Who stole my body clock?

Hola nosotros familia y amigos para Sur America!!!

20 hours on a plane is a long time. But 20 hours on a plane with a two year old is quite simply insane. However, despite Isabel´s periodic attempts to find out who could scream the loudest - her or 4 Boeing jet engines - we arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay, safe and sound on Thursday afternoon. And boy was it a relief to get off the plane and out of the airport. We had travelled a long way, to a different country, a different time zone and into a different language. One thing that wasn´t different, though, was the Uruguayan community´s ability to complete tasks by involving as many people as possible - preferably huge crowds if any just happen to be available.

We encountered our first Uruguayan rent-a-crowd when we left Sydney way too early on Thursday morning. Our three car convoy almost made it to the airport intact, but aggressive early morning Sydney traffic split us up just before we reached our destination. We regrouped at the airport, checked in and grabbed about seven tables to seat everyone who had come to join us for some breakfast before we departed Australia.

Our first stop was New Zealand for a quick refuel. 45 minutes after we got off the plane, we were back on and heading for Chile. This leg of the journey took 14 hours and gave Isabel plenty of chances to work on her voice projection skills, much to the joy of our fellow passengers. Not that we would know - we just put our headphones on maximum volume and left her to it. If only...

We passed a few hours in Santiago Airport by watching planes land and take off, land and take off, land and take off - two year olds love repetitive activities. Dennis sampled a pisco sour, the national drink of Chile (a mix of whisky, lemon juice and ice) and due to a lack of sleep, ended up getting a little piscoed himself.

We all managed to get a bit of shut eye on the final leg of our journey from Santiago across to Uruguay. As we walked out of Uruguay´s brand new airport, we were greeted by Uruguayan rent-a-crowd number two. About 15 of Andrea´s relatives had turned up to meet and greet us. It was completely chaotic and pretty cool. We went back to Gladys and Eduardo´s place for a long overdue catch up with our family. It was so nice just to see everyone again. We now have the unenviable task of waiting a few days for our body clocks to join us. It´s an 11 hour time difference and is already proving to be a challenge. We´ll let you know how it goes.

A big shout out to Mick - happy birthday bruz!

And any news from Jim and Ronnie yet?¿?

This One's Goin' out to the Fans!

Finally, we have returned. It was a relief to step off the plane and plant our feet on Australian soil again. And just to please the punters, we made sure that the last leg of our journey was no walk in the park. We couldn't finish this story without a final chapter of travel trouble now, could we?

Uruguay was a lot of fun. It was nice to spend time hanging out with Andrea's family. She had a chance to catch up on the ten years that had passed since her last visit, and Dennis got to meet the people he had been hearing stories about for years. We both enjoyed spending time sitting around the nice, warm fireplace in the loungeroom, swapping stories and eating 'dulce de leche' (caramelised sweetened condensed milk - YUMMM!!!) while the freezing weather was locked outside. We also spent two cold, but sunny, days at the family farm in Durazno, central Uruguay. It was fun to see where her mum's family grew up, and we especially enjoyed all the hilarious stories about Ines (Andrea's mum) and how naughty she was as a little girl. Apart from the incident where we were taken advantage of by a crazy, uncooperative horse, we had a great time. Stupid horse. After almost a week, we said our teary goodbyes to the family and started the return leg of our journey.

Friday night and the city dwellers in Montevideo were getting ready to party the night away. Not us. We left Uruguay and headed for Argentina on a ferry. When we arrived, we headed straight to the airport where we spent the night, before flying to Chile. We waited at Santiago airport for our 14 hour layover to end. That really hurt. We were delighted to hear that our flight had been delayed for two hours, and became almost ecstatic when we were finally allowed to board the aircraft, only to be informed by the pilot that there was a problem with the landing gear. This shouldn't have been a problem, except for the fact that we were 5000 feet in the air when the announcement was made. We spent an hour dumping fuel before landing safely back at our starting point. Santiago airport.....again. It's nice but not that nice. Eventually we reached Auckland before starting the final leg of our lap of the world. Sydney was showing on the navigation channel.

