Strawberry Fields forever.

We took a walk through Central Park completely oblivious as to what the date was. When we reached Strawberry Fields there was a large group of people who were singing. Then we realised it was the 8th of Dec and that it was the anniversary of John Lennons death so we joined in the sing-a-long.

... I still love you New York.

We spent 10 days in New York and it is one of the best places we've been to on our trip. And because it was so close to Christmas it made things even better. There is just so much to see and do that we'll definitely be heading back.

When I say Marlies...

We went to two hockey games while in Toronto, both of which to see the Marlies play at the Ricoh Coliseum. The games were great to watch and the atmosphere was fun. They really try their best to keep the fans involved and entertained the whole time. In one of the games there was a really awesome fight too.

Zak the Ripper V Kellectric Shock

While we were in Toronto the Roller Derby World Cup was taking place for the very first time. By chance some of the girls at our hostel were going so we tagged along for the day. Both Scotland and Australia had teams so we watched some of their games and once we got a hang of the rules it was awesome to watch.

OH CA-NA-DA!

We had some time to spare so we made an unscheduled side trip up to Canada for a week. We stayed in Toronto for the most part and went a day trip to the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls. It was really cold but we still did the walk under the falls. Luckily we had waterproof ponchos on to keep us dry!

A fun knight.

Tonight we went to Medieval Times and it was so much fun. We were split up into sections and we had our own knight to follow (as you can see we were BLUE). We cheered on all the tournaments and watched them joust and fight. Everything was themed right down to dinner. It was a great 'knight' out! hahahahaha

Fantasmic.

Disney really is the happiest place in the world and you can't help but go along with it. We spent 2 days acting like big kids, getting our photos taken with people in costumes, eating junk food shaped like Mickey Mouse and going on rides that go less than 5mph... and it was so much fun.

Lights, camera, action.

We had so much fun at Universal Studios. There are so many rides and rollercoasters and even just walking around is fun. We went on some of the old classics like Jaws, Jurrasic Park and Terminator 2.

You're a wizard, Zakary.

Today we went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal. The rides there are really quite impressive and the set was pretty amazing. We had lunch in the Three Broomsticks where Zak drank some Hogs Head brew and I enjoyed some Butterbeer. Zak even bought me a Chocolate Frog, yummy!

Space cadet!

We took a day trip to Cape Canaveral to visit the Kennedy Space Centre. We took a tour around the grounds where the shuttles are built then launched. There are also other things to do there like an imax theatre, shuttle simulation, a pretty lame Star Trek show and a hangar for previously launched rockets.

A Killer time!

On our first day of arrival in Florida we went to the Orlando Calling festival. The weather was amazing, Zak got to drink lots of beer and we watched lots of awesome bands including The Pixies and The Raconteurs. The headliners were The Killers which made Kelly very, very happy ....and they were amazing.

Howdy y'all!

We spent about a week in Texas and we loved it. And everyone was so friendly and nice to us. We went to a music festival in Austin and to the cinema to watch 'Sing-a-long-a-Labyrinth'. Kelly even managed to get herself a new pair of cowboy boots! Just being there was a great experience.

The truth is out there.

Out of the two of us I think it was Zak who was most excited to be visiting the UFO capital of the world, Roswell. We went to the museum there and the story behind the 'incident' was really interesting. And whether you believe or not there were just too many facts to dismiss the possibility. Woooooooo!

The Grandest of Canyons.

It's fair to say that when you go travelling you visit places that don't always live up to the hype but the Grand Canyon is definitely NOT one of those places. We spent the whole day driving around the edge and stopping at the numerous lookouts along the way. Each view different and more breath-taking than the last.

Fear and Loving Las Vegas.

We stayed in a hotel on the Las Vegas strip for 4 nights and lived the high life for a while. The hotels were amazing and most of our time was spent just walking around and taking it all in. We also went to an Elvis: Cirque de Soleil show and managed to break even on the roulette tables.

Death Valley.

The next part of our trip involved driving through Death Valley National Park. Once again the landscape had completely changed from how it was the previous few days. We stopped off to look at some sand dunes, canyons and the desert which was 130ft below see level.

Yosemite National Park.

Wow!, is probably the only word you could use to describe Yosemite National Park. Even the drive into the park feels like you're entering another world. Everything looked too perfect to be true. Rivers, trees, waterfalls & mountains. We also saw a lot of wildlife including deer, chipmunks, squirrels and even a wolf.

