Anna in South America

Well, I made it to Tulum - about 2 hours south of Cancun. It´s an absolutely beautiful paradise - white sands and gorgeous sea - and very remote. So much so that it´s impossible to get online. Have made it to Playa del Carmen today to have a quick shop so have managed to find an internet cafe. Having a great time, am in a beach hut type thing which is right on the beach, so I wake up to beautiful sunrises over the caribbean sea. Am staying with two girls I met in Oaxaca - Sarah and Vanessa - so we´re all enjoying the last part of our travels together. As my days are so relaxing and laid back, not got much to report really so this will be a rather short entry! Hoping to go and sea the Mayan ruins of Tulum in the next couple of days, but other than that, nothing too strenous!

Oaxaca is pronounced “wahaka” Dad.
I´ve decided to stay here a little longer than the original three nights as it is really lovely. This means that I won´t be able to do my original plan of visiting every little village on the way and spending hundreds of tedious hours in a sweaty bus, but I think I can live without that. So instead I booked my tickets today and will be flying to Cancun on Thursday and will be meeting up with the girls that I met here at the hostel yesterday (they left for Cancun this morning) so that promises to be a lovely way to finish this phase of my travels.
Had a great day yesterday, spent the morning looking around all the markets and watching the world go by in cafes, then in the afternoon went to this weaver family´s house in the countryside. They showed us exactly how they make the traditional rugs and then (of course!) tried to sell us some. They were so gorgeous but pretty pricey so I had to decline, bought a kaftan for the beach though so all was not lost. Then we went off to see the biggest tree in the world - that´s right! You can imagine I was pretty excited about this part of the tour, but it was actually quite impressive. Think you can only spend a maximum of ten mins staring at it in wonder though, then it´s time to leave.
As it was the English girls last night out in Oaxaca, we went out for a lovely meal (one bloke ate the grasshopper starter - nice) and then to some pubs. It´s got great nightlife here and feels pretty safe, so that makes a nice change to Ecuador!

Well, I´ve finally made it here to Oaxaca - had a very long day of travelling yesterday. I flew from Curacao to Bogota the night before, stayed in the Sheraton (ooh get her!) for a nice night of pampering and then I flew from Bogota to Mexico City yesterday morning, which took 5 hours. Then I hot-footed it to the bus station and leapt on a bus to Oaxaca, which took 6 and a half hours. Very tedious journey! So I got here last night and just went to bed really.
I got up this morning and straight away met some lovely people. There are actually quite a few English here, so I´ve spent the day exploring with a couple of lovely English girls from the hostel. Oaxaca is really beautiful - one of the nicest places I´ve visited so far. It´s really pretty and traditional looking, but still has lots of nice cafes and restaurants in the plazas to watch the world go by. And the shopping is amazing! Am having to be very disciplined, but have only been up and about a couple of hours and have already bought a purse and a skirt. I was initially only going to stay here a couple of days, but I think I´ll extend it and spend less time somewhere else, it´s just so lovely!
Well, have to go, we met a nice bloke (tour guide) who has offered to take me and my new buddies to see some of the local sights for next to nothing, so will write all about that tomorrow!

What a nice surprise getting all those messages! Have been having a wonderful time here these past few days, been no time for such things as visiting internet cafes!
Last Easter weekend we set off to go to Klein Curacao, which is this lovely island just off the coast of Curacao. Unfortunately, for the first time in weeks apparently (anna luck strikes again) there was torrential rain when we set off at 6 in the morning. We were all rather concerned as the plan was to sleep “under the stars” on the beach that night, and this just wouldn’t work . But luckily, the rain ceased about 2 hours into the crossing and we enjoyed bright sunshine for the rest of the day. The beach itself was absolutely beautiful - carribean white sands and crystal clear water - but the sun was amazingly strong and there were a lot of pink bodies with quite comical burns wandering around by the end of the day (not me of course, factor 30 all the way!). It was all organised for Charlotte’s friend’s birthday here on the island, so the day consisted of drinking, sunbathing and beach games all day, quickly followed by a barbecue in the evening (my favourite part of the day!) then a campfire at night. We all managed to find some sun loungers and slept on those when we finally went to bed. Woke up to blazing hot sun, cue some more rosy faces. Ultra-practical that I am, I had already plastered my face in suncream when I went to bed (amazing I was thinking so clearly with that much alcohol in my bloodstream), but this was not the case for everyone unfortunately. We spent the second day on the island, doing much of the same stuff, and sailed back at around 5ish. Then we went straight on for another night out…absolutely knackered by the end of it all! Easter Sunday just consisted of recovery on the beach, then yet another party which meant I didn’t get to bed till about 6 in the morning - get me with my crazy lifestyle! - but it wasn’t over then, as we had to go to another party on Easter Monday. This one started at 1pm, so we didn’t have long to recover from the night before, and was at another of Charlotte’s friend’s houses. This was fun, it was a sort of competition thing with crazy golf followed by volleyball. I was the weakest link of each team - think I got the lowest score in golf and was shite at volleyball - so not a lot has changed there. This was followed by another BBQ and then the pub.
You’d think after all this adventure I’d have a rest, but yesterday was my “get to know Curacao” day. My friend Brian took me to see all the best sights of the island - he’s into extreme sports, so I went expecting to have a relaxing drive, but we ended up doing a lot of “off-roading” (where we got stuck in mud), kayaking and exploring (very scary) caves. But it was a brilliant day.
I’m leaving tomorrow , so tonight will be my last night. I’m really sad to leave, had an amazing time here, but am looking forward to my travels in Mexico.

