Start of the South American Trip

We have completed the 14-day cruise on the Island Princess and done all things "cruisingly". Made nice friends at our dinner table, avoided the man in the hot tub who talked politics and religion and generally relaxed our bodies and overeaten. My facebook friends will have seen the ports we stopped at, and noted that my opinions during such short visits to each place were pretty much worthless. We have very much enjoyed the luxury, especially after such a long spell of relative discomfort in Mayto.

The most amazing experience by far was the transit through the Panama Canal. I cannot overstate it. We arrived at the first locks at about 5.30 a.m. on the 15th December and had the thrilling experience of feeling our huge ship being gradually lifted in three stages and deposited into the canal approaching the Gatun Lake and down by three locks into the Atlantic on the other side. We moved to various points on the ship to get the full impact of this phenomenon and Jon has taken more photos than we will ever need to remind us. The whole transit takes about 10 hours and we didn't move away from the side of the ship for the whole time. The man-made Gatun Lake was very water logged due to heavy rain, and had actually, historically, closed for one day, 3 days before we arrived. The effect was that the ship was actually cruising through a swamp-land with submerged trees and grassland either side. I saw crocodiles basking on the banks and iguanas sunning themselves at the very top of the trees right beside the slow-moving ship. There is a lot of construction going on as there is a larger, wider canal being constructed. This will be capable of transporting the new 'post panamax' cargo ships through the Canal in the future. It is pleasing to note that the use of existing water in the area is managed in an environmentally friendly way, and not wasted.

Our cruise completed, we were transfered by coach and dropped at Miami Airport where we were due to fly to Equador the following day. A bit dazed and disorientated we battled with unhelpful and patronising staff at the 'information desk', and stayed the night in a bland and forgettable hotel near the airport. This is unfair, I know, but what we saw of Miami has not encouraged me to visit again in the future. It came over as a bit like Bournemouth on a good summer's day with nothing particular to justify a long journey by air.

We arrived in Quito late last night. The information desk at the airport helpfully directed us to a cheap and clean hostal, in the centre of town, where we have checked in for 3 nights until we have got our bearings. The first thing I can say is that it is freezing cold. We hadn't expected that and were are not equipped with the right clothes. We are walking around town wearing several layers and looking like we have just landed from somewhere warm (which of course we have). We met a helpful man at the cafe where we had breakfast and he directed us to the South American Explorers Club which is where I am sitting now. We have received some good advice on how not to get robbed and a lot of other necessary information, most importantly - where to buy some cheap warm clothes.

We plan to stay in Quito for Christmas Day and then move on.

Last stop Mexico

We have arrived in Cabo St Lucas. After a week of travelling we are quite weary and looking forward to boarding the Island Princess on Tuesday.

Our bus journey through the night from Puerta Vallarta last week (terrifying due to the fact that we were watching a disaster movie on the video screen), brought us to Matzalan bus station at about 2.3o in the morning. We decided to sit out the night there and nodded off in the seats in the lobby. In the morning a taxi took us to a moderately priced hotel on the beach-front and we had a pleasant day relaxing and swimming in the sea. The next day we took a bus to the ferry port with our heavy backpacks and I slipped and fell over on the uneven pavement when we got off (at the wrong stop). I hurt my toe and broke my glasses and we hobbled the 1km distance to the terminal to catch the ferry to La Paz. I have been hobbling ever since and keep having to superglue my glasses together.

The ferry trip introduced us to the high security, with marines, which surrounds the ports, and we had to put our luggage on the ground for sniffer dogs to examine. Our dog seemed to be quite interested in the food people had packed, so the message is; if you want to smuggle drugs into America, hide them in with some empanadas with fricoles because no-one checked the food packs. Our drug-free status secured we joined the general mexican passengers and had another uncomfortable night sitting up, having decided we couldn't really afford a cabin.

After more checking of our luggage from marines at La Paz, we joined a mini bus into the town where we spent the night in hostal style accomodation. In the morning we started our journey down the peninsular by bus and stopped for a couple of nights at Los Todos Santos. Here we gave ourselves a bit of luxury in a nice hotel as we felt we deserved a comfortable bed and enjoyed our stop very much. Los Santos is famous for being a hippy town in the 70's and the Hotel California, from the Eagles song, is still there, though a little more pretentious these days as a tourist attraction.