The Drive Thru.

We kept driving up the north coast of California through humbolt country and the redwood valley. The trees were just giant. We even stopped here to drive through the middle of this one. We also went on a cable car up through the forest to a lookout over the national park. We really had a great 2 days of just driving.

San Fran.

Spending a few days in San Francisco we tried to fit in as many tourist hotspots as possible. This included a visit to the Golden Gate Bridge, a walk along Haight & Ashbury, the 'painted ladies' and a crab sandwich at Pier 39. The only thing we didn't do was a trip over to Alcatraz but we still had a blast.

Highway 1.

We spent the whole day driving up Highway 1 towards San Francisco. To say it was stunning is an understatement. We spent most of our time just pulling over at the side of the road to admire the views. We had a great day and the weather was perfect.

Seal of approval.

While driving up the coast we came across an elephant seal colony. It was really surprising how big they were. Most of them were sleeping on the beach and rolling in the sand to keep warm. And every now and again one would shuffle it's way into the ocean for a swim. It was pretty funny to watch.

Back to the 101.

This morning we picked up our hire car, left Los Angeles and headed north on the famous 101 Highway to begin our American road trip. Our first stop was Santa Barbara and it was beautiful. Zak found the skate park while I took a walk along the pier to take some photographs.

Santa Monica to Venice Beach.

We got the bus to Santa Monica pier today and walked all the way along to Venice Beach. Santa Monica was very pretty and family orientated while Venice Beach was lively and full of colourful people. While we were there Zak bought himself a new skateboard.

Dammit.

Only our second day here in America and we were hitting up the Hollywood Bowl to watch Blink 182. The arena holds around 18,000 people so the atmosphere was amazing. The show itself was pretty awesome and the band were pretty funny and just as crass as they've always been. It was a really fun night.

Hooray for Hollywood.

We are now in the USA and to be more precise, HOLLYWOOD! It is very surreal walking around here. It literally feels like you are walking around a movie set. We did a tour of the stars homes and have been by several film and TV studios. No celebrity spotting as yet but we'll keep you posted!

Mexico Ciudad.

Our last stop in Latin America was Mexico City. The city itself was massive and there was so much to see. We spent a whole day on a city bus tour so that we were able to see as much as possible. Highlights included the National Museum of Anthropology and the pyramids of Teotihuacan.

Monte Alban.

When we were in Oaxaca we visited the Mayan ruins at Monte Alban. They are built on the top of a hill situated at the mouth of three valleys. The view over Oaxaca was spectacular. The town itself was really nice too with lots of craft stores and both traditional and modern art galleries.

Sumidero Canyon.

We are now in San Cristobal de las Casas and today we took a boat trip through the Sumidero Canyon. We were very impressed by the canyon and the many waterfalls that fall into the river. We also got to see lots of wildlife along the way including some monkeys and even a couple of crocodiles.

Cenote to self.

Today we did a 'cenote' dive which is diving through the tunnels and caves of fresh water located only on the coast of Mexico. Under the water is extremely clear but we still needed torches to see where there is no sunlight. It is definitely one of the most unique things we have done on our travels so far.

Heroes in a half shell.

Today we went for a scuba dive off the coast of Playa del Carmen. This time we went to a reef with a strong current and did what is known as a drift dive. The reason for this location was to see and swim with the tortugas (turtles) and we were lucky to see a few of them up close. A really amazing experience.

Xplor.

Today we had so much fun as we went to one of the theme parks near Cancun. At Xplor we were able to do 2kms of zip-lines, drive 4x4 cars through the caves, paddle rafts and swim through the cenotes. It was more like a theme park for adults than kids! And we have lots of silly photos to prove it.

Coba.

Still in our hire car we drove onto more Mayan ruins, this time located at the ancient site of Coba. This time the ruins were inland in the jungle. The best part of the ruins was that we could actually scale and climb them. The worst part (for Kelly) was seeing the tarantulas crossing the roads on the way home. Yikes!

Tulum.

We were a bit more excited than usual as we had hired a car and got to drive down the coast to the ruins of Tulum. The unique thing about these ruins are that they are built on the edge of a cliff and look out over the ocean. We even got to walk down onto the beach and take a quick swim to cool down.

La Isla Mujures.

Today we went on a booze cruise to La Isla Mujures off the coast of Cancun. The tour was all inclusive and everything was planned for us.  It was a chance for us to relax, have a drink, chill out on the beach and enjoy the entertainment.