It was somewhat of a relief to step off the plane after spending 54 hours travelling without being able to wash our stinky bodies (and Dennis' feet) or brush our teeth because of the ever-tightening travel security that is hitting airports worldwide. We both felt like we'd run four marathons as we left customs and re-entered the land we love most. We expected cameras, waving, screaming fans, banners and more. It seems though, that our blog was not quite as big a hit with the public as we thought it had been. Rent-a-Crowd could have made a killing if they had a branch at the airport! We sat down and tried to figure out our lack of popularity. Then it clicked! Our return to Australia had been overshadowed by the unfortunate deaths of Steve Irwin and Peter Brock. The country was obviously in mourning.

So, we dragged our weary bodies home to Strathfield. Home, sweet home. And here we plan to stay at least until the New Year. No more blog, we guess... well, until our next mis/adventure anyway! It has been a blast.

So before we go and settle into life in the big smoke, with work and bills and responsibility and all the other junk that constitutes life in 'The Real World' (whatever that is!), we would like to thank all of our supporters, our detractors, the weird guy who warned us about the dangers of the Moroccan desert... there are so many other weirdo's to mention. Tim and Treen for getting this whole blog-thing started. Harves and Rach for keeping us updated on the weekly scores and happenings in The Hill. Dave and Peg for keeping Gran in touch with our adventures. Kel and Gav for looking after the mutt. Kris and Al for looking after our gear. Carlos and Ines for spreading the glorious word of the blog to any stranger they could corner. To everyone who logged on or left a comment, housed, clothed or fed us, thank you all very much. This blog has been one of the best memories we have of our trip. We have had so much fun putting it together. It was such a common experience to be standing, awestruck by some wonderful sight, and finding ourselves thinking of how we would explain it on the blog. What pictures would we put on? What was the title going to be? It became a bit of an addiction for us. Thank you all for keeping in touch. We hope you have enjoyed it as much as we have.

We hope to catch up with you all soon, and hope that everyone is well. Don't be afraid to drop in or contact us, we'd love to see you.


Dennis and Andrea.

THE END

Plans

There are some things in life that just don't go to plan. For example, before leaving to travel, Dennis planned to change his underpants at least once a week. But that just didn't happen. Andrea planned not to eat every sweet in sight. But that didn't happen either. Neither of us planned to have a family member fall ill. That's the one thing that did happen. Some things just never go to plan.
We are writing this entry from Uruguay, South America, the land of Andrea's forefathers. We are just paying her family a quick visit before heading home to Australia. Unfortunately, Andrea's father has suffered a stroke and we have decided to come home to be by his side. So those of you who have been pining for us for the last 8 months, pine no longer. If all goes to plan (that's an IF!) we will be returning to Sydney by the end of the week. We can't wait to get back and see everybody.

It has been a while since our last update, so in short, here it is. We left Egypt and returned to Madrid, where we spent a few days with a family friend of Andrea's. Amelia, Luciano and Rebeka provided us with a home away from home, which was what we needed after the madness of Egypt.


We then bussed it to gay-Paris to soak up the sights of the world's sexiest city. We sipped hot coffee along the Champs Elysee, watched a Parisian sunset from atop of the Eiffel Tower, strolled along the River Seine, trudged through the Catacombs, and we visited the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. The only thing missing was 'Pepe Le Peu'. While in France, we took the chance to visit another of Andrea's family members. We hired a car and drove out to Brest, Brittany. Wild weather and wild times awaited us as we hung out with the 'energetic' Anahi and her husband Regis. It was a very cool weekend!






When we returned to Paris, we'd made the decision to make our way home to Australia ASAP. That is when our own race-around-the-world began. From Paris we caught a 10 hour overnight bus to London where not a minute of sleep was had. We lost count of the number of times that we were ordered on and off the bus for customs and ferry crossings and whatever else was going on. Arriving in London, we dropped our bags off at Andrea's cousins place and paid a visit to the airport to organise flights home to Oz. The only flight available to us left that afternoon in 4 hours' time. We had to cross London twice in that time with our bags, and in peak hour. Joy! We made it to the plane and caught our 16 hour flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina. From there we had to get to Argentina's port to catch a ferry across to Uruguay. 49 hours after we'd left Paris, Andrea's aunty Gladys was a sight for sore eyes.


We've spent the last few days in Montevideo freezing our extremities off. So much for the Latin heat! We are catching up with family and friends, and gorging on the meat and sweets, before returning home.

We'll see you soon!

Happy Birthday to Genti. We tried calling but you but no one was home. We'll call you soon and we love you.

