New Zealand here I come!

Hi!!

Well here I am back in Quito, pleased to be able to say that I loved the voluntary work, met loads of really nice people and also learnt lots about Ecuadorian politics (which I may have already forgotten! Ooops!!) I have lots of great piccies of the animals - capuchins, monkeys, ocelots, parrots, parakeets, coatis, kinkajous and also the locals (generally not animals!!) which I will try and add to the blog sometime but do not have the equipment required at the mo. It was a fantastic (and very mucky) experience which I am very glad I did. I even managed to improve my salsa skills on a weekend off as well as almost chop my finger off with a machete! I think Mark will be very impressed with all my war wounds and also my new found skills of constructing huts out of trees. Could certainly save a few pounds?!

Tonight I am catching an overnight flight to Chile and then tomorrow night a flight to New Zealand so the next couple of days are going to be somewhat tedious. It'll be so nice to arrive in New Zealand even if it is 4.40 in the morning, where Mark assures me he will be waiting.

Then he says he has lots of nice things planned which I am not allowed to know until I get there, although he has told me we are going to a rugby match on the 2nd June which will be interesting - The All Blacks against France. I take it they should be good then? - I hope so as it's my first ever rugby match. If this games bad that's it, I'll never be persuaded to go to another again?! ;o)

Talking of Mark as I note he has let the side down on the blogging (he says he had nothing to write!) He has been in Auckland the last 3 weeks, seeing the sights and working at the hostel a few hours some days for free accommodation. It sounds like he has been enjoying himself but is ready for a change now, so he says. On his birthday he went paintballing with some other hostellers and ended up rather bruised. He has also spent a few nights at some comedy clubs and meeting up with a friend Joe and his wife Tash. Hopefully I won't cramp his style too much when I get there?! :o)

Anyway I had better go and get my stuff sorted so I'm ready to go as soon as I've had dinner. It wouldn't be too great if I missed the flight!

So until next time have fun

Off to pastures new . . .

Hola All

Well here I am having just waved Mark off on his way to New Zealand, since after several weeks of most frustrating organising, I have finally arranged to head back up to Quito tomorrow (to where the adventure started all those months ago . . .) so that I can do three weeks voluntary work in the Ecuadorian Amazon at a Wildlife Rehabilitation centre. I hope it will be as good as I imagine as I think it has aged me by several years already! Being a charity AND Ecuadorian I shouldn't really be surprised at the constant delays and lack of efficiency . . but I still am! ;o)
The website of the organisation I am volunteering for is: www. Santamartharescue.org if you wish to know more.

Meanwhile Mark is looking forward to watching the rugby, frequenting Jazz clubs and enjoying some peace and quiet before I join him on the 31st May. . . . :o)

This last week in South America has been pretty hectic too. We went to a couple of towns in the wine region of Argentina – Mendoza and San Juan. Visited the Valley de Luna National Park which has amazing coloured rocks from each of the Mesozoic periods - Jurassic, Triassic and Cretaceous. Its pretty amazing really - one is bright red, another yellow and the other grey.

They have found many intact dinosaur fossils in the park too.

Then we had a very pretty bus journey across the Andes to Santiago, a surprisingly pleasant city. The area of our hostel looks how you would imagine London to have been many years ago with cobbled streets, old fashioned lamp posts and quaint buildings. However I can't remember being somewhere where so may people smoke for a very long time!

And that brings us up to date again so until the next instalment (and Mark said he may do one – shock horror!;o)) Take care and Adios.