The joys of South America...

Leaving the panoramic landscapes of New Zealand was no easy task. Everywhere we went we had been greeted by outstanding views and incredibly friendly people. I would be lying if I said I didnt´t want to stay for longer but as the old adage goes all good things must come to an end and this was no exception. My enthusiasm for staying in New Zealand was compounded by fears of the hurdles which were to face us in South America. We had heard horror stories of armed raids on tourist buses, corrupt police and political instability. This, combined with an inept grasp of the Spanish language, pointed to only one thing - disaster. But after 2 weeks, armed with no more then a pocket dictionary and an extremely enthusiastic sidekick in Mr Taylor, our travels have gone relatively smoothly. This has been at least partly down to a limpet like attitude where we cling on to anyone with fluent Spanish (thanks Andreas, cheers Tom!) but even on our own we have managed to avoid any real problems. Well all except one time...

As already stated Andy´s attitude towards South America has been admirable. The eager beaver´s enthusiasm with learning the language and conversing with the locals cannot be faulted. But as we know sometimes enthusiasm can get you into trouble. During one night dining at a fantastic restaurant in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, Andy decides to order the pizza (Woody I am sure this does not surprise you one bit). As the waitress brings out his order on a plate the size of a dustbin lid, you can see the crocs eyes light up as he rubs his little hands together in anticipation. After devouring the feast in record timing Andy calls the waitress over ´Hola senorita, uno mas por favour´( one more please) before cracking up at his sour chat and explaining to the bemused waitress that he was joking. Andy´s look of satisfaction soon changed to a look of horror as the waitress returned carrying another gigantic pizza. In fairness to the boy he still managed to devour everything but the look of satisfaction was long gone. Moral of the story - learn to walk before you can run.

San Pedro de Atatcama, the scene of Andy´s gluttonous behaviour, was the best place we visited in Chile. An oasis in the driest desert in the world the place was like nowhere we had been on Tour de World. A tourist haven, it offered great food (albeit relatively expensive), great views and, surprisingly for a desert, an incredible football pitch! Unfortunately the locals wouldn´t let me play without boots. I think i could smell the fear...



Incredible artificial pitch



Desert uni...anyone fancy a post grad?

During our time at Atacama we thought it wise to do one of the many trips on offer. After a little bit of reasearch we settled on the 4am trip to see some geysers and visit some hot springs. Our tour guide told us it can get quite chilly at this time in the morning so we should wrap up warm. Always one to heed advice I rocked up in boardies and flip flops - I mean cold for these desert dwellers has to be around 15 degrees right?! We eventually arrived at our destination with ice on our bus´windows to temperatures of minus ten! It was BALTIC! I have since been told by some Israeli girls we met after the trip that everybody on their bus was taking photos of the crazy guy in shorts claiming ´he must be Russian´. I´ll admit...it may have been a mistake. In fact the whole tour was pretty average, the main highlight being the opportunity to eat some delicious, but over priced, alpaca kebabs.



San Pedro geysers

Not content with proving our masculinity in the freezing cold we decided to do what all real men in this part of the world do - become a gaucho. Admittedly ours was only for one day and we certainly couldn´t say we had the swagger of confidence so evident in the typical gaucho as Andy, myself and 3 guys we had met from Northampton all timidly looked up at our steeds for the day. All of us were praying to be on the smallest one.


Andy looking petrified on his very own Donkey from Shrek

Despite our early fears, the horse riding was easier and more comfortable than first expected. Occasionally, on a whim, my horse just decided to start running for no reason but after a firm tug on the reigns and a stern telling off he was under no illusion who was the boss in this relationship. By the end of the trip I was even dabbling in a gallop or two...Epsom here I come.

Currently we are residing in Cusco, Peru. An incredible city full of history (and tourists) we are thoroughly enjoying our time here and have just returned from the Modern Wonder of the World that is Macchu Picchu. Hopefully I will have an update for you from that in a day or two but before I go here are a few more highlights thus far!


