Seasons Greeting from

Michael & Yvonne Bauche

“If we were meant to stay in one place, we’d have roots instead of feet.”
– Rachel Wolchin

Greetings from Bonogin!

Where the heck is Bonogin, you are probably asking. Bonogin Australia, pronounced boh – knah gen (as near as I can tell), is in the Queensland Hinterlands about a 30-minute drive inland from the Gold Coast and about an hour South of Brisbane. There are probably about 5000 people living in the general area.

We are currently house sitting on just under an acre in a rural setting at the edge of the rainforest or the bush as they call it here.

We are looking after 2 wonderful dogs. Billy (4) who is a goofy yet lovable, sometimes white labradoodle and Sally (11) a gentle giant Great Dane, Staffordshire Terrier cross (with a big bark and an equally loud snore). We also have 15 laying hens to tend to.

The area around us is lush, ancient and dense with life.  The air smells green, earthy and at times quite spicy like cinnamon. At other times it smells like wet dog and chicken coop.

The plant life here is rampant with towering canopy trees, home to Cockatoos, King Parrots, Butcher Birds, Rainbow Lorikeets, and Kookaburras. At night the fruit bats appear by the hundreds, along with a multitude of toads hopping around and the possums also come out for a wander around.

It is usually very quiet in Bonogin -until the flocks of sulphur crested cockatoos let all hell break loose (especially when a possum or a stoat is nest raiding). When the Cockatoos screech, they sound exactly like Pterodactyls (or what we think one would sound like anyways), they are not exactly melodious. There are also the strident squawks of fledgling Butcher birds wanting to be fed, their parents however can be extremely musical. The King Parrots are very brave and will eat out of our hands and the laughing Kookaburras are a bloody riot!

Here is a recording of some Laughing Kookaburras in our back yard – click here for laughs.

We have also seen Wallabies bouncing about and apparently Koalas and Platypus are in the area too, but we have not been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of them yet.

There are spiders, snakes and a multitude of creepy crawlers here (it is Australia after all!) but they mostly keep to their own – except the Carpet Python who decided to hang out in the chicken coop for a while. It was only a wee one – only a meter in length! It was safely removed and we still have all our chickens.

The weather can be gloriously hot and sunny or it can be hot and very steamy. For a few days before Christmas, we had some of the stickiest weather we have experienced anywhere on the planet. Good thing we have a pool to cool off in.

2025 – The Quick and Dirty Summary

After our last two hectic travel years in 2023 and 2024, we did manage to slow down our pace of travel in 2025 as planned, but we still covered a fair bit of ground.

Here is a quick summary of the countries we visited during 2025. [click the links to open up the photo galleries]

 Italy – Campania & Sicily

Malta – both islands Malta & Gozo

Cyprus

Ireland

Canada (home)

Fiji

New Zealand North Island and The South Island

Australia

2025 The Year in Review

Starting off in Rome Italy

We started 2025 in Rome on New Years morning having cappuccinos and cornettos while admiring the Bernini fountains in Piazza Navona. We were in Rome doing a house sit in the Villa Borghese neighborhood, and stayed in an antique filled, three-bedroom apartment in very typical apartment block complete with its own Portiere (doorkeeper) to keep an eye on things. Then it was back to Trevignano Romano on Lake Bracciano, an hour North of Rome to complete our sit which was split between the two locations.

During our time in Italy (besides exploring and walking the dog) we experimented with the classic Roman pasta dishes, Cacio e Pepe, Pasta alla Gricia, Carbonara and Amatriciana. Michael had fun playing with the different combinations of Pecorino Romano, Black Pepper, Guanciale and sometimes tomato and hot chilli peppers – not to mention fabulous fresh pastas.

Malta

On the 10th of January we flew from Rome to Valetta Malta.

Malta is an absolutely fascinating country where the golden stone cities rise from the turquoise, and sometimes churned up Mediterranean Sea. The country has an absolutely amazing history and very warm welcoming people. This somewhat rare combination makes the place feel both ancient and alive at the same time.

After exploring Valletta, we completed two housesits in Mellieħa and San Ġwann on the Island of Malta and then did a third sit in San Lawrenz on the sister Island of Gozo.

Between housesitting assignments, we explored the two islands. Not only does Malta have a interesting recent modern history (post 1500’s), but it also has some of the oldest freestanding structures on Earth dating back to 3500 BC.

For more insights into Malta Michael wrote a piece called “Memorable Malta a Place that Makes You go Hmm” about this fascinating country.

We also have some photo galleries of Malta & Gozo to share as well.

Cyprus

On March 3^rd we flew back to Rome before flying to Pathos Cyprus the next day. This was the second time we have been to Cyprus- the first was back in May 2018.

This time around we had a week in Pathos to chill out and explore before doing three back-to-back to back house sits. The first was in Guirliu, and the second in Pomos.

We also did a repeat sit for a wonderful couple in Tala. We did this sit the last time we were in Cyprus almost seven years previously. Two of the three dogs and three of the four cats were still with us. Brandy is now about fourteen, and Peeps age is unknown as she was adopted. It is fun coming back to a place after this amount of time; some things had changed; others remained the same. The biggest change was seeing how much the pups had aged, but they were still going strong.

We were in Cyprus during Orthodox Easter and got to witness the fireworks (and some roast lamb of course!) By the end of our time in Cyprus, we were ready for a vacation (kidding – well sort of).

2025 Fast Facts 

Flights taken  —> 11

Photos taken —>  8020

Number of different beds slept in  —> 51

Countries visited —> 8

UNESCO World Heritage Sites visited – 11

Housesits —> 12 in total (Italy -1, Malta -3, Cyprus -3, Ireland -1, Canada – 2, New Zealand -1, Australia -1)

Weeks spent housesitting —> 27 (189 days)

We also looked after 15 dogs and 5 cats, as well as 15 laying hens.

Back to Italy

We really enjoy Italy so decided to spend some more time there and after finding very cheap flights from Cyprus to Naples, it was a no brainer. On April 22 we flew to Naples, Italy where we spent a night, before taking the train to Sorento the next day.

We stayed near Napoli Centrale which was buzzing. Naples has a reputation for being a bit scuzzy and it did not disappoint; it is not a place that really attempts to charm you. Naples is rather chaotic, loud, and quite rough around the edges—but it is unmistakably Italian.

We had some very good wood oven pizza for dinner, and because no pineapple was involved no Neapolitans died as a result, we are glad to report.

In the early morning before catching the train to Sorento, we walked around and explored the grand but somewhat worn buildings. Naples is one of the few places we have been in Europe where there was open drug use (almost made me feel like I was back home in Vancouver).

What was interesting was the images of Diego Armando Maradona the Argentine footballer who played for Napoli, the Naples professional club, from 1984 to 1991. Because Maradona helped Napoli win the league championship for the first time ever, he became a religious icon for the Neapolitans. Murals of Maradona are painted on many of the Naples old buildings. There are also images of the bad boy Italian painter – Caravaggio who spent some of the last years of his life in Naples as a fugitive – so the story goes.

From our base in Sorento we did some days trips including a tour of Pompeii and a boat trip to the Amalfi Coast and then went back to Sorento by bus along twisty, windy, sphincter clenching roads. We also spent some time on Ischia Island which was a friend’s recommendation and it was fabulous, very low key and perfect for us.

Sicily

We had been talking about visiting Sicily for a while. Now was the time, even if Mt Etna was busy spilling her guts. We took the overnight ferry from Naples arriving in Palermo at dawn.

While there we explored Palermo as well as the Greek ruins in Agrigento, and chilled out in Castellammare del Golfo for awhile.

We had been told before we went, that Sicily is not really Italy, well it is, but it does have a very different vibe. And no it wasn’t a Mafioso vibe either, we never felt that at all – unlike Tirana, Albania.

Change of Plans

In the house-sitting business you learn to be flexible, because sometimes things go sideways. We were originally going to sit for good friends outside of London.  However, plans and circumstances changed so we headed to Ireland instead, since we already had flights home booked out of Dublin.

We found a last-minute sit in Wexford close to Enniscorthy where we house sat last July. This year’s Irish sit was in a lovely village with three amazing dogs and a cat who shall we say was very independent and had a big personality. Our hosts were warm, charming, and generous making this a wonderful sit.

After completing our sit, we stayed in Kilkenny for a few days playing tourist, before driving back to Dublin.

Dublin to Vancouver

At the end of May we headed back to Canada, as we wanted to be in Kamloops for Michael’s nephews high school graduation, so that is what we did.

While home we split our time between Vancouver and Kamloops with a couple of house sits one in North Vancouver for couple we have sat for a few times now. We also did a new sit in Hope. For decades Hope was always a place we either drove past on the way to somewhere else, or stopped for gas or some gut bomb fast food. It was fun staying here for a month and getting to know the place.

We also had a chance to head over to Vancouver Island to visit with friends up Island.

Time to Hit the Road Again

By the end of August, it was time for us to hit the trail once again. We had agreed to do a sit near the coast, outside of Auckland New Zealand for a few months. Instead of a 14-hour direct flight from Vancouver, we opted to break up the journey and have a stop in Fiji for five days – why not?

Auckland New Zealand

Our sit in Auckland was all about looking after Charlie – a very sweet designer mutt. His owners think he is a Shih Tzu, Maltese Terrier, Bichon cross with a bit of Poodle thrown in for good measure – so basically a long legged, toy dog with lots of character and lots of smarts! Charlie lives in a wonderful home with an amazing kitchen – we even had a steam oven to play with, which was great for making beef brisket and steamed potatoes!

After the sit our hosts graciously offered us the use of their car for a week. We took the opportunity to explore a bit of the North Island.

Our first port of call was Lake Taupo, where we first met in February of 1995. Yvonne has just done a blog post about us Walking Down Memory Lane in New Zealand you can find it here.

We also visited a Kiwi hatchery near Rotorua, the Hobbiton movie set near Matamata, the Champaign Pool, and the Sanctuary Mountain native wild life reserve.

South Island of New Zealand

On the 20^th of November we flew to Christchurch rented a ‘relocation’ car for cheap, nine days for $1.99 a day.

Here is a bit of a travel hack for you. Most tourists start their adventures in Auckland and end up in Christchurch. This means the car and camper van rental companies have stranded vehicles on the South Island. There are websites that offer great deals for folks to do the trip in the opposite direction. We just had to pay for the ferry from Picton to Wellington (in addition to the $18 rental fee).

On the South Island we stayed in yet another unconventional accommodation………..a converted Grain Silo, in Little River on the Banks Peninsula and revisited Le Bons Bay where we stayed 30 years ago. We also drove over Arthurs Pass to the West Coast, and stayed in Rapahoe Beach near Greymouth. Then it was up the West Coast, visiting Pancake Rocks, Cape Foul Wind, then back down to have dinner at The Former Black Ball Hilton. It was really good compared to the last meal we had there (you will have to read the blog post to find out why).

Then it was on to Picton via Nelson Lakes (Lake Rotoiti) and caught the ferry to Wellington. Luckily, we had good weather and a smooth crossing – the Cook Straits has a reputation for being quite rough. Spent that night in Wellington near Cuba Street – interesting characters excellent pizza!
Then drove up the West cost of the North Island and revisited Paekakariki, spending a night in New Plymouth.

Overall, we spent almost three months in New Zealand, Michael has written a piece about his Impressions of New Zealand – quirks and all.

Australia

We finished up the year in Australia. At the end of November, we flew from Auckland to Brisbane where we were met by Michael’s Uncle Roger. We had a really good visit with Roger & Mary and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them a little better. We also spent a few nights with some A Team friends in Maroochydore and did more meet ups in Scarborough on the “Sunny Coast” and Robina on the Goldie Coast.

