And now it begins.....

Right, there's going to be one attempt at this and due to a dodgy spacebar it mightn't be pretty. The big news is that I've finally started the 5 month soujorn. It's time to forget about 60 hour weeks, over crowded desks and malfunctioning computers. Instead it's 60 hour bus rides, over crowded train stations and malfunctioning bodily functions. I can't wait. After two nights without sleep (that was in the UK for work and packing purposes!!!) I took a flight to Amsterdam and then Sao Paulo, Brazil. Here I briefly met up with Paul, my reason for heading out this way. No we're not in love, I'm actually ushering at his wedding, although he only revealed the ushering bit two weeks ago, and he only told me I'd have to do some ceremonial dance with one of the bridesmaids this morning. But I digress...

Now I'm in La Paz, Bolivia on the one computer in the hotel. A queue is building up behind me and the pressure is stunting my comic imagination. I can see Bolivia will be an interesting place. A country where taxi drivers accelerate non-stop down steep hills. A Spanish speaking country who's biggest airline will only let English speakers sit on the exit rows of their planes (not that I'm complaining). A country with more bowler hats than people (this may not actually be true). Yes I think I'm going to enjoy myself, if these crazed drivers don't finish me off.

(Only China, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, some bits of Europe yet to be decided and Bath (for Toby's wedding) to go.)

This was originally written on 26 June 2007. It is from my summer trip to Latin America.