What a difference a day makes, well actually two days and the change from ocean to river. No swell, no wind, and barely any rolling around when trying to get to sleep! We're now some 200 miles from the start of the river heading towards Manaus having cleared customs at Macapa and got our passports stamped. We now have two pilots aboard, the first of 8 who will be guiding us all the way to the Peruvian border. Hot, hot, hot is by far the best description as everyone including our Brazilian pilots perspires our way up the river. It's 1am and…

Monday 21st August - 555 miles to Amazon number one buoy, and the start of our river journey! With only a few days left of our Atlantic voyage, we are all eager to see land after 12 full days at sea. Over the past 12 days since departing the Canaries, we have encountered just two ships - a Japanese fishing boat and a freighter en-route to New York. It's amazing what technology can tell you! First and foremost, however, the ship is sailed by people, not computers, and it is the constant efforts of our three watches that keep the ship safe. That…

Friday 18th August  It's 11pm here on Forth Hope and absolutely pitch black outside - unless you look up and see the stars in all their spectacular glory! We're currently rolling up to thirty degrees in the swell - what a way to go star gazing. For those of you who are in to dark skies, you'd have nothing to complain about out here - we're some 1100 miles from the nearest light pollution! Another "discovery" was this evening's dinner of mince and carrots with spaghetti. Rory, our cook, assured us that when he microwaved some portions, the microwave diluted the gravy! Wow could we be on…

17th August (1343 miles from the mouth of the Amazon) A hot sticky day is fast becoming the norm aboard MV Forth Hope as we head towards the equator and South America. No sticky toffee pudding today but apple strudel and custard to keep us going! Life in the slow lane means 210 miles per day, with a hoped for arrival in Iquitos on the 7th or 8th September!  Then there's a fast turnaround before the ship begins work ahead of some important visitors on the 17th from Lima and the Regional Government. We may be travelling relatively slowly, but blink and another day…

16th August -  21.00hrs Atlantic greetings from the bridge of MV Forth Hope We're currently some 1564 miles off the coast of Brazil. Tomorrow 17th August will see us reach the half way mark in our 6800 mile voyage to Peru, and the half way point in our transatlantic leg from the Canaries to Macapa, Brazil. Thereafter its just under 2000 miles up the Amazon! The weather is good, the temperature building and the sea pleasantly calm. Best for now, Willie McPherson (Photo - Colin Anderson on the bridge of Forth Hope)

Our final day in Tanzania was filled with warm goodbyes. In the morning we visited both home-building sites and were able not only to say our final goodbyes to the families and the fundis, but also to see the incredible progress that had been made in the past few days. The team was astounded by the dedication and hard work of the fundis, and was amazed to see the homes nearing completion. Having visited the sites, the volunteers were able to do some last minute shopping before heading back to Umoja Hostel for a final feedback and reflection session. The team all agreed…