Water ski-ing

Chris and I had a ball water ski-ing, I think the photos say it all, and I know, my technique is
terrible!

Here's a pic of the whole party.

What Santa does in his spare time...

Mona's parents kindly allowed us to spend the day out on the boat with them on the dam near their home in Nigel. I had my first experience of water ski-ing and I loved it.

The following day my body was saying a different story, but with the heat of the day, the dam was certainly welcome refreshment from the scorching sun.

Everyone took turns out on the water and on my first attempt I managed to stand and ski without falling over or being dragged. Chris had tried the sport once before, so he was good on the water. Once you got the hang of it, it was great fun - even the falling part was fine! I'd love to go out every weekend, but with the other boats on the dam to contend with, I was pleased we were in Fred's capable hands.

A tale of two Christmases

We didn't know where we were going to end up at Christmas when we began to plan our year out, and we certainly didn't expect to celebrate it twice!

Mona's family are German, so traditionally they celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. Mona's parents Fred and Birgit kindly invited us along to attend their celebrations and it proved to be a magical night. We also got to try out some lovely traditional German food and biscuits - yum!

Since arriving in South Africa we have seen some fantastic Santa Clauses - the real beards and white hair, but there are no Christmas carols and, I associate Christmas with the songs we hear on the radio and also the CD Collection of songs we have. In Johannesburg we have not heard any Christmas music in the shops at all, so when we walked into the house last night, the tree lit with candles on every branch and carols playing in the background, the whole room / house was so festive. It was a beautiful experience and I was so happy to be part of it and to watch people hunting under the tree for their presents - and to find a few for Chris and myself.

(from L-R, Back row... Frances, Kieran, Zoe, Brian, Carol, Chris, Matthew, Me, Mona, Front row, Ethan and Lee)

Christmas Day today was an 'English' affair with the traditional meal (lovely spread) and more exchanging of gifts. Chris' Auntie Frances and Uncle Brian were the hosts and it was lovely seeing Auntie Carol there too. After filling our faces with the food, instead of falling asleep infront of the tv, we had a swin in the pool to cool off after games in the garden - and the living room, care off the new Wii which Mona and Lee bought for their sons. It was a big hit and we're all going to have aches and pains in the morning.

I've had a lovely time this Christmas, but I have missed family at home (and abroad). It has been good catching up with siblings and parents on the phone and we wish all our friends and family a wonderful final few hours of Christmas day. We hope Santa was kind and that no lumps of coal were left.

Love to all xx

(Bottom left, Mona's father Fred, top right, Mona's mother Birgit)

Cooling down - It's hot, hot, hot.

We're having a great time in South Africa at the moment. Chris' cousin Lee and his wife Mona have opened their home to us, for which we are grateful. We will be catching up with more of Chris' extended family, but it has been lovely seeing Matthew again and also meeting Ethan.

We have been enjoying the use of the pool, especially when the temps go more than 31 degrees (and that is at 6pm)!

Last night we celebrated the last Sunday in Advent with Mona's parents, a lovely evening starting with a Braai, then over cups of coffee we ate German biscuits and listened to German Christmas music. It was a lovely way to welcome the final stages of Christmas and it was lovely being part of it.

The picture is of Ethan, Lee and Matthew in the pool.

Friends and Family

We left our good friends Caroline and Marcus, and their daughters Abi and Phoebe and took an 11 hour flight to Johannesburg to join Chris' cousin Lee and his Wife Mona and family.
Our few months in South Africa have begun and we'll be here for Christmas. It has been so nice being with family and friends especially in the build up to Christmas and then New Year when my parents are flying out to join us.

A last gift to buy and that's our shopping for the festive period - yippee!!!

Whilst in Perth, we also had a chance to catch up with Bronwyn's brother Julian. It was lovely meeting him for a coffee and a good catch up.

I bought a Didgeridoo !!!