The Valley of the Kings

Visitng Egypt was always going to involve an element of risk. We´d discussed and researched on the dfat website all possible ways of avoiding any potential terrorism spots. We agreed to stay away from any symbols of Western decadence such as resorts and swanky hotels, and just do the essential sight-seeing while keeping a low profile. We packed our bags and headed for Luxor in southern Egypt.

It was all a waste of time. Having restricted time to see the many sights we wanted to, we managed to organise a cheap-ish tour. What we expected to be a scummy tour involving rat-infested hotels and non-stop haggling turned out to be anything but. We ended up getting all transport, transfers, a 4 star hotel room (with a pool by the Nile River), a private air conditioned car to drive us around Luxor, and a private guide who explained the history and meaning behind the sites. We felt like movie stars. So much for keeping low. But we managed to fit in all the sights we wanted to see at a bargain basement price.


We started with the East Bank where we saw the temples of Luxor and Karnak. Karnak Temple has the honour of being the largest temple in the world. The temples were like something out of one of the old time Bible movies. Gigantic Pharoah stautes, pillars and obelisks towered over us. It was nice to have all the hieroglyphics and stories explained to us. It also gave us an insight into the amazing scientific knowledge that the ancient Egyptians had accumulated.



The next day included visiting the West Bank, where we explored the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, and all of their associated funerary temples. We drove away from the lush Nile riverside out into the arid mountains just a few kilometres from Luxor, that was used as a giant graveyard for ancient Egyptian royalty. The elaborate tombs, burial chambers and artworks just have to be seen to be believed, as photos are not allowed inside!!! Let´s just say it was an incredible experience to see how they lived (and died!) thousands of years ago.



We have now made it back to Spain safely, a land where we have absolutely no chance of experiencing four star accommodation! We do have the next best thing, though. We are staying with Amelia, Luciano and Rebeca, friends of Andrea´s family. We think she might be trying to fatten us up for Christmas dinner!

Happy birthday to Kris Clogan. Hope you have an absolute screamer!

Chess Championship Result update:
Dennis: 2
Andrea: 2 (Andrea still owes 360 push\sit ups. World of pain, here she comes!)
Stalemate: 1

Egypt

Hello again! Sorry that we didn't write in Barcelona but we were just too busy having a great time. Sorry to all you poor souls slogging away at work back home, but it's true. Barcelona was ace. It's one of the greatest cities we have visited so far. It was a lively place whose main parade, Las Ramblas, led down to the beach. This thoroughfare was constantly packed full of dread-locked beach bums, mullets as far as the eye could see (it's fashion here, seriously!), buskers and mime artists, tourists, skaters, and young arty types all doing their thang. Funk-ness was the name of the game.


Barcelona's main claim to fame is that it has been the home of many famous modern artistes. Namely, the architect Gaudi, who created bizarre, organic cathedrals, hotels and parks that have created a uniquely eccentric city skyline. At times, it seriously felt like we'd joined Alice down the rabbit hole. Barcelona has also been home to Picasso and Dali - both of whom have major museums showing their avant-garde works. Needless to say, we gorged on culture and the arts until it came out of our....well, eyeballs really!


From modern art to ancient artefacts. We left Spain (again!) and flew to Cairo. Egypt is the place to see genuine antiquities. We spent a day in the Egyptian museum. It is a shabby, old, builing with display cabinets that looked like they haven't been cleaned since they had been installed in the 1930's. But the jewels of ancient Egypt that are kept there are amazing. Most impressive were the artefacts found in the undisturbed tomb of Tutankhamen. Lucky enough to avoid being plundered by grave-robbers over the centuries, his tomb was an insight into the richness of that time. It contained a multitude of exquisite artefacts for his exclusive use in the afterlife; from household items to the royal Pharoan treasures.


Our second day in Cairo was spent re-living our Indiana Jones wanna-be days. We spent the day exploring the Giza Pyramids, which are just on the edge of Cairo city. It was a mind-blowing experience to finally see these ancient structures that have stood firm for the last 4500 years. We got to see them inside and out, which was just spectacular. We dodged the zombified mummies and poisoned arrows (well, we pretended to anyway) and made our way to the royal tombs which lie within. We were sorely disappointed to find that the tombs had been ransacked before we got the chance to get our greasy mitts on some loot, but it was nice to see anyway.


Tonight we are taking a train to Luxor where we hope to explore the Valley of the Kings, and if we have time, the Queens.

