We met our friends, Margot and Jocelyn at the airport, and had a smooth flight to Sydney. It was pouring rain in Sydney, much to the joy of the whole drought stricken country, but it meant our connecting flight to Santiago was delayed a little. The 11 and a half hour flight passed surprisingly quickly as we slept well in the comfortable seats. We landed in Santiago earlier than when we left Sydney, thanks to gaining a day by crossing the International Date Line. ...

Cartagena, founded in 1533, was one of Spain's most prized ports in the New World. Today its history is preserved as another United Nations World Heritage Site. The city is considered an island of peace in a country plagued by civil war and drug violence, but we were still warned to be extra vigilant with our belongings and safety. Sailing into the harbour was quite lovely, but we could tell it was going to be another hot and steamy day as the sun beat down and ...

Since opening in 1914 the Panama Canal has meant the journey between the world's two greatest oceans, the Pacific and the Atlantic, has been shortened by thousands of kilometres to an eight hour journey of slow steaming through a hilly tropical jungle. This modern wonder of the world is an amazing feat of engineering that carries about 40 vessels a day and now I am lucky enough to have sailed through it upon one such vessel. We rose early, even before the sun, ...

Do you know the way to San Jose ...? La la la la la la la la la la la ... We didn't make it to the capital of Costa Rica, but at least I do now know where it is and how to get there. We did not, in fact, make it beyond Puntarenas, the small traditional fishing village situated on a narrow peninsula where the cruise ship berthed. We decided to stay and enjoy the atmosphere of this seaside location which is also favoured on weekends by the residents of San Jose a...

There are 33 volcanoes in Guatemala, a country whose name in Indian dialect means 'house of fire'. We saw several of these volcanoes on our visit here, three looming over the lovely city of Antigua, one of which belched big clouds of grey smoke and ash at regular intervals. Guatemala has been aptly named as its history has been turbulent both politically and due to nature in the form of volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and floods. Despite all this, mother nature ...