FINAL CHAPTER - MAY 21,2013

THE FINAL CHAPTER TO THIS BLOG

JUNE 2010 TO MAY 2013

May 21, 2013

 

This was Dawn’s trip; something that was at the very top of her bucket list…she is thrilled with it and how it turned out. It will be difficult to settle down now and frankly we’re skeptical we can. We may want to line up house buyers to buy our place even before we buy it! Already the plans are forming for another trip, albeit much shorter at two months or so, to Namibia and Botswana in 4x4s with friends from France. We’ll see if that comes together.

 

Now another chapter begins. Where does it lead? With whom? What lessons are coming our way? As always, we have no idea and are accepting things simply as they come.

 

 

There are stats on this three year travel-fest that some may be interested in but believe us when we say they have nothing to do with the amazement factor we experienced in this three year odyssey.

-        No. of countries…23

-        Countries travelled in…Canada, United States, France, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Spain, Morocco, Portugal, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary. Some of these were travelled in many times over.

-        Total kilometers travelled…70,000 km

-        Date begun…June 19, 2010

-        No of days…1,096

-        No. of pictures (kept)…11,000

Somewhat related, but not really,

One of the questions people often ask us is “Where or what have you enjoyed the most in all your travels?”.  Here is our list gleaned from decades of travel in fifty-two countries. They are in no particular order except that the Moroccan desert was probably the best and had the biggest “WOW!!” factor.

Switzerland: Rte. 19 Brig to Disentis; also Disentis to Biasca

Austria: Rte. 107 Bruck to Winklern and to Franz Joseph Hohe

France: Mont St. Michel; the Pyrenees; Lascaux caves; Alsace Wine Route; Paris; the Alps; Puy du Fou; the food; the wine

Australia: the Great Barrier Reef; the beaches

New Zealand: Christchurch; west coast of the South Island; Nelson; Mount Cook National Park; the people

USA: Fountain Hills, AZ; Maui, HI; the national parks of the western US

Canada: Lake Louise; Valley of the Ten Peaks; Icefields Parkway; Peggy’s Cove; Cape Breton Island; Wapta Icefields; Pacific Rim National Park; any of the parks in Alberta and British Columbia

Peru: Machu Pichu; Lake Titicaca; the high Andes

Bolivia: Condoriri and the surrounding mountains; Lake Titicaca

Nepal: Chukkung Valley; all of the Himalaya region; the high mountain culture of the locals

India: Sarnath; Varanasi; the Taj Mahal; the people

Thailand: the forever smiles; the Golden Buddha; the Jade Buddha, the people

Indonesia: Borabadur; the rice paddies in Bali; the people

Japan: Buddhist temples of Kyoto; the people

Kenya: Masai Mara National Park; the Masai people; the wildlife

Egypt: Pyramids of Giza; Valley of the Kings

Italy: Tuscany; the Dolomites; Rome; the food; the wine

Norway: Route 13 toward Bergen; the fjords of the west coast; the people

Morocco: the southern desert; each sand dune; all the gorges in the central area; the food

…and any place which is right here, wherever we are.

Above all…

Thanks to all the people in the last three years whom we met and with whom we travelled, drank, partied, argued, laughed, cried, sang…all of whom we learned from greatly. Travellers soon realize that travelling is not being a tourist…it is being a traveller…someone who is in no hurry, who sees and listens, who learns…and laughs a lot at things that happen. It is about using all our human senses to let in all the experiences and to fully appreciate the entire world as it is and what it has to offer, all without judgement. Things that we see are all great but it is the people we come across that make the trips, the memories, the smiles. We are all on this same path together. We are all the same.

 

Thanks so much to all of you.

You will never fully realize how much we have appreciated being in your presence.

FRANCE - March 27, 2013

FRANCE

March 27, 2013

Bit of a weather shock when we returned to our “home” base in France…strong freezing winds from the north with temperatures well below zero and well below the norms for this time of year in the region. The weekly outdoor markets don’t see many people.

As a result of going back to Canada, we now need to…yes…pack up once again. This will be the tenth time we’ve packed up the bikes for transport! Moving the gear and packing up in my uncle’s place gave us more room and freedom not to mention an opportunity to see my aunts more. With my uncle’s death my aunts are a bit overwhelmed will all there is to do in daily living so us being here to run errands for them is a big help.

And the big push was to prep the van, The White Night, for sale. Initially an ad on a website got little response but suddenly we had interest from a half dozen people. We had to put some on hold. It was sold on the spot to the first couple who saw it. We were pleased but with mixed emotions; the White Night was a magical way to enjoy our travels throughout Europe over the past two years.

Mid-March we went to visit friends we had met in the Los Escullos campground in southern Spain. Chris and Sylvia live about two hours west of us in a very peaceful place in the country in a magical house. Twenty-nine (it seemed) bottles of wine later, a boat load of laughs, great food…and a friendship had been cemented.

It had been difficult to communicate with them since their landlines and internet were taken out in the area because thieves had stolen the cables for the copper…or at least that’s the story Chris and Sylvia gave us. Note the hat Sylvia is wearing…she would appreciate any nice things you have to say about it.

Unfortunately (for us), they’re selling their home to travel more. (Huh…who else do we know did that??)

