Colombia

Bogota

We arrived at the airport a bit worse for wear and queued up for the cash machine as guys in guns unloaded and reloaded them with stern, unhappy faces.

After managing to find a local minibus downtown, we crammed in, and Luke thought he spotted a photocopy of a note he had just been given in change…turns out in the end it was fake, but there must be so many in circulation that we managed to get rid of it later anyway.

I don’t know why, but my preconception of Bogota was hugely different to what we were driving through…very developed, lots of fast food places, a bit dirty and not very historic looking at all. I thought it would be a little like the towns in Mexico I had been to, but it wasn’t at all. Just a big, bulky looking city.

We made our way the hostel we had booked, and were staying in the Candeleria district. It was a nice hostel from the lobby, but we had seen reviews that this place was half tourists, half student housing. We were told that there had been a mix up with the room booking and they were trying to sort us out with a room…which turned out to be the owners. As I was having a shower, Luke was trying, really TRYING to get us new sheets. The girl brought up a new duvet, but Luke wanted her to bring up a sheet and pillow cases. She tried to say they were already clean...sure, apart from all the hairs everywhere??? She said she didn’t have a double sheet, and started picking the hairs off this mattresses and wiping the dirt off…to Luke’s disgusted face apparently! He tried again asking for some sheets, and eventually she came up with the brilliant idea of 2 single sheets put together…GENIUS!!! So much better than her picking off hairs! Some people?!?

We managed to grab some dinner before settling in for a very early night thanks to the early start that day.

The next morning, we headed to an internet café to print out our boarding pass. Viva Colombia is worse than Ryanair and tries charging you $25 for check in at the airport, so web check in it was. Only it was telling us we couldn’t as hadn’t paid?? Well, we definitely had. We later tried to just pay $6 each for being able to check in at the airport for this discount, but their website maths was pretty bad and somehow did $6 +$6 = $38. Now, I’m no expert at maths…but I’m certain that isn’t right! We tried calling them and emailing them to no avail, so decided to just see what happened at the airport.

We headed to the Gold Museum, quite an interesting one about the process, history and effect of gold mining. There were beautiful artefacts all over the place, from new to old.




Balloons anyone?

 

After that we headed to the main square which was covered in pigeons and people selling corn kernels to feed them with, amongst balloon sellers, fruit cup sellers and the odd crazy person.




At the cathedral

 

Our next stop was the police museum, for which we had our own English speaking guide, to whose tour I understood about 10%...not very fluent unfortunately, but he was very sweet and wanted to come and ‘meet London some day.’

At this museum, was the history of Pablo Escobar, his capture and some of his belongings, along with photos of him having been shot and fallen from a roof…they even had the roof tile he slipped from?!? They had his Harley Davidson there which had gold plating and was predominantly pink.




Pablo Escobar's sweet ride

 

We had a little snack which was two thin circular wafers with jam in the middle. Unfortunately as I turned a corner, a big gust of wind blew the jam into my face, my hair and my jumper. Classy!

We headed to an art gallery which housed some work from this artist called Botero. It was hilarious. He paints these pictures of fat people, some nude and some random ones. He even had a fat version of the Mona Lisa.



Orange diet not working...

And before we knew it, the next day we were heading back to the airport. Our stay in Colombia was brief. We only have just over 3 months to do South America, and Luke having done it before said the major cities were not much different from others and jungles and beaches, we could find further south anyway. Well, we also had a Galapagos flight in a couple of weeks so were off!

Luckily we weren’t the only ones on this flight with issues with their website, so everyone managed to get free boarding passes after a long wait, but we could see some unhappy faces of those who hadn’t bought bags online and had to fork put $40 each.

Before we knew it, we were off…another country done…




This'll make you smile...



Cuba

Havana

We arrived in Cuba after one of the shortest flights I’ve ever taken – a mere 50 minutes. By the time they had finished serving the back of the plane our complementary beverages (don’t mind if I do), we were told to flip up our tables and bang our seatbelts on for the descent! Nothing like drinking a Cuba Libra whilst dropping thousands of feet to make you lightheaded.

After picking up our bags, we thought we’d scout out the pick up for anyone wanting to share a taxi into town (no local buses!), and we found Trent, an Aussie who was meant to be travelling with a friend but due to some unfortunate circumstances, ended up travelling alone. He had been to Central America before, but never Cuba. So we all jumped in a taxi, and that was it- we couldn’t get rid off him… for a week! Only joking Trent! It was great to hang out with him – and we were both hanging onto Luke as our translator for near enough everything apart from the words we got all on our own – pizza, Cuba Libra, cerveza and most importantly… Si, uno mas!

Our taxi rolled past old school buildings, Cuba flags and lots of pictures of Che on their walls.

