Pie de Gigante, Nicaragua

Pie de Gigante - Brochure by Mattias (photos by Mattias and Bernie)
*** click on the brochure above to view a larger image***

I Sat On A Rock

I sat on some rocks. But I would say they were a little bit above average rocks, and few of them somewhat high above the ground. Some would say that these rocks are so incredibly awesome that they should be on postcards, and some people actually DO put photos of these rocks on post cards.

I guess that now you have actually spent the time to read this far into my silly little blog post, maybe I should tell you about my experience sitting (and sometimes standing) on said rocks. My personal favourite rock that I sat on was named Preikestoln after a viking ship that had lead many successfully attacks on other viking villages. A truly devastating ship in its time. Just kidding, it actually has a boring translation which is literally means pulpit rock because it sticks out of the cliff like a pulpit in a church. Not many people hike all the way up to this rock,  just enough that even in the off season you will never be the only one on the rock, and in the summer it is so crowded that people will even line up for a turn standing on the rock.

As I said before, it is my was my favourite rock, mainly because how unlike any other rock in the world, the surface is almost completely square and flat. The views from the rock were also incredible, you could see for miles down the fjord. It even overlooked some incredible mountain farms. Though I can’t say the hike getting to Preikestoln was anything spectacular, It was actually quite a dull hike. The trail was super trashed even though it was rebuilt by Nepalese Sherpas in 2014 and you would see people’s garbage lying around every now and then. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t terrible, lots of the parts of the trail were kind of fun, there were some boardwalks over large marshes and massive bedrock flats near the top. Over all there hiking part could have been better but the actual rock that you get to sit on is truly incredible.

Let Go of Perfect

So now that we are at it again - traveling the world and taking in whatever each day provides, there is finally some time to reflect. It seems strange in a way to talk about reflecting as we are only a month  into our travels so far, but there is a lot that we learned on our last great adventure five years ago that fortunately we don't have to relearn.

Probably the most important lesson is to let go of perfect. Of course, there is a lot of perfect - the perfect sunset, meal, or rich interaction with someone from the other side of the world ... But these moments can't be forced and trying to do so usually results in disappointment, sometimes because we all have different ideas of what perfect is, but usually because the perfect in traveling comes from the unknown and the unexpected. So the best approach to achieve perfect is to not pursue it - just let the magic happen... whenever, whatever and wherever, or perhaps even not at all. We learned that lesson early in our last RTW trip and it served us well then and it continues to serve us well now. Taking away the pursuit of perfection removes the blinders and, surprisingly, allows us to achieve it.

Now there may exist in a guidebook somewhere that 'to achieve perfection in Sweden one must picnic along some out of the way nature reserve and then wander off to meet some relaxing milk cows off in the pasture. Have one member of your group volunteer to say hello and when said cows do not respond, be sure to honour them with a flowing arm dance'. It might say that, but it's doubtful, largely because I doubt anyone else would define the perfect moment in this way (though we all thought it was pretty funny) and the cows had a memorable day (for at least a minute). But you can't manufacture moments like this - how do you teach the cows to stay put? - cows milk production might drop, farmers would get pissed and the odd tourist would likely take it too far and start twerking all across the Swedish countryside. So the guidebooks and travel writers stick to the predicable - "eat here, drive there, lie in hammock, drink this, take pictures at sunset/rise here..." and flocks of tourists and travelers will try to recreate those perfect moments, and most will believe they will have done so (and that's ok too) But for us, we'll rely on good old spontaneity, adventure and letting the perfect moments just happen ... or not.

 - Bernie

Time Flies

Well September is over and we have done a whirlwind tour of places in Europe we have never been before! ( a few exceptions, but mostly new to us all).  We are now further north and continuing to head that way. The days are definitely shorter and it is cold at night. Though we have been lucky to have lots of warm sun during the day and have been able to get in some camping.  Most campgrounds are now closed but if possible we will see what we can squeeze in.

This year is a different year from our last.  The logistics are a bit wild as we ensure we can connect with Mima on her holidays and she gets lots of them (great for us). Because she is 12, most airlines won't allow her on international flights unaccompanied or at all alone.  So we are doing lots of back and forth and going via Cannes to pick her up or drop her off. Good thing Easy Jet has stupid crazy deals on flights! (we found one flight for thirty Euros one way Amsterdam to Nice).

I am looking forward to the next two weeks as we head in to Norway. We will spend most of our time in smaller more rural areas getting in some hiking and outdoor experiences. Then in mid October we will connect with Mima in Amsterdam and slowly work our way back to Cannes with her.

So much to do and see!

I have created a map showing in red where we have been and in blue our tentative October plan.  Hopefully it loads and you can have a look!

First Day of School

So the first day of school has been great, started off as a long sleep in and a relaxing morning with fresh fruit for breakfast.

 We decided to go kick a ball around at a field that we had noticed yesterday when dropping my sister off, we got up there and a local coach started asking me if I wanted to play for his team. In our broken French and his broken English we found out that there is a game tonight at 5pm. I was so exited to play with some locals on a beautiful field. After talking to the manager some more we realized you cant actually just play one game because of insurance. So that sucks. We had fun anyways just goofing around on the field. Lunch time came and we went to a sea side,  delicious greek restaurant.

I quite like my school so far and am looking forward to the rest of the year!!

Take Two

Well here we are - five years later already and on our way.  With minimal  pre-planning this time, we are making our plans as we go.  Stop one: Cannes, France.

We spent all day yesterday moving Mima in to her new digs for the year. She has a lovely location and the school is just completing brand new studios, ready for classes Nov.1.  The staff are friendly and the feel of the place is vibrant.   Exciting and terrifying are the words used by Mima to describe how she is feeling. Everything is very French - imagine!  But knowing she has two years of French Immersion  and some of the girls have no knowledge of the language makes it a little easier. She is not alone. Saying goodbye on Tuesday will be a killer - but we see her again Mid October for a couple of weeks.

The rest of us - and we are lucky to be with my Dad and Jayne, have spent the days checking out the local villages and beaches and cuisine.  Mattias' new past time is checking out super yachts and some pretty amazing cars.  Ferraris are a dime a dozen here. I have to say, not a bad way to start out the year!

We are starting to set some tentative plans for the rest of the year.  We are off to Italy from here and then back to Barcelona to watch a FC Barca game. For the last part of September and to the end of October we will travel through northern Europe.  Probably from there we will head to Africa for a couple of months and then head back to this part of the world - or somewhere nearby to spend Christmas.  TBD!

Stay tuned as we will let you know our plans as we make them!

We miss everyone at home,
take care.....