iTravelabout

Freeride mourning

2014-01-23T15:03:00.001+00:00

The classic 1998 Airwalk Freerides have finally gotta go after causing harm on a daily basis this week, all because last season I didn't dry the liner out properly so they have a immovable wrinkle :( such a sad way to end your life after so many years.. I am sad to see them go but the antiques are not worth actual blood.. So, out with the old and in with the new.. burton imperials! Which leads me

Chamonix hospital

2014-01-15T21:49:00.001+00:00

Not amused.. I appreciate that when one visits another country you should make every effort to learn a little of the language, but unless you are fluent this would never be of assistance in an unusual situation such as serious illness & hospital visits.. So, here we are sat in the waiting room of the Mont Blanc hospital where so far we have been treated well but with no explanations as to what's

North Face boot explosion

2014-01-13T18:08:00.001+00:00

Really? North Face I have lost my confidence in you.. I have now sent them a message.. Lets see how they respond?! This happened Day 1 - Chamonix town centre.. Not exactly doing anything hard core.. From a cold footed me- Posted whilst on the roadLocation:Chamonix

Wrapping paper

2014-01-13T18:03:00.001+00:00

Did anyone want help opening their birthday presents?- Posted whilst on the roadLocation:Chamonix

Canine adVANture part 3

2014-01-11T11:52:00.001+00:00

So.. The last you heard was setting up ripley for bed.. Well, at 11,12,1am and for almost every hour after that you may think its amusing but we saw this:We on the other hand did not find it so amusing, first time maybe but not so much afterwards, so currently writing, knackered probably having achieved about 3 hours sleep between us with another 400miles to go in the full knowledge that ripley

Canine adVANture part 2b

2014-01-10T20:45:00.001+00:00

Luxury camping for us tonight... Lorry motorway side rest area!! Our view..But we're pretty isolated in our spotJust trying to make a lovely bed for Ripley.. He teased us by getting straight in & looked like he loved it..but now its quite late, we've been up forever & just done 498miles & this is what we have in store for us this evening.. I reckon getting some decent sleep might be a miracle but

Canine adVANture part 2

2014-01-10T12:24:00.001+00:00

Well we have made it to the eurotunnel, not with ease I might add.. 7am departure, 1 dog poo stop, 3 dog puke clean up stops, make it for the right check in time with 10mins to spare, utilise the dog parking..And exercise area.. Very well thought out with fresh water, poo bags & bins, agility course etcFollowed the signs from the car park when it said proceed next to our letter 'D' through the

The great canine adVANture to Chamonix - Part 1, preparations

2014-01-08T16:30:00.000+00:00

Preparations.. Who knew there was so much to do to prepare for an overseas skiing trip with a dog..specifically, Ripley (golden retriever), currently aged 7 months and a little bit of a monkey (as you can see from the pic.. (FYI we are PARKED & no he does not travel in the front). When your dog has been chronically car-sick from day one, what better holiday to arrange than one which

The great adVANture - part deux

2012-06-14T20:03:00.001+01:00

Tuesday 12th JuneRoute: Voss - Myrdal - FlamActivity: Flam scenic train - 520NKWednesday 13th JuneRoute: Voss - Hardanger National park - Veringsfossen waterfall - Latefossen waterfall - Nesvik - (ferry) HjelmelandFerry: Nesvik - Hjelmeland 89NKMileage: 182.4Campsite: Wild camping, Hjelmeland Activity: Hardangervidda NatursenterThursday 14th JuneRoute: Hjelmeland - Preikestolen (Jorpeland)Mileage

The great adVANture

2012-06-12T20:30:00.001+01:00

2 VWs road trip round Scandinavia..Monday 28th MayEurotunnel 07:50Drive: Calais, France - Bremen, GermanyMileage: 395milesCampsite: Camping am Stadwaldsee - 12 eurosTuesday 29th MayRoute: Bremen, Germany - Hoor, Sweden (via Copenhagen)Ferry: Puttgarden - Rodby - 79 eurosMileage: 333.7 milesCampsite: Grottbyn, Sweden - 250SKWednesday 30th MayRoute: Hoor - Molle - Kulla Peninsula - Gothenburg,

Pinguinos of Tierra del fuego

2011-02-04T12:31:00.003+00:00

3/2/2011 Ok ok, so this time I am LITERALLY writing this from the road.. We are currently being bumped around in the back of a mini-bus rumbling along dirt tracks back from estancia harberton With a faint smell of penguin guano wafting up from my trainers and the stains on the knees of my trousers (bright green FYI having knelt in it, yum) Up early this morning for a 7:30am departure from

Easter island - the information that's not in the guide books

2011-01-30T22:06:00.001+00:00

Easter Island – the information that’s not in the guide books..Not to be missed:-Hanga Roa waterfront - Head to Pea restaurant, grab a cold drink or lunch out on the terrace – make the most of the shade, cool sea breeze whilst watching the locals surf and don’t forget to look out for the turtles swimming just below the terrace.Tongariki for sunrise– don’t be put off by the weather, it’s