We turned up at this casa that Trent had got recommended from a girl he met. In Cuba, unless you’re going to splash out on a hotel, there aren’t really many hostels. So you stay in casas that families have registered. They dec out usually just one of their rooms and charge a fair price for your stay. Although they have to give back to the government for it, at least they’re getting a decent income.




Impressive graffiti almost everywhere

We stayed a couple of nights and walked all over the town. On the first day, we walked to two of the main plazas, ate some cheap pizzas, hung out at the square, and of course had a few drinks. The only difficult thing seemed to be finding bottled water. There were fizzy drinks and juice practically everywhere but nobody seemed to stock water. And it was HOT, BOILING HOT, so we were pretty parched by the time we found a vendor who sold water. It was on their display window so asked for several bottles. But apparently the display was all they had, so we took our litre and a half and sipped on it for the rest of the day!



All so colourful!

The streets were exactly what I had expected from the pictures I had seen- old buildings nearly falling down, but with people still living in them and so much character. Bright colours everywhere- on the walls, peoples clothes, and obviously on the old school cars whizzing past. The cars were just the most amazing things- mostly taxis or fancy tourist rides, they went from nearly falling apart to the most brightly coloured, shiny looking things, but all so individual and incredible!





Old buildings on every turn

We made a visit to the revolutionary museum which was pretty interesting, and showed that the people have so much respect for Fidel Castro. He was a very tactful and strategic person, and you could see why he, amongst others like Che, were idolised.



An icon in Cuba

The carnival was on that night along the river, and although we couldn’t get a great view as the tickets for the stalls were all sold out, we could catch a glimpse of these bright costumes that lined the street and amazing dance moves…plus the odd girl’s butt which the boys seemed to appreciate, although not so subtly!

The next day was a late start due to lack of windows meaning no daylight coming in and peace and quiet, which seemed to be a rarity these days! After finally finding a bank that didn’t have a power cut, we were finally able to change up some money (thanks Trent for subbing us).




The collection

 

We asked around about how to get a bus out of town to Varadero, a beach town about 3 hours from Havana. It seemed that all the tourist agencies couldn’t book us one as it had to be 3 fays in advance, so we were told to get a local bus (costing a mere 5 cent) to the ticket office for the coaches out of town – the only tourist buses, Viazul. After a long bus ride, we finally got to the ticket office, and it seems just in time. The lady at the counter was REALLY ready to finish for the day, so she told us to turn back anyone who got in line behind us! After a bit of a wait, it seemed we had all booked buses to Varadero and then onto Trinidad a few days after that.




Eager for a fare

 

We celebrated our luck with a few drinks and pizzas. Somehow asking for 3 veggie pizzas, one without cheese, turned into triple the price of a meat one due to a misunderstanding. Probably by habit, Luke’s pizza turned out to have cheese added to it, so a pasta it was for him. Apparently one tinned mushroom slice on your pizza adds $1 to your bill, and 3 slices of onion another $1, oh and not forgetting a green bean for a dollar too. Apparently vegetables are hard to come by on this island- as the lady tried to explain to Luke what importing to an island means about 3 times…a concept us Brits aren’t too familiar with!?!?




What do you sell???

 

Varadero

The next morning we caught our bus to Varadero, thinking we’d just rock up and find a casa. But it turns out it was holiday season for the locals, so it was a lot harder than we though. Well, it was for the boys anyway as they spent over an hour walking around in the heat, knocking on around 30 doors, whilst I sat in the shade with all our bags trying to learn some Spanish. It’s a hard life.

After eventually finding what seemed to be the only place available in the town (with Trent sleeping on a camp bed in the kitchen), we settled in and headed to the beach for a sunset dip. It was the warmest sea I’ve ever been in- like getting into a hot bath.

The sea was so clear and calm and the beach went on and on, packed with locals enjoying the day’s last rays of sunshine. It was just the most relaxing thing I’ve experienced this year. Pure bliss!



Sunset before the plague

We got out shortly after the sun had gone down and were standing on the beach drying off having a chat, when I suddenly touched my face and ended up squashing a bug…a familiar bug…a bloody mosquito (bloody in both senses of the word). Bliss over!!

We walked back to the casa and I felt my face getting itchy…on my forehead, then near my mouth, then on my cheek, and above my eyebrow. The boys were grimacing as we walked back and as I went to go and have a quick shower, I caught myself in the mirror…or what I believe to be myself...with what looked like THE PLAGUE on my face!!! I was going to take a picture to show you all why you should always have mosquito repellent with you, or as an advert for why all men should be gay…but I think my family would reject me and my friends never look at me in the same way. So you’re welcome for my lack of photos here!

We went out for a few drinks. Which turned into a few more, about before we knew it, we were having a 4am nightcap of a 3 litre tower of beer.

