Closure

Well, it's over now, and we're back in the UK.
We survived all our adventures - and each other. We've travelled by bus, train, plane, car, bicycle, moped and horse; lived for a month in a 3 man tent; seen snow capped mountains, rainbow clad fjords, salt deserts, raging waterfalls and more volcano's than I can count.
We've all got our favourite places and memories: Ned and I loved Japan, with it's bullet trains and Pokemon centre, and I won't forget riding down the Death Road in Bolivia; while Annie was smitten by Cambodia and camping in front of Mount Cook, and Kim's already planing on moving to New Zealand when he's old enough so he can ride the luge as often as he likes.
Encouraging the boys to keep diaries was like pulling teeth, but I think they've learned so much on the trip, just by seeing and touching things. Ned could tell you all about tectonic plates now and Kim was correcting me on my Spanglish just by listening to the locals. I like to think they've got a better understanding now of the variety of the world, it's customs, cultures, language and landscape - and with a bit of luck, they might even remember some of it. But the trip wasn't about them, we just ran away because we could and the boys had to come with us. But I certainly don't think it did them any harm.
And six months was about the right length for this trip. By the end the boys were getting desperate to play with their friends again, and I felt like I needed to do something constructive (though it didn't necessarily need to be in England).
So here we are. We've been back 4 weeks, work is trickling in again and we've now moved to a rented flat in Lewes.
Here starts the next adventure...

Round #12

After four days in Montevideo, and on the eve of our return trip to Buenos Aires and London, we discovered why the city is so quiet. Not only is it Easter weekend and bank holiday here but just up the road on the outskirts of the city is a huge gaucho rodeo festival. We could have rounded off our trip at one of Uruguay's biggest cultural events if only we'd known - doh!

Que?

Annie had a migraine today, but tried to convince us it was dengue fever.
I think she's just malingering and looking for an excuse not to get on the flight home.
Actually, come to think of it, I'm feeling a bit peaky too...

It could be London...

...except for the palm trees. And the blue sky. And the traffic free roads. And..

Montevideo

If Buenos Aires is a mix of Barcelona and Paris, Montevideo feels more like a cross between Havana and Berlin. Lovely old classical buildings in various states of faded glory sit cheek by jowl with blocky seventies architecture, which isn't always as ugly as it sounds - and I'm very fond of Havana and Berlin, so it's a favourable comparison. In fact, it's easy to imagine how beautiful this city once was. It's just that, like me, it's let itself go a bit. On the plus side it has wide, tree lined avenues, little traffic, lots of culture, drinkable tap water and free museums - the last two being things that can't be said for the rest of South America. It's a much smaller, slower and (I suspect) poorer capital city than BA, but that makes it somewhat more interesting, and certainly a more relaxing place to spend our last few days.

We came here not only to collect one last geeky stamp in our passports, but to sit on one of the many beaches that stretch along Uruguay up to the border with Brazil. We'd have liked to go further up the coast to the better resorts, but time is against us - so we'll have to make do with the beaches surrounding Montevideo itself. The sea here washes up a strange green algae at low tide, which is probably harmless but doesn't look very appealing, but the beaches are wide, clean and of the softest white sand. Perfect for lazing in the sun while the boys dig escape tunnels.

Can you guess what it is yet?

Elvis hiding in the clouds, or is it Bruce Forsythe?

Jumping the sun

Annie shows the boys how it's done!