Sydney was never on our original plans but we are glad we went Some of the sights and sounds are amazing but it is very busy and fairly expensive, especially with the exchange rate at the minute. Big City prices I suppose.
We spent our last night walking the harbours and generally taking it easy.




Perth is a big difference to Sydney. It is so far from everywhere and so laid back. The city itself is small (only two major shopping streets) but a lovely place to explore. The beaches are fantastic (pic of Cottesloe beach), a bit windy in the afternoon (great for the kite) but the strong sun and cool breeze make it great for topping up the tan.


Fremantle (or freo as the locals say) was the main port for Western Australia. Another lovely place to walk about and explore. The buildings are mostly late 1800's and in some sections look like something out of a western. We found a didgeridoo shop and after having a bit of a blow came away with a big hollow stick. I can make a bit of noise and will make arrangements for a recital when we get home.

Johannesburg tomorrow is the next stop. Christmas is a week away which is very hard to believe. It has been really nice staying with friends in Perth (thank you Caroline and Marcus) and having a few of the home comforts available - like a fridge. Heading to meet sister-in-laws Brother, he owns Maoz Vegetarian take away. Really good food !

3) Sydney

So here we are for our whistle stop tour of Australia and our first stop is Sydney.

We have been here for two days now and our first day (well afternoon) was spent walking the streets having a look at the city. It was a Saturday afternoon and despite it being so close to Christmas, the streets were quite empty. Yes, it is strange hearing Christmas music in the shops whilst you are trying to cool down from the heat!!!

Today we ventured to the Circular Quay area, had a walk around the harbour front and then caught the boat on to Manly beach to have a look at the crafts market.

From here we returned to the city and took a walk across the Harbour Bridge.

Sydney seems a lovely city with lots of lovely expensive shops (another Tiffanys) and a lot of culture. I love the way the old buildings merge with the new styles to create such an eclectic scene.


Tomorrow we plan to see the Botanical gardens and then do some more shopping. It's a hard life!!

2) Tahiti

Leaving Easter Island signalled the end of our South American adventure - and the last of trying to muggle though Spanish - and into French!!!

My plan for our 28 hours in Tahiti was to lie in the sun all day and then catch our flight onto Sydney, but Mother Nature was thinking otherwise...

We arrived late into Tahiti and were welcomed with temperatures of 27 degrees, ladies with Polynesian flowers and a tahitian group playing... wow, that was something else!

After getting to our room, we enjoyed the jacuzzi which was on the sundeck and planned the following 24 hours.

In the morning we were greated with dark skies and the warm humid weather changed to become not only thunderous but with lightning attached - this was loud and impressive!

Chris and I still managed to swim in the sea and the hotel's infinity pool and then spent the rest of the afternoon back in the jacuzzi. (it was a hard life) But at 2am we were on a flight taking us to Austrailia and the relaxation of the day seemed to disappear with the length of the flight.

We'd fun in Tahiti but I don't know if it's somewhere we'd come back to. There are places I'd love to explore further, but I don't think here would be high on that list.

Three Countries in one week! - 1) Easter Island

A song has been going through my head ever since we arrived on Easter Island. It's not a widely known song (from Church) but from the words which I remember it goes, 'Through all the changing scenes of life... ' (I'll find the rest at my friends, Caroline and Marcus' house). Thes reason for this is due to the fact that no matter where you are on this island, something catches your eye and you just cannot believe how amazing the place is.

Anyway, our last stop in South America was Easter Island, and what a place. I could honestly live here. The people are so friendly, the way of life so laid back and the peacefulness of the island is fantastic. I feel so relaxed for the first time in a long time.

Easter Island is known for being the furthest inhabited island in the world, and to be honest, you'd never know. Ok, the island is about 64 square miles in size, only one main town and their are more pot holes in the road than in all of Bolivia, but with the crashing of the waves nearly visible at every turn and the wild horses which block the roads... who couldn't love the place.

