The reason for choosing Salta for this week is the "Tren a las Nubes" or train to the clouds ... now I am not a Malcolm or Nigel and like train spotting, I just enjoy the mode of travel as I can walk around and it is more pleasant than bus. This didn't stop me wearing a parka and having a spotting jotter though! It's the 2nd highest railway in the world!! It has 217km of track, 21 tunnels, 13 viaducts and 2 zig-zag and starts at 1187m and rises to 4220m!! It was the opening weekend so we had a marching band to wave us off . It runs weekly and first time of the season had cars of people following us for a glimpse of the train and it's journey! The scenery and engineering are stunning but the train looks more like a Cape Town commuter train than tourist luxury travel hence it was odd to see all these cars wanting to get a glimpse of the train...but then I realised there are no trains in Argentina so there is a novelty element to the journey for them. Singing the national anthem at the top was unique and made me realise how patriotic they are...I didn't mention I was British!

- I succumbed to an old trait...I was craving Crunchy Nut Cornflakes with cold milk FOR DINNER!!...I couldn't find any but saw "Honey Graham" instead as a good alternative. It's a bad habit I know but when all you have for breakfast is bread and Dolce De Leche spread I needed cereal and cold milk. I guess it was karma for buying the cereal as I accidentally picked up soya orange juice to go with it!!

- Salta is a nice enough city but want to highlight one museum on the square. MAAM - in 1999 some European geologists went to Volcano Llullaillaco at 6739m which was an Inca sacrifice site...they found 3 fully preserved children from the -20C temperatures with face, skin and clothes all in tact...seeing it was quite remarkable especially as only 15 years ago...imagine how many more are out there!

Time for reflection...

Wow ... my 6th month travelling milestone has now been reached. Do you miss me? Even know that I've gone? Remember my name?

For me the time has flown by, but in a fantastic way. My energy for travelling has ebbed and flowed as it naturally would but as I write this blog and now list my highlights it brings a smile to my face and real sense of achievement ... to see what I have seen ... done ... what great characters I have met and what experiences I have shared.

Some highlights so far:
- Quad biking with my 5 year old nephew Rex on my dad's farm in South Africa
- Sharing afternoon tea with my 91 year old Nanna
- Reaching the peak of Africa in Kilimanjaro at 5895m to the most Southerly tip of Africa at Cape Agulhas
- Teaching children in South Africa to read and helping adults to use a computer
- Travelled by plane, train, bus, taxi, tuk-tuk, rickshaw, motorbike, quad bike, bicycle, underground, horse, boat and ferry
- Reconnected with family and friends from all parts of the globe from Sydney, Bali, Cape Town and even Wales
- Swam with whale sharks, held a lemur, seen 200 elephants at a watering hole, had a monkey climb up my leg (not a euphemism) and heard a sea lion roar
- Drank 'mate' with the portenos of Buenos Aires and Melbec with the bodega owners in Mendoza, Argentina
- Driven a 4x4 through the Atacama desert in Chile and cycled down the road of death in Bolivia
- Been overwhelmed by the beauty of Patagonia and the Salar de Uyuni

All in all I have covered 12 countries so far, I have the passport stamps to prove it ... although I cant really say I know Zimbabwe that well!

When I started the trip I wanted to track my progress with daily photos ... this proved harder than planned and has been dropped. What i have got immense pleasure from is this blog, it allows me to think about what I've recently done and put down my experiences and thoughts and will become a permanent record of my sabbatical journey. Amazingly to date I have had 7700 views of my website (7699 of those views from my mum) so thanks for following the story.

When I look at this extensive list it feels great to have taken a 12 month sabbatical and it is a real sense of achievement ... not in a ticking box way but having the impetus to utilise this opportunity and to feel that I am making the most of my life. It has been a time for me to think, share my ideologies with fellow travellers and plan not just for the short term but what I want to get most from life in the long term.

On a bus journey in Peru I was reading via the Longform app an interesting article regarding a child with autism and how he dealt with it via Disney films. They say you read something to share ... hence a quote from Laverne, the gargoyle from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” “Quasi,” he says. “Take it from an old spectator. Life’s not a spectator sport. If watchin’s all you’re gonna do, then you’re gonna watch your life go by without you.”

The exciting thing is I am now only half way...

The 1st April is the start of the next arrival on Palmer Tours ... my mum...3 weeks of Buenos Aires, Igauzu Falls and Peru, which also means no hostels for 3 weeks! After that I'm going to Ecuador, Galápagos Islands, Brazil (for England first game), Venezuela, Columbia and Central America.

