Early last year I posted an article Make Your Pounds Go Further. This advised how to make the most of your holiday money, following a fall in the value of the pound over the previous twelve months. The good news is that, compared with a year ago, your pounds do go much further now in most destinations, with […]
The scenery in New Zealand North Island may not be quite as spectacular as in the South Island, the previous stage of my Round the World tour. However, I was very much looking forward to seeing some of the backdrops to the film ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and visiting the geothermal areas. My route in the North Island took […]
Central Spain is dominated by Madrid, but there is much more to the region than just the capital city. So, when I visited Madrid last year (see: Madrid in November: Palaces, Parks and Paseos), I decided to extend my stay and explore some of the countryside and historic cities in the surrounding area. Although the local road and rail transport […]
I know West Africa well… or maybe it is more true to say that, I knew it well. I spent seven years as a university lecturer in Sierra Leone in the 1970s, and during that time visited most of the countries in the region. I have not returned to West Africa, other than a very brief […]
I’d read many reports about how Liverpool has undergone major regeneration over the last few years, stimulated in part by it being the European City of Culture in 2008. I decided it was about time to check the changes for myself, having previously visited during the bleak days of the 1990s when industrial disputes and social decay […]
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South America: Chile, Argentina, Brazil – Round the World Final Stage
I’d not previously visited South America so everything in this final stage of my round the world tour was a new experience. Having crossed the dateline, we arrived in Santiago in Chile four hours earlier on the day we had set off from Auckland – a strange feeling. The jet lag took a couple of days to overcome. Only then could […]