Home at last......

Wow, what a great holiday - fantastic countryside and very welcoming people.

The planned itinerary was to walk, cycle and kayak, but alas on day 3, I came down with the most fearful head cold, which resulted in me having the lung capacity of a thimble, so cycling was out! Determined it wasn't going to spoil our holiday, we walked - or should I say "hiked" everywhere. It was a great way to see the countryside - albeit very slowly.

People like riding bikes in Boston - lots of cyclists riding single speed that hadn't discovered the joy of riding fixed (just flip that back wheel over!) The traffic was light, even at rush hour, but boy are the drivers impatient and were on the horn at the slightest provocation!

Visiting Province Town and Bar Harbour was a bit of an eye opener - everyone took to bikes to get around. The large cars would be parked in a nearby parking lot and then their first stop would be the local cycle hire shop. Bar Harbour had an amazing free bus service to take you and your bike into the National Park area for some off-road riding. Sure, you could drive there, but there was a $20 charge to do so! The bus driver was only too pleased to help with the bikes, advice and directions for the trail riding - boy, do we have a lot to learn in this country?

We were very aware of the environmental impact our trip would have - long haul flight and car hire.

So to appease our conscience, we opted for a hybrid car - the Toyota Prius.

OK, it may not be the best looking car on the road and it was like driving a large marshmallow around. But the fuel consumption was phenomenal. Over the 2 weeks we covered 1400 miles and I only put in $37 of fuel - not including the free tank, which would've been another $21. So a total spend of $58 (approx £36). I realised that would last me 4 months of driving at home.....! Certainly something to consider when we are in the market for a new car.

Anyway, it great to be back and I'm looking forward to the working week ahead.......