The next morning (or near afternoon), after a search for some food, we collapsed onto the beach. But it was so hot, you could see why barely anyone was on the beach itself, but more in the sea. It was lovely and warm and so clear you could see the fish swimming around your feet even at shoulder height.




The calmest, clearest sea...

 

After what we thought was only an hour on the beach, but what turned out to be several, I knew what was best for me and headed back to the room before sunset came and my face started to get eaten alive again. Getting vegan food for Luke turned out to be a bit of a pain and it seemed he was provided with pizza, with no cheese, and no toppings most nights. But he only had himself to blame as we only ever set out for dinner after 10pm! The cheeseburgers though at our beer tower place were pretty amazing (especially after a few)!

We had another day on the beach, learning how to throw a wooden spear that we had found through the water. Oh, the life of a traveller – how simple life can be! Did we mention how jealous we were of all the kids’ inflatables??

Trinidad

We had an early morning bus the next day to Trinidad, and whilst sleeping pretty much the whole journey, we finally arrived to a quaint little town with colourful houses everywhere. Our bus pulled in and we went straight to the ticket office where we tried to get Trent a ticket back to Havana for the next day (as he was flying out the following one). But it seemed the only tourist bus in town was full, as was the waiting list! But there’s always a solution…just pay the driver direct and he’ll let you take the conductor’s seat! We booked our own tickets for a couple days after that and saw the guy draw a line under our names and write ‘FULL’ for that day…phew!




Trinidad views

  

We walked a few paces out of the bus station before being swarmed by 3 women trying to get us to stay at their casa. One of them seemed to know only how to say ‘clean room, $5, bathroom, terrace, no compromise,’ so decided to keep on saying the same thing. As Trent and I giggled like kids in the background, Luke picked the worthy lady and we headed back to her place. She actually seemed lovely, and we met her son and husband before being ushered into a room that I could only describe as ‘orange.’ Orange bedspread, orange pillows, orange ceiling, orange walls, orange table lamp…just ORANGE.

It turned out to be a lovely stay and a town that we all thoroughly enjoyed! We had a walk around on the first night and headed up the hill towards the radio tower. Now, the guys weren’t very good with directions…I already knew this about Luke, and after a week of hanging out with Trent, I could confirm he was no better. If I left the two of them together, it would be the blind leading the blind! So I got out voted on a pretty obvious road to the top of this hill and we ended up wading through knee deep grass surrounded by horses. Eventually finding our way back to the main path, we made it up to the top to reveal a spectacular view of the town, church and all. Looking south, we saw the sea appearing from some rocky enclaves, and to the North, these gorgeous green hills.

We walked down and bumped into a couple of guys with horses and worked up a deal for a horse ride in the morning before Trent left.

After a couple of beers, it was time for dinner and Trent had decided to treat us somewhere nice. Thanks again! It was an amazing little restaurant, and we both ordered the lobster (obviously Luke did not…but he had a gorgeous pasta and massive salad). The lobster was so delicious…with a tomato, rum and beer sauce. And it was a huge portion! Anything else and we would have left it, but lobster? Who leaves lobster as leftovers??? Not us, that’s for sure! Soldier on!

Over dinner, Luke told us of his last horse riding experience where he was with a group and got handed a baby armadillo, and as he tried to hand it over to his ex, she freaked out and dropped it…right in front of Luke’s horse. And with the gayest horse impression I’ve ever seen (and most likely the only one I’ve ever seen), Luke pretended to look down at it and rear up – dropping Luke off the back into a pile of mud.




My lychee(ish) fruit man

 

We rolled back to the hotel and the next morning got up early for our horse ride. After a quick 5 cent coffee each, we strolled into their backyard to see 2 noble steeds and a couple of horses who would be best described as more of a donkey…their little legs shaking, shaggy and obviously not these guys’ pride and joy.

Well, on Trent got to the first decent horse, then they popped me on the other well kept one, and Luke…well he just mounted this donkey looking horse, legs nearly buckling from his weight. To be honest, Luke could have been the weight of a feather and this thing’s knees would have almost buckled regardless.

But off we went…and it was my first proper ride on a horse (excluding those moments at the fair where they escort you around in a circle as a kid on a Shetland).

After a few stop and starts from my reluctant horse, we were well on our way, and I was getting used to her. We cantered along with (Luke trotting) and got all the way to the waterfall after an hour, with our horses stopping for a simultaneous piddle in this trench.

We went on, navigating through massive muddy puddles and trying not to get splattered by our horses. Well…Luke decided in this massive puddle that his horse was going to join in with this cantering. And the backside of my horse and me didn’t appreciate it as we got covered in mud. And for every puddle after, Luke was trying to get his horse to trot right next to me- meany!

