It was always our intention to get fit and lithe whilst away. The far too affordable cheese products have hindered this somewhat and so we decided that action was needed to at least start the long climb to physical health. Two hours from Mendoza lies a small town called Uspallata; the last stop before the Chilean border and Aconcagua. Now I've mistakenly been describing this as the second highest mountain in the world. Simon has scoffed at my lack of geography an...

Greetings from Mendoza! And what an eventful few days its been.... Travelling overnight in the most luxurious coach imaginable was without doubt a very welcome surprise. Admittedly, we did pay a little extra to get seats that folded flat, but only the likes of British Airways Business Class could have rivalled it for comfort; padded leather seats, a choice of "in flight" movies, plus we had our own dedicated waiter who continuously plied us with meals and red w...

Simon and I boarded Air Ethiopia in a haze of farewells, pretend Christmas, Dominos pizza and either tears (me) or a wet shoulder (Simon). The sense of relief didn't hit like we had expected and perhaps that was because the goodbyes were harder to endure. It is funny how it is only once you're leaving you understand the extent of how marvellous it is where you were. Luckily we have each other. Simon distracted by my ability to lose things and me by Simon's abilit...

Like a lemming preparing to fling itself into the unknown, the build up to this adventure is exhausting, exciting and unnerving (as well as a little assistive to the bowels). I have ground my teeth to the point of fillings and Simon has dreamt of war ships and treachery. However, not wanting to dwell on the macabre, the build-up has also been scattered with incredible goings-on and at times the warm bosom of the people we love has been so extraordinary that leav...