What's Your Favourite Holiday Memory ?

Tex and I have had some truly memorable holidays over the past few years, having been fortunate enough to travel variously to France, mainland USA, India, Hawaii, South Africa, Indonesia and Fiji but none has been more enjoyable - or demanding - as our 2007 trip to South America where, amongst other things, we trekked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. We do a lot of bushwalking in the Blue Mountains around our home, but this trek was incredibly taxing, not only because it was undertaken at high altitude, but the track was rocky and uneven and consistently steep :) But, the view at sunrise after three really difficult days trekking was a sight that will take some matching:





We have a sponsor child (named Junior) in Cusco, Peru so took the opportunity to visit him and his family during this trip as well. A highlight of this part of the trip was surprising Junior and his classmates at his school.



At this stage, Junior goes to school in the local village, but next year when he starts high school, he will have to walk two hours there and two hours back - then he'll have to help his dad on their farm when he gets home in the afternoon.



Watching talented Peruvian women dye, spin and weave alpaca wool into amazing, brightly coloured garmants, in a small village outside Cusco, was another highlight :)



Our trip was completed with a few days charging down the Amazon River, and staying in an eco-hut in the middle of the rainforest, with monkeys, macaws, cayman and tarantulas screeching, creeping and crawling all around us ! There was no electricity and lots of scary moments for this arachnophobic - but we did manage to catch a pirahna (even though it was only a few inches long - check out the teeth though :)



We are currently planning our holiday to Ireland in May this year, so that may eventually top my list. But for now, our adventures in Peru have given me my favourite holiday memories :)

Liberation !

Well, I've finally done it - I've had that conversation with my mother. Yep, from 2008 I will not be playing "happy families" at Christmas time. I will spend the holidays with Tex and Tex Jnr doing what makes us happy, not what my family expects me to do, or what I feel obligated to do. Whilst I do love my two sisters and my mum and dad, I share very little with them other than genes. We have absolutely nothing in common and to continue to pretend that we all get on with each other is just farcical. To put it bluntly, my sisters are self-absorbed, materialistic, drama queens; my father is an emotionally-distant alcoholic and my poor mother is just about drowning in her martyrdom. Now, I'm certainly not perfect - far, far from it. I have plenty of my own idiosyncrasies which no doubt drive them equally spare. But, whilst I can get on with each of them individually, put us all together under one roof and it is a fucking train smash !

So, bring on Christmas 2008 - you don't scare me anymore ! Woohoo !!