Eating out

Since I have been in South Africa I've noticed the crazy and constant trend people have of wanting to go out to eat. I am embarrassed to admit that I have fallen into that trap and have been eating out more often than eating at home. I know there are loads of reasons why you should not eat out, health and costs being highest on that list, and I am super aware of how unhealthy eating out is and how expensive it becomes when you add up all the drinks that go along with the food. None of that stopped me from eating out 4-5 times a week, until last night.

Last  night was a friend's birthday and to celebrate we all headed to Ile Maurice, a Mauritian restaurant in Umhlanga, just outside Durban. The place has been given raving awards about the excellence of their food so I was looking forward to a great dinner. I am sure most people have sat in a restaurant waiting for the menu, opened it up and felt that sinking feeling when you look at the prices of the food on offer. Well that's how I felt last night. With the starters being as expensive as a main meal is in an average restaurant I didn't have much hope for the mains! After sucking it up and deciding that it was inevitable that this was going to be a costly meal I swallowed that bitter taste in my mouth and decided I would at least enjoy the food.

The food arrived, it was the type of place where they portion the size of the meals in the anticipation that you'll be having a 3 course meal. Food was placed on a massive white plate in the centre with no decoration and seemed to be highlighting the emptiness of the plate of food you're about to pay a huge amount of money for. The food did taste good, I can grant them that but as good as I'd expect any restaurant with a decent reputation to have. It was not at all exceptional and definitely not the ridiculous prices that were being demanded. I ordered the grilled line fish and can honestly say it tasted as good as the line fish I ordered at the local fish and chip shop down the road, and it was a third of the price.

I wonder if it is a situation of the emperors new clothes, if everyone is saying its good, it must be good and no one wants to be the person asking why we are paying such a huge amount of money for food that can be found at a fish and chip shop. Needless to say, it has been this experience that has put me off eating out. A good recipe book (which would cost less than the meal I paid for last night) and an organic food market and these pretentious restaurants can kiss my fantastic homemade food!

A historic day in south africa

Last night marked the end of an era in south africa. One of the greatest men in south african history died last night. After years of battling with lung problems and months of being on life support nelson mandela passed away.

Its hard to find words that encompass everything he has done for the nation. Single handedly he saved a country, he stopped a civil war and preached peace to what could've become a war torn country.

After 27 years spent in prison he was able to walk out he cell, face tens of thousands of people and without a word of anger or retribution, he called for everyone of the country to come together and create a rainbow nation. His words were powerful and for the last 20 years south africa had being trying to fulfil his dreams.

I have just realised that mandela spent more years in prison than he did in the democratic country he created. That's a thought that should be mourned. But mandela's life should be celebrated.

Lets go fly a kite

I just bought a power kite and cannot wait to go fly it! As Durban is having some unseasonably windy weather it is the perfect thing to own! However, since I have bought this kite the wind has failed to rouse itself and I'm not even getting a gentle breeze! What am I to do with a power kite and stagnant air?

In other news I have finally shed my pasty white flesh for a tan that would make coffee jealous on one of the few sunshine days that Durban has given me. This is becoming not so much a summer holiday destination as a monsoon summer.

Travels in south africa

A long trip but so worth it!

Qualifications, squalifications

I've spent the past few days sitting in lectures about mountain guiding and becoming a mountain leader. What a waste of time! The only reason I'm going this is to get a qualification, a piece of paper that says I've studied, in a classroom, everything I've done practically in the field. I fuses I understand the importance of a qualification, ous a test that you do know something about something but at the same time a week long course will never give you what experience can.

I'm sitting in these lectures with a guy who has never done anything like this before and after this course he wants to start a guiding company! Its insane to me that after just over a week he'll legally be allowed to do that! People will place their trust in his abilities and decision making and he has absolutely no experience. I've been doing this for only 3 seasons and sto like to know there is someone out there who has been doing this for 30 years and will advise me properly.

I want to hope he succeeds because its never nice to wish someone failure but I worry what the cost will be of that success.

Sugar cane, wolf whistles and mist!

At the moment I'm traveling through my own country as a tourist. How many people ever do that? I'm always telling my friends where to head off to in south africa but never done these things myself, so now its my turn. Today I drove through part of the eastern cape and I'm camping in morgan's bay on what is know as the wild coast. So far I haven't had time to explore, or even go to the beach but I'll do that in the morning.

