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This is THE ODYSSEY!
The Odyssey is an epic adventure, a world first, a race against time, a year (or two) of living dangerously!! Scouse film maker Graham Hughes’
31 December 2008
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Hello, my name is
Graham Hughes
I am, and always will be, the first person to visit every country in the world without flying!
As seen on...
Welcome to
Along the way, I filmed and hosted an eight-part TV series for Lonely Planet, National Geographic & the BBC. It has been broadcast in over 60 nations, including the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa, India and China.
The first part of The Odyssey Expedition trilogy, Man of the World tells the hilarious, engaging and sometimes terrifying true story of the first year and 133 countries of my journey to every country in the world without flying.
Listen to the first chapter of the audiobook now!
My achievement has been certified by Guinness World Records™ and features in the 2016 edition of the Guinness Book of Records.
Marco Frigatti, Head of Records at Guinness World Records, was quoted as saying “I can’t remember a more absorbing record to verify in recent years”.
Four Years and one month. 201 Countries. A shoestring budget. Travelling alone. No professional support. No Flights. Nobody who had done it before. Some thought it impossible. How did I do it? Dive in and find out!
Argentina
Day 1: Hey-Ho LET’S GO!
7.30am. Woke up to find that sand demons had filled my teeth with silica gel and that a brass band had barged its way into
1 January 2009
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Argentina
Day 2: Global Positioning System
Arriving at some ungodly hour in Posadas, we took a taxi over the Paraguayan border. And back. I would love to tell you how much
2 January 2009
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Argentina
Day 3: On The (Bolivian) Buses
Another very early morning and after joining me on the bus to San Salvador De Jujuy (pronounced HooHoy, which is something I’d expect Mr Burns
3 January 2009
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Bolivia
Day 4: Carry On Up The Andes
Arrived, shaken but not stirred, in Oruro, Bolivia. I felt the best course of action was to find out when the first bus for Chile
4 January 2009
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Chile
Day 5: Bo Diddily Crazy
The maid was supposed to wake me at 6.30, but didn’t. Luckily, by some miracle I woke up myself at 7am after clocking up a
5 January 2009
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Peru
Day 6: Shut Your Eyes And Hope For The Best
Got into Lima at 8am this morning. It was a rollercoaster ride last night, if you tried to stay awake it was just a non-stop
6 January 2009
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Ecuador
Day 7: The Long Way Round
Got to the border bright and early this morning, and tried to find a bus to Quito, the capital of Ecuador. There was no central
7 January 2009
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Ecuador
Day 8: A Taste of Quito
I flaked it. I should have been up with the lark and on a bus to the border, but I decided to have a day
8 January 2009
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Colombia
Day 9: Crossing The Equator
Okay – day of ACTION! Got up at some ungodly hour and rendered the podcast, got to the Internet café at 7.30am and uploaded it.
9 January 2009
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Colombia
Day 10: Plan Colombia
I think I’m about three days behind schedule now; I really need to make up some time in the Caribbean. Don’t know how easy that
10 January 2009
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Colombia
Day 11: Mario and his Mum
Got to Bogotá yesterday, but there was barely enough time to pull my undies out of my backside before I was bang! on another overnight
11 January 2009
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South America
Day 12: Not So Fast!
WOKE UP to the DEAFENING SOUND of a pirate copy of ‘Death Race’ being played on the bus at MAXIMUM VOLUME. This continued until Jason
12 January 2009
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Brazil
Day 13: Can’t Get Out That Way
Woke up in Mario’s house. His family had been so accommodating, taking in a big ginger stray like me for the night and looking after
13 January 2009
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Brazil
Day 14: “Conradian”
Got up nice and early after a surprising restful sleep and headed to the border. I was first to be stamped through and I headed
14 January 2009
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Guyana
Day 15: The Incident
Awoken at 4am, we recommenced our journey through the jungle. Over a river on a chain ferry made of rusty metal and some wooden planks
15 January 2009
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Guyana
Day 16: All Aboard!
Up at 4am and on the minibus to Suriname. Thankfully paved roads all the way, and even a nice new shiny bridge over the river
16 January 2009
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The Caribbean
Day 17: A Drunken Sailor
Spent the entire day at sea and in bed, trying to shake off the monster hangover from the night before while getting my video diary
17 January 2009
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The Caribbean
Day 18: Bus Up Shut
Woke up still in Point Lisas, Trinidad. We hadn’t moved on to Port of Spain. Something was wrong – the electric generator had failed and
18 January 2009
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The Caribbean
Day 19: The Port of Port of Spain
I stayed at the Inna City guesthouse, rose with the lark and headed down to the docks. All the boats were not leaving until Wednesday.