Andy destroying the dirt food Chorrillana - every meat you can think of on a mound of chips




Prison in Valparaiso



View from restaurant in Cusco



The "Virgin" Mary and I




Everywhere in S.A. sells cheap Alpaca goods - woolly jumpers all round for presents then!

As promised...

Ok most of you have sen this by now but thought id put it up anyway. Sorry for the delay

Leap of Faith

Ok so I have just booked my bungy and will be jumping in less then 2 hours. Absolutely petrified - don't know why I have done it, I hate heights. Guess I am a sucker for a bargain; for less then 40quid I couldn't say no. It is not an irrational fear, it is not as though I think that I am going to end up dead or maimed, it is quite simply having enough courage to take that leap of faith and more importantly going head first. I guess you just have to trust that these people know what they are doing. Others have compared it to putting your life in the hands of doctors everytime you go into the hospital. I'm not convinced any of these characters have done 5 years at 'bungy school'.

Wish me luck and I'll be sure to get an post-jump analysis up on here :)

Arriving in New Zealand

Heyyy I'm back...so I'll get straight into it!

So leaving Oz after 3 great months was no easy task but a HUUUGE knees up on our last night with various friend we'd accrued on the way meant that there was no better way to say goodbye (excluding the inevitable hungover flight!) That being said I would be lying if I told you I wasn't a little apprehensive about leaving the sun baked sands of OZ for the snow capped mountains of New Zealand, after all my wardrobe consisted entirely of shorts, t-shirts and flipflops/thongs/jandals. However I did have more then one reason to be optimistic. Firstly, everyone we met who had been could not praise the place enough. More importantly however, we had the exciting news that we were to be a triplet again. John 'Vulcan' Cronley was to be joining us for the first 10 days of our trip. And just like the newbie at school John was to fall foul to initiation tactics - a classic de-keg. The only thing spoiling the beautiful view at Lake Tekapo that day was John's tackle...and no we were not fishing. (picture to follow - once that useless Taylor character has emailed it to me!)

Moving on from Lake Tekapo we headed down to take in the awesome sights of Mount Cook - the car journey was incredible. Rolling plains bordered by snow capped mountains dominated the horizon. One thing that strike me about New Zealand is the driving. It is never boring. Awesome views, awesome roads - rising, falling, twisiting turning - and it is impossible to get lost. If only we weren't driving in a pedestrian Nissan Sunny automatic... Anyway back to Mount Cook. As imposing as it is Mt. Cook was a little disappointing. There wasn't a great deal to do there, the views of the glacier were average and the unless you were planning to climb the damn thing we struggled to see there was anything we could. With that in mind we dedicided to sack of staying there and get back on the road. Not before we indulged in a little something to make up for the disappointment. From the Hermitage Hotel, looking over at incredible views of the mountain range we dedcided to attack the cake section of the hotel. Enjoyed.

From there we headed on to Queenstown - the activity hub of New Zealand's South Island. More importantly however, the home of the Fergburger (cheers, Carly!) Now these burgers are clearly the most incredible burgers anybody has ever eaten...anywhere. Now I know that is a bold statement but I'm sure that both John and Andy will back me up on this. From Lamb to Venison, Chicken to Falafel...you can get anything and they are alll HUUGE! And Schwinny, just so you can fully understand what you are missing out on, you can find the menu here.



So I realise I have spoken very little about anything other then food here but it was honestly that good! I've run outta time now but will get back on a bit later to let you know about all the crazy sports we got upto in Q-Town in between the obligatory drinking sessions out of teapots ofcourse!