What a beautiful drive to get down here though. There's a bit of everything, ocean views, mountainous countryside, flat plains, farmland and towns and lovely people everywhere I go.

This morning started with me driving alongside fields of sugarcane and the sweet smell out heated sugar filled my nose as I drove. Sugar fields were replaced with vast open tracts of land, untouched and unspoilt, the occasional dwelling dotted here and there, the only signs of life being the numerous farm animals that lined the freeway edges. I don't understand why the grass next to the road tastes better than the grass in the fields! But then again I'm not a regular grass eater...

The roads were a chaotic mess of upgrades but you gotta love the entrepreneurial skills of south africans, all sorts of things were for sale in the big traffic jams that ensued! In one traffic jam I was watching some school kids that had obviously just been let out. Most were smiling and waving to me but one little boy snacks his lips and let out one of the funniest wolf whistles I've heard! He's gonna grow up to be a player!

Besides some horrendous mist the rest of the trip was uneventful and I'm now safely nestled into my tent ready to read my book!

Cos I'm on my way!

I'm on my way back to switzerland after a short visit to germany again. I do love the germans! Everything they do entertains me endlessly! I've had a pretty uneventful day of driving today.

This morning I stopped off to see the castle that inspired disney's castle but was immediately put off by the hundreds of tourists and immense amount of of tour buses! Then the thought of paying to walk around another castle sold me on betting a post card and moving on! Next on my list for the day was lindau. near the corder of switzerland it seemed a good option so here I am, not sure where I'm going to sleep tonight but not going to worry, a solution will be found. I am parked on a pretty quiet street so I might get away with sleeping there. I might have to after this beer! oh right so now I'm sitting near the harbour doing my favorite thing, watching germans walk past. Sometimes life is good :)

Back to germany

Today I had a fairly eventful trip to germany, mostly because for the first time I changed a car battery, and what an easy process that is! Well it all started out when I tried to start jerry this morning and no success. Figured that after having run the same battery flat 5 times its understandable that the battery may need replacing! Thankfully I have friends who have friends and I was able to get a new battery at a very good rate, friends and family benefits!

So we took said battery home with me, vehemently promising the man who sold me the battery that I knew exactly how to install it, while at the same time googling the dummies guide to auto repairs! Yes, they have a section on how to install a new battery. Mostly it consists of many complicated sentences to tell you black cable then red cable, remove battery, replace with new battery, red cable then black cable. Bam! Done! One more thing to check off in my quest to be awesome! Car batteries today, who knows what tomorrow holds, maybe I'll ve able to fix my stereo!

Croatian national parks

I've always been attracted to national parks, the people who go there are like minded, care about the environment and love seeing what the country has to offer more then filling up a photo album. We visited two national parks in one day, a bit rushed but it was the only way we could fit it all in in the short time we had!

We tried our hand at rock climbing but that didn't go so well, ana had never climbed before so I had to teach her from the beginning. I felt very nervous climbing so we didn't succeed in climbing too much. It just made me want to climb even more though.

Then we traveled to national park where you are surrounded by lakes and various waterfalls. Some of them are really high, and 30m and others a lot lower but wider. The cool thing about this story is that e had every intention of paying for the national park but just never found the ticket office and there was no one at the entrance so we just walked right in, saw the park, caught a boat across the lake when we'd finished and left. We also got to park for free cos we parked at the post office instead of the proper parking! Haha! Traveling is always an adventure!

The water in croatia is unbelievable! Its so crystal clear and even if you can't touch the bottom you can see the bottom.

Oh I almost forgot to mention our moonlight swim. We hadn't yet been into the water and we happened to drive passed a beautiful beach, it seemed to be calling to us so we had to go for a swim! It started out freezing but in the end it was lovely and we really enjoyed the water. Even at night you can see the bottom if the sea.

Croatian control catastrophe

Today we walked around sarajevo in the daylight (and pouring rain) and had a bit of a spending spree, its hard with things are so cheap not to buy everything! I managed to keep purchases down to a new keyring for jerry and a couple of pillow cases made from cotton and silk. So spoilt!

We then went to mostar to join the german tourists in admiring a bridge built around the 15th century but rebuilt in the last decade, so really how old it is I'm not sure! It started pouring with train so we packed up our bags and headed off to see the source of the buna river that runs through bosnia. It was very pretty but still raining so we started chasing the sun and found it back in croatia!

