Easter 2006: Home Sweet Home!

Hello Everyone!

Well, our trip is over now. We have been relaxing in Warminster for a week, catching up with family and friends and we are now (almost) ready to restart life back up in Yorkshire.

For the last 100 miles of the trip, we cycled straight out of London Heathrow airport and into the chilly English countryside. We did some sight-seeing in Windsor and Henley-on-Thames, before following the Kennet and Avon canal home to Wiltshire. We camped for three nights and each morning had to clear ice off the tent. The coldest we've been on this trip!! We also saw some interesting wildlife along the canal: a barn owl, a water snake and a badger - did we really need to leave home?

Thanks for all your best wishes. We will now set about completing the journals on this site.

Thanks for travelling with us!

Karen & Ben
karennben at hotmail.com

A Warm Welcome Home

Last Minute Tourists at Windsor

Photos	Journals	Maps
The Tandem , The Brycycle , Sept 04 (UK) Argentina (1) , Argentina (2) , Argentina (3) Over the Andes , Christmas holidays Bolivia (1) , Bolivia (2) , Lago Titicaca Technical problems Valle Sagrada , Machu Picchu To the Coast , The Pacific Coast Ecuador (1) , Ecuador (2) Panama , Costa Rica Nicaragua to El Salvador Guatemala , Maya Pedal Mexico (1) , Mexico (2) Mexico (3) , Baja California , California , China Temples , Beijing , Beijing to Xi'An , Xi'An to Chengdu , Chengdu to Kunming , Yunnan , Laos , Thailand , South Thailand , Malaysia , At David's Australia, Sydney, New Zeland South, New Zealand North, England	BB Aout 04 , KB Sept 04 , KB Oct 04 Buenos Aires , Flat, Long & Straight Sierras & Salinas , Tandem Tips Starting the Andes , To Salta Crossing the Andes , To the Altiplano Around La Paz , Lago Titicaca Valle Sagrada , To the coast The Pacific caost , Ecuador Panama, Costa Rica Nicaragua to El Salvador Maya Pedal, Guatemala Chiapas, Mexico Mainland , Baja California , Beijing to Xi'an ,	Argentina - Chile Bolivia Peru South America Central America Mexico China South East Asia Australia New Zealand England

Travel Information, Summary by Country in Numbers

South America: November 2004 to May 2005

Route: Buenos Aires, Sierras de Cordoba (Embalse, Carlos Paz, Cosquin), Salinas Grande, Conception, Tafi del Valle, Cafayate, Salta, San Antonio de los Cobres, San Pedro de Atacama, Calama, Uyuni, Potosi, Oruro, La Paz, Copacabana, Puno, Cusco, Abancay, Nazca, Lima, Trujillo, Piura, Tumbes, Cuenca, Alausi, Guayaquil.

South America Trip Report (English)
Amerique du Sud: Rapport de Voyage (Francais)

Country	Dates	Cycling Days	Mileage (km)	Cumulative Climbs (m)	Notes	Photos	Journals
Argentina	01/11/04 to 19/12/04	39	2348	13815	We're off!	Pampa , Sierras , Andes	Pampa , Sierras , Andes
Chili	20/12/04 to 29/12/04	5	335	2816	Train from Calama to Uyuni	Crossing the Andes Christmas holidays	Crossing the Andes
Bolivia	30/12/04 to 3/02/05	22	1223	10161	The Salar is flooded	Mountains and Altiplano Around La Paz , Lago Titicaca	Mountains and Altiplano Around La Paz , Lago Titicaca
Peru	4/02/05 to 19/03/05	34	2712	17995	Bus from Lima to Trujillo	Valle Sagrada , Machu Picchu To the Coast , The Pacific Coast	Valle Sagrada To the coast , The Pacific Coast
Ecuador	20/03/05 to 1/04/05	10	603	8881	Roof-riding the Alausi train	Mountains to Cuenca Final Stretch	Ecuador
Total	01/11/04 to 01/04/05	109	7221	53668	We'll be back for Columbia!

Central & North America: April 2005 to August 2005

Route: Panama City, David, Bocas del Toro, Puerto Limon, Turialba, San Jose, San Carlos, La Fortuna, Los Chiles, Granada, Leon, San Vicente, La Libertad, Antigua, Huehuetenango, Comitan, San Cristobal, Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tepoztlan, Toluca, Guadalajara, Mazatlan, La Paz, Constitucion, Loreto, Santa Rosalia, Guerero Negro, Puertecitos, San Vicente, Mexicali, Calexico.