We have really enjoyed our sit here in Bonogin in the Hinterlands, especially being right in the middle of what often feels like a giant aviary.

Our Latest Writing Project

While we were in Ireland we had the opportunity to meet with our Publisher near Waterford to discuss ideas for a second book on House sitting.

The visit resulted in a new commission! We wrote our first book on house and pet sitting for International Living in 2015 while we were in Bequia, and it is still going strong. It covers all the basics of housesitting and is a complete A-to-Z guide covering all of the nuts and bolts of international housesitting.

The new book is about how to create a global travel lifestyle centered around housesitting. We cover the inner game (the emotional and phycological aspects of full-time travel), how to prepare for and live a nomadic lifestyle. We go into the specifics i.e. financial, logistics, and also cover advanced housesitting skills such as pet first aid, dog leadership, looking after tropical and off grid properties, pool maintenance and crisis management such as dealing with natural disasters while on assignment.

And yes, we have experience with all of the above. When the publisher had first run the idea by us of doing an ‘Advanced Guide’ we didn’t think we had enough material to share. Boy, where we wrong, this second guide is as big or maybe even bigger than the first one. Just goes to show that we have learnt an awful lot over the last almost 14 years.

Our Housesitting assignment in Auckland gave us the perfect opportunity to hammer out the first draft – all 100,000 words of it.

Friends and Family

As we were home for Mike’s nephews’ graduation, we were able to catch up with all of the family in Kamloops and help celebrate his milestone year. We enjoyed catching up with everyone and had lots of fun swapping recipes and cooking up a storm. Plus, we took a drive down memory lane one day with Mikes sister to revisit where they used to live in Pritchard, work and go to school in Chase.

We also caught up with our friends in Vancouver and were able to help Jane do some clearing out. So our timing was perfect, we even got to share our birthdays with family and friends too, which is most unusual. 

Meetups with our fellow A Teamer’s this year included:

• Martin & Louise on Vancouver Island
• Leanne & Tony in Vernon BC, Vancouver BC, and on the Gold Coast of Australia
• Jay and John in Auckland (we house sat for them for 2 months)
• Sue and Dave in Australia
• Gail and Bruno in Australia
• Mary and Ken in Australia

2026 Theme – The year of Roots & Routes

Yvonne and I have a tradition of setting a theme for each new year.

2022 was “The Year of Resilience”
2023 was “The Year of Ikigai”
2024 was “The year of the Bucket List”

2025 was “The Year of Shoshin”

We are proclaiming 2026 to be “The Year of Roots & Routes”

Roots are about where we come from, our family, friends, country, and also our memories.

Routes are about our travels and who we become on the journey.  

Being back home for the summer was a really good reminder of how important it is to come home and to reconnect. Spending time with family is not just about special occasions and celebrations but also trading stories, recipes and spending quiet time together in either the kitchen or in the garden.

Sometimes we are lucky enough to travel with family, which is exactly what we are going to do next month.

2026 is a year of Roots & Routes— Remembering where we come from, and choosing paths to keep us connected.

Coming up in 2026

We wrap up our sit here in Bonogin a few days. Our next sit is in the burbs of Brisbane looking after an old timer “Queenslander” home.

At the end of January, we fly to Bali where we are catching up with some of Michael’s cousins. The plan is to travel east together visiting Lombok, Flores and Komodo Island to see some of the big lizards.

Yvonne and I are planning on spending a few months in Malaysia and Thailand before heading towards the UK to reconnect with Yvonne’s family in the spring.

Summer will be in Canada where we are planning on celebrating our 30-year Anniversary.

Beyond that?

We will keep you posted. In the meantime……………………
 
We hope you had a calm and peaceful Christmas, creating wonderful memories with family and friends.

We wish you a healthy, prosperous and exceedingly happy 2026!
 
PS If you are in need of sitters this year, even if we are not available we do have our amazing A Team to call upon.

Over thirty years ago Michael and I met in New Zealand, so when we were offered a two month sit near Auckland last year we figured why not, as it would give us a chance to revisit some of the places we saw when we first met.

Some of you may have heard about our first date, some of you not, so here we go……….

Lake Taupo, New Zealand was a small yet stunningly pretty place back in 1995. I (Yvonne) had been travelling solo for over two months at that time and was pleased to meet a fellow Brit at the hostel. Being the friendly gals we were, as we passed through the common area Jess and I announced that we were going to the pub just up the road and did anyone want to join us, upon hearing the invitation we were joined by one guy, who, little did we know was in for quite the adventure!

We set off and barely had time to introduce ourselves when dark shapes peeled out of the shadows behind us. Michael was their first target, and his response to “Hey white boy give us your money!” was  ”I don’t think so”. This was apparently the wrong answer, for which he received two punches to the face. Fight or flight responses kicked in and he took to flight, running–as fast as possible in flip-flops–back towards the hostel.

The four males in this group of teenagers took off after him, leaving Jess and myself, facing two heftily built girls. They tried the same line with us, which also received a “no”. After a brief scuffle and a few kicked shins and scrapes, I broke away and flagged down a passing car, the occupants had seen the scuffle and whisked me back to the hostel, Jess also broke away and ran into a nearby gas station where they phoned the police.

With adrenalin, surging through your system it is amazing what you can do, just ask Michael, who managed to outrun the thugs and make it back to the hostel. The sight of his bloody face had already caused quite a commotion by the time I and Jess (in a police cruiser) made it back.

The remainder of the night was spent giving statements and trying to describe this group of teenage thugs.  Wearing jeans and baggy T-shirts, briefly glimpsed in the dark, they could have been any group of local teens.  My first and only time in a police cruiser, was the tour of the local hangouts we were taken on, trying in vain to identify our attackers.

We were eventually delivered back to the hostel after midnight. The horrified owners immediately pulled out the brandy. I am still not sure, if it was to calm our nerves or theirs, as we once more told our story.

It was here where we had our final interview of the ‘night’ with a stress councillor. A little cranky and tired of repeating the story, we gave her a condensed version. Her advice to the three of us was to “keep on talking it out”.

Over the next few days as a bloody nose, split lip, bruises and scrapes healed, we hung out by the lake, checked out the local hot springs and formed strong friendships. Jess headed back to England and Michael and I decided to travel together for a while.

After ten months on the road, travelling though New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra and Nepal, we were still together.  Which as any backpacking couple will tell you is a major accomplishment. One thing led to another and before we knew it, we had settled down in BC, Canada.

Now here we are back in New Zealand taking a walk down memory lane. We hadn’t really spent any time in Auckland the first time around, so it didn’t jog any memories, but once we had finished our sit and started exploring, that was a different matter.

Our first destination was of course Lake Taupo. We wanted to stay at the Rainbow Lodge Hostel where it all started, but it was apparently no longer in business. Therefore, we had booked elsewhere but still fairly close to where the hostel had been. As we came into town it was very obvious that Lake Taupo was no longer a sleepy little town. Hotels and apartment blocks lined the lake side road as far as the eye could see. The only thing familiar was the lake, it is still as beautiful, but the traffic wasn’t. We settled into our hotel and set off in search of the street where the hostel used to be. The street was easy to find but was unrecognizable as the urban sprawl had swallowed it. This was no longer a quiet dark street perfect for a mugging; it was lined with homes and businesses now and had not one but two gas stations. Our GPS led us on to where the hostel should be, but we had no idea if it would still be standing.

Nope! A car dealership now sits on that spot, which was rather disappointing as we had been hoping that the building itself would still be there. But it wasn’t to be, when we asked in a local shop if it used to be a hostel, she said yes it used to be, but it had been pulled down about a year ago. After chatting for awhile we shared our story and she exclaimed. ‘OMG I remember hearing about that’ apparently our mugging had made the news.

On the way back to our hotel, we did find the gas station that Jess had run into and from that were able to identify the side street that the teens had come from. It was hard to comprehend that this was the very spot where we had been mugged all those years ago as it was so very suburban now.

We did eventually get to the pub that was our original destination, and of course had to have a glass to celebrate actually getting there at long last. Sadly, the pub had fallen from popularity and we can only imagine what it must have been like 30 years ago, I am sure it was a lot livelier then.

Interestingly enough, even though the area had changed so much it did stir up many memories for us, going out on the lake with the hostel owners, swimming in one of the local natural hot springs and yes, our first kiss and all that other soppy stuff.

One of my (pre-Mike) memories of being in the area was visiting the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Park with the famous Champagne Pool, so of we went. Everything was there, the boiling mud, the sulphur ponds and the Champagne Pool. It was here that I could see solid evidence that a few decades had passed, as the constant mineral deposits from the bubbling water had extended   the edge of the pool further from the path than it used to be.

We also did a few fun things that neither of us had done before. First, we visited the Kiwi Sanctuary and saw both adults and newly hatched chicks, fascinating birds and slowly being reintroduced back into the wild.

We had also been told that we had to go to Hobbiton, as Lord of the Ring fans it had to be done. It is rather expensive at NZ $120 each but it was fantastic. We felt like we were indeed in Hobbiton and kept expecting Mr. Proudfoot to come out of his door and scowl at us, just as he does in the movie.

Then it was onto the South Island to revisit some of our favorite spots there. Although we did not have enough time to revisit the Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers, Milford Sound, Hass Pass and Queensland as we had done the first time on the West Coast Express. We did revisit two spots that we have strong memories of. Le Bons Bay on the Banks Peninsula was first and again the hostel was no longer running, but stepping onto that marvelous sweep of beach was if we had stepped back in time. We half expected to see our host down on the beach with the rustiest Morris Minor Traveller we had ever seen, launching his boat for our wildlife tour. But the place was deserted, it was just us, the gulls and our memories of that long ago wild boat ride and a rather significant conversation while sitting on the hostel steps later that day.

The final places on our must-see list were near Greymouth on the West Coast as we had visited them way back in 1995 on our bus tour. One of the places we had stayed at was ‘The Former Blackball Hilton’ in the old mining town of Blackball. It was a hostel style place and guests had access to the kitchen. I wanted to go gold panning, so I left Mike in ‘charge’ of dinner. I found ‘gold’, well a few flakes anyway and Mike eventually found something to cook. At the one and only store in town, he found a very desiccated Venison sausage and managed to turn it into a quite edible ‘Blackball Bolognese’. He also partook of some of their very strong beer, and yep, he was a happy chap.

The Blackball Hilton still stands and is still a hotel, we did look it up but chose not to stay there as we’re no longer into ‘shared bathrooms’. Oh Boy, haven’t we come a long way, thirty years on and we are a wee bit pickier now.  However, we did see that their restaurant has a very good reputation these days. Why not? It would give us a chance to revisit the place and treat ourselves to lunch.

The town of Blackball itself was looking the worst for wear, although there were now two stores not just one. The hotel was still looking good externally, but was showing its age inside. The bar staff were fairly friendly and we ended up sharing our story with them. Apparently, they no longer serve the strong beer, because the alcohol content was inconsistent and sometimes way too high. Mike obviously wasn’t the only one that got hammered after two pints of it.

Surprisingly enough lunch was excellent; in fact, it was the best meal we had in New Zealand. It was also a far cry from Mikes Blackball bolognese all those years ago. From there we headed off to revisit the Pancake Rocks, which I had forgotten all about it. It is an amazing sight and I couldn’t believe that I had forgotten all about it, but the memories came flooding back at my first glimpse of its signature stacked rock structure (it looks for all the world like multiple stacks of pancakes, thrown together by an over enthusiastic mad chef).