We arrived in Cabo St Lucas yesterday. Israel's mother, Miriam, had very kindly booked us 4 nights in the Santa Maria Elena hotel as her sister lives here. Yesterday we took a taxi straight there and peeled off our backpacks thankfully when we got to the room, (after a brief wrangle with the owner over the nightly rate). My mission now is to buy some new clothes to board the ship with. Everything I have is shabby and worn-out and can be thrown away. The town is full of markets and I am looking forward to SHOPPING!

End of the first stage

We travelled back to Puerta Vallarta from Mayto on the bus yesterday. Quite uneventful except that we had to say goodbye to our tent and those turtles left that we hadn´t managed to bring up from the nests. We are only human after all and we had put 700 babies into the sea the day before. I did my last patrol with Jorge at 10.00 the night before, and we stopped at the 13km point and engaged in a diverting and stimulating conversation. (Not really!). Actually I enjoyed the silent contemplation of the moon on the sea and the stunning stars unpoluted by light, and the quiet calm that Jorge maintains. A fitting end to my incredible experiences on the turtle beach. Israel took us to the bus stop on the quadbike and we think he was quite moved to say goodbye. On the other hand he might have not cared at all. Difficult to say really.

Back in PV we have struggled to come to terms with being away from the solitude of the beach. This morning I woke up to the sound of lorries grinding their gears, and shouts from the road instead of that blasted cockerel that had decided to greet each day outside our tent. We have discarded some clothes and have spent some time shopping for suitable things to travel in. Had an interesting time booking bus tickets for Mazatlan tomorrow. The girl in the ticket office at the bus station chewed gum and refused to answer my faltering spanish with anything but a sneer. She could double the part in Little Britain saying "computer says 'no'" and I had a hard job keeping a straight face. Anyway, against the odds, we have tickets for 6.00pm tomorrow and will travel first to Mazatlan, then take a ferry boat over to La Paz. After that we will travel down to Cabo San Lucas where we board the Island Princess for our cruise on 7th December. Hopefully we will have no bad weather conditions as the boarding will be by tender and a hurricane on the day will upset us no end.

If anything goes wrong I will let you know .......

The Mayto turtle protection

This is Israel on his soap-box talking to a group of biology students. He is probably telling them all about the conservation of turtles at the Mayto Campamento. In the foreground is a rather faded municipal sign which gives the promise of 'protection and conservation of marine turtles'. This is a hope which is fading as quickly as the sign itself. We are seeing dead turtles on the beach daily. Predation of eggs and baby turtles is a regular occurrence, and future development of hotels and appartments for tourism is expected. The improvement of the road into Mayto itself presents a threat to the area.

We have, in our time here, released thousands and thousand of baby turtles back into the ocean. It has been rewarding work which promises a healthy increase to the numbers in the sea, and the turtles are our friends. However, I wonder what the females that survive, and come back to lay eggs on this beach in 10 to 12 years, time will find. The wild beach we see today will have changed. Will these primative creatures adapt and make themselves a place to exist amongst the quadbikes and speedboats?

We only have a few days left in Mayto and then we will be travelling back to Puerta Vallarta on Thursday ready for the rest of our journey up the north of Mexico.

Bennett crusade

The fight against dogs in the compound goes on. Chatta is by no means the only culprit, but she is certainly an interested contender. Keeping her out of the egg enclosure is a bit like Fred Flintstone´s cat who just runs round and comes in another way.

Guilty!

This noble hound has been caught red-handed in the nest enclosure digging up eggs. I found her in there one night and she has been named and shamed. Name is Chatta and the shame is because she is actually the camp pet dog and nobody would believe that she would be so desructive and eat the turtles and eggs that we have worked so hard to collect. It does beg the question, why is the Campamento Mayto for Protection of Turtles keeping a dog that steals the eggs!

Turtle protection

There are heavy penalties for egg stealing in Mexico, a large fine and even a prison sentence for repeated offenders. This being the case, there is risk attached to the job of protection because there is money to be made from selling eggs and turtle meat which are a cultural delicacy. Israel is fairly fluid in the way he handles poaching and usually has "a little chat" with egg-stealers on the beach and confiscates the eggs but lets them keep some as an act of goodwill. This keeps the local people sweet and also makes them aware of the turtle protection program.