It's great to reflect on an amazing 6 months so far but also to now look forward to the next adventures I have installed ... to which an open invite is always there for any of you to come and join me.

Keep reading this blog for future installments ...

The past week i have been in 2 Bolivian cities...certainly a tale of 2 cites...

Started in Sucre which is the capital albeit baby cousin to La Paz. It is where the declaration of independence was signed many years ago. It is a great university town with a nice cafe culture.

Essentially this is where i put the brakes on and took a holiday within a holiday. Did admin of photos, planning, researching and sleeping!! What was needed after the salt flats and noisy dorms. Even managed to hit the cinema and arcades for some retro fun with Double Dragon and Bomberman! Markets always provide a good insight into local eating habits and exotic fruit/veg but also some decent cheap eats!! Thanks to the fertile land the fresh fruit juices are a big draw to any market visitor.

La Paz on the other hand is the louder, bigger and brasher big brother. After an overnight bus where they decided to lock the loo you arrive at the top of La Paz at 4000m (Altiplan) and decent into the city to c.3500m (highest airport and city in the world!). Great views sweeping into the valley. But as you can tell this kind of altitude means you need to take things "Pole Pole" Swahili for slow slow i learned on Kili.

La Paz has a reputation for being a party town so i checked into an Irish party hostel to see what the craic was all about!! Oz guy in my room was going to bed as i arrived and proceeded to sleep all day!! The hostel was full of school leavers called "India" and "Henry" on their Garp Yars with silly haircuts all seeking cheap booze and cocaine (illegal but available...even bars where for sale over the counter)...first time on the trip that felt old but also in a hostel with people on different wavelength.

What better way for me to feel normal than heading to Gustu - a restaurant run by the management that own Noma (was best restaurant in the world!). Went for the 7 course taster menu with accompanying wines...everything is locally obtained except the cutlery and Riedel glasses! Nice way to spend $80...so much so that went again with some other friends! It was pay day after all!

As usual with big cities i do the free walking tour where you pay in tips...great way to familiarise yourself with a city...to be fair after 2 hr walking tour felt as though covered La Paz...not much else here to do.

You may of seen the Top Gear episode where they had the 4x4 in South America and i essentially am following their trip in reverse. One part of their journey involves the Death Road...named most dangerous road in the world! So i decided to mountain bike down it! Decent from 4400m to 1000m over 64km of tar but mainly gravel...if you like adrenaline sports this is one to do...they ask you for your insurance company when signing up! You get what you pay for so i went with the longest and most expensive operator which meant to bikes and superb guide. As you can tell by reading this i made it to the bottom in one piece and didn't help justify its name! The views and scenery are spectacular although we were a little unlucky with the weather.

Finally in La Paz went slightly out of town to some pre-Inca ruins at Tiwanaku with my pals Ellen and Nikita. Try Brits in shorts and T-Shirt we were under prepared for the cold and rain. These sites are interesting but a lot of imagination is required to see what it looked like years ago!!

Yesterday the La Paz marathon was on which started at 3500m upto 4000m and back again...now I need to do a SA marathon to help complete my 7 marathons on 7 continents but this is a step too far!! I helped cheer them on but considering I struggle up stairs here I think a marathon would kill me!!

Now I am firmly in Bolivia planning the next few weeks of the trip. Jaguars, death roads, ancient ruins and jungle are all on the list!! Bolivia is a great country so far and the people friendly...probably due to all the coca they eat/drink! Also very cheap...decided to check myself into a B&B single room with en-suite to catch up on sleep (dude in hostel last night was a snorer), do some admin, some washing plus the breakfasts here are bacon and eggs!! So splashing out in Bolivia terms here is $17 a night...yup the travelling playboy of luxury i have become!

Hot...temp is averaging above 30C

Hilly...surrounded by the Andes...ski resorts 30km away

Hazy...with the heat and being in a valley pollution is that of Mexico City

High rises...tallest building in SA is completed

So when I last left you was at the border post in the Andes. To give you some idea of the height/altitude we are dealing within this area...I took a sip from my coke bottle at the border and upon arriving into Santiago the bottle had shrunk due to the drop in altitude/pressure!!

Santiago is a great city in the 2 days I have seen it...a nice European style city but less crowed than Buenos Aires. So as mentioned before it is hilly...there are 2 hills in town...mini Santa Lucia and grander San Cristobel. Great visual references for navigation particularly when you get lost walking down the grander hill after sunset!!

