As the summer bank holiday approached and I realised we had no plans, I scanned mentally through a list of places I wanted to see or see more of that weren’t too far away. We’d been camping in Norfolk a few years back with friends, but it had rained a lot (and I mean a lot). But what I saw at the time from under my umbrella was lots of places that would be nice in the sun. And so with…
Pondicherry, affectionately known as Pondi, is a large town on the East Coast of India, about three hours drive south of Chennai. It was the largest French colony in India and the town is very proud of its ongoing links to France and its French heritage. On our walking tour of the town, our guide told us about the schools and hospitals the French built (which us Brits hadn’t seen fit to do when in charge), helping explain why the…
The Panama Canal first opened over 100 years ago in 1914. Since then more than a million vessels have passed through. The canal links the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean, allowing ships to avoid the lengthy Cape Horn route around the southern tip of South America. There are three sets of locks in the canal – two at the Pacific Ocean end of the canal and one at the Atlantic end. Visiting the Miraflores Locks The Miraflores Locks, which have two…
Sunset on the boat Overview On a map it looks like it would be relatively straightforward to get from Colombia to Panama. The two are linked by land and so you’d think that there must be regular transport between the two. But you’d be wrong! The Darién Gap is an area of dense jungle and swampland of 160 kilometres in length that links the two countries together and there is no road that goes through it. The area is also home…
A paddle in the Pacific 1. Lima: Our first South American sunset was in Peru’s capital Lima, where on day one of our 6 month trip, I enjoyed my first ever paddle in the Pacific Ocean as the sun went down. We then walked up the path from the beach to Barranco – the arty area of town we were staying – to enjoy a cold one as the sun disappeared below the horizon on our first day away. The Peruvian…
Drawing a rainbow in the sky In the weeks leading up to our visit to the Iguazú falls on the border between Argentina and Brazil, I was worried. There had been massive flooding in the area and the falls had been closed to visitors. When we mentioned our plan to go to the falls to an Argentinian I was speaking to a couple of weeks before we were on our way, he shook his head and said that it was…
Pretty walkway in Tres Bocas An hour’s train ride north out of Buenos Aires and you find yourself in a completely different world. Wooden walkway The town of Tigre and the surrounding Parana Delta is a popular getaway for Porteños (people from Buenos Aires) and tourists alike. Waterway, Tres Bocas The area is a web of inter-connecting waterways that take you to small islands lined with wooden walkways that pass pretty houses and guest houses on stilts, restaurants, rowing clubs and even boat…