19 January 2009
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The Caribbean
Day 20: September’s Coming Soon
Spent the day on the edge of my seat. Annette picked me up in the morning and took me to Chaguaramas where all the yachties
20 January 2009
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Grenada
Day 21: Yelling At Neptune
We set off from the marina at around half two in the morning and headed north to Grenada. It was slow and painful, but at
21 January 2009
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Grenada
Day 22: Union Island Blues
Currently sitting in the Tourist Centre opposite the jetty in Hillsborough, Carriacou island waiting for the guy who said he’d take me to Union Island
22 January 2009
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St. Vincent & The Grenadines
Day 23: St Vincent’s Price
Another early riser and onto the ferry ‘Barracuda’ up to St. Vincent, the big daddy of the Grenadines. It’s where they filmed most of Pirates
23 January 2009
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St. Vincent & The Grenadines
Day 24: The Kingstown Mooch
If you can’t beat them, join them. Got on a minibus to Kingstown and had a great time meandering around the fish market and the
24 January 2009
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St. Vincent & The Grenadines
Day 25: Pirates of the Caribbean
Everything closes on Sunday on St. Vincent. I tried to get to (what’s left of) the Pirates of the Caribbean set on the other side
25 January 2009
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St. Vincent & The Grenadines
Day 26: Banana Boat to Barbados
Dragged myself out of bed and headed to the port. I was halfway there when I realised I had left my coat in my room,
26 January 2009
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Barbados
Day 27: A Bridgetown Too Far
Awoke on the metal floor of the Melinda II. I hadn’t been seasick (even though the boat was thumping the waves like a cartoon dog
27 January 2009
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Martinique
Day 28: Ferry Nice!
We docked at about 4.30 in the morning in Vieux Fort, St. Lucia. This is an unreasonable hour, and one that I refuse to believe
28 January 2009
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Dominica
Day 29: The Dominican Job
Martin and Fabio had to be up for 6am, as they were getting a plane to South America, so I thanked them profusely, got their
29 January 2009
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St. Kitts & Nevis
Day 30: Long Walk to Basseterre
Slept on a three-foot long wooden bench on a rusting cargo ship that went up and down, up and down, up and down…. The Eastpack
30 January 2009
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St. Kitts & Nevis
Day 31: St Kitts Strikes Back!
Up early and off to see the two contacts I had on the island. The first one, Shauna, was not in work this weekend. The
31 January 2009
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St. Kitts & Nevis
Day 32: Waiting On A Call
Got up bright and early to go and see a man about a boat — Wayne had organised someone to take me over to Antigua
1 February 2009
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St. Kitts & Nevis
Day 33: The Vagrant
I’m WAY behind schedule now, I should be in Central America and I’m not – I’m stuck on an island miles from anywhere that has
2 February 2009
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Antigua
Day 34: Christal Clear
Arrived early in Antigua, but by the time passport formalities, etc. were all done, it was about 10am. I headed to the city centre and
3 February 2009
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Antigua
Day 35: The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide To The Caribbean
Christal and I hit the streets looking for a way off the island. We even had a half-hour segment on the local radio station. We
4 February 2009
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Antigua
Day 36: Ships That Pass In The Night
Once again, I stayed at Christal’s dad’s house, but not before I attended a ballroom dancing lesson down the road. Seriously! Christal’s dad, Owen, cooked
5 February 2009
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Antigua
Day 37: Escape from Antigua
I scrambled like a fighter pilot down to the harbour. I have to leave today. I have to leave today. I stopped at the Waterfront
6 February 2009
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St. Martin
Day 38: The Bells of St Martin’s
Kerri is a Kiwi and Andrew is British, but lived in South Africa for many years. We had spent the night sailing, eating Pringles and
7 February 2009
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St. Martin
Day 39: The Vivo Libre
I was going to work late into the evening, but I ended up crashing out at about nine like a big girl’s blouse. But that’s
8 February 2009
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British Virgin Isles
Day 40: Down and Out In Paradise
What a day. We arrived in Tortola, the main British Virgin Island, nice and early, and before long I was on a ferry (YES, A
9 February 2009
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The Caribbean
Day 41: Beans, Bytes and Websites
A heavy dew had formed on me and my bags in the night. I prised myself up off the sun lounger and headed for a
10 February 2009
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The Caribbean
Day 42: The Costa Fortuna
Got on the Internet as soon as I could and there it was – a message from Lorna, my guardian angel, bearing the heading ‘Costa
11 February 2009
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Dominican Republic
Day 43: ¡Hola Hispaniola!