Revisiting all these places each with their own significant memoires, served to remind us of who we where all those years ago and of how our relationship developed with each step along the way.  A few long-forgotten memories returned, but in some places, we knew exactly what long ago comment was running through each others head.  It was indeed a wonderful ‘walk down memory lane’ full of poignant memories. It also made us realize just how fortunate we are and how much we have to be grateful for.  

Here we are thirty years later, ‘still talking it out’ and marvelling at what we have achieved since then. It goes to prove that even a mugging experience doesn’t have to end in disaster. None of us were badly hurt, we did not loose any valuables. Instead, we formed strong friendships and relationships that are still going decades later and we do have one hell of a story to tell!

2025 was the second time Yvonne and I have been in New Zealand together. The first time was over 30 years ago when we met in Lake Taupo (well not actually in the lake but in the town with the same name).

This time around, rather than bouncing about as backpackers, we were housesitting in an upscale neighbourhood of Auckland for 2 months. We thought after the sit was finished it would be a great opportunity to revisit some of the places we travelled together in New Zealand three decades ago.

If you not familiar with the circumstances of the day we met you can read about the story of our interesting “first date”.

We arrived in Auckland at the beginning of September right at the start of New Zealand’s spring.

First Impressions of Auckland

In many ways Auckland reminds me of my hometown Vancouver, both are large metropolitan gateway cites, the places that newcomers often experience first when visiting a country. As with most cities, they are in some ways exceptions, rather than being representative of what the rest of the country is really about.

Auckland and Vancouver are both coastal cities defined by the Pacific Ocean with their bays, beaches, and bridges. Water plays a big part of life both in Auckland and Vancouver. Auckland has a fetish with sailing and is often referred to as the “City of Sails”. It is said that one out of every three Auckland households has a boat.

Both cities have beautiful scenic backdrops and the natural environment provides great hiking areas, beaches and scenic lookouts.

Aucklander’s and Vancouverites both embrace the outdoors and many people are engaged in an active lifestyle.  Both places have an abundance of greenspaces, parks, and treelined streets.

Let’s Talk about the Weather

Both Vancouver and Auckland have mild maritime climates. Auckland’s climate is a wee bit warmer being borderline subtropical at 37 degrees South of the equator. This latitude is roughly equivalent to the boundary between Central and Southern California.

Similar to Vancouver it can rain sideways in Auckland! The thing we noticed with the Auckland spring weather is if you wanted it to change you usually only had to wait about 5 minutes. It was not unusual to experience 3 seasons in an afternoon. You can get whiplashed by the changes in the weather here.

Soul Crushing Traffic

Both Auckland and Vancouver have traffic that can test your will to live at times. There is significant urban sprawl in both metro areas, which means that getting around by car is often a necessity. Both metros have reliable public transportation – but reliable does not always equate to being convenient.

High priced real estate

Another thing Auckland and Vancouver share in common is a very high cost of living. Housing in both cities are at nose bleed levels of affordability. The availability of land is limited by the geography, that combined with high demand, equals expensive real estate.

Multi Culturalism

Auckland is very multicultural and is the country’s most cosmopolitan city. When it comes to multiculturalism Auckland and Vancouver are the same, but different.

Both cities have an indigenous population, in Auckland it is the Māori and in Vancouver the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. In Auckland (as the rest of New Zealand) Māori culture is very predominant and visible with place names, public art, and working language. Māori culture is foundational, and normalized, where as Vancouver is playing catch up when it comes to acknowledging its indigenous roots. First Nations culture is present in Vancouver but less embedded in everyday experience when compared to Auckland.

Both Cites also have a large Asian population (approximately a third of the population for each metro area). Asian Culture in Auckland is significant but they are more recent arrivals when compared to Vancouver.  The Chinese, Korean, Filipino, and Southeast Asian populations in Auckland immigrated to New Zealand post 1990’s, where as Vancouver’s Asian population started immigrating in the late 19th–early 20th century, along with more recent waves.

One thing that is definitely different in Auckland is the large population of Pacific Islanders which include Samoans, Tongans, and Cook Islanders. Auckland has one of the largest Pacific Island populations in the world.

Another difference is in Auckland appears to be that it is more integrated and different cultures coexist side by side, where as the Lower Mainland has strong enclaves, or neighbourhoods which are more self contained and separate. For example, Little Italy in Vancouver, the Chinese in Richmond or the South Asian (primarily Indian) communities in Surrey.

Are the people in Auckland friendly?

Well – Yes and No

Polite – they can be. Overtly friendly – not particularly.

We didn’t exactly find Aucklanders approachable. We lived in a very nice Auckland neighbourhood for two months. Our experience was if you said hello to someone walking on the side walk 50% of the time, they would acknowledge you and the other 50% would completely ignore you, the numbers are skewed somewhat as some would cross the street to avoid you before you had the chance to say hello. During our two months stay, we did have a few conversations that consisted than more than a few niceties. The bottom line is, we felt socially isolated in Auckland.

The Kiwis on the whole appear to be a very decent people, but in Auckland as with most big city centers, people are reserved, and possibly just overwhelmed. Living in a city is about self protection. Constant stimulation, crowds, and demands on people’s attention, results in people having to detach emotionally.

I guess that is why I am not really a fan of cities – the more people crowded into a given place, the less friendly it tends to be.

The Sun Is Fierce

The sun in New Zealand is fierce! We have spent lots of time in the tropics but the sun in New Zealand feels different. The air is clear and is positioned beneath a thin ozone layer. You can feel you skin sizzling here, even on a cold overcast day.

New Zealand has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. Sun protection is a way of life: hats, sunscreen, and finding shade is what you do (unless you are in your 20’s and invincible – then you lay out on the beach with minimal clothing).

There is a plethora of skin cancer clinics in New Zealand.

Two Islands One Nation

New Zealand is a nation comprised of two very distinct primary islands.

The North Island has the majority of New Zealand’s population and as we got out of Auckland and explored more, it reminded me of Ireland with it’s verdant green rolling hills and pastures. Unlike Ireland the North Island is punctuated by the occasional snowcapped volcano – and it is much sunnier than Ireland.

The South Island reminds me of British Columbia, just more compact. The population is much sparser than the North Island, the towns are smaller and spread further apart.

Always Something to Take Your Breath Away

Every day the there is something that makes you go wow! New Zealand has to be one of the most scenically beautiful places on earth. Definitely in my top 5 most beautiful places on earth.

The landscape of the South Island is dramatic and beautiful with it’s dominate alpine ranges that rise suddenly from glacial valleys, braided rivers, fjords, mirror lakes, stunning coastlines and clear blue skies (when it is not pouring rain that is).

When in the countryside admiring the scenery, you almost expect a hobbit, elf or some other mystical creature to appear onto the scene – and it would not seem out of place.

Amazing Bird Life

New Zealand’s bird life is what makes the country so distinctive.

For most of New Zealand’s history there were no mammals, apart from bats. The absence of predators meant birds became the predominant land animal and there were an unusual number of flightless, ground-dwelling, highly specialized species. Present day examples include the kiwi, kākāpō, takahē, and weka birds.

The New Zealand sound scape is amazing with constant birdsong. Birds like the tūī and bellbird are very musical and their calls are heard in both the forest and urban settings. Coastal areas are home to seabirds such as gannets, albatross, and penguins.

The arrival of humans changed the New Zealand landscape, the Polynesians introduced the Pacific rats and dogs, leading to early extinctions of birds like the moa. Later European colonization brought a wave of new mammals—dogs, cats, rats, stoats, ferrets, possums, hedgehogs, and deer—some were purposely introduced and others came as incidental hitch hikers. Europeans also introduced birds such as sparrows, blackbirds, magpies, pigeons, starlings finches, ducks, geese, swans pheasants and quails. Many of these birds compete with native birds for resources.

Birds that are flightless, ground-nesting, slow-breeding, and unafraid of predators are extremely vulnerable to mammals that prey on eggs and chicks, compete for food, or destroy native bird habitat.

Today there is a strong conservation effort complete with breeding programs, predator-free sanctuaries, and trapping efforts to protect bird species that evolved in a world without mammalian predators.

We paid a visit to a Kiwi hatchery near Rotorua as well as Sanctuary Mountain which is surrounded by a pest proof fence to protect the native flora and fauna.

New Zealand’s native birds are not just its wildlife; they are cultural symbols.

Familiar but also Different

New Zealand is probably one of the most physically isolated countries (with a significant population) on the planet, tucked away in a corner of the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Its neighboring countries are Australia, Fiji, and Tonga, all are at least a three-hour flight away from each other.

New Zealand feels familiar because it is an English-speaking Western country. In some ways it is very British and the country operates in a way that is not foreign or alien.

On the other hand, things often feel like they are coming at you from left field.

I am not sure if it is because New Zealand is on the edge of the map – or maybe for some other reason, but every day without exception there was something that made me say to my self or out loud in many cases – “What the …… – that’s bloody different”

Things like:

• People walking down the street backwards
• People unapologetically driving the wrong way down one-way streets
• People walking around barefoot in supermarkets
• Random naked people swimming in rivers and in the ocean – not sure if these folks were Kiwis or German tourists

Traffic Design from Left Field

Then there are the road intersections in New Zealand that completely defy any form of logic known to man. It is almost as if traffic designers were getting incentive bonuses for artistic merit (or for causing maximum confusion). There are junctions where highways intersect at odd angles or weird offsets, roundabouts with multiple entry points that appear suddenly or blindly – there are even roundabouts with rail lines running right through the center of them.

Often intersections present themselves as a patchwork creation where nothing lines up but for some reason everything seems to function. Maybe it is because everyone is trying to figure it out together and making allowances accordingly.

What is also different is jay walking, which appears to be a sport here. Most jaywalkers attempt to make eye contact with drivers and wait until it is safe to wonder into the roadway. Others just walk into traffic without looking – not sure if it is a manifestation of the quiet Kiwi confidence or perhaps jaywalker misjudgement. I witnessed one fellow almost get run over. When I slowed down for people I thought were going to walk in front of the car, I either got a big cheeky grin or a look suggesting that I was crazy. Either way there was a striking lack of drama, no sprinting, no aggression just a let’s get on with our day attitude.

“She’ll be right” –   no worries, it will all work out.

Some Real Characters Out and About

One of the more entertaining things about watching the world go by in New Zealand is the steady parade of interesting “characters”. There are a lot of folks who come across as slightly eccentric, unpolished, but at the same time appear to be completely comfortable in their own skin.

Some folks sport long chin beards, and others are Rolf Harris or Gandalf the Grey dead ringers! Tattoos are popular in New Zealand with some Kiwis sporting tats from their knuckles to their ears.

We met a few friendly eccentrics in New Zealand — really chatty folks with just a touch of oddness. We met one such fellow on the beach walking a couple of dogs who, as it turned out was a fellow house sitter. Our peer shared some unexpectedly sharp observations about life and also some interesting opinions into alternative medicine. His advice to us was, in order to experience life as a Kiwi we had to ditch our shoes and walkabout barefoot. In some ways I felt like I was talking to someone I could relate to (not that I am into alternative medicine or ditching my shoes).

We also spent a day in Wellington and took a stroll down Cuba Street. This area had a cornucopia of characters who were not afraid to let their freak shine. Many of the people here looked like they would struggle to fit in anywhere other than this eclectic street. The place had a vibe of a loosely organized performance art production where the line between artist, police officers, students, and bewildered tourists was blurred.

We did enjoy a wonderful wood oven pizza on Cuba Steet though, especially as we could watch some of the characters go by.

Part of the New Zealand’s charm is that many people here come across as authentic and very down to earth – even if they are sporting purple hair.

PS – I though there were lots of characters in New Zealand – then we went to Australia!

Interesting Version of the English language

I am not a linguist but I do hear a lot of British phrases in New Zealand. I would also expect many Kiwi phrases are probably interchangeable with Australian vernacular.

