We have lived a year that most people only ever dream of.  It’s been hard at times but mostly it’s been truly amazing.  The world is, as we expected, a beautiful place and its mostly the people that make it so.

We have now finished our trip and are living in Ireland.  It’s a bit strange being back and having to deal with the rain on a daily basis, even in the summer.

A quick round up:

• No. of days travelling: 382
• No. of continents: 5
• No. of countries: 23
• No. of flights: 19
• No. of bus journeys: 55
• Longest bus journey: 33 hours (Laos to China)
• Worst train journey: Pingyoa to Beijing in China (the smell of piss, shit and tobacco for 12 hours)
• Countries we enjoyed the most (in order): Nepal, New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia
• Country we liked the least: China
• No of photos taken: approx. 30,000
• No. short videos: approx. 250
• No. of gigabites: 160
• Favourite photos: Ankor Wat, Cambodia

Website stats:

• No. of posts uploaded: 264
• Total views: 17,003 (avg. 45 per day)
• Busiest day: 154 (when we got engaged)
• Busiest month: August 2008 (1,720 hits)
• No. of comments: 540
• Most avid followers: Tim Knight and Delboy May (thanks guys!)

Some highlights of our trip:

• Trekking to Annapurna Base Camp in the Himalayas
• Cycling the world’s most dangerous road in Bolivia
• Getting engaged on a Thailand beach
• Trekking in the Andes
• Tubing in Vang Veing
• Canoeing down the Amazon
• Solar de Uyuni tour in Bolivia
• Visiting family in Australia and New Zealand
• Diving in Amed in Bali
• Campervaning in Australia and New Zealand
• Three months surfing in Australia
• Skydiving in Taupo New Zealand
• Camping with the Orangutans in Bucket Luang Indonesia
• Ice walking and climbing Franz Joseph Glacier in New Zealand
• Certifying as an open water and advanced scuba diver
• Scuba Diving in Egypt, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand and Honduras
• Visiting 36 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and
• 5 New Wonders of the World:
• Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu (Peru)
• Christ the Redeemer (Brazil)
• The Great Wall of China (China)
• The Taj Mahal (India)
• Pyramids of Giza (Egypt)

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody that followed us through our epic journey and left comments which kept us motivated to keep this site updated.

We will be collating a personal book of our journey which will include our posts and a selection of our 30,000 photos.  You will be able to download a hard copy for only a few dollars via blurb.com. This will take some time to collate so you’ll have to bear with us.  I will keep you posted on such developments. It will keep us occupied while we seek employment.

Thank you for everything, it’s been amazing.

All our love,

Davey and Sam

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

This will be the cover of our book:

We chucked out all our ragged clothes and went shopping on 5^th Avenue, took the tour around Manhattan, Brooklyn  Queens, Ellis Island and around the Statue of Liberty.  A fabulous weekend and one we will no doubt relive again in the near future – at least next time we won’t have to do so many tourist things.

Most of our crew have never seen one.  Christy, a local Honduran dive master, had not seen one since she was snorkeling at the aged of 15, the club owner has been living on the island for 20 years and has never seen one.  It was a first for most of the other staff as well.  As you can imagine, the excitement was truly unreal.

Diving in the various countries en route we were always just out of whale season, and even then we would have been luck to spot one.  I read these few paragraphs on a scuba website and though I’d share them with you.  It really highlights just how lucky we were.

Spotting the elusive whale shark is the high point in the careers of many divers. Yet many can go their whole lives without ever seeing this majestic beast.

What is a Whale Shark?

The whale shark, or Rhincodon typus, is the largest fish in the sea and not a whale. It is a cartilaginous fish like any other shark and breathes through gills. It is also massive – it can grow over 12 meters in length and weigh up to 15 tons. Despite its massive size the whale shark is a gentle giant. It is a filter feeder with tiny teeth that play no role in feeding. This large fish poses no threat to a diver as it eats only plankton, krill, small fish, and jellyfish.

Although their migration patterns are poorly understood the following dive sites are well known for whale shark sightings. Top four places to see whale sharks

• Richelieu Rock and Hin Daeng in Thailand
• Ningaloo Reef in Australia
• Utila Island Off of Honduras
• Just off the Seychelles Islands

We were snorkeling, so we both got to see it.  I was so close I could have bitten its tail, surreal.

There are some riots in the capital and other parts of the country, but not a hint of it here on Roatan .  The locals are keeping a good eye on events, which are in Spanish, and are feeding the info back to us.  A problem may arise when we need to leave the island as all local airlines have been grounded and there are no busses.  Somehow we need to get from Roatan to San Pedro Sula to catch our flight to NY.  Hopefully all will have calmed down by the 14^th.

For now its back to enjoying our last week.  I have 4 more dives booked for this week, 1 wreck, 2 coral wall and 1 night. I looking forward to the night dive most.

Some more photos of Roatan.

