The end is nigh; homeward bound.

I must apologise for my recent slackness in writing anything. I'm way behind, and am once again writing from Colombia, having swiftly traversed the length of Ecuador. The reason I've not written much has not only been our recent push north, but also because all our internet time has been spent applying for jobs back in the UK. With the end of out journey in sight, we've been looking for answers to 'what next'? I applied for a Climate Change Co-ordinator position with an organisation in Leeds. I spent a fair amount of time on the application, and the presentation I had to prepare once I was short-listed for an interview (which was conducted via Skype), but didn't get the job. Undeterred I've appled for two more since, and am waiting for replies. Colette also spotted an opportunity; a placement with Amnesty International. Her application won her a phone interview, and again we await the result.

So really we've been planning the next chapter of our lives, and as a result our minds and hearts have not really been in the 'here & now'. A couple of months ago we'd begun to miss home a little, and even though we've had great times since, the feeling hasn't really subsided. I suppose there comes a point in all big trips where you just feel like you've run out of steam. The thought of a 30- hour bus ride to new lands just doesn't hold the same appeal it once did, the new landscapes and scenes no longer seeming so new.

I really thought that I'd got the job, and had begun planning the journey home. Despite being unsuccessful, I feel that there are too many opportunities for a job passing by at the moment, and being so far away without the power of flight may be hindering my application. Hopefully Colette will get her position, but it would begin in September.

We feel ready to return, and so we've booked our cargo passage home. We will board the ship on September 6th in Cartagena, Colombia, and 13 days later or so we should be back in the UK. We're very excited!

I've still got a bit of catching up to do, so I'll be writing a few more posts, including the advice on cargo ship travel that I've been promising from the start, as well as the 'very incomplete guide to vegetarian eating in South America'.

In the meantime I'm planning to leave civilisation for a few days to enjoy our final week in Colombia; we're off to the beautiful Playa Blanca to camp, swim and laze around in hammocks drinking rum. And then we take the ship to the Dominican Republic for some final Caribbean fun before crossing the Atlantic once more.