Chris and I went in search of the Maoi and we weren't disappointed. Although many of them were toppled due to island wars, we visited the quarry where some of the statues were still attached to the mountain side and various others were positioned about the place. It was a sight to behold and I loved every minute of it.

Sometimes you've just gotta...

We are nearing the end of our stay in South America and our penultimate location has been Santiago, Chile. To know we've come back to Western Civilization is an understatement...

There seems to be a Starbucks on every corner and the drivers actually stop to let you cross the roads!!! (they don't even stop at red lights in Quito!) but I miss the different dress of the people, which is something I've become used to since we left Brazil.

So... we've seen many a thing in Santiago, children playing in the fountain in the Plaza De Armas to cool off, a lady peeing openly beside the children playing, and tonight, a bride and groom standing through the sunroof in a car whilst they were being driven along. We certainly aren't bored for things to amuse us. And everything was made even better when we bumped into Hilary (a lady from our Galapagos trip) in the middle of the shopping area. It was such a chance meeting and lovely to see her again.

Yesterday, we walked up a place called the Cerro Santa Lucia and it was hot! Even trying to sit on the benches you needed extra padding! But the view from the top was of the entire city and it

is big.

From there we reached the Plaza and into the Post Office - which looked like an interesting building to see and it didn't disappoint. It had a really good museum which not only had stamps from all over the world, but machinery for everyone to play with. We needed to cool down (that is our excuse) so we passed a bit of time in here and it was good fun. The place was really busy with people posting off their Christmas presents and families doing festive competitions with their children.

It does seem strange to see Christmas decorations when you are applying suncreams and eating melting ice-creams. I'm going to miss the weather which I relate to Christmas, but with having a cold at the moment, I'm not too upset!!! But we've complete our Christmas shopping and a box is on its way back to home!

Tomorrow we fly off to Easter Island and I cannot wait.

Ancient civilisations, Modern technology or the French ?

The Equator is what they call the big line running around the world. Quito considers itself to be the at the centre of the equator (a bit like the hole in a football for putting in air.)

The french came along and said that Quito was the middle of the world, Mitad del Mundo. This big statue was built, every year thousands flock to see it an in general it's a really big thing. Only problem is, the french got it wrong.

The mountain behind holds ancient monuments called the Catequilla. These are said to have been made 1500 years ago and align with other monuments in the area. The exact centre of the world should be at this point, well, not exactly.

GPS (global positioning System) has shown that both these options are wrong. A small museum has been built on the actual equator line marking the exact spot as shown by GPS.

Jude and I had a walk around, (1.5 hours on public transport to get there !!)although it was an enjoyable day. we saw the water going down a sink in both directions and then straight down. We straddled the equator and even walked along it with our eyes shut (which is very difficult due to the Coriolis effect. We also weighed 1KG lighter which was nice (??!!)

Amongst sundials, statues of ancient locals and lots of totem poles from all over South America, praying to their sun gods

we managed to balance a raw egg on a nail head.

Quito (Which means middle earth) has been an interesting place. Ancient colonial town, modern new town but all in all very big but very lively.

We head to Santiago in Chile tonight, already checked out we are hoping to do a little bit of shopping, a nice leisurely late lunch and then get to the airport early cause our online check-in doesn't work.

Quito - so far...

So I'll stop updating about the Galapagos and the hundreds of photos for the time being and tell you we are now in Quito, Ecuador. This is a lovely city, despite the scary stories about the attacks on tourists etc. But with police being highly visible, we're in good hands.

Chris and I are based in the historical centre with the white buildings and the one way system for cars, so it is quite nice.

In the next few days we will be exploring the place a lot more. My friend Lauren (from the Galapagos cruise) & I visited the famous Otovalo markets yesterday. I did more Christmas shopping, but the sun was so hot being so near the equator.

This picture is of a roundabout in Otovalo showing the traditional clothing of the people there, and they do wear them!

In the next few days Chris and I hope to go to the Equator line and do some of the mad experiments they have there. Until that, we're just relaxing and enjoying some free time.