Bear and Jackie’s Travel Diary

Siena! Oh boy! We found ourselves a little unit about half an hour’s walk from Central Siena. Little unit turns out to be a fully furnished 1 bedroom townhouse overlooking the ancient City! If we must…

Climbed up the bell tower for unrivalled views of the City and timeless Tuscan countryside.

Toured the Cathedral and crypts including an unprecedented tour in the rafters and ceiling space of the cathedral.

Never in my life have I found a tortoise that moved anything past crawling pace, this little bugger was the Usain Bolt of the species! Him and a few more memories of this beautiful place…

This beautiful City has captured our hearts forever xxx

Pisa next….

The Frogs finally decided to do a day’s work so we took the train to Florence. A feast for the eyes on the way through the Alps and a train change in Turin. The Italian high speed train is nothing short of insane! 300kph of pure grins, Turin to Florence in under 3 hours. Florence was a first for me and this was Jackie’s first experience of Italy. A seamless transition from snacking on snails to scoffing piles of delicious pasta! Hours of walking through ancient cobbled streets and views to last a lifetime.

Love anchovy and nasturtium pizza.

Fooze still a champ!!!

Views of Siena, simply stunning City.

Here we were plied with free wine, cheese and procutio by the wonderful, warm Italian and in return we purchased a beautiful pepper grinder!

Free on the street!!

Foodie paradise and a perfect excuse to meet up with two of my dearest friends. The French whingers were on strike for a change so no option other than the 7 hour bus from Paris. Always unassuming and quiet, Helena has rented accommodation for 10 people that would not disgrace the Royal Family! Rapid fire wine and raucous behaviour ensues!

Day 2 found us threatened with expulsion from a river cruise and countless discussions with restaurant staff over the availability of vegetarian dishes. Clearly an alien concept to the French! Dinner at home for night 3 until someone decided to fire up one of the fire extinguishers. Small kitchens and powder fire extinguishers are not a good mix! Pablo Escobar at his best could not have given the place a better coating! See you in Thailand next year. Florence next …..

Ahhh sweet Paris.
Paris is always a delight but made extra special when you arrive on a beautiful Spring day. We stayed in a wonderful Airbnb near the river at Bastille. Unfortunately disaster struck on our first night as I tripped and slammed my forehead onto the stairs!! Two black eyes appeared 48 hours later, not a pretty sight for the following three weeks but hey can’t let vanity spoil a good time.
The absolute highlight of Paris was when my beautiful son, Sam and girlfriend Nicole surprised me. How Bear kept this a secret from me I will never know!! But he did and between the two of them made me the happiest mum in the world. We had a fabulous fun 3 days together, wandering the streets of Paris, stopping for snail snacks and vino, eating and drinking to our hearts content. Thank you.

Good on you Sam and Nic for making the effort and popping over!

Las Vegas-Sin City

Las Vegas was a place that we had always wanted to visit and we weren’t disappointed!! We loved the fast pace and craziness of the place. It was a culture shock considering we had spent the last 6 months backpacking through South and Central America. Three days just gave us a taste of the place and we were ready to leave by the end of it!! We stayed right on the strip which gave us easy access to everywhere! We sipped wine whilst watching the water fountain show at the Bellagio, visited all the main casinos and managed to see 3 shows 2 amazing one not so!!! Can’t go wrong with a spielgletent show, we watched Absinthe on our first night. Second night we managed to get a freebie show, which let’s put it this way, pleased we didn’t pay for it!!! It was called Tournament of the Kings, don’t bother unless you have kids!! Then on our final night we watch Zumanity by Cirque du Soleil, fabulous show.
Farewell Las Vegas you have been fun. Next stop Paris.

Wouldn’t be a trip to Vegas without getting stuck in!

And taking an obligatory poo in the Bellagio! Somehow the chap in the next door trap didn’t find my sense of humour amusing when I helped myself to his toilet roll that conveniently dangled within reach!

So much fun, so little time!!!

Mission accomplished, job done! Paris next…

Didn’t plan on doing it, but managed to travel from Cancun on the East coast to La Paz in the West. Anyone who has played GO, the travel game will know that La Paz is a bastard to get in and out of. The reality is far worse! Managed to escape from El Chapo’s chums in Los Mochis and hopped onto the overnight ferry to La Paz. Also avoided the mustachioed chappy requesting 350 pesos for the ride into town! A gentle 100 pesos into the hand of a bus driver saw us delivered 100 yards from our apartment. Nearly 6 months and a stack of Airbnb’s, this one probably takes the podium! Awesome unit, 100% kitted out, jacuzzi on the roof, 2 streets from the water!

Six months, several thousand kilometres, a stack of fun and a lifetime of memories. We close the South and Central America chapter and head to Vegas for a few days relaxation, meditation and culture!!