A few days before leaving it was off to Paris to bring our three bike boxes and two duffle bags, weighing 156 kgs in total, to the airport to have them shipped via Air Canada Cargo. A 250 km drive right through the city to Roissy Airport to the northeast took 3 ½ hours. In, gear handed off to very helpful people at the airline, payment of a cool $1000, and back it was. Sort of. About an hour from home, a shudder and a noise in the van Evelyne was driving, and it was a quick stop to the side of the road. The clutch pedal had broken. After Alain, Evelyne’s husband came to “fix” the “simple” problem with no luck, he left. A tow-truck ride back to town later and Dawn picked us up. But at least the gear was delivered.

On the day before flying out, Daniel and Jo took us into Paris where we all stayed in a hotel near the airport, had dinner and lots to drink. Right to the end we had a crazy fun time with those two.

March 26 and the day had arrived for the flight back to Canada. Again, lots of mixed feelings. Flights went well and two days later we had picked up the gear in Calgary we had shipped from Paris via Air Canada Cargo.

This was the closing of a big chapter. So where to from here?

SPAIN - Part 2 - Feb. 21, 2013

SPAIN - PART 2

FEB. 21, 2013

We’ve had amazing weather even warmer than last year with no rain during an eleven week period. Temperatures running from 20 to 25C!! And with the winds not as strong as last year, incredible for cycling. But just after mid-January a massive storm covering all of Spain and beyond hit us. Some rain but mainly winds…very powerful and extremely gusty. Three people were killed in the southern part of the country. We had to tie our kitchen tent to a large steel pole while a neighbour had a number of us help him take down his enclosed awning on his caravan. The next day we heard the chainsaws dealing with the damaged trees throughout the campground. Here and there people were repairing, reinstalling, fixing parts of their equipment. Some things were damaged enough to be brought in for repairs. Some have been here for over fifteen years and they all say this was the worse windstorm they had ever experienced here. Our van certainly was rocked during the night…or was that caused by some other action inside?

The black cat who befriended us is still hanging around and has evolved to actually getting on Dawn’s lap for a nap. Or was it the other way around?

As seems typical in this place numerous and varied events trigger a celebration, mini party, or drinkfest. “Drinkfesting” is now a verb and an official activity soon to be recognized by an internationally famous organization. Said organization has agreed to replace the five rings on their flag with five liquor glasses. These activities can be triggered by things (the erection of John…and Margaret’s awning), people (the very late arrival of Chris and Sylvia, trouble makers extraordinaire), or friends coming in for a visit (Paul and Sue).

 

The weather continued to be exceptionally warm and dry. On January 30 we went off about 1 ½ hours west of us to meet good friends Chris and Mike from England. It was fantastic to see them again and to catch up. Later in the afternoon goodbyes were then said and they headed off. They weren’t out of sight when I turned the key in our van…notta!! Dead battery! Bummer! So we called the insurance assistance number. Help would be there very soon we were told. Unfortunately we apparently couldn’t be found and it was almost three hours before we were. The battery was boosted …twice…to no avail. The starter is broken, the mechanic said. No, it’s the battery, I said. Being on a sloped street we gave the van a push, popped the clutch and the engine fired right up. The mechanic looked at me and said, “It was the BATTERY!!”. Ya think! Off we finally were eventually on a high-speed auto route with heavy traffic outside a city when suddenly the traffic in front went from 120 kph to a full stop! Four-way flashers (Dawn) and heavy breaking (Dan), no crashing noise and we were also stopped. A three car pill-up just in front was the cause. After slowly and gingerly getting around the mess we were off again getting back to camp by eight o’clock.
 

Two of the repeat offenders (ie returning campers), Chris and Sylvia, are a musical duo. Not long after arriving they were begged, conned, pushed, prodded and threatened into performing…for free! They are as awesome musically as they are personally. One loco local, not wanting them to even slow down, even gave Chris a drink while he continued to play. The crowd in the campground restaurant responded by singing along, clapping widely and refraining from throwing eggs. It was a great evening.

 

We again went to an area near here where Clint Eastwood and others filmed some of their most famous western movies. The original sets are now used as attraction parks with teepees and all!

We always stop at the same spot for a picnic high up the mountain side with a majestic view toward the Mediterranean. This photo doesn’t show water…these are greenhouses as far as the eye can see. This region has the largest concentration of greenhouses in the world and they can be seen from space. The narrow winding road is especially magical this time of year with all the almond trees blossoming with white and pink petals.

Being a desert, the vegetation is unique and different from what we are used to. Some of the flowers are gorgeous.

And the good ole (or is that old?) contingent decided to put on a Shrove Tuesday (didn’t have a clue what that was…maybe like Groundhog Day in North America?) pancake festival open to everyone on the campsite. Worked out great with amazing pancakes and singing/music provided as a freebie by Chris and Sylvia Extraordinaire.

But to put things in perspective, the next day we all got up to a power failure in the area followed by a grass fire not far from the campground. The BBQ invitations were going out with the fire expected on site within the hour. Some did not find that humourous…doubt they believe in cremation.

And to make sure that we would not change our minds about leaving, a ‘goodbye’ party was held for us; it was also used as an excuse to roast us a bit and have a few laughs at our expense….all in good fun or so we were told.

 

Two days later this was followed up by this foolish lot escorting us out of the campground, in some cases actually pushing the van to speed things up.

We will miss southern Spain, the area, the Los Escullos campground, the weather and the cycling. But as is always the case, it is the people who make a place extra special. And this lot did exactly that. Thanks so much for all the laughs. And of course, our livers say “MUCHO GRACIAS!!”.