I did come across a few interesting phases:

• Road movements – uneven road surface
• Ranch slider – a sliding, glass patio door
• Long drop toilet – an outhouse
• Induction kiosk – a touch screen kiosk solution for processing of visitors to a work site
• Dairy – a small, neighborhood convenience store
• Chilly bin – a cooler / ice chest
• Jandals – flip-flops
• Scroggin – trail mix
• Rego – vehicle registration
  
  

Then there is the use of Māori Words used in everyday conversations:

• “Kia ora” – hello / thanks / acknowledgment
• “Whānau” – family (extended, not just immediate)
• “Kai” – food
• “Aroha” – love, empathy, compassion
• “Mana” – respect, authority, prestige

New Zealand English is very distinctive when it comes to vowel pronunciation, which to my ears sounds like all they have all been mixed, for example:

“Brenda take off your jacket, eat your veggies, feed the cat, then it’s time for bed.”

sounds like

“Brinda, take off your jeckit, eat your vee gees, feed the ket, then it’s time for bid.”

Random Observations

• Garbage bins can be hard to find in public spaces especially in Auckland
• You can always find a public toilet anywhere
• Shorts and long black socks are a thing
• The country is volcanic and extremely seismically active
• Small towns can be shabby and look like some thing out of deliverance, while others are very well kept
• Beaches are stunning—and can be strangely empty (except in Auckland)
• As a general rule people dress very casually
• Honesty boxes are common

The Ministry of Signs

 
New Zealand appears to have a love affair with signs. They are every where— along roads, in town, at trailheads, beaches, parks, and sometimes they are gathered together in clusters – almost like they are reproducing. 

Sometimes the signs are humorous:

Slightly Haunted – but Manageable

Sometimes they address social issues:

Taranaka where family violence is not okay
https://www.taranakisafefamilies.org.nz/

Sometimes there are signs that make you wonder:

Multiple Hazard Site

or

Rail Crossing – Give Way

I was considering running into the train until I saw the sign!

The Ministry of Signs has been tasked to name and label every ditch culvert and creek along the highway:

• Dead Dog Culvert
• Big Deep Creek
• Johnny Walker Creek
• Dough Boy Creek
• Crooked Creek Culvert
  
  

Sign, sign, everywhere, a sign
Blockin’ out the scenery
Breakin’ my mind
“Do this,” “Don’t do that”
Can’t you read the sign?

Driving in New Zealand

As already mentioned Auckland traffic can be quite mental and the drivers can be pushy. Auckland drivers are pretty aggressive, however you have to give them credit as they are very good at stopping at zebra crossings for pedestrians. (there are probably stiff fines for those who do not?)

New Zealand has an obvious absence of stop signs, they are around but they are few and far between. Instead, the use of yield signs is more common. The thing that gets some getting used to is that Kiwi drivers have a tendency to come helling up to an intersection and stop inches from oncoming traffic, other times it is rather more exciting.

Once out of the cities the roads can be narrow, windy, with very few proper shoulders. The speed limit on secondary roads is 100 km – it is just like driving in rural Ireland. The Kiwis drive fast here and they like to crowd the center line. It is not just my impression – the ministry of signs has also got the message out – and the corresponding signs read:

Stay on your side or you will collide

or

High collision zone – stay left

Driving in New Zealand is takes a lot of constant attention. Roads have frequent elevation changes, blind corners, variable surfaces, plus all of those wonky intersections. There are many single lane bridges requiring drivers to be on the ball.

It is easy to get fatigued driving in New Zealand because of the demanding roads and continuous concentration required to keep it together.

If I had to sum up New Zealand drivers in one word that word would be impatient.

That probably explains the propensity for tailgating. One of the most annoying aspects of driving in New Zealand in the tendency for some drivers to ride your bumper. It seems to be a thing in New Zealand.

Another form of dangerous driving in New Zealand is the aversion to using headlights during the day even when it is pouring rain. Even the “professional drivers” operating large trucks refuse to turn their lights on in inclement weather – at least you can see the driver’s high vis vests through the windscreen before you actually see the truck!

Road Kill

I have never seen so much road kill in my life anywhere, ever, period. It seemed like every 500 feet there was a dead critter squashed on the road.

On the North Island it was possums, rabbits, and birds

On the South Island it was Weka birds which I renamed as “Suicide Chickens”

          Q:         Why did the Suicide Chicken cross the road?

          A:          To get run over

The Fast and the Furious

There are lots of petrol heads in New Zealand, the Kiwis love their cars almost as much as the Maltese.

You see a lot of American muscle cars as well as restored classics.

Kiwis are into auto racing of all forms of rally racing, circuit racing and drifting.   There are at least 7 major permanent racing circuits for formal motorsports and a total of 80 car racing tracks of all types across the country. You often see race cars being towed around.

New Zealand’s rugged landscape makes off-roading popular. Almost every 4×4 you see is fitted with a snorkel.

Then there are the boy racers.

Smokey burnouts are a popular pastime, there are very few intersections that are not adorned by thick layers of rubber.

I think the most lucrative businesses in New Zealand are sign makers and tire shops.

Over All Impressions

New Zealand has to be one of the most beautiful countries on the planet – especially the South Island.

It is a place that provides a sense of awe rather than sensory overload. Other than Auckland being a bit frenetic, the country has a groovy vibe and the natural environment is never too far away.

The sun is fierce and changes in the weather can give you whiplash. The landscapes also shift quickly—from beaches to farmland to mountains—often within a very short drive.

My overall impression of New Zealand is it is a down-to-earth country of striking natural beauty, a place where people go about life in a way that is more practical than it is showy.

If you have never been to New Zealand it is definitely worth a visit!

Malta can be viewed in some ways as part Italian, part English, with a healthy dollop of Tunisia all piled upon a mountain of history.

We spent almost 2 months in Malta during January and February of 2025, exploring or staying in the following locations:

On the Island of Malta:

• Valetta,
• The Three Cities,
• Mdina / Rabat,
• San Gwann,
• Mellieħa,
• Mosta,
• Marsaskala,
• Marsaxlokk,
• Qawra

And on the on the Island of Gozo:

• Mgarr,
• Victoria,
• and San Lawrenze

The winter weather in Malta was very spring like and pleasant, with a few storms moving through whipping up the Mediterranean Sea. There were also very few tourists at this time of year which in my books is a bonus.

This can be in stark contrast to summer months when it can be hotter than the blazes, reaching up to 50 C in the urban areas, and swarming with tourists.

The only downside was it was a bit too cool to swim (unless you are a hearty soul or happen to be Finnish)

Lotsa People on a Small Island

My first impression of Malta is how crowded it is; it is a small island with lotsa people, and lotsa cars! With a land area of just 316 km² and a population of around 535,000, Malta is one of the top 10 most densely populated countries on the planet.

The most crowded areas are the capital Valletta and the surrounding towns. These areas literally create a concrete and sandstone jungle.

The western and southern regions of Malta, as well as the smaller island of Gozo, are more rural, with scattered villages, terraced farmland, and open countryside. Towns like Mellieħa, Mdina, and Rabat have more of a traditional feel and a slower pace (especially during the tourist off season).

A Very Rich History

Malta absolutely oozes history and you get a real sense of time when visiting here. In fact, Malta has some of the oldest freestanding manmade structures on earth, dating back to 3500 B.C. well before Stonehenge and a good thousand years before the Egyptian pyramids were built.

Malta’s history is a tapestry weaved of conquest and trade due to its strategic location in the Mediterranean.  

Layers upon layers of civilization are stacked upon each another here.  The Phoenicians colonized Malta around 800 BCE, followed by the Carthaginians and later the Romans. Under Roman rule, Malta became Christianized, a legacy strengthened by St. Paul’s shipwreck in 60 CE.

After the fall of Rome, Malta was ruled by the Byzantines, then the Arabs in 870 CE, who influenced the language. In 1091, the Normans took control, folding Malta into the Kingdom of Sicily. The Knights of St. John, were granted Malta by Charles V of Spain after losing Rhodes to the Ottomans in 1522. In return, they paid an annual tribute of a Maltese falcon of Humhrey Bogart fame.

Napoleon briefly occupied Malta in 1798, but the British took control in 1800.  Malta eventually gained independence from Britain on September 21^st 1964.

World War II

Malta also played a crucial role in World War II, again due to its strategic location. The island was vital for controlling the Mediterranean Sea and for supply lines between Europe and North Africa. Malta became a key base for British forces, and its airfields and naval ports were used to disrupt the Axis powers supply routes.

The island experienced some of the heaviest aerial bombardments of the war. The Germans and Italians bombed the shit out of the island. The Maltese people were resilient, with some but not all, riding it out in shelters. Many of these former bomb shelters are now museums. We visited one of these museums in Rabat and could only imagine how uncomfortable the situation was for those fortunate enough to be hiding there during the war.

If you look closely, you can still see the impact damage on many of the older buildings in Malta.

The Knights of St John

The Knights of St. John, also known as the Knights Hospitaller or the Knights of Malta, ruled Malta from 1530 to 1798, shaping the island’s history, culture, and architecture. The knights were originally a medieval Catholic military order, under Papal order to defend the Holy Land and fight during the Crusades.

After the Great Siege of Malta in 1565, when the Knights alongside Maltese forces repelled a massive Ottoman invasion, the island was fortified. The stunning grand capital of Valletta was built complete with strong defensive structures, palaces, and churches.

Like many power structures the Knights got fat, lazy and corrupt and thus their economic influence waned. In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte easily overthrew the Knights on his way to Egypt. That was the end of the Knights, however their legacy remains in the form of the island’s architecture, traditions, and history.

Vatican Sanctioned Piracy?

When I first saw the grand fortified city of Valletta – two questions immediately come to mind.

Where did the money come from?

and

Where did the labour come from?

The answers in large part are Piracy and Slavery.

The Knights of St. John were not only warriors and protectors of the Christian faith but also actively engaged in piracy. Based in Valletta the Knights flexed their naval power by conducting corsairing operations (i.e. piracy) in the Mediterranean, attacking Ottoman, North African, and even some Christian vessels (apparently pissing off the Greeks).

The Knights targeted merchant ships, capturing valuable cargo, enslaving Muslim crews, and ransoming captives.

The Lucrative Slave Trade

Slavery was central to the Knights economy, military, and society, with enslaved people being used for labor, ransom, or revenue.

The Knights operated a large slave market in Valletta. Some slaves were sold to the wealthy, and slaves from noble or wealthy families were often ransomed back. Others were not so lucky, particularly the galley slaves, who endured brutal conditions rowing the Knights’ warships.

Slaves also worked in agriculture and domestic service. Some were forced to build Valletta’s fortifications, hospitals, and churches.

Blurring the Lines

The knights justified their actions as a holy war against Islam, viewing their raids as part of a broader Christian-Muslim conflict. The spoils of these attacks enriched the order and helped finance Malta’s fortifications and churches. Despite being warriors of Christ, the Knights also saw slavery as both an economic necessity and part of their holy war against Islam, thus blurring the lines between religious warfare and piracy.

I guess rape, pillage and plunder is justified as long as you perpetrate it against people who believe in a different God than you.

The Ottomans and Barbary corsairs retaliated in kind, leading to an ongoing cycle of maritime warfare.

I could imagine that water front property in Malta did not have the same cache as it does today. As one could be easily be snatched by marauding bands of slavers as you walked out your front door for your morning cappuccino.

Today when walking around the ancient parts of Valletta and The Three cities, you can’t help but wonder what it was like living here in the Middle Ages and during the times of the Knights.

You do get the sense it was a very different time.