It was boiling hot, and although we had paid for 4 hours, we didn’t mind going back after just under 3 hours…our buts were also starting to hurt and our legs too. It’s definitely harder than it looks! Plus, I think Luke’s horse was getting tired!

On our way back, a guy asked if we needed a taxi to Havana, and after a chat, Luke said this guy could take Trent in 15 minutes for $5 more than a bus in an old school car. After picking up his stuff, the guy came to our place to pick him up. Shock horror, this taxi had filled up before and left…but this guy was adamant he could sort Trent out with a seat on the local bus. He really wanted his $5 commission!

Well, just to make sure he got there and didn’t rely on the later tourist bus, we said our goodbyes and Trent was off.

That evening Luke and I went and sat on the steps of Casa de la Musica, an open area on the square, where a live band played salsa style music and people were dancing – some really amazing people, and some oldies with such smooth moves.

We were back the next evening after a slightly lazy day, making a quick exit just before the skies opened up and the band and the crowd started running for cover.

The following morning, we went to catch our bus. God knows why they don’t want you to pay until the day you leave! With electricity cutting on and off, people in the wrong queues, no signs anywhere…it was a shambles. And then you had to queue up for them to tag your luggage and put it in a room, for them to then take out of the room after everyone had boarded the bus?!?

So an hour late, we were off to…

Havana again...

We had reserved a place in the hostel we stayed at before we had left last time, so were all set up. We took a walk into the old town again, visiting another plaza and grabbing some dinner and our last cuba libras in Cuba before heading back.

The next morning, we had to quickly run around to swap some currency, and we found a sweet turquoise coloured ride to the airport. It was old school, with leather, torn seats but had so much character.



Love these beauts - similar to our taxi

And that was it, after the quickest airport security ever, we were through immigration, boarding our flight, and taking off from this beautiful little island. I’ll definitely be back one day!

Back into Mexico briefly…

Cancun

We flew into Cancun airport and took a bus back to downtown and booked our bus straight to Merida, a town 4 hours away. Our flight was leaving from there bright and early the next morning.

We grabbed some food, with Luke getting his order wrong twice (oh, the issues that come with being a vegan), and bordered our bus…there was even a queue and assigned seats!

Merida

I had volunteered in Merida for 3 weeks about 5 years ago, and was excited to go back. But my perception of its size and old town feel were completely skewed. Whether I had just remembered a small part of the town where I was staying, I don’t know, but it was massive and one thing I definitely knew had changed, was how much more touristy it was, with these obvious tourist bars, shops and cafes.

We had to decide when we got there what to do. It was 11pm and we had to be at the airport at 4am. So, as we had some money left over anyway and were knackered, we decided to check in to a hostel for just £6 for a few hours sleep. After finding some tacos, and visiting the main square, we were off to bed for a mere 3 hours!

We got up as if we hadn’t slept at all and after spending our last few pennies on some mochas, we were jumped in a taxi to the airport.

Our plane took off as the sun was rising, casting an orange glow across the horizon as we took off into the clouds. After a brief stop over in Mexico City airport, we were off again on a 3 hour flight to Colombia.





Mexico

Cancun

We arrived mid-afternoon to Cancun and managed to get a bus downtown. After spending some time trying to find our hostel we had booked online (usually I’m in charge of directions, but Luke’s now taking the reigns as he’s fluent in Spanish) we managed to come across it down a side street shortly after being told by someone else that it had closed down…sure! It was basic, but we felt like we were back to what we were used to, instead of the luxury of people’s homes over the last couple months.



Sombrero - how to fit in one's backpack...

After walking around the city, we came across a Walmart. I had forgotten how cheap things were! I had been to Mexico before 5 years ago…starting in Cancun (short lived due to the Icelandic volcano ash cloud stopping flights), then onto Merida and then Puerto Vallarta for a few weeks of volunteering. I had also forgotten how much I liked Mexico, with the laid back lifestyle, yummy food and friendly people.

For the 4 nights we were there, we ate at this square which had taco stall after taco stall, ice cream, churros, crepes, and some lively music and dancing. It was a great feel, and the food was delicious…tostadas piled high with salsa, chillies and flaking tender meat. Obviously it was beans and mushrooms for Luke (I feel like he’s punishing himself).

We hit the beach everyday for 3 days. The beaches on the hotel zone were beautiful, with clear waters and a blazing hot sun beating down on you. On the first day, we went for a quick snorkel and the first thing I spotted was a stingray right near my feet. Wouldn’t want a Steve Irwin moment there! There were beautifully coloured fish everywhere and it was quite a surprise nobody else was around.