Have been here a few days now and am certainly getting into the caribbean spirit - not doing very much during the day and going out on the razzle in the evening. Went out the other night to a bar - which turned into a club with an Ali G type DJ after 10pm - and sampled many of the local beverages. Needless to say I was tiddly in no time, but even that wasn’t enough to block out the appalling dutch music blasting out of the speakers. It was playing the exact same happy hardcore music I listened to when I was about 13 (I was going through a phase of listening to shite), all the dutch were going crazy. It was pretty odd. The pubs and clubs are mostly full of dutch people (it’s a dutch-owned island), all massively tall, blonde and beautiful, so am enjoying feeling like a dwarf. It’s Friday today, so another big night out is planned - think we’re starting at some place with Happy hour, so it’ll probably go downhill from there and I’ll be a puddle on the floor at around 11 ish (don’t worry mum!). Off to the beach for yet another snooze now, will write again soon xx

Here I am in Curacao, a beautiful little carribean island off the coast of Venezuela. I’m staying with my friend Charlotte, in her lovely house (got my own room at last!). Am spending my time winding down and relaxing, going to sample the many beaches that are on offer here, and maybe do a bit of diving.
Went to one of the beaches yesterday, with a couple of Charlotte’s friends, Steve and Richard (poor old Charlotte had to go to work) - the water is so beautiful and clear. We also stopped off at Steve’s house on the way back - it was absolutely beautiful, right on this bay, so his front garden went right into the sea. I could certainly get used to living on this island! Went to an open air cinema thing last night, it’s on the beach and you just grab a sunbed and watch the film in the open air, with the sea lapping up against your bed. And it was free! Today, I’m going to meet Charlotte for a seafood lunch and then am off snorkling with Richard (who has also got some days off and a car - lucky for me) so it’s all good!

Sorry Becky, just read your little comment.
Not sure how much everyone knows about the Galapagos, but with the risk of patronising you all, it`s a group of islands in the Pacific ocean, about 1000km away west of Ecuador (which belong to Ecuador). They are volcanic islands and have amazing wildlife and plantlife. It´s a national reserve, so there are very strict rules in place in order to protect everything on the islands. It´s probably the only place in the world that you can get so close to all the animals, fish and birds, as they are not scared of humans. They are so well protected that they cannot be hunted etc., so they have no reason to fear you. So it´s a bit like a paradise where all the different parts of nature live together in harmony - it´s a really beautiful place.

I´m back in Quito after spending an absolutely amazing week in the Galapagos islands.
After a slightly rocky start (the sea was particularly choppy on the first day, so I spent most of my time on deck, trying not to vomit) I soon got into the swing of things and had my sealegs in no time. Our group of people was a very nice mix; there were four girls in total travelling independantly, so we all bonded fairly quickly, two young couples and the rest were older couples (Mum and Dad type age). There were 16 of us in total. Everyone came from either the UK, Australia or North America and we all got on very well.
The older couples were all bird enthusiasts, and the days consisted of comments such as, “Oh my God! Is it…? Yes, it is! We´ve got a blue-footed boobie on the starboard-side, people!!! And, oh my God, it´s flying! The bird is flying!!” with whoops of delight from the other ornothologists. I couldn´t get quite as excited as them, but it was nice to see how thrilled they were about it all.
Our guide was brilliant too, he was a naturalist and he knew absolutely everything about the wildlife and the plants - he was so passionate about the islands, which made his teachings really interesting.
The scenery was amazing; I swam with sealions (who are very curious and playful), sharks and penguins. We were also lucky to see lots of sea turtles, flying fish and giant tortoises. I only had a dodgy moment once, when a dominant sealion (yes, him again) got a bit upset with me and my friend Rachel for being on his territory, so I swam like the wind in the opposite direction, which meant I was unfortuately going further and further into the pacific. But I took advantage of a window, when the bull was having a go at another male sealion, and kicked my little legs as fast as I could to get back onto the beach, so was all fine in the end.
Have got lots of photos I can bore you all with when I get back to England (I think I overdid the sealion photos), so you can all look forward to that!
Today is just a faffing day really, getting my washing done, buying some bits and bobs etc., as am going to Curacao tomorrow morning to stay with my friend Charlotte. Am really looking forward to staying in a house for a bit and having a relax.