This will be the final post of my journey and will cover most of the past month which was spent in Mexico and the US.
After our short stop in Belize we headed over to Tulum in Mexico to relax and enjoy the beach; whilst hoping for better weather than we encountered in Caye Caulker. Fortunately Mexico delivered and we spent three days lounging around in the sun whilst getting our cultural fix through visiting the Maya ruins located just north of Tulum's main beach.
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| Tulum Beach |
On the other hand there wasn't much to do in Tulum so we decided to head up to Playa Del Carmen for the weekend. Playa was undoubtedly a precursor for the US as it consisted of many shop owners who haggled you in English and marked their prices in both US dollars and Mexican pesos. It appeared that these shop owners were hoping to capitalise on some American naivety as the exchange rate they offered for dollars to pesos was approximately 15% lower than market value.
After a big, tiring weekend of partying in Playa (unfortunately I didn't get any photos this time round) we headed off to Isla Mujeres to allow our bodies to recover and get some rest and relaxation for the big few weeks that lay ahead. We spent numerous hours on the beach playing Frisbee and even managed to hire bicycles and do an entire loop of the island and whilst this sounds impressive the entire trip was only 16km.
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| More Ruins |
After a tough three days spent frolicking on the island we decided that we would expedite out return to Playa Del Carmen to ensure that we would be there in time for Valentine's day.
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| Watch Out Ladies |
We managed to survive Playa for another two nights with the partying living up to the high expectations of the week before, however due to our scheduled flight we had to head up to Cancun on the Sunday. This was a blessing in disguise as we managed to book tickets for Coco Bongo; an eclectic mix of shows that happens to be accompanied by an open bar.
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| Two waters |
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| One of the many shows |
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| Group shot |
Coco Bongo brought my time in Latin America to an end and signalled the end of our travels with Doug; very sad for us all. On a positive note it meant that the time had come to meet Harry and Will and spend the next two weeks wreaking havoc in the US. Our first stop was Miami which other than the nightlife and our introduction to Fat Tuesdays was rather underwhelming; I won't be heading back to South Beach in a hurry.
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| Fat Tuesdays |
After Miami we headed over to San Francisco; a city about which I had only heard good things and I'm glad to say that it didn't disappoint. The afternoon of our arrival coincided with Chinese New Year so we caught up with Shawn (whom I met in Peru 3 months earlier) and watched the Parade as is snaked its way through the city. Saturday night was rather tame which meant that thanks to Shawn we were able to go on a tour of the city on Sunday incorporating many of San Francisco's best locations.
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| Lombard Street |
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| Fisherman's Wharf |
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| Golden Gate Bridge |
Most of Monday was spent milling around San Francisco before we headed about an hour north to catch up with Mac (a friend from Sydney) at St Mary's College. The night was spent culturally embracing beer pong; we seemed to lose most matches as it was clear that our opponents had spent far too much time perfecting their throws.
The following day we continued our cultural splurge and headed up to the Napa Valley for a spot of wine and cheese tasting. Harrison was a fantastic guide throughout the day and took us on a beautiful drive through the Californian back country before safely returning to the city so that we could head up to Twin Peaks for the sunset.
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| Cheesy I know |
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| Port with chocolate truffles |
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| Twin Peaks Sunset |
We concluded our visit to San Francisco with a visit to its most famous landmark; Alcatraz. Whilst usually not one for guided tours, the audio tour was very interesting and outlined many of the mysteries surrounding the prison and the fate of numerous prisoners. The night consisted of a repeat game of beer pong; unfortunately none of us seemed to have made any marked improvement which ultimately resulted in four hangovers for our flight to Vegas the following day.
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| A Prisoner's Cell |
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| Alcatraz |
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| Looking across to San Francisco |
The final stop on our trip was four nights in Las Vegas and apart from four nights of partying we did manage to fit in a round of golf at Las Vegas National although Harrison and I lost to Will and Adam. The night life was some of the best of the trip and was made all the better due to spontaneous appearances from Adam and Clifford; certainly four nights that I can't remember but will never forget.
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| Caesar's Palace |
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| Dinner with the Whipp Family |
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| The Last Night |
Unfortunately my trip has now come to an end and I have just finished my first day in the full time workforce. My entire trip lasted for 170 days throughout which I met many interesting people; the majority of whom I hope to cross paths with sometime in the future. Any of you who read this please know that if you are ever visiting Sydney to please get in contact and I would be more than happy to provide you with a bed for a couple of nights. I must put in a special mention to Alex and Doug who I spent the majority of my trip with; it would have been far less entertaining if I hadn't had you there to lighten the mood and provide numerous stories that weren't appropriate for this blog.
No doubt this isn't the end of my overseas adventures, however for the foreseeable future there isn't much in the pipeline. Thanks to everyone who read this; I hope you enjoyed reading it and gained some insight into my life on the road.
All the best,
Tom
