This is my last ever entry in this blog. Very sad! I should have done this entry as soon as we got back but we have been otherwise occupied. In summary, the holiday was fantastic. I had expected highs and lows but was surprised by how very few "lows" their were. Obviously, the whole Sangay National Park/Riobamba experience will haunt me forever. Other lows include the scary boat ride from the jungle, the shocking expense of Tahiti and the excess hours spent in one attraction towns. But these experiences make up less than 5% of our holiday.

The highs for me were all the sealife that we experienced in the South Pacific (sharks, sting rays, etc.), the many varied and interesting archeological sites of Peru, the Iguazu Falls in Argentina and Brazil, the San Rafael glacier in Chile, the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, the bike ride down the most dangerous road in the world, the glorious beaches, sea and weather (ie,. tropical paradises) that we had on the South Pacific islands, the people that we met along the way and above all else the sheer beauty of the landscape that we experienced on the Salar de Uyuni tour in Bolivia.

It is very difficult to pick a favourite country because South America and the South Pacific are so very different and of course each country has different things to offer which makes comparison difficult. But at a pinch I would have to say that Bolivia will always have a special place in my heart.

The other surprising fact of this holiday (apart from the pregnancy souvenir!) is that Steve and I spent 99.9% of our time together and did not get fed up of each other! In fact, we are now even closer than ever before. I had expected quite a few arguments but we only had a few (shouting obscenities at each other in the street after just arriving in La Paz after a very long bus journey was the worst and also funniest of these) and so I think that we are now stuck together forever!

Finally, I have changed as a result of the trip. I am much more relaxed about things and don't feel the need to plan everything with military precision. I now know that there is always a solution to every problem even if it takes a bit of time to get to that solution so don't immediately start expecting the worst outcome possible. I am much healthier than before we left (on the smoking, drinking and exercise front). Most importantly of all I have learnt to enjoy life!