Yay, another border! This time we were asked to open the van so it could be inspected, they asked if we were carrying any weapons over the border then asked if we had any drugs! Well they barely searched the van but instead flirted with ana! Grr I'm beginning to hate officials in all capacities!

however the border experienced was completely recovered by the beauty that is croatia. Its a country built on tourism and that shows! Tonight we've found a big empty parking lot with a view of the sea and moon and we're camping out here. Tomorrow we hope for great weather again! weather man o be kind!

Bosnian border beasts

I'm now into the second day of my baltic tour and its had some ups and downs! We left slovenia yesterday for sarajevo in bosnia. Its a long, 7 hour drive through croatia and into bosnia.

Of all my traveling experiences I'm beginning to hate border patrol the most! It was no problem leaving slovenia our getting into croatia but as soon as we hit bosnia all the trouble started! We were held up at the border for not having the insurance green card with me and forced to pay a ridiculous amount of money for 3 days of insurance. You may not enter without buying this crazy insurance, be wanted people going to bosnia! Its also dreadful because it immediately makes you wonder what they expect to happen to your car while you're in their country! Then while I was waiting for my friend to arrive back from passport control a obviously bored border controller came over and demanded I open the van for him to search and proceeded to point to my bicycle and ask me what it was... Naturally I looked at him like he was an idiot and told him it was a bike. Thankfully ana came back at that point and chat to him probably saving a lot of drama and annoyance. When traveling in the balkans, take a slovenian with you, they're great! And they definitely compensate for your lack of speaking any other language but english!

We arrived under the cover of darkness safely to sarajevo and negotiated the roads (sometimes the same road many times over) until we found ana's friends house. After that things were smooth sailing. We had a lovely meal of burek which is a bosnian pie cooked in a black pan under coals. We followed that with a few beers and a really good night sleep!

Being a camp counsellor

For the last few weeks I've been working as a programme coordinator at camp and focussing on all the paperwork and making sure that everything runs smoothly. This week I have been given a break and I'm working as a camp counsellor again! Its amazing what a difference it makes working in a position of power and responsibility and then going on to a position where you have the least amount of work to do and the least amount of responsibility, life suddenly looks rosy and sparkly again. As the saying goes, a change is as good as a holiday!! I feel like I'm on holiday right now and really just have a week to enjoy hanging out with 12 9 year olds who just want to have fun and enjoy being in the mountains.

These are my reasons to become a camp counsellor, if any of you out there are considering a slack off career for a few months.
1. you get to hang out with kids and show them how to have fun
2. you get paid to do that
3. being around children who find joy in the smallest things helps put life in perspective. There is still delight in slugs and worms!
4. you get to experience the joy of teaching children the fun and important things in life, like building a fire and surviving the mountain monsters
5. children still have imaginations, so we can have them too, without being considered weird
6. if you wake up and decide to wear your underwear on the outside of your clothes, no one will even think that is odd, its camp
7. no group of people drink as well as camp counsellors (unless maybe ski instructors...)

I have one more week of being a grown up kid before I go on holiday and am forced to mingle with the regular people who have no idea why most of my wardrobe is multicoloured and absolutely none of it matches! But its ok, its only a few months then I can join the best real world again!

Camp life

So I'm back at camp, my posts are less frequent and probably a lot shorter because of this. It just means that I'm having a great time playing around with kids! This last week I've had to climb around in trees with some 13 year olds, making sure they are having a good time! I think I can manage that!

We had our staff orientation last week which involved all of us going on a beautiful hike together and enjoying the warm sunshine that Switzerland (sometimes) has to offer. Next week I'll be dealing with a group of 20 14 year olds going on a 3 day expedition! Bring it on! Hiking and camping at a lake, what could go wrong? I have to tempt fate, its in my nature. I have taken a slight step up in the world and will actually be leading this group of kids so all their problems become my problems. Putting it out into the universe that I'd really appreciate no problems!

Much to my delight I've also been asked to lead another group that arrives the following week! How I'm meant to organise that while up in the mountains is a bit of a mystery to me but never fear, I will conquer this challenge too!

I leave you with a picture of my job...

Annecy adoration

Today I had the great fortune of visiting three french town of annecy. I mainly ended up there cos I needed to be out the house for a day and with a lack of better things to do, decided a short trip to france, where fuel is cheaper, is obviously the best option.