On one of our days there, I was determined to go to Isla Mujeres. I didn’t last time, and knew that it was stunning and a must. So we found a little minibus to take us to the port. It stopped after 5 minutes and everyone got off. We were expecting to find ourselves near the boat, but as Luke handed the driver the money before he drove off down the street and pulled up alongside all the other minibuses, we were piled into another…and he asked for the fare. Nobody else had paid the other guy, so Luke went off to find him and get our money back. Luke popped back from up the street not having found him, and all the other drivers were gathered around having a smoke. They asked him what he wanted and Luke explained. Some of them marched down the street with Luke…and they eventually found this guy hiding between two walls and they all started shouting at him ‘give him his money back!’ So cheeky, but so funny… apparently he was looking pretty coy trying to hide away.

The ass and the donkey



We finally got to the port and boarded our boat. And we were off, across bright blue waters to the Island of Women!

It was stunning, with clear waters surrounding us, and the finest sand under our feet…under our hot feet, under our SCORCHING feet. Yep, it was that kind of hot…flip flops back on.

We struggled to find some shade but a Canadian woman let us stick our stuff under her umbrella whilst we went for a snorkel. Unfortunately the snorkelling was a little disappointing but we managed to find some little fish around and another stingray.



Isla de Mujeres (web thief)



 

On the last day we headed further down the hotel zone to Delphine beach where the waves hit us full force. After a mature seaweed fight and burying Luke in the sand up to his head for the first time (tell me about…deprived at childhood), we had some Modelo beers further along the beach and watched the sun go down.

And that was Mexico! I have to say, I much preferred Cancun this time rather than when I came over 5 years ago…I think it was staying in the city centre rather than the hotel strip- it gave me more of a sense of what I knew Mexico as from the other places I had been before.

The next morning we headed to the airport to catch our flight. After a bit of a blonde moment (no offence Caroline) of messing up my Cuba tourist card and having to purchase another one, we were off again!  
A note about the photos...as everyone knows, when you're on beaches all day, the cameras usually get left at the hotels. So the beach pictures are unfortunately from the internet (but yes the waters are that blue). And yes, unfortunately the donkey picture did happen at the airport- much to people's amusement.
 


Cancun hotel beaches

USA: Part III

New York City

As our bus approached the Big Apple, the heavens opened, and it poured down. Luke, at this point suggested a walk through Central Park when we got there this afternoon, saying it would be less crowded…yes, there’s a reason for that!

But as soon as we stepped off the bus, the rains stopped and we were enveloped in a humid NYC. It was sticky and muggy, but it was New York.

We thought we’d make the most of the late afternoon we had, so dropped our bags off and went for a walk. Starting up at Times Square, we gazed up at the big bright ads surrounding us. Then onto the Rockefeller centre where I distinctly remember being shat on by a pigeon when I came over 10 years ago with my dad and sister.

 

We walked further up past Saxs 5^th Avenue, and onto Central Park. It was beautiful, and even though it was hot, it was a nice stroll. We went down the Mall (the only straight road in the park) to find salsa dancers practicing amongst these Frisbee throwers- I’ve never seen anything like it, with them doing all of these interesting tricks.



Imagine @ Central Park





We walked past water fountains, bridges and great big meadows and lakes before reaching the spot dedicated to John Lennon from his wife – a small tiled circle in the floor reading ‘Imagine.’

Central park has a very different feel when it’s colder, and I remember going ice skating with Natalie when we were here last.

After picking up our bags, we headed to Grand Central Station where we gazed up at the bright blue ceiling and it’s grandeur. It was stunning…but we had to catch a train and we were in a rush. We grabbed our tickets to Fleetwood, a suburb about half an hour away and jumped on the train.

We arrived at the house just before our host, Janis, a 61 year old lady born and bred in NYC. She was lovely, and you could tell just from looking at her home that she was well travelled. As a teacher, she spent every summer getting out of the city and exploring, a luxury it seems not many have in the States with their 10 day holiday limit each year! Her house was covered in artefacts, little souvenirs, and clothing from all over the world. Her most interesting trip of all was her Mongolia one where she helped teach teenagers who had previously worked in the sex slave industry.

She was a great host, and told us all about the best spots in NYC to visit. We settled in for the night on this massive king size bed…and I haven’t slept so well since we were in Dallas!

We woke up a bit later than expected and set out to see the sights. The first day we took a subway over to Brooklyn and strolled around Brooklyn heights, apparently an up and coming area which was starting to fill up with young, artistic people.


Brooklyn bridge

We then did one of the obvious tourist things and walked across Brooklyn bridge. It was a beautiful day and the view of the city was amazing as you walked across and different skyscrapers were revealed, hiding behind the next.
We walked down to South Street Seaport, where the old fish market used to be, now filled with cute restaurants and bars and walked along the dock to see some old ships.




