3. Central & North America
Day 57: Land Ahoy!
26.02.09: We arrived in Veracruz, Mexico at around 1pm local time. Yippee! Unfortunately for my itchy, goddamn-month-behind-schedule feet, the shipping
Day 57 (pt.2): Star Wars (jive-funk)
Thu, 26th Feb; So at 4pm, it was time to say adios to my comrades on board the good ship
Day 58: Go Yell It To The Ocean
27.02.09: The Longest Day Part I. So, we got to Tapachula near the Guatemalan border early in the morning to
Day 59: Nineteen Seventy-Nine
28.02.09: The Longest Day Part II. I only slept for a few hours before we hit the El Salvador border
Happy 30th Birthday Graham!
Congratulations on your 30th birthday, Graham…hope you like the pic!
Day 60: The Tailor of Panama
01.03.09: I arose before dawn for the last leg of the southern journey that had been necessitated by the fact
Day 61: The Land Before Time
02.03.09: Back on the groovy bus up through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador. No cute girl for me
Day 62: Livingstone, I Presume?
03.03.09: I got into Guatemala City about 10am (not much sleep on the bus then) and hopped straight onto a
Day 63: Election Day
04.03.09: The boat that Ishmael had got me on (it had been chartered by a German couple – I was
Day 64: Dinner With Homer
05.03.09: By this stage of my Herculean bus ride, it had been a week since I’d had a hot shower.
Day 65: Rubber Gloves Not Included
06.03.09: All I got to see of Mexico City was the outskirts and the bus station, but I hear it’s
Day 66: The Bible Belt
07.03.09: USA! USA! Not far to go now. I’ve got to say, the Greyhound buses ARE THE WORST FORM OF
Day 67: A Question of I.D.
08.03.09: I slept through to Orlando in Florida and then got on my last bus (for a few days at
Day 68: Spring Break
09.03.09: Spent the day on the phone and on the net trying to sort out, how the hell I’m going
Day 69: Hi-De-Hi Campers!
10.03.09: As I write this, I’m sitting in a lounge on the day cruise over to The Bahamas. It’s usually
Day 70: Failure to Launch
11.03.09: Okay. Here’s the situation. The USA does not like Cuba. It prefers its citizens to spend money in Zimbabwe,
Day 71: Things To Do In Florida When You’re Dead
12.03.09: Another day wasted attempting to get a response from the Treasury. I hung around at the hostel all day,
Day 72: The Greyhound Bus Nazis
13.03.09: I gave it until 2pm until it became abundantly clear that the Treasury was not going to get back
Day 73: Spaced
14.03.09: Rise and shine, Odysseus. Since you’re stuck in Florida, you may as well indulge your nerdy love of all
Day 74: We Have Lift Off!
15.03.09: Headed over to the Space Centre first thing and queued up LIKE A BIG NERD for a ticket to
Day 75: Who’s Scruffy Lookin’?
16.03.09: A day on the Greyhound first to Miami and then down to the Florida Keys. What would incur the
Day 76: The Conch Republic
17.03.09: Getting up nice and early, Midge gave me a list of people to talk to about getting a boat
Day 77: The Sun Also Rises
18.03.09: I woke up on a random ship in the port… The Appledore. I had absolutely no recollection of how
Day 78: Mission: Cuba
19.03.09: So much has been happening so fast it makes my head spin just thinking about it. Midge gave me
Day 79: Blockade Runnin’
20.03.09: The entire day at sea, we continued on our painfully slow march towards Cuba. I kept watch for US
Day 80: Hooked!
21.03.09: What WOULD Philias Fogg have said? If all had been going to plan I’d be in AFRICA by now,
Day 81: The Forbidden Isle
22.03.09: After helming the nightwatch, I got a few hours kip before Johnny called me up on deck – he’d
Day 82: Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
23.03.09: The madness of leaving at night, drunk and without a weather window slowly dawned on us – looking to
Day 83: Mexico, third time lucky..
24.03.09: In the morning, I made a huge arse of myself trying to pull up the anchor (all those years
Day 84: Chilli Con Carnage
25.03.09: So the day was spent entirely at the mercy of the rather wonderful Mexican bus service. Leigh got off
Day 85: Did You See Any Cubans?
26.03.09: As a wonderful final flourish, and as if to prove how much better the Mexican bus service is to
Day 86: Greyhounded
27.03.09: Spent the day travelling up through Georgia pressing northwards towards Virginia. As we travelled, my mind turned to three
Day 87: First We Take Manhattan
28.03.09: When I changed buses yesterday in Atlanta, I made a fatal error – I didn’t push to the front
Day 88: We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Coat
29.03.09: I had set my alarm for 6.30am to give me loads of time to wake up and get to
Day 89: The Shipping News
30.03.09: I’m still on the train at the moment; it’s a 20 hour journey. Looking out of the window, it’s
Day 90: The Halifax of Life
31.03.10: Now is the winter of our discontent. Well, it’s actually SUPPOSED to be spring, but NOBODY SEEMS TO HAVE
Day 91: All hail to thee, EIMSKIP
01.04.09: Today began as yesterday ended with some email news, but this time it was GOOD internet news, news that
Day 92: Naught else to do
02.04.09: I’d like to say today past in a drunken blur, but it was more of just a blur. I
Day 93: Learning to Riverdance
03.04.09: You really have no idea how itchy my feet become when confronted with a few days of inactivity –
Day 94: Shorts in Winter Time
04.04.09: Still in Halifax, then. It’s not worth my while heading back into America to get on another boat as
Day 95: Oscar the Lobster
05.04.09: Today I met up with James and we headed out with Rocky the dog, to visit (wait for it,
Day 96: The Heckler
06.04.09: Today I went for a walk around the city, but it was still a bit rubbish. Although now the
Day 97: The Hustler
07.04.09: After spending the day trying (and failing) to get a video edited before I left Halifax, it was with
Day 98: The Reykjafoss Awaits
08.04.09: Woke up with thunder crashing in my head (as Elvis once sang) with the owner of the backpackers telling
Day 99: Lost and Newfoundland
09.04.09: The Reykjafoss cruised into the port of Argentia at about 7pm. I had spent the day getting to know
Day 100: Adios Americas
10.04.09: Unbelievable as it may seem, I’m STILL in the Americas!! Loading took a lot longer than expected so we’re
Day 101: The Shipping Booze
11.04.09: Today was a half day for the Filipino crew – it’s a public holiday in the Philippines, so they
Day 102: Heading East for Easter
12.04.09: The least Easterly Easter of my life – no chocolate eggs, in fact no chocolate at all! To be
Day 103: Another Monday Comes
13.04.09: Oh my word, I feel ROTTEN! Spent a good part of today in bed, did a little editing, but
Day 104: Sea Sick
14.04.09: This isn’t even funny anymore. The sea isn’t even that rough – the Gulf Stream in a little yacht
Day 105: Chivas Regal vs. The Pirates
15.04.09: Had a good chat with Chivas Regal, the cook, today – remarkable chap, last year the boat he was