going where the weather suits our clothes...

Nervous giggling, butterflies, last-minute organising, last suppers, we´ve got all that stuff today. All our gear is packed – what little we have with us – and we are ready to head to the airport to fly to Buenos Aires. Phew, this is going to be cool!

When we left Australia a few months ago with the intention of going “out for a spin”, we knew we would start in Asia, then head to Europe. There were a variety of possibilities after that – either across Asia to India, along the length of Africa, or maybe in a westerly direction, getting home via South America …

We were helped in our decision by world politics – you know, Pakistan, Sudan, The Congo – but certainly we chose South America as much as it chose us. We know little about the place, though we’re already learning quickly from friends in Switzerland and here in Spain. The continent is new territory for both of us, and we are ready to listen, accept and learn.

As when we last departed one continent for another - and the time before that - our plans are pretty open. Our itinerary: South, then North... we´ve got a compass, but we will also be under familiar skies.

Catch you soon,
a

Bye!

It´s been a rich and amazing time in Europe - and all the more exciting as I didn't know what to expect before I came. It is with some heart-tug that I pack my bag to leave.

I am lucky to have made this trip with Andrew - we have been made welcome so in many places. It is a testimony to his beautiful character that so many wonderful people hold him dear in their hearts, and one of the best aspects of this journey for me has been having the opportunity to develop special friendships as well :)

We are determined to document this trip thoroughly, and have stories and photos of our last few weeks to share - from the Tuscan autumn to the full snow of the Swiss alps, and most recently, pre-winter Spain ... it's been unforgettable. However, I'm now resigned to recording it from Argentina.

In the mean time, here's a couple of our most recent photos ...

On a positive note, it's quite comforting to know that our home has become ´more compassinate and humanitarian´(as is broadcast here). Rudd's first commitments - apologising to Indigenous people, signing the Kyoto Protocol and bringing our troops out of Iraq sound like a great way to start a term! Lets hope he lives up to them, and continues in the same vein.

Well then, until South America

Adios!!

Em xxx

Oh, Rome!

The eternal city.
The seat of an ancient culture to which ours owes a lot, still buzzing with a paticular vibe that could only be made in Italy.


Ruins underlie the city, to the point where construction of extra (and very necessary) metro lines has been stalled for years. Sure, that makes commuting a pain, but modern Romans don´t seem to take it too hard - it's just the way it is. This is a society that has put up with more than 50 governments since WWII, and rife corruption - they are used to such inconveniences. Motor scooters and small cars jostle their way through asphalt and cart-rutted cobblestone streets alike.

The ruins rise to the surface all over the place, providing a backdrop for the pretty, extravagant opulence of the renaissance, the blockish, efficient lines of cubism, and modern functionalism.

Human forms of beautiful proportion prouldy pose in squares and adorn buildings. Everything, it seems, is done with style.


(Note here the red paint in the Trevi Fountain. The next day, this action was on the front page of the paper - apparently a protest against a local film festival (?!))

All around, Italian life goes on, people buy bread, drink coffee, do deals, and talk, talk, talk ...

Our experience of Rome was so rich because we were welcomed into the homes of friends (old ones for Andy, new ones for Em) and their families. Barbara (pictured above and below) and Benedetta (below), besides being beautiful people, are excellent tour guides, and interpreted their city for us with real flair and passion - the Italian way.

We have so many beautiful memories of these few days.

Thoughts for the Burmese people

Looking through our photos the other night, we found at least one that is already dated. See our entry on 28 July:

Today we also took a goat track up the steepest mountains imaginable through the jungle all the way, and made it to the myanmar border. we went through road block after road block, and the army men had bigger guns and bigger smiles the closer we got. ... by the time we were at the top, the sergeant sold us a chang beer, taught us 'good luck' in thai (chock dee na ka/krup) and after a companionable exchange, sent us back the way we came.

Here's the photo we were allowed to take, facing away from the border.

On 19 August, only 3 weeks later, Burmese monks and other citizens started their peaceful protests to challenge oppressive military rule, and, a month later, the government started their violent retaliation.

Once again, economics wins over human rights as the international community sits back watches on.

http://www.witness.org/ is reporting the number of people displaced by this latest bout of violence as 30,000 - adding to the hundreds of thousands already displaced. There is a link on this site to register support for the Burmese people with the UN Secretary General.