I'm extremely glad I could come up with nothing else to do because I've now found a dream holiday destination a mere hour and a half away by car (faster, but more expensive on the toll roads).

Although I went in the height of summer the crowds of people were not enough to spoil the charm of this town. In fact they added to it. The lake of annecy was a hub of activity with people paddle boarding, sailing, paddle boating and swimming. It really looked like a scene off a summer time post card. And here I thought all of those were posed! One of the advantages of working during high season its that you get holidays while everyone else is working and all great places seem private holiday resorts. However in this case annecy felt alive with tourists and its one of the few times I've been to france and met friendly french! it might be that I'm understanding the language a bit better so I know what people are saying to me, instead of being the ignorant english. And after cycling through annecy I understand why the french get so annoyed with the english.

If someone were to stop in the middle of the cycle path without warning (and that person was not under the age of 10) it is guaranteed that the next thing out of their mouth will be in english and the next thing out of everyone else's mouth will be putain! Why do the english insist on arriving on holiday and then proceeding to be absolutely obnoxious. They're not generally obnoxious in england so what changes as they cross the channel?

I'm getting distracted, this post is about annecy. Not only does annecy have an incredibly clear blue lake as its main attraction but its also at the foothills of the alps making climbing and hiking definite musts. I have not done either there so cannot give first hand experience but c' mon, its the alps and they never disappoint!

There is so much to rave about and share but I'm just going to whet your appetite and leave you with the photos! Enjoy.

Being productive

Today was very productive and surprisingly cheap. I built a new drawer for jerry and it went very well so I'm off to but more materials tomorrow to continue my productive-ness. This is the first bit of diy I've done on my van and its a great feeling of accomplishment! I also learned how to make cord from nettle stems, rather simple but very useful to learn. More details of both to follow tomorrow!

Sedentary lifestyles 06/08/2013

I've been back in civilisation for the last few days and its been very uneventful. Its always nice visiting family again and eating good food but I find myself yearning for the road again. I'm gonna have to start syphoning gas from cars to afford all my travel desires! I should google that, I do feel like some cars don't have locked petrol tanks and if I borrow a little from everyone then no harm done... Of course I'd have to buy a jerry can! At the moment I'm enjoying being next to the lake in nyon on a perfect summer day! And its lovely watching so many people all here enjoying the sunshine too! Lovers, families, pensioners, house wives, business folk and even the unemployed who drunk beer while everyone else drinks water and teas! Wouldn't my mom be proud! Haha! The beach here is very nice, there is a grassy area that backs onto the lake and there are trees too which makes it easy to spend the day here. There is also this old man here who looks like he's here every day, he lies on a deck chair in a speedo that looks too small for him, then winds it up so it pulls up his butt to give him the least amount of covered area as is possible. There is much that I can handle, each to their own, but those extra few inches of tanned skin would look so much better white if it spared the world the sight of that tightly pulled speedo.

My final italian mountain pass 04/08/2013

Today was pretty uneventful, mostly driving but I did manage to find a place to swim! I'm sleeping next to a dam tonight with a few other campers in an open lot which seems to have been procured by free sleepers. I am finally clean after being able to swim! There was a crazy storm about 30 minutes ago which has now cleared to a lovely sunset, my last sunset on the road for a while. Now that I'm heading back to society I'm a bit sad. Life on the road can be lonely but its beautiful and full of surprises. You never know where you're gonna end up!

Free time! 03/08/2013

Its now evening and my quiet little spot has now 3 campers in it which makes me feel a little safer but thankful for my peaceful quiet night last night. My hair has been getting to me being so dirty so today I spread dish soap (the only soap I have) through my hair and then poured my water bottle over it to rinse it out. My hair looks so much better now and doesn't stick up any more when I run my fingers through it! I hiked up the other side of this mornings peak, also just over 3000m but didn't meet any lovely italian men with spiked coffee. I did have a lovely nap in the sun though

Grappa coffee anyone? 02/08/2013

I'm sitting at a beautiful view point, at just over 3000m which I hiked up with a crazy italian man who only speaks italian and who I couldn't understand at all! Then when we got to the top he gave me grappa spiked coffee and told me a whole lot of other things in italian that I couldn't understand. What a great country!

The best things in life are free 01/08/2013

Its amazing to me that right now I'm lying in my van looking out over an incredible view, I'm almost the only person on the mountain and this is all free! I had the most hair raising trip up here along extremely narrow roads, in my van but it was completely worth it! I wish everyone could see and appreciate this. There would be a lot more happy people in the world if this was the case. Wow! So beautiful out here!

