Our Island Home

...The saddle of the mountains, that is... It turns out that the middle of this island, an island which has a diameter of around 50 ks (tiiiiiiny), is a beautiful oasis of peaceful rugged mountains and hiking trails! It is so refreshing to know that there is somewhere other than the crowded, ugly-building-crammed southern beaches to escape to. Artenara Brad and I set off on the local bus for the highest town on Gran Canaria, Artenara, which is 1270m above sea level. The bus ride was an adventure all on its own, much like our experiences in Bolivia, except this time with the luxury of asphalt roads and safety barriers! View of the ocean from Artenara We stayed in the most amazing Cave Hostel up in Artenara, which was literally situated IN the side of a hill, with hiking trails at its doorstep. The indigenous people of the island were said to live in caves in the area and there are old cave paintings scattered along the walking trails. Every morning when we wo...

What about the island, you say? The island is interesting. It is different from one end to the other, inside and out. There is the good, the bad and the ugly, as with anywhere. The temperature has been between 19 - 21 degrees everyday in the city since we have been here. A bit cold for my liking, but pretty good for winter.... I suppose. Or so Brad keeps reminding me.  The beach in the city, Las Canteras, is quite beautiful for a city beach. The city literally meets the beach right at its shores. There are waves, rock pools and (so I've been told) the white sand is completely natural! What more could you ask for? Las Canteras city beach Down south there are some great beaches too and this is where all the tourists flock during European winter. Some are artificial and some with the natural volcanic grey sand. Usually, it is about four degrees warmer down there too, which is probably what I love about it most. Puerto de Mogán has been my favourite beach town ...

It's our one month anniversary in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria! Hip hip hooray! The foreshore near the old city Everything has happened like clock work, which is impressive considering the numerous phone calls I have had to stumble my way through with my limited Spanish. The other day, I was "put on hold" for aaaaages. Fifteen minutes later, I finally realised that I was actually listening to the welcome message playing over and over and OVER. I simply had to press number 1 to be put through to the right person. Live and learn. Live. And. Learn. Moving to a country where you don't speak the language is such a humbling experience, you have to be prepared to look like an absolute idiot most of the time. My miming skills are top notch these days let me tell you. We have found ourselves a great apartment in the very center of the old town. It's a two bedroom/two bathroom "piso" with lots of character, high ceilings, huuuge windows, be...

Since returning from overseas in June, we have battled our way through winter. We hadn't experienced a winter in two years and hadn't work for a year upon our return, so let's just say it has been a looooong six months. Looking for jobs, finding jobs, working jobs, hating jobs, spending all income to compensate for hating jobs, realizing you need money to survive, getting more jobs, quitting jobs and so on and so forth. The discussion of whether or not Brad should take the job in West Africa, fly in fly out from the Canary Islands, went as follows: Brad: "So, I have been offered a job in West Africa on a two year contract. There is an option for me to do fly in fly out from the Canary Islands, so we could live there if we wanted?" Kath: "Where is that? Let me google it...." And this, my friends, is what came up when I entered "Canary Islands" into Google. You should try it, it is quite a joyous experience: ........

So that's it folks! Kath and I are now back in not so sunny Melbourne.  We have started looking for work but it is all very depressing so you should come and see us and buy us a beer (or 3) to make us feel better... Here are some of the typical questions we've had, with the answers below. Feel free to ask us about it as we love talking about our trip (ignore the tears though, we'll probably get sad!) The Final Maps of our entire journey: We can't wait to get back out there!!!

Couldn´t have said it better myself. After 300 plus hours spent on buses in South America, we would like to impart some of our knowledge to you. Below you will find some handy hints and some of the common sleeping positions to make your journey that little bit extra special... You´re welcome. 1. ¨THE MIDNIGHT STRANGLER¨:   So,  you want to drown out that screaming baby or snoring old woman on your overnight bus by listening to your ipod?! BEWARE. You will most likely wake up in the morning with your ipod cord wrapped around your neck, not knowing how it got there.  Yes, you successfully found sleep. But you want to wake up eventually, right?! 2. ¨THE 30 HOURS ON THE SAME BUS¨:   This position should come naturally to most people travelling on those long haul routes through the Andes. The basic principle of this position is a simple overflow of hatred of the bus you have been stuck on for a day and a ha...