The Catholic Church

Malta remains one of the most Catholic countries in Europe. The island has over 350 churches, and every church we poked our heads into was absolutely stunning. The standouts were St. John’s Co-Cathedral, the Mosta Dome, with its massive unsupported dome, and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of Ta’ Pinu in Gozo.

There is an abundance of religious statues and niches found on street corners and building facades. Many houses display small shrines dedicated to a saint or the Virgin Mary.

Landscapes

Malta’s natural beauty is as captivating as its history. The coastline is dotted with stunning cliffs, hidden caves, and crystal-clear waters.

Gozo, Malta’s sister island, offers a more rural and tranquil experience with its rugged landscapes and charming villages.

The island of Comino, with its famous Blue Lagoon, lies between Malta and Gozo.

The Unique Charm of Malta’s Towns

Each town and village we visited in Malta had its own unique character.

Valletta

Valletta, Malta’s capital, is a stunning UNESCO World Heritage city complete with a rich history, grand architecture, and a buzzing vibrant atmosphere. The honey-colored limestone buildings, narrow hilly streets, and grand fortifications all contribute its distinctive vibe.  Founded in 1566 by the Knights of St. John and named after Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valette, Valletta was designed as a fortress city with impressive bastions, elegant palaces, and ornate churches. The city is surrounded by massive walls that overlook the Mediterranean Sea, which at times can be sparkling and at other times quite violent.

Valletta is truly the heart of Malta.

Valletta is compact, easy to explore by foot and is a lively hub of cafes, restaurants, and theaters. The city’s waterfront offers stunning views, with traditional Maltese balconies adding to its charm.

There is also evidence of the British influence in Valletta (other than the English breakfast joints, fish and chips shops), there are statues of Queen Victoria and English phone boxes are everywhere.

You always know when it is midday in Valletta as there is cannon fire from the Saluting Battery or an air raid siren at Fort St Elmo, sounded everyday at noon.

Valetta holds many historical and cultural treasures such as the St. John’s Co-Cathedral. Originally designed as a simple church, the modest façade is a complete contrast to its opulent interior. The cathedral is lavishly decorated with intricate inlayed marble floors, ornate chapels, and striking frescoes. The place absolutely drips with gold!

The church also houses two masterpieces by the ‘bad boy’ Italian painter Caravaggio: “The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist” and “Saint Jerome Writing”. Story goes Caravaggio fled Italy after a killing a man. He sought refuge and amnesty with the knights in Malta. Being the most famous painter in Rome at the time got him admitted into the service as well as picking up a few commissions (the Knights obviously did not run a background check on the guy). His stint in the order did not last long as he was expelled because of his unsavory behaviour towards some of the knights.

Leaving the church I did not feel a sense of reverence, nor was I spiritually moved in any means. Rather I felt a sickness in the pit of my stomach. The same kind of feeling I experienced when visiting the Vatican Museum. Massive egos, over the top opulence and minimal regard for cultures other than their own (especially Asian and African) was the impression I got from my visit to the cathedral.

Mdina / Rabat

Mdina, is also known as the “Silent City,” because it became mostly uninhabited when the capital was moved to Vittoriosa (aka Birgu) by the Knights of St John. Mdina is now a beautifully preserved medieval town in the heart of Malta. Perched on a hill, it offers breathtaking views of the island and is one of Malta’s most iconic historical sites. With its narrow, winding streets, grand palaces, and ancient walls, Mdina feels like walking back in time.

Originally founded by the Phoenicians around 700 BCE, Mdina later became the Roman capital of Malta. Under Arab rule, it was fortified and given its current name, which literally means “walled city.” The Knights of St. John further enhanced its architecture, blending medieval and Baroque styles. Today, Mdina remains largely unchanged, maintaining its old-world charm.

The city walls offer stunning panoramic views of the Maltese countryside and the towns of Qwara, Mosta and Valletta et. al.

Right next door to Mdina is Rabat, a former Roman settlement with a charming local atmosphere.

One of Rabat’s most famous attractions is St. Paul’s Catacombs, an extensive underground burial site dating back to the Roman period. According to tradition, St. Paul himself stayed in a cave here after being shipwrecked in Malta in 60 AD. Adjacent to the catacombs are WWII bomb shelters.

Rabat has a very laid-back, authentic feel, with narrow streets, traditional Maltese houses, and we took advantage of the bakeries serving local delights like pastizzi and chicken pies.

We liked Rabat so much we went back for a second stay.

Mellieħa

Mellieħa, located in the northern part of Malta, is a charming town known for its stunning beaches, scenic landscapes, and rich history. It sits atop a hill overlooking Mellieħa Bay, with the largest sandy beach on the island. I can only imagine what that beach looks like in peak tourist season, whereas in February we had the place to ourselves.

Mellieħa is also home to intriguing historical sites, including the WWII shelters, dug beneath the town to protect residents from aerial bombings. The Red Tower (St. Agatha’s Tower), a 17th-century fortification, provides panoramic views of Gozo and Comino.

Also close by is “Popeye Village”, the purpose-built filmset village featured in the 1980 film. It is now a tourist attraction.

The Maltese People

The Maltese people have a reputation for being warm and welcoming. This was definitely our experience.

All you need to do is smile and say good morning to someone in Maltese, which often results in being asked “Where are you from?” followed by a 15 – 20-minute discussion involving the weather, what they were growing in their garden plot, their relatives living in North America, world affairs, as well as life in Malta.

The Maltese come across as practical and down to earth, with a keen eye on business. They do not appear to be afraid of hard work, but at the same time there is definitely an island time thing going on in Malta – “Maltese time”. Work hard, but maybe not so fast.

We got the impression that family is important in Malta and often saw gatherings of people in public places sitting around shooting the shit.

However, not everyone in Malta is feeling so hospitable these days. Like the rest of Europe there is a large influx of immigrants – Asians, Africans, Indians and those from the rest of Europe. I definitely got the impression from speaking with residents that immigration is causing some angst among the Maltese.

Malta is also faced with the challenges associated with rapid development, congestion, and generally an increasing pace of life.

Maltese Food

We really enjoyed the food in Malta. We had our fill of the traditional dishes such as pastizzi (flaky pastries filled with ricotta or peas), rabbit stew, braġioli (beef olives) as well as stuffed olives.

The markets are also amazing – fresh seafood is abundant as are fresh fruit and vegetables.

The Class System is Alive and Well

When wondering around places like Valletta and Mdina it is obvious that historically there was a class system in Malta. This is evidenced by the grand Palaces adorned by family coat of arms (not to mention the existence of a thriving slave trade).

In modern Malta there is also an obvious class system as well.

Walk by any construction site, tourism business, grocery store, or villa with domestic staff and it stands out that immigrants occupy the majority of the lower-income roles in Malta.

Malta employs an army of migrant workers from Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe.

We had Uber drivers from around the globe drive us around their island.

Only in Malta – a Land of Quirks

The first Quirky aspect of Malta is the distinctive Maltese Language.

Maltese people are bilingual, speaking both Maltese and English, a reflection of their history and a relatively recent stint under British rule.

Maltese is the only official Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet and the only Arabic-descended language in Europe. It evolved from late medieval Arabic, with influences from Italian, English, and other languages including French due to Malta’s centuries of diverse history.

When listening to Maltese in conversation or on the radio, sometimes you think you are listening to Italian, other times Arabic or English with the occasional French word thrown in just to make it interesting.

For instance, good morning is Bonju.

The Strategic Placement of Water Bottles

Another quirky thing you see in Malta is the strategic placement of water filled plastic bottles in front of people’s front doors.

Why is that?

To prevent dogs and cats from urinating on your front door step of course!

How do water bottles keep dogs and cats from peeing on the doors or walls?

Who knows?

When you ask the Maltese why this works, they shrug and say they have never seen a dog pee near a water bottle (neither did I and we walked more than a few dogs in Malta ourselves).

It’s probably an example of one of those things that has been done for generations, thus the tradition continues. But if it works – it works.

The Maltese Absolutely Love, Love, Love Their Cars

Despite having an awesome public transportation system, King car rules the roads in Malta!

Malta has the 11^th highest per capital automobile ownership rate on earth. Combined with being the 8^th or 9^th most densely populated country you get the picture.

As a result, Maltese traffic can be soul crushing. Congested roads, accidents, honking horns and stressed drivers just go with the territory.

But at the same time why walk to the corner store when you could drive? Probably to avoid the big piles of dog shit piled up on the sidewalk. Like Italians, the Maltese like their dogs, but not necessarily picking up after them. The water bottle trick definitely does not work to prevent canine defecation.

Back to Cars

The love of cars is not just about getting from A to B. The Maltese just seem to like to hang out in their cars. Walk along a street during the day and you might notice that every 4^th or 5^th parked car will have some live occupants. People parked up reading, chatting, having a nap or just watching the world go by. It is almost like an automobile is an extension of a Maltese living room on wheels.

Driving in Malta

Driving in Malta is can also be quirky.  The roads are narrow, winding, complete with jarring turns. While Malta follows left-hand driving due to British influence, the local drivers let their Sicilian influence shine through with their creative interpretation of the rules of the road. We had some interesting Uber rides in Malta that’s for sure!

The Maltese might drive like Italians but they park like the Brits.

Where as the Italians aspire to have all four tires touching pavement markings when parking their cars, the Maltese more often than not often park bloody proper, that is straight and dead center.

That being said, with the shear number of cars in Malta, parking is often a creative art form in itself.

Other observations:

Turn signals do not appear to be standard features on cars in Malta.

Driving or cycling while on the phone is a cool thing to do.

Abandoned Structures in the Midst of a Building Boom

Another thing that makes you go Hmmm, is the number of abandoned buildings in Malta.

It is obvious there is a building boom occurring in Malta by the sheer number of cranes and building sites.

At the same time there are also an inordinate number of abandoned buildings, often right next door to a new build.

Some estimates state that over a quarter of residential properties in Malta are either empty or underutilized. Not a real estate market that I would be interested in participating in.

We stayed in a very nice neighbourhood in Melieha where the villas had Porches and Land Rovers parked out front and sold in the 2.5 to 5 Million Euro range. Even in this neighbourhood every 4^th property appeared to be abandoned and falling into ruin.

There definitely is an active sense of decay here, giving Malta an almost third world vibe in places.

Some of the limestone used to build walls and barriers is very soft, and as a result it is continually crumbling and dissolving adding to the sense of decay. Some parts of Malta just come across as run down and neglected.

A Vast Country on a Small Island

Despite being a small country, Malta can also feel weirdly vast at times.

When we told people in Rabat we were going to stay in Marsaskala. They said “Oh my, watch out for the people in the South – They are different!”

Maybe it was because I was looking for something different – what the thinker thinks the prover proves sort of thing.

But it did seem like things were a bit more rushed down south. Drivers were quicker on the horn and less willing to stop for you at pedestrian crossings, in contrast to the vast majority of Maltese drivers who are extremely courteous when it comes to pedestrians.

The distance between Rabat and Marsaskala is about 17 km, which is considered spitting distance in Canada.

Maltas quirks adds to the charm of the place, which can be lively and sometimes flummoxing.

Wrapping Things Up

Malta has a cool friendly vibe and can sometimes come across as a hodge podge of architecture, language and ethnicities. It can also seem somewhat higgly piggly, a place where things work, sort of, some of the time, but in a charming unoffensive way. At the same time there is an underlying sense of order.

Malta offers up a fascinating blend of history, culture, landscapes, good food and its charm is really encompassed by the warm welcoming people who live here.

Malta to me was part Italy, part England with a healthy dollop of Tunesia built on a mountain of history.