This week we have had some aggresive behaviour from one particular individual. Israel has admonished him repeatedly in the past, but on Thursday night when Jorge and Cibyl and Sammy were on patrol he threatened Jorge with a machete concealed up his sleave and threatened the lives of his family who live close-by. The girls were very frightened by the incident and Cibyl said it was the most softly spoken, and therefore sinister, death threat you could ever imagine.

On Friday morning I went out with Israel, (not quite sure what we would find), and saw the man wading across the lagoon with his dog swimming along side of him. He had on his shoulders a large bucket containing, what must have been, between 1000 to 1500 turtle eggs. He must have been working all night. Israel took a video of him and this will, no doubt, provide some evidence in any future legal proceedings. However, this process might take some time and the man continues to reek havoc.

On Saturday morning, the next day, I was with Israel on the beach with some students and we came across a recently killed turtle beside the lagoon. It had happened within the hour and the man's footprints were still visible in the wet sand where he had walked away from what was left of the turtle. He had prised open the shell and removed the meat and the eggs from the poor creature. Only the entrails were left strewn across the beach.

All this has left me with a dull depression, not made better by the departure of Cibyl and Sammy who left the camp on Saturday. I really miss you guys so much, the crazy sense of humour, (which so well matches mine), the girly discussions which caused Jon to hurriedly leave the table on countless occasions and of course everyone misses the pretty bikini-clad bodies which decorated the sandy beach every day. Hope you have managed to get the sand from all the crevasses - might take a few days. Joel has already moved into your tent and strung his hammock in front. 'Club Med Mayto' lives on!

Some recent photos

T

Sammy and me with pink hair

Crossed a line this week and found myself sitting amongst the rocks with Cibyl and Sammy looking for a special kind of shellfish called a Caracol. The secretion when wiped on your hair makes it go purple. We felt happy with the result which you can see here, but I do smell a bit fishy, and Jon is not certain about it. Sammy piped "You will be, like, the crazy old lady on that cruise!" Like, I think she is right, but why stop there? I am now looking at hair braids, ankle bands, woven pantaloons. I need to look like a proper traveller when I get to Auckland. The family will be expecting me to look the part won't they?

Exciting week

First I want to announce the birth, at last, of my third grandson, Finley Isaac Newman. Born 20-10-2010, at approx 10.2 lbs. I think he will be a numbers man. I am so happy and relieved. Mum and baby look fine. I hope that one day he will understand that his Nannie is doing her best to make this a better world for him and his cousins. Yesterday we released some baby turtles and I found one that was a little late to crawl out of his egg. He was full of life though and eager to get going. I named him Fin and gave him a turtley kiss on his little head and freed him into the waves.

Had a huge challenge to my courage this week. We had a visit from a group of biology students and they were taken out onto the beach at night to look for turtles. Israel asked Jon if I would be able to drive some of them out on a quadbike and he immediately said "no" (it's all a bit chauvanist here). I kicked up such a fuss at being excluded that I suddenly found myself chugging off down the beach after the others with three girls and the maestro (teacher) hanging on for dear life. Generally I coped well, but the maestro was heavy and at one point I veered scarily towards the sea. They all gave a little scream, but that was the most exciting thing that happened to them as we didn't find any turtles.

All in all an emotionally tiring week. Jon and I are having a night with Fernando and El Rinconchito tonight. A chance to have a proper shower and sleep in a bed.

Jon the brave!

If anyone doubted the strength of those claws - imagine if he caught you on the nose in your tent! This one was so pissed-off, he hung onto the stick long after he could reasonably expect to win this particular bout with Jon.

Tujo

This is Tujo. He is an orphaned tejon, hand reared and very tame indeed. Not quite sure what he is. If anyone knows please let me know. He climbs well as you can see. He has a long tail, striped a bit like a racoon, long claws suitable for digging and a long nose. He looks like he might eat ants or termites normally, but he thrives on dog food. He follows Jorge around like a dog and can also be seen hanging (literally) around in the kitchen area.

Our communal life

This is the hub of the camp with the kitchen as the main area where the solar batteries provide energy, and we have a gas stove. Even internet sometimes! We eat communally in the sheltered dining area which is shared with the quadbike and a boa-constrictor in a cage!

