The Moped Diaries

The cardboard boxes have arrived and it’s now time to prepare for final departure and vacate the apartment. To assist with the packing, Dulcie carefully split her shoe collection into three neat piles; ones for taking to South America (i.e. hiking boots); ones for taking to the charity shop (i.e. unwearable sandals, which she shouldn’t have bought in the first place!!) and ones to go to Canada (i.e. smart, sensible working shoes). I then very diligently packed the ones for Canada in a cardboard box and sealed it up ready for dispatch. Unfortunately, this means Dulcie will have to wear her hiking boots to work for the next week and a half………….. I was not popular. Future packing of Dulcie’s things will only be done under strict supervision.

A trip to the remarkably efficient travel clinic for our inoculations and prescriptions has left me feeling as indestructible as my childhood hero, Captain Scarlet (albeit with sore shoulders from the injections). A quick recap of our previous inoculations revealed that we needed all four (FOUR!) of the recommended injections. The doctor very kindly offered to do these injections in two sessions but Dulcie (hard as nails and no stranger to surgical procedures) agreed to have all four at once – I could hardly wimp out now.

Along with the malaria tablets we were also provided with a prescription for extreme diarrhea; two words which should never be used together.

Eight weeks to go and Dulcie is getting very worried that her pineapple will not ripen in time!

A "Thermarest mat" is a very clever invention; it is a self-inflating mattress designed by engineering geeks for outdoor-type people to use in tents. The theory is that you roll out this limp rubber sheet, open the stopper and ... [Continue reading this entry]

This is the route we will be following around South America. Clink on the link to Exodus (on the right of your screen) to see the full itinerary.

We watched the film "The Motorcycle Diaries" last weekend which charts the young Che Guevara's travels around South America with his pal on a beaten up old Norton. This was intended to give us a feel for our upcoming ... [Continue reading this entry]