Chicken Pizza.

Today we went to the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. The pyramid itself was overwhelmingly impressive and it's the 3rd of the 7 Wonders of the World that we have visited so far on our travels. Unfortunately you are no longer able to climb the pyramid but it definitely didn't take anything away from the experience.

Spring Break bitches!

We flew straight into Cancun, Mexico expecting to find a bit of a trashy resort but loved it straight away. The beaches are beautiful and the water is the brightest shade of turquoise. It's definitely not the best place for backpackers so for the next we we splashed out a little, booked into a nice hotel and went out every night.

Central America.

A new day, a new continent. We are now in Panama City in Central America. The city itself was a bit of a suprise to us. It is very modern and extremely new and clean. There were lots of high-rise blocks, shopping malls and a big american influence. We could definitely see a big change from South America.

Snor- Kel & Zak.

Today we spent the day in and under the water. We snorkelled around the reefs and even on a sunken ship near one of the islands. We treated ourselves to a little waterproof camera and had fun taking pictures of all the fish. The only problem was getting them to stay still long enough to get a photo of them!

Paradise.

After 2 days at sea we finally arrived in the San Blas Islands and it was more than worth the wait. I never thought I'd ever get to use the word 'paradise' in this blog but it is the only word to describe this place. We dropped anchor next to one of the many deserted islands for the day and took it all in.

Pirates of the Carribean.

Today we left South America and boarded on to the Gypsy Moth to travel by sea from Columbia to Panama. The first 2 days at sea we were in the middle of the ocean with nothing but water for 360 degrees. It was also a bit choppy at times and we took shifts through the night to man the skippers wheel.

Adios South America.

After spending over a month in Colombia and 4 months in South America it is time to set sail and leave for Central America. So it's goodbye to Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Equador and Colombia. We have had such a wonderful and varied time here and we are now ready to start the next stage of our adventure.

Sweating it out in Cartagena.

We are now in Cartagena and it is HOT! The old city is very beautiful and all the painted houses look really good. The only problem is you can't go outside for more than 5 mins without breaking into a sweat. Luckily there are lots of nice cafes and restaurants to take refuge in.

Trek. Day 3.

We got up and made our way back out of the jungle via the Peublito ruins and a good 4 hours of trekking. On our way we seen monkeys, frogs, lizards, an iguana, spiders and lots of ants. By the time we got back to the hostel we were dripping in sweat and smelt pretty bad. It was quite an experience to say the least.

Trekking. Day 2.

After surviving our first night in a hammock we got up and started walking again. This time to our second campsite at Cabo San Juan. We spend most of the day just laying on the beach, reading and swimming. In the evening we got safely into our hammocks before a big lightening storm began to break overhead.

Welcome to the Jungle.

Despite Kelly being bloody scared we trekked into Tayrona National Park. On the first day we walked for a couple of hours through the jungle until we reached the first campsite. By then we were so exhausted that we went for a well needed swim, had a can of tuna for dinner then jumped into our hammock for the night.

Nos encanta Taganga.

While doing our PADI certificate we spent over a week staying in the small town of Taganga. This involved spending a lot of time in the pool, diving in the Carribean sea, partying hard and eating like kings every night at Casa de Filipe. It will definitely be rememebered as a highlight of our trip.

Certified.... Divers!

For the past week we have been diving in the Carribean Sea off the coast of Columbia in order to get our Open Water diving certificates. We have enjoyed it so much and seen so many fish and wildlife at the same time. We are now qualified PADI scuba divers and can't wait to do some more diving in Central America.

White water fun.

Today we went white water rafting down the Rio Suarez at San Gil. The rapids ranged from Grade 1 - 5, Grade 5 being the most difficult ... and the most fun. Luckily nobody fell out of our boat. There were even a couple of snakes that got into our boat that made things a bit more interesting! We loved ever minute of it.

San Gil.

We are now in San Gil and we spent the day hiking through caves and down the river. First we took a walk through a cave full of vampire and fruit bats. Then we had a mud bath and made our way down stream by absailing off waterfalls and jumping off a few too. It was awesome.

You for coffee?

Today we went on a tour of a Columbian coffee plantation. We walked around the crops and picked out our own beans to roast and then grind to make our own coffee. The difference in taste and quality was amazing. It was a really good tour but after four cups each I think we'd had enough.