Turtles make people happy

Had a great chance this week to spread a little turtle warmth. Jon and I met a family from New Jersey, America. They had a little girl who had some sort of disorder; her parents called it selective mutism (!!?). Seems like she will only speak to some people and had developed a strong empathy with animals and had rejected most humans. We were able to show her some baby turtles emerging from the nest enclosure and she handled the babies and helped to release them into the sea. On one night of their holiday, some of the volunteers came across the family on the beach in the middle of the night. They were watching a turtle laying eggs and the girls let them catch some as they were being laid. This is quite a powerful experience for anyone, but this little girl was completely awestruck. It was so lovely to give her an experience that she will carry with her, and hopefully will give her something to talk about when she goes back to school.

In the meantime, Jon and I are still battling with our tent life. Last night we heard a crab trying to get in and when we switched on our torches found a small scorpion hanging precariously onto the tent flap. Jon bravely swiped it with a croc (the shoe not the animal) and it promptly disappeared somewhere under the tent. Needless to say we have been stepping around the area a bit gingerly since then. Today we have taken a bus into El Tuito and I bought a hammock. It could be I will sleep in there in future, it might be safer.

Maggi, Gill and Lucinda: thanks a bunch for celebrating my birthday! hope you didn't get indigestion laughing at my misfortunes.

Time out from the Beach

We have taken some time away from "boot camp Mayto" and given ourselves a weekend off. Jon and I were getting a bit stir crazy, and anyway teenage weekend parties are not to our liking. We took ourselves off to the Vallarta Botanical Gardens and had the most wonderful day under the cool trees and bathing in ice-cold river water. That may not sound attractive to those entering an English autumn, but believe me, we craved the change.

We went and came back on the bus. You might think that is nothing much to write about, but mexican buses are a law unto themselves. It arrived half an hour late (we got up at 5.30 a.m. to catch it), but the bus driver was so accomodating that he took us all the way to the Gardens and, at the end of the day, picked us up from the gate. The journey back involved a stop in El Tuito so that passengers could visit the bano (bathroom). We bought corn cobs from a stall at the roadside and munched them on the bus. I had a chance to listen to various spanish conversations and try to understand. On the way back to Mayto we came across a truck which was stuck in the mud and holding up the traffic, so the bus driver hooked up to it with a tow-rope and we hauled it out before carrying on our journey. Needless to say, bus timetables are not that reliable, but the bus does get to it's destination eventually, come hell or high water!

We decided to stay in a small beach hotel for the night. El Conchito run by Fernando who treated us like long lost family when we rounded the bend and entered his, frankly weird, hotel grounds. Absolutely covered in driftwood, sculputures, shells and various items washed up onto the beach, the place looks the very epitome of mexican-culture. We will go there again as it gave us the chance to sleep one night in a proper bed and have a shower not shared by lizards and crabs!

Back to earth now, we have turtles to save.

The bathroom

This is our bathroom. It has been especially designed to avoid the unfortunate event of having something nasty drop on you from the ceiling. No roof ....

This is what we came for

We have now started our working schedule in ernest. We each go out about 3 times a week, with a mexican helper, on the quad bike during the night between 10.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m. Like any job, it is getting rather routine; patrol the beach, collect eggs, bring them back and bury them in the compound. However, to encounter a laying turtle in the night, during a thunderstorm in the middle of a wild beach, must be one of the most primeval experiences of my life. I will never get the sight out of my mind.

You hear some things you would not imagine. One of the voluteers, Kerry, reported coming across a live fish in amongst a nest of eggs. Apparantly it was a cleaner fish which had been stuck to the turtle when she came out of the water and slid into the nest as she was laying.

I was returning with Jorge on Monday and we saw a hatching nest in the morning light. The baby turtles looked just like a sort of living fountain emerging from the sand. The babies were making good progress towards the sea, so we watched them and made sure no birds attacked them.

This is feeling less like a holiday after a month and more like real life. We have our ups and downs and need to take our share of chores around the camp. Now the rain has stopped we are in danger of encountering nasty insects in the sand and have seen a small scorpion and a black widow spider. This is no place for softies. Oh, I have to report that the boa ate the iguana. Not a pretty sight!

Turtle patrol at night

This is Jorge on the beach at night collecting turtle eggs as they are laid. The turtle doesn't mind, she doesn't even notice as she is in a kind of trance. She then covered up the hole and heaved herself back to the sea, unaware that her eggs had been taken.

Baby turtles

This is what the babies look like when they first hatch. That is Cybil releasing some onto the beach.

Turtle nursery

This is the nesting enclosure where we bury the eggs after they have been retrieved from the beach. The eggs which are due to hatch are circled with netting. The baby turtles take about two days to dig their way out of the sand. By then they are strong enough to be released onto the beach.