NY Stock exchange

 

It was Wall Street after that, just in time for the end of the day on a Friday- seeing all these happy faces escape for the weekend as they exited their buildings.

 




9/11 Memorial and new tower

Not far from there, we came across the Twin Towers 9/11 memorial site. The last time I was here, construction was still going on and all that stood firm was a cross made out of some of the steel framework that used to hold up the building.

Now there stands two cut outs, the width of the twin towers with waterfalls in each. Names are engraved across the outside, and it was shocking how many service men and women died in the fight to rescue the victims of the attack.

It was really moving, and as we looked up at the new world trade centre, it was just really difficult to imagine what people were feeling when they were that high up and stranded, feeling helpless. Janis told us more of that horrific day when we got back, having known people who died, and some who had watched as they fell were severely affected.

We decided to carry on, and took a walk around the nearby district of Tribeca. It was a lovely little area, and we even walked past Robert de Niro’s restaurant.

The following day we headed straight to the NY public library. It was grand and beautiful and each room was different to the next- the maps room, the jewish room and more distinct little corners of the building. Unfortunately the main reading room was closed for refurbishment, but the rest of it was definitely worth our time!

Next was the inevitable…Empire State building! Lucky for us, there wasn’t much of a queue considering it was Saturday, so we kept on going up and up without much disruption.

We finally made it to the top and the view was spectacular. So many more skyscrapers had popped up since I was last there, but it was just amazing how built up the island was and how densely populated it looked.

We walked further south to Madison Square Park and Union Square, before passing through Greenwich. It was getting dark at this point, but Washington Square was alive with people making the most of the cooler weather whilst performance acts were going on and music was playing.

Further on we went down Mulberry Street to Little Italy where this little road was packed with outside seating, gelato stands and happy diners sipping on wine and eating massive pizzas or fresh pasta. Delicious!




Miss Liberty's close up

The following day was an early one as we set out for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The queue was massive and we were waiting in the sun for a good hour- baking away and turning into giant lobsters. But as we finally got through security, we squeezed ourselves onto a boat and were off! The boat ride was pretty quick, and Lady Liberty just got bigger and bigger until we landed on her little island. We took in this giant statue from all sides, and she didn’t look happy from any angle…figures…the French made her!

On boarding the next ferry, we arrived at Ellis Island, the docking port for immigrants across the world that came to see America’s roads paved with gold. As one new arrival put it- ‘I came because I heard America’s streets were paved with gold. I learnt 3 things on arriving. 1- The streets were not paved with gold, 2- The roads were not paved at all, 3- I was expected to pave them.’

People came hearing great things about America and the chance of a job and a new future. Ellis island dealt with the large influx that kept on coming into the state and travelling onwards through America. Ships unloaded and people were questioned, given a quick medical check and assessed on their trade. Only a few were turned away, mostly for illnesses and crime, but for those who got separated from their families and sent back home, it was devastating. One child recalls being split from her grandmother due to a blackened finger nail and she was sent back to Italy, for the child and family to never see her again.

The registration hall was beautiful, but information around the room recalled the crammed conditions and anxiety that filled the room as people waited their turn to be checked and let into the States.

We queued up for the ferry, and as one was unloading passengers, a guard was shouting, ‘this is not New York, this is Ellis Island,’ and we thought who would be so stupid to make that mistake. Low and behold, 2 guys asked the same woman where the subway was when the boat had gone!




 

NYC at sunset

 

We made our way back to the mainland and walked around Greenwich village, Chinatown and the East village. The East was the most interesting part of the city in terms of living wise; with beautiful metal fire escapes, old brick buildings, cute shops and cafes lining the streets and a quirkiness to the neighbourhood. We even passed the area where P.S. I love you was filmed and the diner where the famous fake orgasm from When Harry met Sally was filmed.

And New York was over sadly! It’s a great city, and although a bit overcrowded with locals and tourists alike, it’s amazing to explore and I only wish I had more time. It’s always been one of the cities I would have liked to live in for a bit. Maybe someday, who knows!




Statue of Liberty at sunset

The following day, we took a megabus bound for Washington DC. Within 5 minutes the driver had complaints from the bottom section of the bus saying the air con wasn’t working. So we pulled over after an hour and switched to a bus. Here’s the bad logic…switch us to a bus with a cracked windscreem and after this one has been sitting in the sun all day heating up…

After half an hour she pulled up again saying that the air con wasn’t working properly and suggested ANOTHER bus…Noooooo was the general consensus. We heard her yelling down the phone saying ‘I’M STOPPING IN BALTIMORE, IT’S TOO HOT, I’M NOT GOING TO WASHINGTON,’ and hanging up. Well she managed to stick it out for the ride in the end, largely owing to her overly large iced coffee!