The Vatican Museums and the Borghese Gallery are two giants of Rome’s amazing cultural institutions. Each venue offers an extraordinary collection of art, but with different focuses and stories. The difference in their scope, scale, and ambiance is what really sets them apart.

The first contender – the Vatican Museum

My first impression of the Vatican Museum was the line ups outside the imposing walls. The day of our visit was nice and sunny but there was a howling, bone chilling, December wind. We arrived a half hour prior to our scheduled visit time and there was nowhere to hide from the cold, whilst we waited.

Once inside the massive gates the museums are a vast sprawling affair with interconnected galleries, courtyards, and halls.

The vastness and the richness of the collection is breathtaking, I found the sheer scale of the museum and the sheer number of visitors to be completely overwhelming. We did not have a plan of attack in place for exploring the museum, which added to the sense of bewilderment.

Some of the highlights included:

The Egyptian Museum, featuring mummies, hieroglyphics and other artifacts from ancient Egypt.

The Raphael Room frescos.

The Gallery of Maps was like shuffling through history alongside with a few hundred other museum visitors. The walls are covered with stunning frescoed maps of Italy and the known late 16th century world. It offers an insight of the world view of those living during those time.

Then of course there is the Sistine Chapel itself.

To be completely honest, by the time we got to the Chapel we were both suffering from sensory overload. I did not get a feeling of awe or reverence – I just felt like a sardine in a jam-packed room, full of people staring at the ceiling. There were the Vatican bouncers who kindly instructed people to not block the passage ways, not to take photos or videos, and to get a move on. To be honest, neither of us got a good look at any of Michelangelo’s masterpieces.

I would love to have a dedicated visit to the chapel in the future – less a few thousand people – in order to really drink it in. Maybe the answer is to get there early and go directly to the chapel?

By the time we squeezed out of the chapel we were both ready to get the hell out – we ran the gauntlet of gift shops and made our way down the Spectacular Spiral Staircase at the exit which was also a highlight of the visit!

After going through the Vatican Museum I felt several things. First was a sense of overwhelm, not just by the collection but also the number of visitors.

Reminiscent of Disney World

I was also reminded of my visit to Disney World in Orlando, both Disney and the Vatican are iconic landmarks that attract huge crowds, both are master story tellers – with the Vatican telling the story of the Christian faith, art and of human creativity and achievement.

Both the Vatican and Disney left me with a very strong sense of commercialism. I left feeling like I had encountered a well-oiled money extraction machine. Like Disney, the Vatican Museum also features a slew of souvenir shops, with the later selling religious knick knacks and replicas, capitalizing on the visitors desire to take a piece of the experience home.

The Vatican Museums, like Disney Worlds rides made my head spin.

In this corner  – The Borgese Gallery

After several days of recouperation we paid a visit to the Borghese Gallery which is nestled within the Villa Borghese Gardens in Rome. Its charm resides within a human scaled 17th-century villa, originally designed as a private residence.

The Borghese Gallery  tells the story of art, power, and passion, showcasing the exquisite taste of Cardinal Scipione Borghese, a patron of the arts and nephew of Pope Paul V.

A Feast for the Senses

Every corner of the gallery is a union of art and architecture.

The villa is full of frescoed ceilings, intricate stucco work, and rooms of elegant proportions. Each room feels like a jewel box full of amazing treasures, rooms where art and architecture perfectly complement each other.

The main reason we wanted to visit the gallery was the Sculpture Collection

We were not disappointed. The highlight for us was the collection of sculptures by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. His pieces, Apollo and Daphne, The Rape of Proserpina, Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius, as well as David, are absolutely mind boggling.

Bernini’s ability to render marble into dynamic human forms with flesh-like textures is truly awe-inspiring.

The sculptures have the ability to tell a compelling story without either movement or words.

Paintings: A Kaleidoscope of Masterpieces

The gallery’s painting collection is equally impressive, featuring works by the masters Caravaggio, Titian and Raphael.

Personal Reflections:

I found the gallery’s scope to be manageable giving me the chance to focus and relax. Compared to the Vatican it was easier to appreciate the gallery, without the fatigue and the overwhelm.

The Borghese Gallery does an excellent job of managing the number of people allowed inside to prevent overcrowding, which resulted in an intimate and enjoyable experience.

Differences Between the Vatican Museums and the Borghese Gallery

The scope of the Vatican Museum is vast and encyclopedic, ranging from ancient Egyptian artifacts and classical Roman sculptures to Renaissance masterpieces and contemporary religious art. Multiple days would be required to fully explore the Vatican collection. The sheer volume of art and the number of visitors is completely overwhelming.

The museum dishes up a mind-boggling feast. The experience is analogous to eating 20 pounds of Gelato in one sitting – it is impossible to digest. The Sistine Chapel is the Last Cherry that can even put Mr. Creosote over the top.

In contrast, the Borghese Gallery is much more focused, intimate and serene. I felt like I was able to focus on individual works without feeling rushed.

The Vatican I found to be vast, imposing and crowded.

The Borghese Gallery was charming, intimate, and approachable.

Leaving the Vatican I felt dizzy and overwhelmed, where as the Borghese Gallery left me feeling uplifted and energized.

I am grateful to have visited both of these essential Roman institutions. They offer two very different experiences, both experiences I would be eager to relive again.  

PS – I don’t believe there are any works by Titan in the Vatican Museum, Clash of the Titans is therefore figurative.

2024 was the first time we visited any of the Balkan Countries. Our 2024 Balkan experience has so far been limited to the Western Balkans, countries on the region’s western edge, along the Adriatic coast.

After spending 3 weeks exploring Montenegro in November, it was time to move on to our next housesitting assignment in Rome Italy for a month over Christmas and New Year.

We decided to first visit Tirana Albania before heading to Rome for 3 reasons:

1. We could get an inexpensive direct flight to Rome (something not available from Montenegro)
2. We had friends hanging out in Tirana and wanted to catch up
3. We had never been before!

So off we went!

Preconceptions of Albania

Having never been to Albania, I really did not know what we were going to experience.

When we mentioned we were going to Tirana many of our fellow travellers said – “You will love Tirana!”

I did have few rudimentary preconceptions of Albania. First of all, I had read the traffic in Tirana was notoriously crazy! Spoiler alert, I was not disappointed.

I also knew that Albania had experienced a repressive, isolationist, and paranoid form of communism – post second world war. I heard the leadership was kinda schitzo and had built thousands of bunkers all over the country in preparation for an imagined calamity in one shape or form.

I also knew that Mother Teresa hailed from this part of the world (well actually North Macedonia to be precise). I had preconceived images of little old Albanian women wandering around wearing babushkas.

That was it basically my thoughts about the place — traffic, communist era bunkers and Mother Teresa look a likes.

Helpful Albanian Phrases

Faleminderit  — thank you

Përshëndetje. — hello

First Impressions of Albania – Riding the bus.

The drive from Prodgorica to Tirana should take 2.5 hours in theory. In practice it takes about four by bus. First the driver has to stop for fuel at the beginning of the trip, once all the passengers have been collected, rather than starting the journey with a full tank.

The border crossing between Montenegro and Albania was not exactly a model of efficiency. We had to get out in the rain to walk through the vehicle lanes to present our passports to exit Montenegro, before piling back in the bus only to have to do it again to enter Albania.

Once in Albania our driver exercised the option of stopping on the side of the road, to pick up some live fish. The catch had to be gutted, cleaned and bagged, before the drivers dinner was lovingly placed into the back with our luggage.

Then there was the 25 minute road side stop (smoke break) one half hour before we were to arrive in Tirana. We figure the establishment was owned the by the driver’s relatives.

The things we saw along the side of the road as we drove by just seemed out of place. The first was a house, with a small van perched on top of the unfinished second floor of the building.

There were the huge Greek styled palaces in the middle of nowhere. These places stood in contrast to the general utilitarian building styles you see out in the country side. We figure these weird buildings are most likely casinos (or possibly brothels?)

The highway traffic was such that I am constantly thinking ” am I going to witness an accident today?”

Aggressive overtaking is common place, and there are many road side shrines that would indicate that vehicular fatalities do occur here, luckily our driver was experienced, attentive and did not take crazy risks with our lives.

Other images that stuck were the colourful roadside fruit and veg stands, the country side was a bit trashy in spots and the “Kastrati” branded gas stations. Kastrati apparently is a historical Albanian tribe from near Lake Shkodra. I was thinking if you bought gas there you would end up singing in a high-pitched voice – Kastrati not Castrati silly me!

Off to a Rocky Start in Tirana

Yvonne had booked a place to stay close to where our friends were. We usually like to book for a night or two, depending how late we are arriving then go from there. Yvonne booked for 2 nights in a place near the university and the US embassy.

We also like to communicate through Booking.com creating a record of conversation of our expectations / requirements. Our requirement for this stay was to have a full kitchen so we could cook for ourselves. That is not what we got, it had a two-ring burner, limited utensils and no sink.

The owner of the apartments was not present when we checked in, his mother showed us our room. Nënë was very sweet, but could not give us an apartment with a proper kitchen as we had requested. Apparently, our host was in hospital.

We asked it our host if we could move to one of the other rooms and he told us he was fully booked. However, when Yvonne started looking for something more suitable, according to Booking.com he did have other rooms available.

Therefore, we decided to get out as soon as possible and find a more appropriate apartment for the rest of our weeks stay. We found a bigger, better equipped apartment for less, booked it and advised our host. As nobody was in the building when we departed, we took a video of us putting the cash payment in the envelope for one night’s accommodation and placing under Nënë’s door – just in case.

Later that day we got a series of 9 WhatsApp messages, including a threat of being reported to the police for leaving a day early. I got the impression our host was frustrated by being in hospital. Or maybe he was is hospital because his attitude got him roughed up?  Is Batman a transgender –  who knows?

Elements of Aggressiveness

There is definitely an element of aggressiveness / ass-holiness in Tirana. Besides the run in with our first apartment host there are the aggressive drivers (and operators of anything that has wheels).

At about 6 am car horns start blaring in residential areas. Horns are not honked here – they are leaned into with alacrity. The blare is usually directed at drivers who block the road by double or triple parking. I can imagine the horns are actuated with one hand pulling on the wheel and the other pushing the horn, until muscle fatigue sets in and rest is required. It is not just usually one car, but groups of cars leaning on their horns in unison. No alarm clocks required here!

Then there are the daredevils on e- scooters and bicycles weaving through crowded pedestrian throughfares, sometimes at high very rates of speed. Apparently, driving motorcycles on sidewalks and bicycle lanes is perfectly ok as well.

Pro advice: As a pedestrian don’t forget to shoulder check when changing direction on a sidewalk.

Our Personal Introduction

We did meet up with our Kiwi/Australian friends who had been in Tirana for almost a month. They gave us an excellent orientation of central Tirana pointing out the following:

Skanderbeg Square the wide-open main plaza in the centre of Tirana.

The Blloku District: the once secretive enclave for the Communist elites. This trendy area is next to the super funky Air Albania stadium / Mariott hotel

Bunk’art 2 Near Skanderbeg Square a unique Albanian history museum, inside a preserved, Communist-era nuclear pit bunker.

The Grand Park of Tirana and its artificial lake, is a wonderful place to get away from the bustle of Tirana. We were introduced to a Café in the park with the most awesome hot chocolate to be found anywhere – it is like a melted chocolate bar in a cup.

Impressions of Tirana

Tirana is the capital and largest city of Albania, which is located in a valley rimmed by hills and mountains. This geographic feature is similar to Los Angles or Mexico City where air pollution gets trapped in a natural basin. We could see the thick brown air in December, I can only imagine what it is like in the heat of summer when you add a bit of ultra violet radiation to the mix.

