Fresh back from Sri Lanka in January, we thought that we were having lunch with Edwardo, but somehow he never turned up, so we had to make do with Auntie Brenda
End of January we had a quick two week trip to the 3 Guyanas . click for the full story
We saw a space rocket take off - wow
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| We took a lot of quite scary small aeroplanes | ,,saw the Kaieteur Falls | Helped Chef Delven prepare and cook a meal | He was very grateful for our tips on cooking |
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| We had a lot of (too) early mornings. But did see strange and exotic animals. Apart from the padres, | .we saw the Cock of the Rock at Kaieteur Falls | Caiman whenever there was a pool of water | Giant Anteaters |
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| We sat on Giant Amazon Lily pods | We motored along countless rivers in dugout canoes | And enjoyed some relaxing in a hammock | We met Melanie, who liked small bears (as well as Giant otters) |
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| Man's inhumanity to man. Prisoner reception in French Guyana | We would not want to stay here too long | We saw the Ariane 6 Rocket Launch | Somerville is still trying to work out why the con trail is not straight |
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| We had a few cocktails to pick up our spirits, we like them | A rough voyage to Devil's Island | And that is us with Devil's Island behind us | A very good final lunch in Cayenne |
We flew back home for a few weeks before setting off again.
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| Auntie Joanna stayed for a few days | We met this fellow at Vespas. He is bigger than Factious | And Joanna brought us a new little friend |
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| A poncey meal at Amante | We managed a few glasses of decent wine | And helped with the eating of the food |
In March we headed to the airport again, this time to fly to Chile, and from there on the Silver Cloud to Cape Town - click for the details story
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| We flew from Santiago to Puerto Williams | ..and helped the pilot fly the plane | W settled in to the bar on Silver Cloud with a pisco Sour | We invited the Captain to dine with us. |
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| ..and drove lots of Zodiacs | Afternoon tea in the Falklands | ..and buns for breakfast on the Silver Cloud | There were a million penguins there in South Georgia |
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| We like the Rockhoppers | Stromness where Shackleton found safety | A few years later he did and is buried at Grytvikin, | A replica of the boat he sailed from Elephant Island to S Georgia |
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| We had new friends, ut were to to share the marzipans | We landed at Tristan da Cunha, not many bears have been there | ,, saw the modest home of the British Administrator | And rode a rhino in Stellenbosch, South Africa |
And once in Cape town we spent three weeks driving round the southern tip of South Africa - click for full story of us in South Africa
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| Hermanus, South Africa, and straight in to the cakes | We met the madre's cousin John and his wife Leone | Bracing sea air and sunshine at Hermanus | We admire the view from the bar at Emily Moon Hotel |
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| We had to be brave in the Cango Caves | Happily we found a shop in Montagu baking fresh buns daily | An ostrich had a go at Pembroke, he just said "Good Morning" | At Bushman's Kloff we had our own jeep to explore |
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| The nice guide brought all the stuff for snacks | The rock painting did not impress us. Somerville does better | This is as near to a leopard that we want to get | All hotels should do a welcome tray like this |
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| And not a bad breakfast either | the tram at Franschhoek was fun | And this nice lady looked after us in one of the vineyards | Cheers to South Africa |
After this back to Europe for a couple of months
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| Still no sign of Edwardo | ..but there was a big cheese | A discussion with Uncle Nick on the finer points of buns | And Uncle Paul's birthday cake - smaller than ours |
After this we were off to the Indian Ocean. The full details are on this link. We went to all sorts of islands that we had never heard of
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| A really poncy villa in Zanzibar, complete with a butler | We met him in Zanzibar, odd chap | This chap was trying to chop up a horses head | We enjoyed local lobster barbecued on the beach, Comoros |
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| The guide got us lost at Dragons Rock, it was a nightmare | An impressive mosque in Comoros | We tried our hand at ylang ylang perfume making | We are dumbfounded, they call this Niagara |
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| Luck we ere not hear 6 moths ago, the lava was fresh then | Don't look round boys, but a tortoise will run you over | We meet the manager at Rodrigues for a drink | Another waterfall, this time with water |
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| Family photo on the padres 59th wedding anniversary | We got a bit wet here from the waves splashing us | The iconic clock tower in Victoria, Seychelles | And us with the Coco de Mer |
Back in Spain
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| Lunch with Ted & Cilla in Moraira .. | ..where a crook stole the madre's phone. | Orelly man up palm tree |
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| Here we are at Amantes .. | ..enjoying a paella | And we met Mr & Mrs Diddier for lunch at home |
Then we headed north to see a total eclipse, and afterwards visit uncle Vic & Auntie Gaynor in France. The full details are on this link. Unfortunately we never saw the total eclipse as it was pitch black at the time that we should have seen it
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| We visited Salamanca and .. | ..lived dangerously with the police around | Crepes Suzette was a new experience for us | We thought that the 4 musketeers would barbeque us |
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| We got our special goggles to watch a total solar eclipse | but we missed it as it went dark when we should have seen it | There were dinosaur footprints on the beach | and a really interesting dinosaur museum |
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| Cider was a local specialty, so we had to try it | Another ice cream, they are spoiling us | A glass of fruit juice in a French garden | ..and a glass of Armagnac further down the road |
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| We bake a pizza for Uncle Vic | ..and enjoy tapas in the Gunn's garden | We met the half Irish chef | And we brought Salamanca Ted home to live with us |
Then there was the padre's birthday which took us to Catalonia- full story and photos on this link
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| Our room even had its own swing | Enjoying dinner with the padres | We had a wine tour | And a quiet moment for coffee and cakes |