With the Inca done and having left us exhausted it was time to say goodbye to some brilliant people we had been living with on the trip for the lat week. Everyone took everyone else’s details and already the emails have begun flying around as people move around the world. Our net stop was to be Miami in the USA, in order for us to get there though we had three flights to get which would total two days travelling.

The first flight was the one we had changed from Cusco to Lima, this was a short flight of around one and half hours, once at Lima we had a nine hour wait until our 05.40 am flight to Bogota which is the capital of Columbia. Having been in this airport before we had an idea of where to hang around through the night and where not to, so we spent some time in Starbucks coffee shop looking for our first nights accommodation in Miami as we had still not booked this .

After finding a hotel near the airport with free transfers we booked in and printed our confirmation from the internet café, after a bit of book reading and walking round the 24hour shops it was time to check in.

Once at the check in desk the Spanish women checking us in was asking for ESTA, which seemed at first like she was talking about the names on our passports. Eventually with some help from a South American woman who explained we needed a reference number from the internet which you get after completing an ESTA or Electronic System for Travel Authorisation. This process is for any European’s wanting to travel through the US and is only a recent change, however the details we got when we booked this flight indicate we didn’t need this but the Airline were insisting we did even though it was their booking paper work that indicated we didn’t. But hey this is South America, they make the rules up as they go along!

After having gone back to the internet café and got this application accepted we were allowed to check in and travel, which was for the best as we could have been declined and stranded in Lima airport, NOT GOOD.

So now at Bogota it was a quick turn around to get the next flight to Miami, we had been through three security checks and had our bags searched because we were flying to North America so we were getting tired and much in need of a shower and rest. Coming into land Miami looked fabulous and had a Walmart/Asda in full view which please Carina immensely as this is her favourite supermarket from home and the only familiar thing in a long time.

We were now subject to passport control with a difference, we had another form to fill in as well as having our picture and all finger and thumb prints taken by digital finger print scanners. If that was not enough the guy taking all this did no less than interrogate us why we were travelling in USA for up to 90 days when we don’t know anyone here and that we have 12 months off work! Eventually he let us pass but don’t think he believed us, then we were again questioned at a second check point as to where we had come from, why we had been there, how long for, and what areas within the country we had been to. At last we were allowed out of the security with our bags and free to go, but hell these people are twitchy and maybe with good reason but it is so strange to see first hand.

We eventually got our shuttle bus to our hotel and checked in around 6pm, our room was quite nice and had some food places near by along with a shopping centre. We immediately got on the web and started sorting our travel plans for the next couple of weeks as we planned to rent a car for a while and move hotels as we were near the airport which is miles from the beach and goings on of Miami. We had a quick walk around the shopping centre later that evening and then grabbed a late tea on the way back to the hotel.

Almost all of our following day was spent on the net getting the best location hotel for the cheapest price along with a car hired through a UK company to make it cheaper by around $300 at least. Our 3rd day of sorts and it was moving time already, we took the free shuttle from the hotel back to the airport as this put us nearer to the next hotel, then we took a yellow cab to the famous South Beach where our hotel is situated right on the esplanade which walks out on to the beach. If you are wondering why this is famous, you are either too young to remember or didn’t watch 80,s TV, as this is home to the hit TV show Miami Vice with Don Johnson.

Once again we were happy with our room and as the last one it had two double beds so meant the room is pretty big, the second bed became the luggage dump which was handy. Our usual walk along the beach confirmed we were right to come here, as you can see from the pictures the sea is a spectacular green with a pristine white beach. After an afternoon snooze we took to wondering round looking for somewhere to eat that night, we found what was clearly the show off area. Every other car was a Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, you name it was here if it had a price tag for a millionaire. This however was also a very uncomfortable area as the women were trophy size zero’s and the men were been relieved of there cash, which in this area even by the travel guides admittance was likely to have been made through non legitimate means. We did however eat here and do some serious people spotting with character assassination for free, obviously it was all justified.

Over the next two days we had a day split between the beach and the pool as only a gate and a path separated the two and had a stroll round the malls nearby, of which we found a fantastic Italian place with beat the clock. This means from 5:30pm onwards whatever time you order your food (from a select menu) is the price you pay, so for example you order at 5:50 you pay $5.50, 6:20 you pay $6.20 and so on up to 7:30pm. Needless to say we ate here earlier on our second visit, and only ordered one meal the second time as it easily fed two people with the fresh bread that comes with it.

In amongst these little trips out we had to sort out how we were getting round America and how long we were going to take, now several people had told us North America could not be done in a world trip as it was too expensive! Now admittedly we had worked this out when the exchange rate was good in 08 before we left and it was now on its knees! So they were correct in that it was expensive, but as for not been able to do it well the lonely planet travel guide (the experts) had agreed with those who said this could not be done and said you need $150 - $200 budget per person per day. Now the issue with this is that if you tell the travel junkies it cant be done you have immediately set a challenge (point1), if they ask if it can be done cheaper and they are told no they are either asking the wrong person or the wrong question (point2). So what is point 3, well it is this we booked a car through a UK agent as this over halved the price of a US agent, we then arranged to drop it off where we started to avoid one way fees, we then set a route that would be a circle, then follow that up by planning long distances to be done into the night and sleep in the car at rest areas to cut out motel costs every other night, throw in tunes, snacks and maps and you have a costing of half the recommended budget and a damn good road trip covering 8 stops in 2 weeks!!!!!!

So we will next see you on the road to tell you how it goes and if it really is possible to fit it all in and not miss anything while on a so called impossible budget!!