Being a university town, the centre of Tirana is quite youthful, lively and energetic. The place has a bustling vibe with people socializing in cafes, bustling through the amazing fruit and vegetable markets, or strolling through parks.

The Café culture in Tirana is extremely vibrant and residents here embrace the urban lifestyle. Their love for coffee is served up in charming, social settings where you can chat with friends and watch very attractive, well-turned-out women displaying the latest fashions.

Smoking is almost as popular as the cafes themselves.

There are more mosques than in Montenegro and the speaker systems are functioning perfectly. You get the impression that religious tolerance is practiced here with equal representation by Mosques, Orthodox and Christian churches.

We did see some evidence of poverty in Tirana with a few beggars on the street – usually women with toddlers.

A nice surprise is how easy Tirana is on the pocket book. Compared to many European cities, Tirana is very budget-friendly without sacrificing quality. For example, a fully furnished apartment (with a kitchen and clothes washer) put us back 25 Euros a night.

Tirana felt very safe and welcoming, and it is really easy to get around by foot.

Funky Architecture

Tirana’s architecture is a coalescence of past and present. The eclectic mix is a symphony of styles, to say the least.

Many of the buildings here reflect past influences, ranging from Ottoman & Italian to stark communist concrete brutalist.

Tirana has recently been shedding its heavy, communist concrete skin, by embracing modern design with open arms. Multicoloured, sleek glass towers complete with innovative structures, are redefining the city’s look.

The result is an interesting hodge-podge which is fascinating, but at the same time rather chaotic (similar to my writing style perhaps?).

One thing you can say about Tirana’s architectural aesthetic, is that it is a blend of bold, charming, and quirky that gives you a sense of travelling through time.

Tirana Traffic

If a diplomatic person was to describe the traffic in Tirana they would probably say it was dynamic, spontaneous, combined with less rigid lane discipline than what most people are accustomed to.

Because I have a distinct lack of diplomacy, I would describe the traffic as fricking chaotic and a complete bloody free for all. There are random lane changes, bicycles, motor cycles, e-scooters and pedestrians all thrown into one giant traffic blender.

The food delivery guys are a complete menace to society. Wolt – yes I’m talking to you!

Turning in front of oncoming traffic and forcing others to jam on the binders is a common practice.

Pedestrian crossings may not always be respected, so caution is advised.

There is however, an underlying degree of courtesy lurking somewhere below the traffic chaos. Drivers do yield and let others in. The Albanians on the whole, do come across as really decent people.

Pro tip: Allow lots of extra time for getting around.

When visiting Tirana and you are chewing on the city’s lively traffic gristle – don’t grumble, give a little whistle. Embracing the traffic chaos is part of the experience!

Communism and Bunkers

I do have a piece of advice for anyone thinking of visiting Albania – please give serious consideration to versing yourself on recent Albanian history – especially the communist years from 1946 to 1991.

20th century history in Albania is as terrifying as todays Tirana traffic.

We took a tour of the Bunk’art 2 Near Skanderbeg Square. This is both a museum and a time capsule, housed in a massive underground nuclear bunker, originally built to protect the country’s elite. One feels the oppressive weight of history when walking through its stark, dimly lit, concrete halls and passageways.

The museum showcases a mix of personal stories, historical documents, photographs, and artifacts that explain:

• The role of the Sigurimi (secret police) in controlling and oppressing citizens. Also the role of citizens snitching on their fellow citizens to the Sigurimi.
• The human rights abuses, with accounts of political prisoners and executions.
• How the communist regime used propaganda and indoctrination to control information and the culture.

The museum gave me an insight into what happened in Communist Albania and thus a greater understanding and appreciation of the Albanian people.

Emerging from the bunker into the light modern Tirana is like entering a different world compared to the dark, oppressive atmosphere of the bunker below. This contrast can be seen a metaphor of modern Albania emerging from it’s communist/ totalitarian past.

An Example of Resilience

There are several countries we have visited in the past 2 years, that have garnered my admiration for its people. All of these countries, have experienced a brutal journey through the 20^th Century, a recent history that has occurred during my lifetime.

• Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979
• The carpet bombing of Laos during the Vietnam War, 1964-1973
• Albania with its communist rule between 1946 and 1991

In my rather simplistic world view, I think the people of these countries would have every right to be nasty and pissed off at the world, because of the trauma inflected upon them. Instead, each of these countries are full of people who are warm, genuine and are just getting on with life.

In my humble opinion, they are all examples of the resilience of the human spirit after being oppressed and brutalized.

Hard times would appear to create strong people. 

The People of Tirana

The Albanian people we have interacted with, are welcoming and friendly. Just as long as wheels or hospitals were not involved.

Wonderful Hosts!

Many friends of ours who have travelled in Albania, have stories about how Albanian people have gone out of their way to help and make them feel welcome. We were told a story of a restaurant that fed our friends, even though the restaurant was ‘closed for business’. Because it was ‘closed for business’ the owners refused to accept any payment for the meal.

Our host at the second apartment was very obliging, helpful, and a pleasure to deal with. He rented us a wonderful apartment for a good rate and even arranged a taxi to the airport at “the local rate”.

Most of the eating and drinking establishments went out of their way to make us feel welcome – sometimes offering complementary Rakia – the local firewater.

The people are friendly and engaging compared to other parts of the Balkans we have visited. I believe you can learn a lot about a place by just walking down a street. In Tirana people are accommodating, they acknowledge you and might even smile at strangers. This is in direct contrast to Montenegro where they do not make eye contact or budge a frickin inch. You do not have to bounce off anyone here to get where you are going. In Montenegro, walking down the street was one big game of pedestrian chicken.

You hear many languages spoken in Tirana including Albanian and Italian. English is also very widely spoken. You definitely get a friendly appreciative smile when you say “Faleminderit” (probably because I had butchered the pronunciation into oblivion).

It is very plain to see that family is held in high regard in Albania. When walking around Tirana we often witnessed people attending to their elders with care and patience.  

I also get the firm impression that Tirana is full of industrious and entrepreneurial people, people with moxy, who are looking and moving forward in a no-nonsense fashion.

There’s a Gangster Vibe Going On

Tirana also gives off a kind of gangster vibe.

Young men hang out in packs of 2 or 3 or as lone wolves. They are usually standing about at street corners or at intersections on the phone “doing the business”. Their uniforms usually consist of dark clothing – puffy jackets, hoodies, track suits and sneakers. Makes you wonder what’s really going down here?

I definitely get the feeling there is mafia activity in Tirana. For the supposedly poorest country in Europe, there are a lot of expensive, high-powered cars about. Hopped up Mercedes, Audis & BMWs are abundant, with the occasional Bentley thrown in for good measure.

Cash is king in Tirana! Many of the transactions we made were strictly cash only. The underground economy is thriving, as is the currency exchange business.

The Food – meh….

Based on our experience, the food in Tirana was nothing to write home about. The quality of food we were served was very hit and miss. The restaurants we were in, seemed to focus on meat, with a few restaurants serving grilled lamb roasted on a spit. The fresh produce is amazing, but none was to be had at any restaurant we ate at. Or maybe we just didn’t know what to order?

There are many bakeries full of yummy breads, cakes, baklava and byrek – a flaky pastry filled with ingredients like spinach, cheese, meat, or leeks.

I am sure we did not really give Albanian cuisine a fair shake – however being on the road a lot, means we do like to self cater whenever possible. The best food we had, was the food we cooked ourselves.

What really stood out for us were the fruit and vegetable stalls. The quality of the produce was amazing and reasonably priced. There are plenty of side walk vendors – literally selling goods and produce right off of the sidewalk.

The butchers and fish mongers also sold high quality, reasonably priced goods.

Olives and olive oil was plentiful and on display in industrial sized tubs and jugs

Overall Impressions

I was pleasantly surprised and somewhat charmed by Tirana. I found the city to be unpretentious, authentic, and full of character.

Tirana is a place full of contrasts, a blend of old and new, tradition and innovation. There is also a strong feeling of optimism and progress here. The city and its inhabitants project a friendly, vibrant vibe which at times is rather aggressive and chaotic, at the same time never really threatening.

Albania is probably my most favourite Balkan country we have visited thus far, a country that warrants a more in-depth exploration, both in Tirana and the rest of the country.

We wanted to visit Montenegro earlier this year, but having experienced how hot and busy Croatia was in August we decided to wait till slow season.

Podgorica – The Big Smoke

We flew into Podgorica (the capital) and booked into the Kings Park Hotel, in early November. To be honest, as capital cities go there is not really much to see. Although our walking tour guide did her best and found us a few places of interest. The best part was the insights she gave us into the culture and the invitation to join her for traditional coffee and pastries. Which were excellent.

It was also a wee bit colder and wetter than expected. So much so, that we decided not to go to Skada lake as planned, as the day dawned very cold and windy. In the summer months it looks divine, but in November not so much.

The folks here are on the whole slim and tall, but they don’t come across as very friendly, which is actually the norm in a lot of European countries. We are used to Europeans not smiling at strangers, but we hadn’t noticed other Europeans being so bad when it came to not yielding when others are trying to pass in tight streets or passageways.

We enjoy trying typical food wherever we travel, sometimes we are pleasantly surprised, sometimes not. Breakfast was included with our hotel room and it was rather strange. The hotel buffet was our first experience of the local fare, it included the usual cold meats, with some very salty soft cheeses and rather strange hot dishes and pastries. Main meals seemed to be very meat and potato focused, guess that’s why these folks are so tall.

Tivat – Monaco of the Balkans

Next up was a short house sit in Tivat, in a waterfront apartment with a great view of the Marina and some of the super yachts. The apartment wasn’t luxurious by any means, but it gave us a chance to cook for ourselves, do laundry etc. which helps keen us sane, when we are doing lots of traveling.

The marina was a favorite spot to walk the dogs and it was here that we noticed how quiet the place became during the week. Tivat only came to life on the weekends.

Cozy Kotor, City of Cats

Next up was UNESCO city of Kotor, we went by taxi as it was only a 20-minute ride and was surprised at the driver’s ingenious way of avoiding the roundabout gridlock, we survived though. Apparently in high season that 20 minute trip can become 2 hours, so a Taxi could get very expensive, as that meter keeps on ticking.

We stayed right in the center of Kotor Old Town which was absolutely fabulous. Imagine a wedge-shaped, walled city protected by sea on one side, river on the other and a huge mountain behind. A ‘must do’ is to climb up to the fortress, preferably on a sunny day for the best photos. It is a very steep and well-worn path, and would be terribly slippery when wet. It would no doubt be hell in the summer heat too. For us it was a perfect temperature, although a little more sunshine on the Bay would have been great!

Sitting at the end of a steep sided valley, Kotor is wetter and shadier than the other places we had seen, but it would be perfect in summer. Although the streets would be even more heavily packed with tourists.

Living in our little apartment and being woken by the church bells and the construction next door, was both good and bad. It certainly gave us a glimpse of what it must be like to live in an Italian borgo, which like here, is a warren of homes and apartments crowded shoulder to shoulder. Our host was super sweet and gave us two bottles of wine. One because of the noise and the second because we didn’t gripe about it, after all there was nothing he could do about it. The Montenegrin’s can be very nice people, once you get to know them. Michael describes them as crusty on the outside with a soft warm middle.

Restaurant food was very hit and miss, consisting mostly of huge portions of meat and potatoes, with not much in the way of vegetables. Although we did find that in the coastal towns there is more seafood available. Our experience in Kotor with restaurant food was not that good, with the little BBQ place outside of the walls being the best, as is often the case with these little ‘hole in the wall’ kind of places.