Mayto wildlife

Here's one for the arachnaphobes out there. Went to the bathroom (open to the elements incidentally) and saw first a full set of legs sticking out of the plughole, then a huge spider sitting in the sink. Help came in the form of 16 year old Joel who took a studied look and said "ah si, tarantula". He then offered his bare hand into the sink and allowed the creature to climb up his arm and gently liberated it onto a nearby woodpile.

We fight a constant battle with lizards and crabs that want to share our tent as we have a broken zip. Jon confronted a huge land-crab the other night. It braced up to him, pincers flailing, and danced around in a very threatening manner. He eventually gave it a mighty clout with his paperback and sent it scudding out across the sand. Showed him .....

We have a boa constricter in a cage which it shares with an iguana. The iguana doesn't get much sleep!

We had a tragedy last night. A dog got into the nesting enclosure and killed and ate some of the baby turtles that were emerging from the sand. We all felt a bit sick at heart about that.

Turtle time!

Israel has been tearing his hair waiting for a quadbike to arrive so that we can patrol the 6 miles of beach. (Walking is too far and the eggs are too heavy to carry.) Well, it arrived yesterday so Jon and I are going out for the first time tonight. Can't wait! Cybil and Andrea went out last night and each found a nest.

Sleep is a problem because we go out at 10 p.m. at night until about 2.00 a.m. and 6 a.m. in the morning, so we are trying to save our energy during the day. We are to go with the mexican helpers until we are more confident and know what we are looking for. After that we will go, in two's, and bring the eggs back for burying in the compound.

Sand and flies are still getting on our nerves, but if we are busy we don't mind so much.

Evening at Mayto

Tents on the beach

Mayto Turtle Project

Well, we have arrived in paradise. But when I tell you that we have forged raging rivers, negotiated collapsed roads and finally waded, waist-deep, through fetid estury waters to get here, I am absolutely not lying! The rain in Mexico has been fenominal - the beach around the turtle compound was completely washed away, and now we are here we are kind of marooned here. In order to write this blog Jon and I have waded to a nearby beach hotel at low tide.

We are living in a tent which is under a thatched area for protection. Our view is over miles of white beach and palm trees are all around us. We sit and watch huge crabs migrate from the estury towards the sea in the evening light. The project is run by Israel, who is a lovely, soft- eyed, man who has turtle conservation at the heart of his soul. His helper is Jorge - who comes over as a little dark in spirit but handles animals fearlessly.

I have seen some baby turtles which were released the first day we got here, but as yet no laying mothers on the beach. We went on a patrol at dawn this morning, but only saw some nests which had been marauded by wild dogs. We will have to get out in the night to save the eggs I think.

There are five volunteers, Jon and me, Cybil and Andrea from Outreach and Kerry who is here for a month with another organisation. There are also a lot of mexican students helping around the compound.

Jon and I have had some air-bed issues and, as yet, have not had a comfortable night's sleep. We spend the cool times of day trying to improve the comfort of our living area, but fight a losing battle with the sand and mosquitoes. Still got some adjusting to do.

Two pictures, two stories

These two photos were taken on the same day, but show how different things were.

All in all I think we were happy with the day.

Puerto Vallarta

How to tell you about Mexico? - It's a bit like going through a fairground, one minute there are lights and bright colours with interesting things going on around you, the next you are behind the caravans and trailers and it's dirty and smelly with things going on you don't want to see. The food looks and tastes wonderful but holds a risk element. Wednesday I went down with a tummy bug, and am just recovering now. Fortunately no-one else in the apartment seems to have gone down with it.

There are four of us in the apartment, Jon and me, Claire who teaches deaf children in Puerto Vallarta and Cybil who is coming to the turtle project with us. We are doing spanish lessons in the afternoons for about 3-4 hours, and Lupita comes to the apartment for that purpose. I think Jon is her greatest challenge as he sort of 'times-out' if he doesn´t understand and scowls at her in a menacing way if she presses him too much.

There is a nicely kept swimming pool in the grounds of the apartment, and we go and 'veg-out' it it when the heat and humidity gets too much. The overhead fans in the apartment are going constantly, night and day, but it still feels hard to drag ourselves around. But it's the drums, those damn drums! (just kidding). Hopefully we will aclimatise before we need to do some actual work.