Did a walking tour (my own as well as organised one) that provided a great insight into Santiago life...and more importantly some quirky things to enjoy...

My favourite being "coffee with legs" which can be best described a cross between Starbucks and Hooters...btw the coffee is good rather than thinking i am a pervert! Although great skill is required to maximise enjoyment as I realised after my initial school boy error!! Walked into Cafe Caribe and pre-paid for my coffee to see that the lady serving was my mum's age in a shocking pink mini dress...the VPL was that off stomach sucking granny pants!!! Enough to make me burn my throat to get out of there quickly!! To enjoy the experience I scouted the second coffee house around the corner Cafe Haiti which proved a better choice although when the girl said "Hola Chico" and I said "Hables Inglais" to which she walked away to read the paper...at least easier on the eye whilst drinking coffee but doesn't do justice to the South American lady who is great on the eye particularly as summer ;)

The tour also highlighted a great ice cream parlour with earl grey tea, ginger and hazelnut ice-cream. The fish market run by the local mafia (they own all the restaurants) did a cracking crab pie (Pastel de Jaiba) as well.

One thing Chile has done that Argentina hasn't to my knowledge is bring to justice the regime under Pinochet. The Truth and Reconciliation commission has been involved post his regime to understand what happened to the Chilean people...I.e. those that disappeared. Similar to Argentina under the military coup people disappeared and the museum tries to highlight and bring reconciliation to those involved. Bodies were bound with metal and dropped from helicopters out at sea only for bodies to appear on beaches...mass graves identified...bodies in roads with throats slit...and still to this day a few hundred people have not been identified for those families involved. Those protesting where either against the regime, communists even faith leaders were locked up and tortured. Brutal for the people and understandably people still are coming to terms of the Pinochet regime. Will leave you to google Pinochet times in Chile.

So after coming to a major city again I change my mind once again about whether I could live in a small town or city. Mendoza was great and had what you need but Santiago with its culture and art and busyness of life is also appealing...tough one to call but as a city guy born and breed think it wins at the moment as where I would like to live...watch this space!!

Finally a point on Union Jack's? Over here I see many locals wearing T-shirts with the Jack as well as a bum bags amongst items seen. Are they more patriotic than me? Should I wear my footy top with pride? Am I concerned by the conertayions associated with the England top? With World Cup around the corner will hopefully be in Manuas to watch the first game and will be wearing it with pride then!!

For a cheeky day trip (doesn't necessarily do it justice) I went to Valparaiso which is/was a major port. Used to be massive before the Panama Canal was built as a stop between Europe and California when they had a gold rush...today still a port but famous for its 40 hills, funiculars and street murals...photos are only a small selection of the good ones!!

Explored the city and first stop was the 1971 Nobel Peace prize winner Pablo Neruda (poet and diplomat) home in the hills. Great views across the city. The city has many houses/shacks for the port workers so has a favela feel but not with the same tension...one thing to remember in Chile is major earthquakes and so shacks are easier to rebuilt than houses!

Tried the local shellfish "marisco" empanada (Cornish pasty) for lunch at the legendary Empanadas Famosas...people were buying 10 at a time. Bizarrely on the TV were naked ladies with body paint on jumping into a swimming pool after posing...like I have said before SA TV is good!! Also tried the local Pisco Sour for sundowners over the bay...Peru and Chile fighting over who has the rights but still a decent drink!

Did the free walking tour like in Santiago and worthwhile and recommend in any city that offers it...you just tip as the fee (just don't forget to tip like I did and now on a massive guilt trip back to Santiago!). Learnt about the port and city life...had the most expensive street in SA due to the port...now in ruin. All the fire stations are run by volunteers thus more revered than the police in the public eye...more interesting is that each individual station is sponsored by the Brits, Germans, Italians and Saudis i.e. the early immigrant settlers!! Most bizarrely though was the offering of Waitrose Essentials ketchup in the local supermarket???

Best way to see the city is by the following videos from a Red Bull championship to bomb it down the hills in c.2mins. See the steepness and wall decorations.

Finally I head north on a 23hr bus ride today...guess no sympathy coming my way...I will arrive in the Atacama desert and have 4 days exploring high altitudes (roads at 5000m...think top gear in SA) and potential whale bones unearthing before crossing the frontier with Bolivia and the famous salt flats. Therefore those that do get concerned (few of you!!) I will out of radio contact for a while...don't be concerned unless you see me on CNN not waving behind the camera saying "hello mum"!!