It is almost eight weeks since we got from UK and we have had time to digest the trip and start planning the next one. 

The primary reason for us making a trip through the UK was to visit some old friends, Rod and Shiona in particular.  In that respect is was a great success and the times we spent with various friends along the way could all be counted amongst the highlights of the trip.  The Orkneys, particularly the dig at Stennes, and the Shetlands were also particularly enjoyable times.  In retrospect, this is probably because of the relief from the overwhelming volume of people and traffic further south.  We had expected in to be busy in England but had hoped it would taper off the further north we went.  It didn't help that we were there during the peak of the summer holidays.  Some awful weather in south-west England and the dreaded midges in Scotland also ranked low on our list of enjoyable memories.

In less than seven weeks time we will be flying off to Puerto Montt in Chile to tackle the Carretera Austral and southern Patagonia for a second time and take care of some unfinished business.  We are booked to fly to Buenos Aires from Ushuaia at the end of February so this time we will have to make sure we go all the way.  From Buenos Aires we will cycle through Uruguay to Brazil from where we fly back to South Africa in the middle of April.  As with most of our trips, timings have been determined by various family commitments - without them we would be in South America already.