Chess Championship Result update:
Dennis: 2
Andrea: 1 (50 pushups/situps per day until scores even up)
Stalemate: 1

Congratulations to Louise and Rene on the birth of their daughter Zoe Bridget. We hope that you are all well.

Spain: Part 2

Leaving Morocco was a very trying experience. It was a six hour physical challenge to avoid getting ripped off, misled and waylaid. Everyone wanted a piece of the walking dollar signs before we left, but we showed them. We managed to get out a little weary but unscathed. The ferry trip back over the strait to Spain was a journey of luxury on a high speed ferry. Love Boat eat your heart out! Lets just say that we were glad to be back in Spain, the land of fixed prices, sanitary conditions, drinkable water and a language that one of us understands.

The beautiful city of Granada was our first stop in Spain. One of our favourite places so far, Granada charmed the pants off us (not literally, of course) with its winding old town alleyways, mountain views, beautiful buildings, friendly locals, flamenco dancers, gypsies and of course, the Alhambra which presides over the town. The Alhambra is an 8th century fortified town built on a mountain top above Granada. It´s a legacy of the Muslim invasion of Spain at that time. The main attraction is the stunning gardens and palaces that have been built over the last thousand years. We spent hours wandering around the stunning hand-crafted palaces and their courtyards. These guys knew how to do it in style. We want one!



With sad faces, we left for Alicante: One of our only beach stops in our ´summer´ trip. We spent the day soaking up the sun and frolicking in the warm Mediterranean Sea with the 20,000 other tourists we shared the small beach with. We were like seals on a rock (more like walruses in bikinis - we´ll spare you the details). But fun was had by all.


We are now in Valencia, where we have met up with Andrea´s cousin Alvaro. After about 10 years of not having seen each other, it has been great to catch up and hang out. Valencia is a funky town with a great night life and loads of young people enjoy it every night of the week. Last night, we salsa´ed the night away!
The Spanish lifestyle is mind boggling. We don´t know how they do it! Everyone (from kids in nappies to oldies) parties every night til about 2 am. They work early the next day, have a nap in the arvo, go back to work, and then party, party, party. It´s a great lifestyle.


This afternoon we head to Barcelona. See you there.

Chess championship results update:
Dennis: 0 (Punishment: 50 situps or pushups a day until scores are even)
Andea: 1
Stalemate: 1

Happy Belated Birthday to Shaun for his 18th. Hope you had a great day, even though we know you were under the weather. You´re a man now, start acting like one ;) Hope the shoulder gets better soon.

Fes

Fes - home of the funny little red hat with a funny little tassle on the end worn by funny little men - is a fully-functioning medieval medina (marketplace) that is a labyrinth of over 9400 alleyways that stretches out over a few square kilometres. Twists and turns and dead ends await the unwary and baffle the wanderer at every possible opportunity. Leave your sense of direction and the 21st century at the city gate. Apart from being one of the most confusing places on earth, Fes is a step back in time to a place where horses and donkeys still tread streets where no car has ever been. We spent four days stuck in the mayhem of hagglers and hawkers before we found our way to Meknes.


After the confusion of Fes, Meknes was a welcome change of pace. Our second person hunt took place in the city's laid back streets. We were looking for Wayl (pronounced Wah-eel) who housed and fed Dennis for three weeks the last time he was in Morocco. This time round, we experienced success. After seven years without contact (the result of Dennis losing his address book!), it was great to catch up with an old mate and relive our past adventures together. The crazy cab chase and secret alleyway rendevous were some of the highlights of our new adventures together. Whilst in Meknes, we also took time out to visit the ruined Roman city of Volubilis. The city contained some surprisingly intact mosaics and ruins. Pretty impressive considering that they have been sitting out in the African sun for the last 2000 years!


We are now relaxing in Chefchaouen, Morocco's equivalent of Nimbin. Perched high up in the Rif Mountains, it is a beautiful blue city with spectacular views around every corner. Today was the inaugural match of our Chess Championship. We are in for a long, tense tournament - our first match ended in a stalemate. We will keep you posted on future results and the barbaric punishments that await the "LOSER!"


Happy birthday to Mimi. We hope you enjoy your first birthday as a new mum!

And Rosey, we hope the schnoz gets better soon, mate! We hope that this is not the end of your pretty boy good looks!