Amerique du Nord: Rapport de Voyage (in French)

Country	Dates	Cycling Days	Mileage (km)	Cumulative Climbs (m)	Notes	Photos	Journals
Panama	8/04/05 to 22/04/05	7	569	5334	Crash in David, 1 week to recover	Panama	Panama
Costa Rica	23/04/05 to 02/05/05	9	568	6324	Steep hills! Beautifull Wildlife	Costa Rica	Costa Rica
Nicaragua	03/05/05 to 8/05/05	4	295	1343	Boat Across Lake Nicaragua	Nicaragua to El Salvador	Nicaragua to El Salvador
Honduras	9/05/05 to 10/05/05	1	138	394	The 1.5 day country crossing	Nicaragua to El Salvador	Nicaragua to El Salvador
El Salvador	10/05/05 to 15/05/05	5	349	3216	Top mountains, Top beaches	Nicaragua to El Salvador	Nicaragua to El Salvador
Guatemala	16/05/05 to 2/06/05	7	458	5111	1 week volunterring at Maya Pedal	Guatemala Maya Pedal	Guatemala Maya Pedal
Mexico	3/04/05 to 04/05/05	50	3944	30035	Ferry from Mazatlan to La Paz (Baja California)	Chiapas and Oaxaca , Mainland Tequila and to the Coast , Baja California	Chiapas , Mexico Mainland , Baja California
Total	08/04/05 to 04/05/05	83	6321	51757	Finished with a family Road trip around California ( photos here)

Eastern Asia: September 2005 to January 2006

Route: Beijing to Zhengzhou on the 107, Shaolin Si, Luoyang, Xi'An, 108 to Chengdu, Leshan, Emei Shan, Small Roads to Xixhang, 108 to Kunming. 213 and samll road to Mohan and Boten (Laos). Route 13 across Northern Laos to Vientiane via Oudomxai, Louang Prabang, Vang Vien. Small roads in north eastern Thailand from Nong Khai to Phimai (via Phu Prabat historical park, Si Bun Ruang, Phukiou, and Bua Yai), then big roads to Ayataya, Damnoen Saduak, coast roads to Chumpon, across to Ranong (with quick visa run to Mayanmar), and to Phuket. Then boats and small roads to Ko Lanta, Trang, Georgetown (Malaysia), then small roads along west coast of Malaysia all the way to Kuala Lumpur.

Country	Dates	Cycling Days	Mileage (km)	Cumulative Climbs (m)	Notes	Photos	Journals
China	5/09/05 to 9/11/05	58	4331	33766	All the way across with no closed areas!	China Temples , Beijing to Xian, Xian to Chengdu, Chengdu to Kunming, Kunming to Laos,	Beijing to Xian
Laos	10/11/05 to 23/11/05	11	727	?	Land of the Cyclo Tourer We met nearly 30!	Laos	not yet!
Thailand	23/11/05 to 03/01/06	29	2260	?	Including a Family Holiday on the beach!	North Thailand South Thailand	not yet!
Malaysia	04/01/06 to 16/01/06	6	449	?	A great thank you to David!	Malaysia At David's	not yet!
Total	5/09/05 to 16/01/06	104	7767	?	The most exotic part of the trip!	Sorry, the palmtop crashed so we had to stop typing the journal!

Australasia: January 2006 to April 2006

Route:From Melbourne Airport straight out west to Balarat, then to Port Campbell via Lismore, then along the Great Ocean Road, and to Philip Island on the ferries. Then along the coast to Sydney

Country	Dates	Cycling Days	Mileage (km)	Cumulative Climbs (m)	Notes	Photos	Journals
Australia	17/01/06 to 20/02/06	24	1727	?	Cool beaches, painted naked cyclists, and climbing the Harbour Bridge	Australia, Sydney	not yet!
New Zealand	21/02/06 to 03/04/06	32	1982	?	Beautiful ending to the trip ...	South Island, North Island	not yet!
Total	17/01/06 to 03/04/06	56	3709	?	Almost home, drinking tap water (and bitter!) and speaking English again (or at least trying to!)

England: April 2006

Route:From London Heathrow Airport to Windsor, along the Thames, then along the Kennet and Avon Canal to Devizes, and then past all the white horses to Warminster.

Country	Dates	Cycling Days	Mileage (km)	Cumulative Climbs (m)	Notes	Photos	Journals
England	04/04/06 to 08/04/06	4	211	?	A freezing but very nice ride home	England	not yet!

Total: 25229km, 356 cycling days from October 2004 to April 2006

In loving memory of "Meme" Alice Benat, 1920 - 2005