Kangaroos, Koalas and Pies

Nice as Melbourne was, I also wanted to explore a bit of the Victorian countryside, so after a weekend of partying in the city we hired a car and headed off to the Grampians, a mountain range and national park a few hours to the north-west of the city.

All through my trip I’ve been fantastically lucky with the weather (except for a very wet week while studying Spanish in Xela), and the run continued as we arrived in Halls Gap. Yet again, there was not a cloud in the sky, and the town was empty (being midweek and before the tourist season begins), so as we had the place to ourselves, we hiked up into the mountains to reach some stunning views across the whole area. On the way we came across this curious little fellow – a little skink with a funny stubby tail – sitting in the path.

The roads were so empty I got the chance to have this taken, my favourite jumping photo yet

A couple of times on the walk we saw kangaroos leaping away from us into the distance, but it was a bit frustrating that they all seemed to be so shy. But as we came back into town, it turned out that not all of them are that wary of tourists – as walked back to our hostel, we had to cross the cricket pitch, only to find it full of kangaroos nibbling away at the grass, seemingly oblivious to the locals practicing their bowling all around them. I’ve seen them in zoos before, but getting to them so close in the wild was an amazing sight.

Kangaroos on a cicket pitch. What could be more Australian?

Next stop on our little country road trip was the Great Ocean Road. It was originally built to provide work for servicemen returning from the First World War, it definitely deserves its reputation as one of the finest coastal drives in the world, as it hugs the huge sandstone cliffs on and off all the way back towards the city, with huge Southern Ocean waves crashing against the coast, creating some cool rock formations along the way, most famous of which are the 12 Apostles.

the 12 Apostles

Bay of Martyrs

Port Fairy lighthouse

Port Fairy wildflower

The other highlight along the way was Cape Otway – not so much the cape itself (you can’t get into the final bit with the lighthouse without paying), but the roads along the way, which are full of koalas, occasionally nibbling away at the leaves, but mostly just sleeping away along the branches. All in all it was the perfect mini break from the city – beautiful mountains, a lovely coastal drive, getting to see both of the iconic Aussie animals in the wild ( as well as getting to stuff myself with pies, something I’ve missed from back home that turn out to be even more popular over here!)

You can see all my Grampians & Great Ocean Road photos here.

The Sound of Latin America

I’ve written lots of posts about what Latin America looks like, what it feels like and what it tastes like. But I don’t think I’ve really said that much about what it sounds like.

The answer to that one is simple. Latin America sounds like reggaeton. For those not in the know, reggateon is a easily the most popular form of pop music across the continent, essentially a Latin form of R&B and Hip-Hop. You hear it EVERYWHERE – on the street, in bars and clubs, in markets, blaring from people’s mobile phones, on the radio in buses, even in pharmacies – and at first I found it pretty annoying. But pretty quickly one tune began to stand out. It worked its way into my brain without me realising it, until one day I found myself singing along to a song I didn’t even know the name of.

I soon noticed the song was everywhere. I was hearing it literally dozens of times a day, a pattern that was to be repeated across the whole continent for the six months I was travelling there. And that song was ‘Llamada de Emergencia’ (Emergency Call) by Daddee Yankee. From Puerto Rico, he’s the biggest star of Reggaeton, and from what I can make out, his latest hit was number one pretty much everywhere. I reckon it earns its success by being a bit more melodic than your average reggaeton number, especially with its infuriatingly catchy chorus.

In the end, I grow to love it (and its similar sounding, and nearly as ubiquitous follow-up ‘Que Tengo Que Hacer’ (What I have to do)) – as did many of the other backpackers I met. On the other hand, there were quite a few who detested it even more. Have a listen (it takes about 45 seconds before the song starts properly in this video) and see which side you come down on…

I have a feeling this is one of those things that’s great while you’re abroad, but probably doesn’t travel home all that well.

What I learnt in North America

So. After nearly three months the first leg of my round the world trip is over, and I’m nearly a quarter of the way through. So what have I learnt so far?

Beautiful San Miguel de Allende from above

I’ve learnt I don’t need to do stuff every day. Sure, there’s always something to see, something to do, but trying to cram too much in is just exhausting, plus it’s like stuffing yourself with sweets – it gets a bit much after a while and you stop appreciating it. When I start to feel like that, I just take a day or two off and do very little. Hang out on a beach, or enjoying cooling off by the fan in my room. Or just catching up with my blog.

The best way to enjoy a city is to wander around for hours, taking it all in, and discovering cool buildings, interesting shops, and the best street food. In fact, most museums have been a disappointment and I only visit now if they’re free or have been highly recommended.

Guanajuato, my favourite city so far.

Churches all start to look the same after a while.

So do Spanish colonial buildings. Best to break it up a little with some outdoor activities.

Kayaking across Lake Atitlan

On that note, it’s the outdoor activities that are increasingly becoming my favourites – whether it’s hiking along canyons or up volcanoes, mountain biking around the countryside or learning to dive, most of my happiest memories so far have taken place away from towns and cities.

Learning Spanish has been incredibly worthwhile. It’s really helped with making the basics of travel a million times easier, but more than that it’s allowed me to have far more conversations with locals than I have ever had previously. It’s actually made me slightly worried that the Asian leg of my experience won’t be quite the same, as their languages are far harder to pick up. Although I’m considering learning a bit of Indonesian, as apparently it’s relatively easy to pick up the basics.

Never trust a local of one country to comment on the safety of another. Mexicans told me to avoid Guatemala like the plague. Guatemalans told me the same about Mexico. I felt completely safe the whole time in both.

I’ve become a bit of a Mexico bore. I loved the country so much I can’t stop talking about it. I need to cut down on this as I’m aware that when I hear other travellers doing the same (especially when comparing one country to another) it can be bloody annoying.

I’m not a budget traveller. I suppose it was too much to expect after living on a good salary in London for so long and treating myself all the time, and it’s turned out that more often than not, I’ll go for the first class bus over the local ones (I convince myself I’m doing it for security reasons but I know deep down it’s for comfort). I’m a rubbish bargainer (I need to spend more time with Israelis. By common consent they are the experts in this area). And I splash out on nice meals a bit too often (especially in the countries that don’t have a good street food tradition). Er, and I probably like my beer a little *too* much. But hey, I’m on holiday.

Despite being very relaxed I still walk too quickly. I don’t think that will ever change.

I’m not as good a photographer as I’d like to be. Hopefully that will come with practice (and to be fair to myself, I have improved a lot already I think).

Probably my personal favourite photo so far

I am addicted to chili. Countries without a good selection of spicy condiments will not be popular with me.

Most of all, I’ve been very happy to realise that this kind of travel suits me. I’m feeling ridiculously relaxed and happy, and moreso every day. One thing that has surprised me is that a few people have commented on how nice my smile is. Yes, that’s partly because I had my tooth fixed before I left so I’m less self-conscious about it, but I think it’s mostly because I spend a lot of time grinning from ear to ear. Some have commented on how cheesy my grin looks in photos but I don’t care. I’m loving it.

Hello!

This is just a little post to say hello to anyone who knows me from work and has popped in after receiving my goodbye email. Thanks for coming over, if you’re interested in seeing what I’m up to over the coming year I’ll be trying my best to make you all jealous here on this blog, you can subscribe to updates via RSS or via email via the links on the top right of this page.

Feel free to say hello in the comments box!

x Geoff