We arrived in La Romana, in the Dominican Republic at around 8am. I had to be up early for customs formalities – the only person
12 February 2009
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Dominican Republic
Day 44: One Foot In Haiti
First things first, I needed to check for boats leaving for Cuba or Jamaica from the port. Mehrdad and I headed over the harbour and
13 February 2009
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Dominican Republic
Day 45: The Golden Ticket
Valentine’s Day. My girl, Mandy, is on the other side of the world and every day I waste on this island is another day that
14 February 2009
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Dominican Republic
Day 46: Domingo Dancing
I had to get up so early my legs where all shaky. Wurgh! I said my goodbyes to Mehrdad and wished him well on his
15 February 2009
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Dominican Republic
Day 47: The DR1 Will See You Now
I needed somewhere that I could sit and work, and Ken and TJ work in a place around the corner – the offices of DR1.com,
16 February 2009
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Dominican Republic
Day 48: A Lot of “Ifs”
Are you still here? Got an email from Lonely Planet telling me not to feel too bad about being stuck in the Caribbean, because of
17 February 2009
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Dominican Republic
Day 49: Go, Team Odyssey!
Still no word from the Linge Trader. Hugh has gone to Germany now and Lorna and Dino are in work. I’m in the office at
18 February 2009
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Dominican Republic
Day 50: The Linge Trader
Fifty days in, who’d have thunked it? I’m still in the Dominican Republic. I’ve been here over a week! Bah! But I leave today (thanks
19 February 2009
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Dominican Republic
Day 51: The Other Odyssey
Today passed in a daze. Out to sea, no mobile phone, no internet. I think I had been saving up my first day off work
20 February 2009
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Haiti
Day 52: We Could Be Heroes
Dolphins!! I decided to stretch my legs out on deck and saw hundreds of dolphins splashing about in the water, having a good time. But
21 February 2009
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Jamaica
Day 53: Walk The Plank!
We pulled into Kingston, Jamaica at about 6pm. I could see the Pamplona, the ship that will be taking me to Costa Rica, on the
22 February 2009
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Jamaica
Day 54: Jamaican Me Nervous
5.30am. The phone rang. Groggily, I answered it. Hello? It was the captain. You have to get off this ship. Now. We will not take
23 February 2009
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Caribbean Sea
Day 55: Halcyon Days
I’m going to be 30 this Saturday. 30? Me? Where did all the time go? I’m still pleasantly surprised each morning that I don’t have
24 February 2009
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Caribbean Sea
Day 56: Starry Starry Nights
Last night, I spent a few hours up on the bridge with Alexander, one of the officers on board. He’s from the Ukraine and loves
25 February 2009
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Central & North America
Day 57: Land Ahoy!
We arrived in Veracruz, Mexico at around 1pm local time. Yippee! Unfortunately for my itchy, goddamn-month-behind-schedule feet, the shipping agent says I’ve got to wait
26 February 2009
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Central & North America
Day 58: Go Yell It To The Ocean
The bus arrived at Tapachula near the Guatemalan border early in the morning to find another bus to Guatemala City waiting to take me away,
27 February 2009
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Central & North America
Day 59: Nineteen Seventy-Nine
I only slept for a few hours before we hit the El Salvador border and then it was off the bus, with queuing and formality.
28 February 2009
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Central & North America
Happy 30th Birthday Graham!
Congratulations on your 30th birthday, Graham…hope you like the pic!
28 February 2009
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Central & North America
Day 60: The Tailor of Panama
I arose before dawn for the last leg of the southern journey that had been necessitated by the fact that I didn’t get to go
1 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 61: The Saviours of El Salvador
Back on the groovy bus up through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador. No cute girl for me to annoy this time, but I
2 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 62: Livingstone, I Presume?
I got into Guatemala City about 10am (not much sleep on the bus then) and hopped straight onto a bus for Puerto Barrios on the
3 March 2009
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Belize
Day 63: A Taste of Belize
The boat that Ishmael had got me on (it had been chartered by a German couple – I was cheekily tagging along for the ride)
4 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 64: Once Upon A Time In Mexico
By this stage of my Herculean bus ride, it had been a week since I’d had a hot shower. To say I was beginning to
5 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 65: Entering America
All I got to see of Mexico City was the outskirts and the bus station, but I hear it’s not much too look at anyway.
6 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 66: The Lone Star State
I’ve got to say, the Greyhound buses ARE THE WORST FORM OF TRANSPORT IN THE WORLD — grotty, no films, no snacks, grumpy-as-hell drivers… My
7 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 67: Coyote Ugly
I slept through to Orlando in Florida and then got on my last bus (for a few days at least) heading for Fort Lauderdale. This
8 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 68: Spring Break
Spent the day on the phone and on the net trying to sort out, how the hell I’m going to get to Cuba. However, I
9 March 2009
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Bahamas
Day 69: Grand Bahama
As I write this, I’m sitting in a lounge on the day cruise over to The Bahamas. It’s usually about $40 there and back, but
10 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 70: Failure to Launch
Okay. Here’s the situation. The USA does not like Cuba. It prefers its citizens to spend money in Zimbabwe, Burma or North Korea, obviously, as
11 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 71: Awaiting Permission
Another day wasted attempting to get a response from the Treasury. I hung around at the hostel all day, on line and making phone calls
12 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 72: Worst. Buses. Ever.