Caught in a rip

2011-01-30T00:47:00.006+00:00

27/1/11 Sitting at pea resturant having lunch overlooking the water, watching the locals surfing.. Jo chomping on her new favourite ceviche, whilst I have sashimi fresh from their morning catch... We spot 3 turtles swimming just below the terrace.. That's it, forget all our afternoon plans (it's just too humid to be walking anywhere) we decide to rent snorkels and go in to see the turtles up

Wild night

2011-01-30T00:47:00.004+00:00

26/1/11 Thud, thud, BAM.. What? What the hell was that? Jo & I are now wide awake, check the clock, it's 3:15am.. Clip clop clip clop.. I'm frozen to the bed.. Jo climbs out and peers through the curtain.. There's a horses bottom right outside the sliding door on our balcony.. She runs back to bed.. Is it the horse that attacked our car yesterday morning? Its the same colour, looks the same..

Diving disaster

2011-01-30T00:46:00.002+00:00

26/1/11 Once again you are probably starting to see a theme in our travels? The ultimate dream for Jo, diving at Easter island! We book her in at Orca dive centre (if you know Jo then you will also know that Orcas are her fav so it seemed like fate..). Made sure we left early from the hotel to have a nice stroll down to the harbour, me being fairly ignorant about diving asking lots of questions

Horse attack

2011-01-30T00:45:00.002+00:00

25/1/11 With excitement we got up at 6am ready to take the dark drive to Tongariki, The most famous collection of Moai on the island to watch the sunrise.. We were warned to take the road slowly due to large amounts of wild cows and horses (a bit like the new forest) that roam freely around Easter island. So we made sure we left plenty of time to cruise over there. After taking a wrong turn (this

Our Santiago observations

2011-01-23T13:27:00.002+00:00

- 20 raw chickens for sale in a grannies style wheely basket, no ice, no wrapping- very tempting purchase - totally unsubtle pointing, staring & laughing at jos feet by EVERYONE (she admittedly is wearing five fingers shoes but still..) - beautiful green spaces & fountains at every turn - massive fish market with the most incredible assortment, but again no ice, no chilled areas, no

Tango airship

2011-01-21T23:18:00.002+00:00

On a normal day when you come across some kind of food or drink promotion, people are handing out treats on the street or in the supermarket unusually rather than taking a wide berth it's actually quite exciting and suddenly you find yourself completely changing your route just so you 'happen' to be passing by that person who's handing out the little chocolate tasters or starbucks samples.. Well

Abu Dhabi Style

2010-12-29T18:34:00.001+00:00

You would so be laughing at me.. I really don't know why i always get caught in these situations when i travel...? I arrived at Abu Dhabi after sitting next to a guy on the plane who spent the entire journey hocking up greeners, spitting them into his hand, looking at them, then eating them again... I am NOT kidding, it was rancid... however loudly i turned up my ipod it was a tone that just

Readjusting to UK life

2010-12-23T15:36:00.000+00:00

Having trouble readjusting to life back at home now that the travelling is over? Here are a few handy hints to help you settle back in: 1) Replace your bed with two or more bunk beds, and every night invite random people to sleep in your bedroom with you. Ensure at least once a week a couple gets drunk and shags on one of the top bunks. Remove beds one by one as symptoms

Ecuador - Part 3

2010-12-23T15:34:00.002+00:00

On reflection it’s pretty obvious that perhaps you should ask for details of what a tour involves before signing up based purely on the name ´Volcan Sierra Negra´for those of you that know Jo you will also know that one of her obsession is Volcanoes so obviously this tour was a MUST. Have a read of a guidebook and it will tell you of the phenomenal views and incredible landscape of the 2nd

Ecuador - Part 2

2010-12-23T15:33:00.005+00:00

As we sat airside in our flying mobile we thought we had entered the red bull flying challenge unawares... picture this, you get put into the smallest plane in the world (did you know that there is more room in a 2-seater helicopter?) and a little Ecuadorean man in his orange jump suit appears to give the propellers a tug, not that it seemed to help much but after another 2 guys joined him (I

Ecuadaor - Part 1

2010-12-23T15:33:00.004+00:00

Well, well... would you expect anything less from the 2 of us....? We will make this brief as we are currently stood sweating in Baltra airport waiting for our next flight... been up since 5am and I for one am pretty smelly. (obviously my wife smells like a rose...) Just wanted to make a few statements which will probably give you a rough low-down of where we are at- - Near death by palm tree

Luck strikes again in the USA

2010-12-23T15:31:00.001+00:00

Las Vegas...4hr drive back to LA easy enough? Seen the forecast on TV, a run of 4 storms in or heading towards LA, we are from England a bit of wind and rain doesn't phase us, it's like our birth right to be in weather like that. We fly back home on Sunday so can't hang out in LV until it clears, plus have motels booked and paid for in LA so don't want to waste that.. You know what we are glad we

Repulsive flight from UK to LA

2010-12-23T15:30:00.002+00:00

You know us, nothing is ever completely smooth running... The question is do you really want to hear about it? For the first time we were superbly organised in our preparations for our annual excitement, for some unknown reason we were put through our paces before our departure with a mixture of flat car batteries, family members locking themselves out of their homes and a late night trip to a&