Go jerry go! 01/08/2013

Today has been a good day so far, had to coast most of the way down a mountain pass for fear of running out of gas, found out my gps is not good at finding petrol stations but that's ok cos I found one myself, and someone filled up my tank for me! I didn't need to do it! How odd and so uneuropean! I then drank far too much coffee at a cafe while listening to old italian men yelling at each other. I know far too little italian to appreciate their arguments beyond the stereotypical jokes. I'm now sitting at 2030m having lunch while looking over the dolomites and listening to cow bells, a slight contrast to loud italians! Jerry did an amazing job getting up here, I had to do most the hills in 3rd gear and jerry almost overheated from exertion but here we are! By the way, loving the new giant mattress I've put in jerry, takes up more space but makes for a great night's sleep!

Via ferrata heaven 1/08/2013

 

Second night in the parking lot of the gondola and a new set of neighbours :) I'm sitting on the top of my van enjoying a cold one after a great day out! Managed to find a via ferrata today, after almost giving up hope and climbed it to the top of a mountain, it was brilliant! Met a few people along the way I could chat to so it hasn't been as lonely as I thought it might. The via ferrata was incredible, it wasn't very demanding and for most of it I climbed up the rock without using the cable :) there was a slow group in front of me but that was ok, the attitude really got to me more than I thought it would and I felt myself having to take a lot of breaks. Right now I'm trying to decide what to do tomorrow, should I spend another night here which I'm loving but my legs are in so much pain, I think I've pulled a muscle so hiking is really a no no and I asked at the tourist office and apparently you're not allowed swimming in any of the lakes here, I guess its cos its a unesco heritage site. That is nice though cos I've been drinking the water on the mountain. If I leave I can't be sure of finding another place as amazing as this is. There is so much to do here and its so beautiful! I'm also running low on gas and its so expensive in italy. Its even more expensive than switzerland. I'm not really sure why italy is such an expensive country! Its so poor, how do the people survive with these crazy prices? So basically I'm low on has and don't know what to do tomorrow.

Nestled in the mountains 31/07/2013

So it seems that parking lots at gondolas are fair game for overnight camping, there are loads of campers here but whether they stay the night is another thing. Ended up on a very interesting hike today through the old battle tunnels the italians used during ww1. Very interesting but no luck finding the via ferrata, that's tomorrows plan. The mountains here are incredible! I'm enjoying looking at them for the mere cost of €4.50 cos that's what a beer costs here! Heart failure! No drinking for me if that's what a beer costs!

Campsites :( 29/07/2013

I cheated tonight, I went into a campsite, but I remember why I like wild camping so much, its partly cos its free but also cos you have the place to yourself, its secluded and the other people there are all like minded. So tomorrow night will be back to wild camping

Austrian peace 29/07/2013

What an interesting time I've had so far! Last night I tried to get up to a lake to sleep but it seems that the flooding recently washed some of the road away so I stopped where the road stopped, right next to a river surrounded by forest! I'm very proud of jerry for driving so well on those dirt roads. I fell asleep to the sound of a river rushing by and was asleep the instant my head hit the pillow! About 2 hours later I woke up in a panic wondering where all the kids were! I really felt like there should be kids with me and I started panicking about having lost them. I thought I'd fallen also inside and they were forced to sleep outside so I turned on the van lights and started calling for them to come back! It took me around 5 minutes to calm down and realise there were no kids and I was on holiday! Omg! After that I slept so well, until 10!! When some hikers walking passed woke me up. No one disturbed me and it was a cloudy cool day so sleeping in went well! Today I bought a gps for my travels and a new mattress and pillow for my bed in my van! Good night sleep for me tonight. I'm on my way to italy to the dolomites but following the gps got to a point where it told me to get on the ferry! I'm now taking a train across somewhere with my van in front of me! Hopefully I find a good place to sleep tonight! I'm still tired!

Do we ever arrive?