And we arrived in…

Washington DC

We made our way to our next and final host’s house in the States, Piotr. He was Polish and lived with 2 others that he went to college with. They were all part of a think tank here, the largest one in the world apparently!

It was interesting discussing certain topics with them such as gun crime, environmental issues and of course travels! Piotr had hitchhiked a huge distance across Europe, Asia and Central America- even through Iran and the Stans, an extremely adventurous guy.

We got up early the next day as we only had one day to take in all the sights. We planned it well and started with some off by the Capitol, having a look at the huge building, although unfortunately the dome was covered in scaffolding…always seems to be the way for me. I remember walking in pitch black to see Angkor Wat in Cambodia for sunrise and me and Debs being a little bit disappointed when the sun popped up to reveal a massive bit of blue scaffolding over half of it!!!

 




Washington monument

We went into the Library of Congress and the Senate Office before heading into the Capitol. They were all beautiful roman style buildings with really intrinsic designs and sculptures. The library was beautiful with a painted ceiling and an amazing staircase that eventually looked down on the reading room.

We walked on to the History of American Indians museum. It didn’t have as much information as expected and seemed to go off topic for me as it discussed the Inca trail. There was only a small section about how white people were buying up their land, banishing them from the areas they wanted and executing 39 at one point for an uprising.

Next door was the air and space museum which was pretty cool. With the first aircraft by the Wright Brothers to Apollo 13 pieces, it had everything and anything. The photographs from the hubble telescope were incredible and it was surprising to hear the effort that went into just the slightest mirror adjustments which, only being the width of a hair off of being perfect, had altered the pictures drastically. All these repairs had to be done in space…incredibly risky.

Next was the National archives which housed the Declaration of Independence, Bill of rights and the Constitution. They were all faded from years of exposure to the sun, but still impressive from their cases in the rotunda.

We popped into he Ford’s museum where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. The woman told us the story of how it happened…how he was sitting in his booth in the theatre watching the show and the guy who killed him was an actor so that when he told the guard his name, he was let into the booth to greet the president. He then waited until a vital scene in the play where people the audience burst into laughter and applause and he then shot Lincoln in the back of the head. The bullet got lodged above his eye socket and his face started to swell. The guy jumped down onto the stage and ran off, but later he was captured. As the theatre still wasn’t seen as a high class place, the president was carried out as they didn’t want him to die there, and someone from the other side of the road told them to come into his house, where it became his final resting place after a couple of hours, with nothing anybody could do.


Reflecting pool

We went back down to the mall to tackle the natural history museum (everyone loves a dinosaur skeleton) and the American history museum. Then as the sun was setting, we arrived at the Washington monument and walked towards the fountain that showed each of the states on a pillar surrounding it. We walked down the famous reflection pool which reminds me of Forest Gump seeing Ginnie again, and up to the Lincoln memorial which looks out to the pool, where Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech was once heard resonating across the mall and people’s hearts and homes. There’s even an engraved stone with his name on it where he gave the speech so many years ago.


The spot where 'I had a dream' was spoken

We unfortunately had to leave that evening from Pasha’s house around midnight and grabbed a tube to get to the airport. It was 1am when we got there, and our check in for our flight was at 4.30am. We wanted to get to Cancun at a reasonable time, and unfortunately this meant leaving Washington at the unreasonable time of 6am.


Lincoln memorial

The States was a great journey…mostly made by the beautiful National Parks we visited and the quirky cities like New Orleans and NYC.

A huge thank you to our couchsurfing hosts through the States and Canada…David, Alex and Amelia, Brett, Manny, David G, Boz, Wes, Filip, Pasha, Philippe, Janis and Piotr.

A big thank you and hugs to Asad and his family for such a wonderful stay at their home and taking us out to a baseball game and a proper rodeo.

And of course, cheers Megabus for the cheap bus rides…couldn’t have done it without you!!!

Canada

Toronto

We luckily changed bus drivers before heading across the border. This was the first land border where we didn’t have an exit stamp, but after being reassured that the US don’t care about the exit stamp, we settled in for the rest of the journey.

We arrived at 6.30am to a muggy Toronto. The metro had just started working and a few shops were waking up. Luckily for us there was a fruit store that was on our way and I picked up as much as possible, sitting on the tube eating a tub of blueberries all dreary eyed.

We arrived to meet our next host, Pasha, a Russian born guy living in Toronto for a number of tears now. He was nice and chatty, but we needed some sleep, so whilst he set off for work, we napped until the late morning.

We awoke (again) to a lovely sunny day. We took a metro downtown and walked along the waterfront. After a ton of sushi, we took the ferry over to the Toronto Islands, a collection of islands all joined by bridges. We walked along the paths and sat on the beach for a bit, watching boats bobbing around.