Tomorrow another volunteer, Andrea, is arriving from UK and all four of us are going by bus to Mayto. I am not sure how long it will take us as I get conflicting answers every time I ask - it probably depends on the bus we take. Travelling can either be in air-conditioned splendour or shared with chickens apparently.

We are being looked after very well. Greta our co-ordinator was poised ready to rush me to hospital with my tummy bug. I will post some photos on the blog, but we haven't taken many yet.

Last day - we are off tomorrow

Here we go! We are on our way.

Anyone wanting to google us: we are going to Mayto, near El Tuito in Mexico

One Week to go

Spent some time clearing out the garage on Tuesday - what an exercise! The story of our whole married life so far pulled out and laid on the ground and most of it off to the tip. Even a bed, dismantled but complete with screws (sorry) sadly had to be ejected. We need to SORN the car and leave it in there. I did indulge in a bit of a paddy when I discovered a large bag, about the size of me, which is apparantly the winter home to a load of cricket nets! Jon did finally see that they couldn't stay, and found another mug (sorry cricket pal) to take them into his garage.

Had a pamper day at the De Vere with a Spanish friend yesterday. Don't worry I didn't order any drinks so I won't be mortgaging the house! We swam and sat in the steam room and sauna, then made a pot of tea and a plate of cakes last two hours while I struggled to communicate in her first language. Useful and relaxing at the same time.

Now please note! to anyone who wants to smuggle themselves into Mexico inside Michelle, she is now completely full and there is no more room; even for a small Accounts person (you know who you are).

Week 2

In my 'payroll person' mind, Week 2 would be sometime in April. But it's week two in the 4-week count-down towards August 27th when we get on the plane to Mexico.

Have been spending a bit more time with Michelle (me shell). I have introduced a few fun things, like games, a travel scrabble and some russian game (not russian roulette!) that someone gave me for christmas. Unfortunately the instructions are in russian, but three dice and diagrams on a pad - how hard can it be? Michelle is getting quite heavy now and I have taken to walking around the house with her on my back just to get used to the weight. I have sent a few things flying by turning round suddenly, but most of the valuable things have been put up in the loft so it doesn't matter too much.

Had a minor upset this week when water started dripping from a light fitting downstairs. Turned out to be from under the bath where the calking had failed to do it's job. Brilliant timing, but DIY Man (Jon) was ready with his calking gun and the need for expensive and destructive plumbing work was averted.

Feeling nervous, but no regrets yet. Those turtles are gonna get saved whether they like it or not, because we are on our way!

First Week

I have been taking some time to get used to my backpack (named Michelle for obvious reasons). We are getting to know each others little foibles; my inablity to straighten my knees when she is loaded up/her complete refusal to close her zip over Dan's copy of The Journals of Sylvia Plath. Work in progress.

Trying to build myself up to fitness for the project. Ended up face-down and panting on Monday during a "body conditioning" class at the gym. Some goddess looking about twelve years old runs a class which seems to be run along the lines of what you might expect in Guantanamo Bay.

Still feel like I am "pulling a sickie" from work, but I am sure that will pass.

Love to everyone - Michelle says hi!

Well, it's not great to be old enough to retire, but if you are you have to kind of put up with those notions about gardening and 'helping out at fetes' from now on. But those who know me well at SUSU know that I am about to take a step into the unknown, something a bit 'wild and woolly'. My first step was today when I faced the 'farewell party' which I had feared, but turned out to be fun. John's speech labelled me 'old' and 'eccentric', but also 'efficient' and 'hard-working'.
Thanks John, I will accept all the kind words in the spirit that they were intended!

Thanks to everyone for the great presents - my backpack will have to be my home for 6 months so a great and appropriate gift. Those who contributed money towards the turtle project can rest assured that this will be invested promptly towards project-related necessities.

I will miss you all dreadfully. Can't think what I did without you before!

I know this is really boring, but this is me at the laptop in our bedroom, downloading this photo from the camera, just to make sure that I can do it while we are travelling. I am sure that our travel photos will be more exciting, so don't be put off checking my blog.

Summer at the Union

Just found this photo - makes me feel glad to have been around with such happy memories to look back on

Duck photo

Sitting at my desk

Can't bring myself to pay you this month - too many things on my mind. Might get round to it, but hey - I want to keep my friends. All will be different in August. Hope the month goes quickly.