I've made it to santiago and thankfully left the masses of people behind! I have found that walking the camino has made me more sensitive to the world around me and the people around me. The emotions I was surrounded by in santiago were just a crazy rollercoaster and I'm relieved to be out of that environment so I can process how I feel, right now I feel so happy and proud of myself! I am a lot closet to being the person I want to be, a lot close to feeling secure and happy. This camino has made me realise that its the genuine people that others grow attached to, that I'm actual fact the more you are yourself the more people can feel connected to you. I also learnt an important lesson about not being selfish. I have never seen myself as a selfish person bit seeing the kindness and generosity of people has made me realise that its so easy to make someone happy by doing something kind and it'll barely cost you a thing. My mission today its to buy beers and hand then to pilgrims as they pass into finisterre to say well done :) mostly this idea came from wanting to give a friend of mine who is arriving today a beer. Why not give everyone a beer then? I need to give back to others what I've been given.

Now that I've reached this place of happiness within myself I how that I can continue it to the ready of my life and not forget the lessons I've learned. The hardest party is yet to come, to make people as content as I am, instead of being brought down again to the mundane of real life. I would like to inspire people to be better. That's the real journey!

What are your highlights?

Its been a while since I've posted because I've been walking the camino de santiago and well typing blog posts on a phone is rather tiresome to me. I'm very spoilt when it comes to having a keyboard!

However tonight warrants a post because I was asked by a friend the highlights of my camino. That's a very tough question to answer. After walking for 3.5 weeks, about 25km a day remembering specific highlights can be difficult. Days blur into each other, events pass as epochs rather than moments and time distorts as you travel so far, but go no where. So when I was asked about my best moments I really had to think about how to answer that and the answer that overcame all other stories of friendship and kindness was that of personal growth.

I spent two very tough days in immense pain after changing boots for sandals and enduring the painful blisters that come from soft feet being told to toughen up. These two days meant that every step I took overwhelmed my brain with flashes of pain and agony and every movement became a test of will power to continue onwards.

At the start of my third day, when the blisters continued to plague me I mentally decided that enough was enough. I know I'm a tough person and I needed to prove that to myself. I needed to overcome that pain and walk as I had intended, as a strong, fit, young person. So, for the last time I let pain dictate my progress and as I walked I demanded the impossible of myself. I demanded myself to no longer feel pain, I commanded myself to ignore all signals and continue on. I willed myself to become master of my own pain and as I walked alone I screamed internally 'you are the master of your own pain, you are THE MASTER of your PAIN!' And the more I told myself this the more I believed it. After a few minutes my pain diminished as I convinced my brain to ignore it and I felt my spirits lift and walking became a joy again. About 100m later my pace had doubled and I felt alive again. This was a moment of complete and utter self development. I demanded more of myself, reached for it and took it. It was a changing point for me in the camino as I discovered that I really can be as strong as I want to be and nothing need hold me back, even within my strongest enemy I can find my strongest ally. I'm not at all saying that the ready of the walk was a pain free experience, quite the opposite there were definitely more testing moments to come but a weight had been lifted, I knew I could do it and the strength I thought was there came through when I needed it the most. We all have personal trials that we need to deal with, and we all deal with them differently but we should feel pride when we come out on top and find that inner strength we didn't know we had.

And so it begins!

I'm into day 4 of the camino now and my body is starting to realise that walking that distance is not an easy task! Day one went very well, we passed over the pyrenees to end the day in a monastery which slept around 100 people in one large room! This place had a great atmosphere with loads of people feeling excited and anxious about the ready if the trip! That night we are the pilgrims menu which was a delicious 3 course meal then all curled up into bed by around 21:30! You'd think when you go top bed so early it would be ready to wake up early, this is not the case! We were woken up around 6:30 to the sound of a recorder followed by a walking guitar player who had an affinity for the beatles! What a lovely way to wake up, even if out was so early! The guitar playing continued on until we left the building with some simon and garfunkel and bob dylan following the beatles! That got the second day off to a roaring start!

The second day was a lot easier then having to across a mountain pass! We also joined up with another girl so there were 3 of us walking together along the path together. We had a great time chatting and getting to know each other. We stopped in Larrasoaña where we had a beet outside the cafe and welcomed other pilgrims to the town. The hostel was not the best, the bathrooms leave much to be desired but there was a lovely atmosphere with everyone together!

day 3 was an interesting day, we decided to go a bit farther than most people and stop 6 km from where everyone else was due to stop. That was a great idea until we arrived at our stop, only to discover that the hostel we were planning on stopping at is closed this year! That meant we had another 6 km to go before the next hostel! It also started raining at this point! However at the end of the gill we had to climb the sun came out and we had beautiful warm sunshine for the remaining hours we had to walk! However we were definitely beat by the time we arrived! A great high of that say was we got to ring a church bell at the to of the steeple! Don't think many people have done that!

