And so 10 weeks on (5 for Graham) we are back home. After a week in Buenos Aires, which has a very European feel to it, the culture shock is not so great, but the weather and the dark evenings - yuk!! (In southern Argentina it was light until mearly 10pm and in Buenos Aires the temperature was in the 30s.) I hope you enjoyed reading the blog and sorry the updates and the photos in particular have not been as regular as I would have liked, but I really apprec...

9 and a half weeks on and it`s nearly all over, can`t believe I`ll be home in just a few more days. Sorry communication has been spasmodic. The Patagonia trip was great but we were in some very isolated spots and internet was hard to find. In 3 weeks we covered 15 lines of latitude - from 40 to 55 degrees south. It`s hard to convey how huge and empty parts of the country are. If you have seen the Motorcycle Diaries, we covered some of the same route as Che...

Sorry for long delay in adding to my holiday story. Graham and I met up in the airport at Buenos Aires and after some frantic repacking we left for Bariloche in the Argentinian Lake District. Looked more like Switzerland than south America and the winter ski season had ended and summer season about to start. We met up with our group of fellow travellers who are a congenial bunch, our driver/guide, a crazy and enthusiastic English guy called Rob, his right hand...

Well, my 5 weeks in Xela are almost over which is hard to believe. I finished Spanish lessons last Friday and was quite relieved to do so. I 'm hoping that I will see the benefits of it over the coming weeks. At the moment it doesn't feel like I have achieved a lot. The problem with the one to one tuition is that it is quite unstructured and you have to set your own agenda and the temptation is to sit and chat. My teacher Claudia was interesting and knowledg...

Well I am into my third week here in Xela and it really is beginning to feel quite like home. So what am I up to? Monday to Friday is school, from 8 in the morning until 1pm with a 30 minute break. This is hard work and by the last hour I am starting to flag. I changed teachers after the first week and have a very pleasant, well educated and informed young woman in her 30s. The danger is that it is easy just to talk (not that easy, but less effort) and forge...