The Australian government needs to account for itself too - how dare it wage war on Iraq in the name of the protection of people and at the same time remain silent on this issue?

at home...

So far, we`ve been made to feel at home in Vientiane, London, Cambridge, Antwerp, Brussels, Wroclaw, Rome, Florence, Zurich, and most recently, Olten.

Without being asked for anything, our friends old and new have shared more than we could have imagined. It's been a lesson in hospitality - and sometimes they didn't even know we were coming!

For old time's sake and out of friendship, people have made space in their homes, in their busy lives, at times even in their own beds (having, themselves, moved into the living room)! They've invited us into their cities, shared their friends and their pets, cooked for us and let us mess up their kitchens.

There've been great conversations, history and cooking lessons, meals, walks in the park/winderness/ruins, parties and plenty of laughter. It hasn`t stopped at the houses of our friends, either - the hospitality has often extended into the homes of our friends' parents, siblings, and grandparents!

To say thanks is easy, and here it is again - now we look forward to having visitors next time we have a place to call our own home.

Much care and many thanks again,
e & a

Costiera Amalfitana

Riding the Amalfi Coast - what a way to spend a morning!

Sicily

Everywhere we go, we want to stay. Becuase of this, it was always touch-and-go whether we'd make it to Sicily, but when Andy heard the resident Sicilian volcano, Etna, was 'awake', he was decided. He was going to ride the boot-foot in a day to get there, and I was going with him.

The ride was nothing short of spectacular. The highway hugs the mountainous coastline, and as the twinkling lights of Sicily approcahed, we were on the mainland peninsula, riding a series of bridges and tunnels high above the ocean. We arrived on the island late and bedded down for the night.

We decided to take the road through the mountains to reach Etna the next day, which gave us a wonderful snapshot of Sicilian life. As we wound our way up off the plain, the apparant jungle of unplanned and unfinshed infrastructure (Mafia deals gone wrong?) gave way to hillside limewash and terracotta villages.

The locals were only too happy to chat with an Italian-speaking Australian, and Andy spent much of the day banging on with old (and very short) Sicilian men!

We learnt these villages were experiencing a common problem - the young people were moving out, leaving the old people to look after the village, and no-one to pass on the local customs and traditions to. Nevertheless, we dined on fantastic local fare in Frankavilla, where we ended up spending the rest of the afternoon, walking off the local vino, the strength of which took us totally by surprise!

A few more bends and a few more villages down the road, and it was sunset, and we still hadn't reached the mountain! We allowed the locals to talk us into staying in a B and B (something we haven't done since - we prefer the money in our pockets, and also the adventure of the open road).

We arrived on the mountain early, and she graced us by showing her steaming summit from behind the mist for long enough for us to take a deep breath and a photo.

There is something very powerful about this mountain. The villagers living on it's flanks tell us it it is a 'friendly' mountain - giving warning of eruptions, but usually just letting off steam. It erupts regularly, and the peak and flanks are covered in lava flows.

The peak is 3400 m (quite impressive, as it is only kilometres from the sea). At the end of the road, 1700 m, we declined a ride with the rest of the tourists in a 4wd bus to the first craters, a bit over 2000m above sea level. They were totally taking the piss with the price, at 44 euro each, but also with their smugness.

So, on no breakfast to speak of (breakfast in Italy typically consists of a bowl of caffé latte with biscotti floating in it - hardly mountaineering food) and armed with half a bottle of water, we decided to walk a bit of the way up. We made our own path, firstly up a half-buried t-bar track, you know, just to see what those lava flows are like up close...

Anyhow, several hours later, we were still walking up. We're a good team, so took it in turns to get the shits with the whole project and express strongly our desire to bail out down the mountain for some tucker. Which meant we kept going. Steep, beautiful, and unending.

We went to 2473m, as the tour guide we met there told us, to the edge of a large crater. The crater was one of a dozen or so which had last been seriously active in 2002, when they sent enough lava down the hill to erase the Etna North tourism infrastructure. At the time we were there, though, mere whisps of sulfur-tinged steam issued from the vents, creating a steamy addition to the black, moon-like landscape.

It was a powerful expeirence, and one we were happy to have shared. We took in the view while a busload of tourists came and went, before making our own way back to the bike, and to a welcome meal :)

Having reached our destination, we decided not to take too much more time in Sicily, and after another glorious sunset ride (the coastal town of Taromina is definitely worth a visit), caught the night ferry back to the mainland.