It didn’t feel like you were in the city until you turned your back and saw all the skyscrapers lined up on the mainland, including the famous CN tower.

We took a ferry back over and walked around a little bit to get a feel of the place. We ended up in the Bata shoe museum where it told the story of shoes worn in different eras, centuries and ages. And from different cultures all around the world; the Chinese shoes women squeezed into with their bound feet, the snow shoes used in the arctic and the blocks the Japanese shoes looked like. There were shoes from famous people that were donated, including Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jordan and…Adam Sandler???




Toronto skyscrapers

 

That evening we had an interesting conversation with Pasha where he claimed Greece just want out of the EU and we should just let their debt go, good for them! And that he’d gladly pay out his pocket for it to be cancelled. Well, that’s not coming out of Russia or Canada’s pockets, but everyone in the EU…only a small 200 billion euros. Sure Greece, let’s cancel your debt that you refuse to pay back so you can sleep soundly at night. And whilst we’re at it, we’ll tuck you in and get you a hot chocolate.

Enough politics!

The next day we took an early bus to Niagara Falls. We walked from the bus station, along the riverfront until clouds of mist came into view. There were two falls; The America Falls and Horseshoe Falls. Both were pretty impressive, but for me, failed in comparison to Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zim.




 America Falls

 

We walked along the Canada side, taking in views from all angles, and getting a little wet. From the mist that lifted from the base of the falls…although it was pretty welcome in the heat!

We decided against a boat ride to the base of the falls and headed back to Toronto after sampling some ice wine.





Niagara Falls

 In the morning on our last day, we headed to the Distillery district, an old distillery that has been converted into shops, cafes and restaurants. It’s got a lovely feel to it, with cobbled streets everywhere. There was even a choir singing a few tunes, including Sweet Caroline. These little events were popping up everywhere because of the Pan America games being hosted here.

We walked through from the distillery district, through the financial one and into the entertainment district, popping into little shops and cafes along the way. It did have a very clean and cute feel to it, this city, and we felt pretty safe wandering around it.

Before we knew it, we were leaving on another early bus to head to…

Montréal

The bus journey was pretty decent, and we arrived in Montréal to be met by our next host, Phil. He was originally from Quebec City so had a strong French accent, but pretty decent English considering he only recently took a language course.

We headed back to his house and had a meal that evening together. He was on vacation, and only more than happy to show us around the next day.

We all headed to Mount Royal (after which the city was named) and climbed the mountain (ahem, hill) to get a view across the city. I’ve got to say that I was a little disappointed and it looked like it was stuck back in the 70s with old school buildings everywhere. It looked very industrious and without character.

It did change however as we walked down and into the old town. We passed by the old bank which was beautiful, and Notre Dame cathedral which was stunning, on the edge of the square.




Saint Paul's St

My favourite street was Saint Paul, where tourist shops, cafes, bars and restaurants littered the French looking street. I can only describe it as cutesy and very European. There were street performers further up, giving it a feel close to Covent Garden and families everywhere, out for the school holidays. We walked back along the riverfront, past sail boats and docks.

The following day was a study day, and we headed to the library…surrounded by Lonely Planet books, we did our research on Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador! Best to be prepared!!! It was a great library, and for a moment, I felt like I was back in Durham university, sitting amongst students, albeit a nicer topic this time.

The next day wasn’t much different apart from our planning turning to New York and Washington – places that were fast approaching! We took the rest of the afternoon to visit St Helena’s island, just a couple metro stops from Montréal island. We were going to head to the swimming pool for a couple of hours, but as we came across it, seeing hundreds of children splashing about in a tiny area, we decided against swimming in concentrated kid’s wee and headed for the beach instead. When I say beach…I mean, a bit of sand and grass surrounding a lake. But it was a bit calmer, less crowded and had a nicer feel to it.


Notre Dame in Montreal

It was sweltering, and the dip in the lake was just the nicest thing ever! It’s a bit strange here, with temperatures peaking around 5pm…to 34 degrees Celsius today! It’s so strange how it can change from 34 to -25 here. Phil told us about a winter where the rain didn’t freeze until it impacted the ground or other surfaces, so everything looked like a glacier or an icicle…cars, trees, roofs, and electrical wires, leaving the city in darkness for weeks.

We had to be up at 5.30am the next day to head to the bus station for our early start to New York City. For some reason, the bus wasn’t very full and we got to spread out and sleep a fair bit.

Poor lady at immigration was shocked we got a year off and managed to save enough money to travel for that time…it was meant to be her day off today, and she chuckled when we asked if she gets 10 days off a year, ‘if I’m lucky’ she said!

Well, I consider myself very lucky to have this time off and see the world. If you don’t like it, change it!!!