This was a place I was intrigued about and although we knew it was hard to get too and in a “no go area” my curiosity only grew. El Chepe is the last passenger train in Mexico, it runs through the Copper Canyon from Chihuahua to Las Mochis, stopping at various stops along the way. The total distance is 675km, we chose to do two stops, one in Creel for one night and two in Barancas. Our decision was based on what there was to do and see at each place. Creel is just a really nice little mountain village, with chalet type accommodation and a few nice bars. There are tours to do but nothing that interested us.

Divisadero is a stop before our next stay over. The train stops for 20 mins here and people get off to see the amazing views of the Copper Canyon. But there is no where to stay here, so our advice is get off look at the views and jump straight back on to the at the next station and book into the hotel Posada Mirador Biranca.

This place although outside our normal daily budget was worth every single cent. Our room overlooked the Canyon and was spacious and tasteful.

The reason we chose to stay two nights here was simply, best views ever AND the Adventure Park, hosting 8 zip lines including the longest in the world measuring a distance of 2.5km.  The views and adrenaline match a tandem skydive!! Obviously for Bear and me, we just loved it!!!

One of these places is a fabulous town in the hills of Mexico, the other is an annoying breed of dog and apparently a town too!

We had plans and tickets booked at this stage to see Celine Dion in Vegas. Sadly or otherwise depending on opinion, she has cancelled Spring dates so different plans now required! Vegas and the US or Mexico? Jax had mentioned the Copper Canyon about 400 times but it was way too difficult to get to and smack bang in the heart of Mexico’s Cartel heartland, Sinaloa! US travel advice for Sinaloa, “Do not travel”. Let’s go!!!

Beautiful San Cristobal, unbelievable food, crazy hostel and a 24 hour hangover! The Church at San Juan Chamula has its own cult and NO cameras allowed. Beheading chooks in church is OK! Scoffing fizzy beverages to release bad spirits OK too! Sounds like Dee Why Beach!

Cooked for the staff and owners at the hostel here and happily waved the Aussie victory flag at the fooze table!

Oaxaca on the way to Chihuahua…

Yes! We tried Mole!

Copper Canyon with El Chepe next… Did someone mention ziplines?

Back on the bus for the trip into the jungle and the ruins at Palenque. Should be just over 4 hours? Unless of course some of the friendly locals put up road blocks with armed men. 2 choices then! Short route… run the risk of a hefty delay and negotiating the cost of passage with Pablo & Co. There is also the very real possibility on this route of further blockades as you go. Once you pass through one blockade, you pay again if you want to turn back!! Long route 11 hours plus, but a more guaranteed arrival without the haircuts and taco/tequila tasting tours!

12 hours later we get to the town of Palenque! Not a lot going for this town unless you are heading to the ruins. So, early to bed and alarms set to beat the ‘selfie stick set’ in the morning.

Ruins open at 8, so we loiter around the bus station at 7ish hoping to grab a ride in a Collectivo taking the staff to work. Before you could say quesadilla, a packed minibus pulls over and we are on our way.

The early arrival did the trick and we had a good hour or so before the tour busses deposited the hordes. Oh wow..

Awesome stuff! Tour busses arrive, Bear and Jackie grab a local bus back to town to enjoy the heat of the day in the company of a cold cerveza or two. A perfect day out! Early start again in the morning for the bus to San Cristobal….

Here we go again! Another City we had never heard of, another cobblestoned colonial Spanish Capital in rural Mexico. Campeche is almost dreamy! Colourful painted houses, immaculate streets and a fabulous walled historic district. Just for giggles it is also only a short trip to the Mayan ruins at Edzna

Compared to Cuba, rural Mexico seems more like Tokyo! Everything works, transport is easy, efficient and cheap. OK, so there is a bit of strife with the Cartels, avoiding the dodgy looking blokes with AK47s is definitely the way forward!

Checking in, we hear the words that are seldom uttered to backpack carrying types… “We have upgraded you!” Turns it’s the Master Suite, the nicest room in the hotel”. Don’t mind if we do…

Own personal courtyard and entry, outdoor jacuzzi. Nearly needed a Segway to make the trek to the bathroom.

Cheap eats in the market. 20 Pesos, (About AU$1.3), buys roast pork in a baguette, yum.

Just a joy wandering around town

Unless of course some bafoon starts hacking open a coconut right next to your head!

Night time in the main square, they put on a Vivid style light show on one of the buildings, maybe they haven’t noticed that it’s the same show every night! Pretty cool

Mexico has this wonderful system of Collectivos, cars, vans or trucks that ferry you from town to town for next to nothing. As soon as it is full, it leaves. Not sure how NSW Highway Patrol would react to 20 unrestrained passengers including a few on stools and the occasional child in lap! We jumped into one of these to get to the ruins at Edzna

Edzna is a smaller version of Chicken Schnitzel. Just way less people. Even in the middle of the afternoon, we pretty much had the place to ourselves

A privilege!!

Off to Palenque next…