Please feel free to add to this list, or even better, volunteer your services :

• Sunday roast with all the trimmings inc. Yorkshire pudding, stuffing, roast potatoes and gravy (I’m salivating just writing this)
• Crumpets with butter and bovril
• Sausage and mash (not smash!)
• Homemade spaghetti bolognese with garlic bread and a bottle of red wine (worth more than $1)
• Baked beans with cheese on toast
• Cadbury’s chocolate (any kind)
• Tea and biscuits (think dunkers)
• Fruit and Vegetables (fresh)
• Hot curry (of any kind)
• English ale (in a real pub)
• Guinness (in a real pub)
• A long hot bath (alone)
• Choice of clean clothes (especially underwear)
• Bed with a soft mattress, clean sheets (and no bed bugs)
• Private bedroom (without testosterone induced teenagers)
• Decent internet connection (anything above 56K)
• Catching up with family and friends (over a bottle of wine, obviously)

So far I’ve done 6 dives (1 night) and Sam 3.  Sadly that will be Sam’s lot as she’s picked up yet another ear infection.  She has started a course of antibiotics so she should be as right a reign in a few days, but no more diving.

Below is an extract from a local rag which goes some way to explaining why the diving is so good here.  We cannot understand why one of the best is one of he cheapest in the world, we are only paying $30 a dip, an absolute steal.

What Makes It Unique?

Why is Roatan’s diving so good? The island, nearly forty miles long and about three miles wide, is actually the top of an underwater mountain range called the Bonacca Ridge. The ridge includes the other Bay Islands, Utila and Guanaja, and the many smaller keys and islands nearby.

Roatan is surrounded on all sides by a living coral reef containing nearly every species of coral growing in the Caribbean Sea, including several species of rare black coral, and sponges of all colours and shapes. Some barrel sponges located off the east end of the island are the approximate size of large refrigerators.

The Reef

The reef, home to such beauties as seahorses, queen angel fish, stoplight parrot fish, blue tangs, and fairy basslets, slopes gently from shore providing excellent snorkeling and diving from nearly any point on the island. The reef stretches out to sea then drops off. Literally. Roatan is famous for its wall dives and nearly all dives are wall dives if you swim far enough out. Many crevices, chimneys, and caves punctuate the reef creating an impressive and varied topography.

The reef’s walls vary from inclines leading to sandy bottom at 30-200 feet, to sheer cliffs plummeting dramatically into the abyss. And I mean abyss. Roatan is on the edge of the Cayman Trench that provides clear water from the depths as well as a variety of pelagic animals such as whale sharks, turtles, dolphin, and rays. The trench plunges thousands of feet right off the west end of the island. In fact, the deepest tourist submarine in the world is located in Half Moon Bay next to West End. For about $500 it will take you to a depth of 3000 feet.

We had a rather quick and pleasant flight from Mexico City to San Pedro Sula.  Because of the political coup all roads were closed so we had to take two 15min flights on these toy planes.  All things considered, we arrived safely and in one piece.  How these planes flew I’ll never know, they must have been at least 40 years old.  The pilot had his hand out the window throughout! – keeping himself cool I assume.

We checked into a lovely room, $25 a night with a shared bathroom and kitchen, and will be here for the next two weeks.  We have done a couple of dives so far but you’ll have to wait a bit for the pics, they are just amazing.

Don’t worry if you don’t hear from us in the next week or so, the electricity is due to shut down, all part of coup, and we have have a 9pm curfu.  Other than that the island is nothing short of paradise and we are loving every minute of it. 

Seeing a beetle taxis whiz past every two seconds was a good start.  Anybody cool enough to drive one of these hippy vehicles for a living is cool enough for us.  We started with a tour of the city on the usual open top bus.  The food on the street was delicious, albeit dripping with fat.  We had (to name but a few):

• chilpachole
• tortillas
• taquitos
• chimichangas
• empanadas
• tamaleschoriqueso
• glorias
• chorizo
• enchilada
• fajita
• flautas
• cocido
• fritadas de camaron
• cochinita pibil
• gringas
• gorditas

We definitely left carrying an extra inch (or two). 

I won’t write anymore but just let the pics speak for themselves.  A great stopover!

Chow for now!

We stayed in Cusco for just over a week and a half, and although ill for part of it, we enjoyed it immensely, the place has a unique buzz and is a well deserved UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It is fair to say that it has knocked Buenos Aires into second place on our favourite retreat in South America.

While there we were lucky enough to experience the Inti Raymi, the Festival of the Sun. Before the colonial Spaniards banned the ceremonial events occurring each Winter Solstice in Cusco, the native residents gathered to honour the Sun God, sacrifice an animal to ensure good crops and to pay homage to the Inca, as the first born Son of the Sun.  Today, it’s the second largest festival in South America. Hundreds of thousands of people converge on Cusco from other parts of the nation, South America and the world for a week long celebration marking the beginning of a new year.

What an amazing festival, it puts our 1.5hr Easter parade to shame – these people certainly know how to celebrate in style.  We really enjoyed our time here and so help us God we will return again one day.