acknowledgements

Thank you all for reading and if you have got this far I really am impressed not even all my family members have made it to this point!
Other thanks go to my big pink sunglasses (you love them or you hate them but you never ever forget them); my flight socks (definately not my most sexy item of clothing but certainly required on those long journeys); my iPod (for not packing up and keeping me sane on those long journeys); and last but not least Koala, who has been everywhere, been laughed at (many, many times), survived almost decapitation and always been prepared to give me a hug.
Finally a few facts: of the 290 days i've been away i've spent it in 66 different towns, spent 20 nights on buses and 2 nights on aeroplanes, travelled through seven countries (including Spain), been up to almost 6000m above sea level and down to 150m underground, learnt to dive and to speak spanish, crossed the equator 6 times, swam in two oceans, eaten a guinea pig, travelled the entire length of the continent (over land, by bus) and learnt to never ever throw toilet roll down the toilet (hopefully i'll try to unlearn that one now i'm home).