After our dramatic and exhausting day yesterday we took it easy today and enjoyed the countryside and the lovely views offered from out strenuous climbing and enjoyed looking at all the wild flowers growing along the way. We have arrived early at the hostel so we have time to relax, unwind, have a beer and then get cooking! We're also lucky that we managed to get a room to ourselves there so no snoring!

Starting a new adventure!

I'm on a train to st jean pied de port, which means st john at the foot of the pass. This is a very small town on the french/spanish border but it has a huge importance. It is the popular starting point for the french route of the camino de santiago, a pilgrimage that starts from many points across europe and ends on the west of spain in santiago de compostela. This is what I will be doing for the next month. My plans are to walk the 780 km from st jean pied de port to santiago and see what happens. Many people say its a life altering experience, I'm not really hoping for that much but I guess a bit of inner calm would be nice, to be able to step away from the materialism and narrowmindedness that I'm surrounded by all the time. It would be nice to remember what is important in life rather than being drawn into what advertisers think is important for life. The camino is supposed yup be different for each person that walks it. I'm looking forward to seeing what the camino holds for me

Sketchy electrics

Now that I have my van its time to start thinking about improvements! As I am currently completely broke (I bought a van.. tends to deplete funds rather drastically!) I am focusing on fixing the stuff already in the van. This starts with the extremely interesting electrical system that the previous owner has left me with. Wow! What am impressive maze of cables, switches and joins! I'm surprised the car hasn't caught fire yet! I must admit I'm a little fearful of delving deeper into this wire nest he has created. For the most part my knowledge of electricity is knowing to turn off the light switch before changing a light bulb... And I feel that even that rule can be occasionally broken. The encouraging thing is that I can only be shocked by a 12V car battery. That doesn't pack much of a punch does it? Oh, I should probably Google that to make sure... I haven't yet attempted touching the electrics as yet, I'm blaming the cold miserable weather for not wanting to hang out in the back of my van playing with wires. I know this is merely an excuse to hide my terror in facing those wires. I think I'd rather thoroughly scrub the car clean than trace a dodgy wire along the van's body to see where and how its connected!

Second hand cars huh?

What happens when you buy a used car? Drama of course! I was finally able to pick up my van from my friend’s house where I had to leave it until I got it registered and bought the number plates and insurance. Having sorted all of this out I gleefully took a 3 hour train ride to his house to collect the van. After a 1.5km walk from the train station once again set eyes on my new van, its shiny green exterior calling to me! I unlocked the car excited beyond belief to finally be bringing it home with me. I inserted the key into the ignition and turned, nothing happened. There was a slight rumbling in the engine but nothing I had ever heard before (and I’m from South Africa, I’ve heard loads of cars try and fail to start!). That worried me. Usually when it’s the battery the car engine tries to turn over but doesn’t have the power to do so, similar story with there’s no gas. My car sounded like a washing machine during the wash cycle. No lie, no exaggeration! What to do then? Curl up into a ball of dismay that all my dreams of cross country travel have been shattered by the simple turning of the key in an ignition? Well obviously that wouldn’t solve anything so I sent a few messages to friends in Switzerland who know nothing about cars so naturally they couldn’t help. This followed a long distance call to a friend in South Africa who knows loads about cars but this didn’t help either as he had no idea what the sound was and being 10 000 km away couldn’t very well take a look in the engine!

There was nothing left to do but call road side assistance. If you ever need roadside assistance in Switzerland on a Sunday you will suddenly realise… K-ching! There goes all the money I saved bargaining down the price of the car! And that money was just for him to come to the car. First thing he does is check the battery, signs indicate “weak”…that’s never good. So he attaches this gizmo to the battery and wham, car starts! Well if I’d known it would be that simple I’d just carry my own gizmo around!

So once the car was started it could not be stopped. I had a bit of a hairy moment when I had to fill up with gas but it seems that the battery had enough juice to keep going, thankfully! Then without a single problem my van drove me the 200km home. But now not only do I have no money for the rest of the month, but I can’t afford a new battery until next month. I guess that means focussing on making the inside of the van absolutely awesome!

