We are now entering Guyana which boasts a remarkably rich ecology, but also has one of South America's poorest economies. Tropical rainforests - filled with distinctive plants and trees, teeming with exotic birds, insects and mammals - are a big draw for eco-tourists. But political troubles, ethnic tension and economic mismanagement have left the former British colony with serious economic problems
We knew very little about Suriname, but after some reading find that it is the smallest sovereign state in South America with an estimated 2018 population of 568,301, half of whom live in the capital Paramaribo, and 90% live in the capital or the coast. The first permanent European settlement in Suriname was established by …
Today we’re flying to Cayenne in French Guiana (Guyane) for the start of our 21-day trip with Dragoman. This was supposed to be in one of their expedition trucks, but a couple of days ago we got an email saying that the truck was not allowed into French Guiana, so the whole trip will be done in a series of minibuses.
We’re doing a 21-day Dragoman tour of French Guiana, Suriname and Guyana, the three countries in South American that we haven’t visited. By the time we worked out how to get to Cayenne in French Guiana, and added a couple of other places we’d missed on previous trips, we suddenly had a 7-week trip. We’re flying into Rio, then flying to Cayenne via Belem, which was a good opportunity to stop and have a look at Belem, at the mouth of the Amazon.
Today we’re off to our Paris homeswap..... it's a beautifully furnished apartment in a 6-storey building built in 1760, on the border of the 1st and 2nd arrondissement, and only 600 metres from the Louvre.
When we got an offer of a homeswap in Colmar in Alsace, France, we didn’t think we were interested, as we’d never heard of it, so didn’t expect it to be that good, so were very surprised when we researched it to find how interesting it looked.
Revisiting Positano, Capri & Naples after 40 years - We were in Positano in 1976 in the off-season. We hitchhiked in, and froze to death at night because we’d elected not to have any heating as it was much cheaper. We vowed we’d come back one day, and stay in style, and here we are!
We're spending a couple of days in Milan, and then doing a houseswap within the walls of the old town of Lucca. The building was once a church, and we have a religious icon above our door.
Since joining the houseswap site http://www.homeforexchange.com we’ve had a lot of offers for homeswaps, and we are now owed three in Europe. As most of the people stayed at our place nearly two years ago, we decided it is now time to do a trip combining these three destinations – Lucca in Italy, and Colmar and Paris in France.
We're starting another 10-day snorkeling boat trip today. However this one is a lot different from our last one, both in comfort AND price. According to the blurb, the boat we’re going on, Al Ikai (Queen of the Seas) is a two-masted wooden sailing ship traditionally known as a Phinisi (some call them "pirate ships"). Nowadays they don’t sail, as it is too labour intensive. It was originally hand built in 2005, but was completely refitted five years ago, and all cabins are air-conditioned with ensuite bathrooms with granite floors and tumbled marble walls, and with hot and cold water provided by a desalination plant
Dianne & Murray's travels 