I gave it until 2pm until it became abundantly clear that the Treasury was not going to get back with an answer this week and
13 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 73: Spaced
Rise and shine, Odysseus. Since you’re stuck in Florida, you may as well indulge your nerdy love of all things NASA. I walked down to
14 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 74: We Have Lift Off!
Headed over to the Space Centre first thing and queued up LIKE A BIG NERD for a ticket to view the shuttle launch. These special
15 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 75: Who’s Scruffy Lookin’?
A day on the Greyhound first to Miami and then down to the Florida Keys. What would incur the wrath of the bastard bus driver
16 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 76: The Conch Republic
Getting up nice and early, Midge gave me a list of people to talk to about getting a boat over to Cuba. First up, Captain
17 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 77: The Sun Also Rises
I woke up on a random ship in the port… The Appledore. I had absolutely no recollection of how I got there. Hat… check, shoes…
18 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 78: Mission: Cuba
So much has been happening so fast it makes my head spin just thinking about it. Midge gave me a lift into Key West and
19 March 2009
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Caribbean Sea
Day 79: Blockade Runnin’
The entire day at sea, we continued on our painfully slow march towards Cuba. I kept watch for US coastguard boats appearing out of nowhere
20 March 2009
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Caribbean Sea
Day 80: Hooked!
What WOULD Philias Fogg say? If all had been going to plan, I’d be in AFRICA by now, having already stepped foot in every country
21 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 81: The Forbidden Isle
After helming the nightwatch, I got a few hours kip before Johnny called me up on deck – he’d been chatting on the CB with
22 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 82: Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
The madness of leaving at night, drunk and without a weather window slowly dawned on us – looking to port and looking to starboard, electrical
23 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 83: Mexico, third time lucky…
In the morning, I made a huge arse of myself trying to pull up the anchor (all those years of never going to the gym
24 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 84: Chilli Con Carnage
So the day was spent entirely at the mercy of the rather wonderful Mexican bus service. Leigh got off the bus somewhere in the middle
25 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 85: Did You See Any Cubans?
As a wonderful final flourish, and as if to prove how much better Mexican bus services are compared to the American ones, my bus got
26 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 86: Greyhounded
Spent the day travelling up through Georgia pressing northwards towards Virginia. As we travelled, my mind turned to three things; Architecture, Americans, and Greyhound buses.
27 March 2009
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Central & North America
Day 87: First We Take Manhattan
When I changed buses yesterday in Atlanta, I made a fatal error – I didn’t push to the front of the queue. And so I
28 March 2009
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Canada
Day 88: We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Coat
I had set my alarm for 6.30am to give me loads of time to wake up and get to the bus station for the bus
29 March 2009
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Canada
Day 89: The Shipping News
I’m still on the train at the moment; it’s a 20 hour journey. Looking out of the window, it’s like I’ve stumbled into Narnia. I
30 March 2009
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Canada
Day 90: The Halifax of Life
Now is the winter of our discontent. Well, it’s actually SUPPOSED to be spring, but NOBODY SEEMS TO HAVE TOLD THE CANADIAN TOURIST BOARD THAT.
31 March 2009
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Canada
Day 91: All hail to thee, EIMSKIP
Today began as yesterday ended with some email news, but this time it was GOOD internet news, news that made me do a little dance
1 April 2009
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Canada
Day 92: Naught else to do
I’d like to say today past in a drunken blur, but given I didn’t drink today, it was more of just a blur. I slept
2 April 2009
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Canada
Day 93: There’s Always an Irish Pub
You really have no idea how itchy my feet become when confronted with a few days of inactivity – I feel like learning to Riverdance,
3 April 2009
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Canada
Day 94: Shorts in Winter Time
Still in Halifax, then. It’s not worth my while heading back into America to get on another boat as none of them go to Iceland,
4 April 2009
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Canada
Day 95: Peggy’s Cove
Today I met up with James and we headed out with Rocky the dog, to visit (wait for it, wait for it) LIVERPOOL! Not Liverpool
5 April 2009
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Canada
Day 96: The Heckler
Today I went for a walk around the city, but it was still a bit rubbish. Although now the snow has all melted, it wasn’t
6 April 2009
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Canada
Day 97: The Hustler
After spending the day trying (and failing) to get a video edited before I left Halifax, it was with great relief that I got to
7 April 2009
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Canada
Day 98: The Reykjafoss Awaits!
Woke up with thunder crashing in my head (as Elvis once sang) with the owner of the backpackers telling me that the representatives from Eimskip
8 April 2009
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