on forever.<br />
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It was a Mexican long weekend so the day I headed south to Belles Artes to have a boat ride it was jam packed. So many Mexican families had turned their boats into mobile parties, complete with mariachi bands. The numerous river vendors were selling everything you could think of, and a few things you would never contemplate.<br />
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My time in Mexico City was so much fun ... hanging out with a mariachi band, kicking police shields, margaritas and a tequila shot or two. And fab travel buddies. By the time we left Mexico City it felt like we'd known each other for years.<br />
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I love Mexico City ..... can't wait to see what else this country has to offer.<br />
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Mexico City photos<br />
<table style="width: 194px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat left; height: 194px;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/MexicoMexicoCity?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNbx1qqah9jTIg&feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-DYerPvfvOk4/UKgyCIdqi8E/AAAAAAAAaQA/PqNS5nK4N3M/s160-c/MexicoMexicoCity.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0px 0px 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114744556410208547930/MexicoMexicoCity?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNbx1qqah9jTIg&feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Mexico - Mexico city</a></td></tr>
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072361541554482051noreply@blogger.com1