The next big adventure

After a few months of working a terrible yet pretty well paid job in the Swiss Alps I have now been able to afford a VW T4 van! Sure its no dream car, it has its flaws and is going on 20, but its still younger than me (and I'm going strong!) and most importantly its all mine! There's an incredible sense of achievement when you buy your first car. Its not the first car I've owned, but it is the first car I've bought and I'm very proud! The van started its life as a construction vehicle (poor thing) and was then bought by a windsurfer who needed the space to transport all his things. While he owned it he inserted a rather hideous yellow but none the less functional bed frame and drawers! The colour can be fixed!!! I now have a new project, to turn this van into my dream van! It has the potential and the spirit (I mean what car having gone from a builders van to a hippys home would not be excited about the change!?) and I have the time now to convert it. I need to admit I know nothing about converting a van to a campervan but I have brains and some patience and very little money.. this can be achieved! And it shall all be documented stage by stage on my blog... now where to start? Tie dying some curtains I think!

No memories of pain!

Why do we do sports that cause us so much pain? For the third time this season I find myself miserable and on pain killers hoping to relieve the irritation of another skiing accident. And yet the idea of stopping skiing hasn’t even crossed my mind, well until I started writing this it hadn’t and even so I pondered more why that thought had not yet crossed my mind more then I pondered actually giving up skiing!  I thought that it might be the feeling of fresh powdery snow blasting me in the face as I manoeuvred through a foot of snow, the thrill of jumping off a cliff that would normally break someone’s legs, the camaraderie of chatting with friends about an epic run or perhaps the lifestyle of being a lover of mountains. All of these things make skiing (or snowboarding for that matter) an absolute addiction for those of us dedicated to mountain winters. But why do we endure the pain that so often does come with this great sport? What makes the pain of injury worth that great powder day? This is not something I can fully answer myself. I have my own reasons for going back day after day. Importantly because I feel that each day only gets better than the previous and if I have injured myself, it means next time I venture out onto the slopes I’ll be a better skier and I’ll be able to face that narrow couloir without side-slipping down the steep parts, I’ll be able to dominate the moguls and cruise through the trees without stopping.

Each day on the mountain brings me closer to my goals; closer to knowing the mountains, closer to nature and closer to myself. When faced with a steep tree run, nothing is important but you, the mountain and survival, hopefully with an element of fun. Life is put into perspective. Sure you might end up with a bloody nose, a twisted back, a pole in your shin but it will be worth it when you remember the pillow you bounced through, the face shots from knee deep snow or even just the fun you had helping a friend learn to ski. Pain is temporary, sure it hurts while its healing but once its healed it difficult to remember the level of pain, to bring back those horrible memories of being stuck in bed and barely able to move. However it’s never difficult to bring back the feeling of elation from hitting that jump and landing it, the memory of snow washing over your face as you make those perfect lines down untouched snow. So I guess that’s what makes skiing worth all the pain. Pain is temporary, memories last a lifetime!

The boss from hell

I’m sure many people complain about their bosses, it’s normal to dislike a person that insists on spending their days telling you what to do and how to do it. Sounds rather feudal and old-fashioned, doesn’t it. This is especially so when your boss ends up in a position of authority not because he’s good at it, but because he’s the oldest employee in the company and they had to do something with him. He rose through the ranks not on skill but on persistence and loyalty to the company. Not great leadership traits for sure! If this sounds like your boss then you are well on your way to empathising with me in the misery I face every day in dealing with my boss. Now add to this man an excessive drinking problem and you will get a pretty good idea of who I am working with. (That sentence is full of grammatical errors, but I like it as it is, so it stays).

He is a man that causes stress and havoc with his every movement. If someone sees him arrive in the building the word is passed through the hotel so that everyone is aware and can go into hiding as he passes through. God forbid you are within his sights when he walks around, something, somewhere within a few metres will be desperately wrong and entail a degrading and demeaning lecture where you are invariably called stupid or childish.

It’s not all bad, I have found that having a dreadful boss brings staff closer together. When there is a common enemy differences are overcome between staff and everyone will stick together, will cover for each other and in general gang up on the boss in a mutual group of loathing. Tight friendships are formed that might never have occurred if you didn’t need someone to whisper to about the latest awful thing the boss said. Comfort and empathy are not far away as everyone has felt his wrath, his passive aggressive statements and his demeaning speeches. I will take the good from this experience and ignore the bully that is my boss, it is after all only one season and in 2.5 months I will be on my way to the beaches in Spain and he will still be the miserable and unhappy man he is now.