Reading on the go

One of the great things about my travels so far is how much opportunity I have had to read. Back at home I was guilty of always choosing a million other different things to do rather than read. It is a shame really as I used to go through mountains of books as a kid. At last count I had managed over 10 books thus far on Tour De World but the problem is I keep forgetting all of the books I have read. So I thought I could use this post as an opportunity to keep a running tally of the literature devoured on TDW, give my views and recommendations and hopefully get a few ideas from you guys as to what to read next:

Alex Ferguson's Autobiography: Does exactly what it says on the tin. Interesting enough read if you are passionate about football - 6/10

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe: I read this as an insight into children's literature as I planned to do some writing while away. It is an extremely simple book but the author is a great storyteller; it is clearly designed to be read aloud 6/10

Prince Caspian: Second book of the Narnia collection - was massively disappointing. Boring - 4/10

The Dawn Treader: My third and final Narnia book. Much better then the previous installment. Storyline was good and had all the neccessary ingredients for a great bedtime story 6/10

Kane and Abel A great novel by Jeffrey Archer. Intricate and engaging plot and one of the best books I have read on TDW. Definately recommend it to anyone who is yet to discover Archer. 8/10

The Three Musketeers : Probably the best classic I have had the pleasure to read. Engaging, poetic, it has everything 9/10

Bringing Down the House - Ben Mezrich: If you love gambling/vegas/blackjack this is a great read. The true story on which the film '21' is based. Shows somebody does win at the casinos! 8/10

Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini: Emotional rollercoaster of a book. Riveting, powerful I finished it in a day. Not normally my type of book but I couldn't put it down. If you haven't read it, it should be first on the list. 9/10

Prodigal Daughter - Jeffrey Archer: Sequel to Kane and Abel but unfortunately not in the same class. Interesting enough read but plot was nowhere near as engaging. 7/10

So that was a selection of some of the best books I've read on TDW. I've been lucky and found some absolute crackers but struggling to decide what to read now. Any ideas guys let me know! Oh, and Woody, if i have forgotten any give me a shout!

The age old question: What is art?!

So I touched down in Adelaide today after a week partying in Cairns and proceeded to do what any other self respecting culture vulture (guilty) would - visit the museum and the art gallary. I understand and enjoy museums, I get them - they are a way of documenting history and highlighting our ancestry; they are an education. So I pottered around quite happily: stuffed animals - tick, weapons of indigenous tribes - tick, pottery - tick...museum = done. Next was the art gallery. Now I am the first to admit I take to numbers and words more readily then drawing, design or art. I seem to recall my art teacher regarding me as a lost cause. Nevertheless I was determined to go into the gallery with an open mind and happy to learn something. The early works were enjoyable; I am not much of a portrait man ( if I wanted to look at an ancient lady I'd take a glance towards my Aunty Val - sorry Val!)but I enjoyed the landscapes. Again I can appreciate them as a documentation of history as well as for their aesthetic qualities. But this is where all of the enjoyment ceased. As I moved into the modern art section i was confronted with pieces that can only be described as scribbles and doodles. It is probably just me but I am unable to comprehend modern art. Let me show you why - if i was to present this to my former art teacher I am convinced his response would be ' Woodley...what the hell is that?'



Furthermore, if I was then to reply to him "Why sir it is 'Paler than Pale Custard Cream Moonlight Off White Old Ivory Irish Linen Cream Natural Beeswax Cornsilf Falmouth Hawain Sunset Palona Burnous' of course" I doubt very much if I would have ever made it out of the classroom. It looks like the tea stained paper you used to make as a kid to use as ancient scrolls. My 3 year old niece could do a similar job. SO if anyone can explain to me how this can make it into a national gallery please do not hesitate!!

100 - not out

Despite some near misses we have reached our century today with the triplet all alive and well and with no-one desperate to return home! To celebrate James and I decided to go white water rafting followed by paella for dinner which Andy dutifully stayed behind and prepared for us - he's a good little croc. On our way to the rafting we worked out that Mr. Woodroof and myself had seen eachother everyday for 100 days straight. I'm not sure if I have seen anyone for such a long period since I was 16! Anyone who has the pleasure of knowing James can surely understand the torture which I have had to withstand. Anyway back to the rafting - we spent an amazing day on the rapids both in and out of the boat, sliding down mini waterfalls being plunged 5 metres under water ( we had to equalize our ears on the way down!)and jumping off 15 ft rocks. Both petrifying and exhilarating it was a great way to celebrate day 100. And how could this day get any better?? The paella was absolutely 10/10 - well done croc.