Even our Guru walking tour guide (Igor) would not give us restaurant recommendations ‘because they are not consistent. There are enough new people coming through, so they don’t care’. Kotor is also a little like Istanbul, in the fact that there are cats everywhere. They appear to be well cared for, many of them with clipped ears showing that they had been spayed or neutered. There are cat statues scattered around and the souvenir shops do a roaring trade in selling cat trinkets. It also seems that there are as many stories of why cats are so popular here, as there are cats. The most popular one is that ‘the city never suffered from the Black Death because the cats never allowed rats to flourish’.

Igor also shared some fun facts, they are the second tallest people in the world behind the Dutch, they have a small population and a small country to match. It is also a very varied country, with large lakes, a fair bit of shore line, and the rest is predominantly mountains. Which is where the Montenegrins name for their country comes from ‘Crna Gora’ loosely means black mountain.

The Iconic Sveti Stefan

Craving some sunshine, we headed down the coast to Sveti Stefan as we were entranced by photos of this tiny little island, which gives the area its name. The islets rocky base rises steeply from the ocean, supporting and protecting the dense cluster of buildings and the church, which cling tenaciously to its top. Even though the island is now connected to the shore by a causeway, sadly it is impossible to visit. Years ago it was purchased by Aman Resorts, a Swiss company who converted into a high end resort. Rooms used to go from 900 to 1200 Euros per night, but it closed during Covid and has not reopened since.

I had found a small oceanfront apartment on line, with a tiny balcony from which to enjoy the ever-changing view of the ocean and this tiny islet. And boy did it change! Our first day was warm and sunny with calm blue seas, perfect for wandering along the beach and walking over to the islet. The next was the total opposite. High winds whipped the sea into a raging monster, desperate to destroy what man had built. Each pounding wave seemed to be seeking a finger hold, desperate to get in and wreak havoc as it beat against the sheer cliff sides and foundations.  Larger waves barreled across the pebble beach and swamped the causeway, causing the brave (or foolish) souls who were braving the elements to run for safety.

By evening the winds had died down enough for us to venture out and see what damage had been done. Surprisingly not that much, although a lot of the pebble beach was now on the causeway.

The biggest surprise here though, was how few people were around. The complex we were in was a warren of apartment buildings, but we never saw anyone else in them. Two nearby hotels were closed for the season and the majority of the restaurants were closed too. Good job we like to cook for ourselves. In high season the place must be buzzing, but in November it was a ghost town.

Pretty Petrovac

Sveti Stefan was a lovely spot to spend a few quiet days but we had one more stop in mind. Next up was Petrovac! This is yet another scenic coastal town, close to popular Budva, again it was very quiet, but at least there is a community here year-round, it’s not just a place for tourists.

We had another ocean view apartment, just across the road from a wonderful promenade and with views of two tiny little islets. Although both are uninhabited, one sports a tiny little church, built in gratitude by survivors of a shipwreck who took shelter there when their ship went down.

Petrovac has a lovely little sheltered harbor and a small fishing community, it also has a very interesting neighbor just a short walk along the coast.

We took the shady path up and over the promontory to the North of us and were surprised to find a series of tunnels leading through the cliff’s. Each one opened out to offer yet another stunning view. But why were they there?  Surely not just to allow a few tourists to get around? All the tunnels were large enough for a small truck to get through them, but why, what was their purpose? We found out in the next bay over.

The Titanic of the Former Yugoslavia

The last tunnel disgorged us onto a rocky beach, on the edge of a large bay, with a small semi-derelict dock on the waters edge. We of course wandered over to explore and were dumbfounded to see a huge abandoned building site tucked into the cliff side behind us.

It was immediately obvious that this was going to be a huge hotel, built as it was into the back of the bay, with large curving balconies. Further inspection revealed, that it was once a smaller hotel that was being extended. All the cement work was in place, stairs, walls, balcony’s and even a large garage were all under construction. Cranes and pile’s of building materials sat where they had been left at days end. Where had the workers gone, what had happened here?

Closer examination revealed the true state of the carcass of the former hotel, now just an empty shell with broken glass everywhere and gaping holes where piping had been ripped out. Both here and in the unfinished extension, graffiti adorned many a wall and the cranes were being consumed by rust, as was the rebar sticking out from the unfinished walls and balconies.

A quick search found this Link to an article on the hotel. (You will need to translate from Bosnian on your Browser).

The hotel gets reviews still gets reviews on Google , which is quite entertaining.

“Cozy hotel in a quiet corner of Montenegro. The rooms with a sea view are really nice. Unfortunately the bed was a little hard and the air conditioning provided a comfortable temperature during the night. Another plus point – we had the hotel to ourselves.”

Petrovac was the perfect place to spend our last few days in Montenegro, but our time had come to an end, it was time to head back to Podgorica and a bus to our next destination Albania.

For me it was a great opportunity to explore this stunningly beautiful country. If I had the choice again, I would have gone a little earlier in the year, late September early October would probably be perfect. The weather would have been a little warmer (maybe even enough for swimming) and it would not have been so much of a ghost town in places. However, I would not want to be there in high season, it would have been just as hot and crowded as Croatia was earlier this year. Just another tourism Zoo.

We first became aware of the Clipper Line in April 2015 whilst in Port de France Martinique. We saw the Royal Clipper in dry Dock and it was love at first sight. Yvonne’s comment was “we are going to sail on that vessel some day”.

And we did. in January 2016. We were in Barbados doing a housesit and found out that the Royal Clipper sailed into and out of Barbados. A quick search and a screaming last-minute deal and we were off for a cruise in the southern Windward Islands and we Loved it!

These were the Islands on our itinerary:

• Union Island – Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Grenada
• The Tobago Cayes – Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Kingstown – Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Bequia – Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Fort de France – Martinique
• Anse d- Arlet – Martinique
• Marigot Bay – St Lucia
• Soufriere and the Pitons – St Lucia
• Barbados

Strangely enough, we had already been to most of these islands whilst housesitting, so we already knew people in Grenada, Bequia, St Lucia etc. Which was perhaps why we enjoyed it so much? Here’s the link to our blog post on the Royal Clipper

Lets Do it again!

We swore when we left, that we would have to do another Clipper Cruise somewhere. It took a while until we figured that a cruise in the Mediterranean, around the Greek Islands would be a great candidate.

Our friend Jane had already said she would be interested if we were thinking of another cruise. We asked and the answer was an emphatic “Yes!”

Exploring Athens

On August 1, 2024 we flew from Dublin Ireland into Athens, and waited at the airport for Jane who was coming in from Vancouver via Paris a little later. Then it was into Athens, where we stayed right by the Parthenon.

We spent a few days seeing the sights and it was hotter than the hubs of hell.

Setting Sail

Then it was off to the Athens Port of Piraeus on August 3^rd to board the Star Clipper and get settled in.  As with all the Clipper vessels leaving Port is a BIG event. As the sun starts to set, the sails come down, the lines are cast off and off we sail. This magical moment is accompanied by the sound of Vangelis’s 1492 Conquest of Paradise, plus the sound of Champagne corks popping. Because we were past guests, we had received a complementary nicely chilled bottle. With grins stretching from ear to ear, we toasted to our Greek Island adventure.

August 4^th was a full day at sea. We were up early, to enjoy both the tranquility and the wind in our faces. Our reward was catching sight of dolphins cavorting off our bow.  We also explored the ship a little more. It is a smaller vessel than the Royal Clipper, rigged differently too, but it still had a small pool and sun loungers for those seeking sun or shade.  

Our itinerary was of the Northern Aegean islands, which we had chosen over the more usual destinations as we thought these islands might be a little quieter. Plus, it was marketed as a Yoga cruise with an onboard instructor for daily Yoga classes. We were therefore a little surprised that there was no mention of Yoga in the daily schedule. This was eventually bought to the attention of Peter the Cruise Director. Who had not been advised by head office of the ‘Yoga Cruise’ and therefore had not arranged to have an instructor on board. By day 3 he had persuaded one of our fellow passengers (who was a Yogi) to give a daily class, so kudos to him for that.

First Port of Call Dikili Turkey

On August 5th we arrived in the port of Dikili Turkey.

Cruise description – The town features lush olive groves, thermal springs, and a relaxed atmosphere. Historical attractions include the ancient city of Atarneus and picturesque stone houses. Dikili’s waterfront promenade offers vibrant markets, seafood restaurants, and cafés., Dikili is an ideal destination for travelers seeking tranquility and authentic Turkish charm.

In other words, not much happening here, unless you went on the tour to the historical ruins.

We had (pretty much as usual) decided against the scheduled tours, so we disembarked and wandered around town, which was very quaint and quiet and thankfully fairly shady.

Mahvelous Myrina

August 6^th we arrived in Myrina, the capital of Lemnos Island, Greece. It was a lovely town and our plans to go to the Venetian castle were aborted, as it was way too hot. Therefore, we spent a few hours walking through covered streets, window shopping and then succumbed to trying some of the ice cream on offer, and were soon joined by a couple of our fellow passengers.

What time is it? – you decide

We decided to go swimming in the afternoon, and this is where one of the biggest differences between the two Clipper ships was really felt. The Royal Clipper being a bigger boat and of different design, had a swimming platform at the stern. Which was fabulous, as you could just jump in and out at will.

With the Star Clipper, if you wanted to go swimming, you were taken closer into shore on a Zodiac. Getting in the water was easy, getting out not so much. It amazes me that there was nothing that remotely resembled a ladder to help guests get back in from deep water. The only foot hold available was a small ledge on the side of the engine. Mike got back in first to help us ladies and managed it fairly easily, but it was not so easy for the rest of us, just getting your foot up high enough to that little ledge was one challenge, the other was levering yourself up on it. Jane had some problems, only exacerbated by our young skipper’s impatience and attitude. With some pushing and pulling we got her back on board and then it was my turn, which went rather more smoothly. None of us were impressed by our skipper to say the least.

Skiathos Greece

August 7^th we arrived in Skiathos – It is a very scenic little island and part of the Mamma Mia movie was filmed here. We skipped the tours and went into town with some of the group we had met on board for nibbles and a wander around.

In the afternoon we decided to go for a swim on a local beach, after first checking that we would be getting in and out of the boat at the beach, not in deep water.  We were dropped off at the beach, but forget the beautiful white sand beaches of the Caribbean, Greek beaches are usually rock, pebble or gritty sand.  Nonetheless it was nice to get off the ship and go for a swim. The same Zodiac skipper as before promised to be back to pick us up in an hour, and off he went.

We had a pleasant swim and found that we had some fellow passengers on the beach with us, so it was nice to just sit and chat, although there was not much shade to be had. An hour and a half go by and no sign of our zodiac. Another half hour goes by and one of our companions’ phones the ship and request our ride back (thankfully the number is on all the boarding passes). Eventually the zodiac comes into sight, bringing two more passengers to the beach and to collect us.

Marooned on a Greek Island

But our wait was not over, apparently no one is allowed in the zodiac without a life vest and the only ones he had with him is those worn by the two passengers he just bought out. After some incredulous discussion, we decide the lucky two to be Jane and another lady and off they go with a promise to come back for us immediately.

We wait, and wait some more, and then eventually, there he is tearing back at break neck speed. Thankfully with enough life jackets for all 8 of us, we pile in, hot, sweaty, thirsty and a little sun-kissed. We’re not done yet though; our skipper seems to be having problems steering the boat and is unable to back out through the cordoned off passage.

Apparently, something has broken and with no steering capability we are going nowhere!  No problem, he will just radio in and they will send out another Zodiac. No answer! Tries again no answer! He then tries to phone the Cruise Director and again no answer. We have now been marooned on the beach for over 4 hours! He tries yet again and finally manages to connect, hurray our ride is on its way!

Our one-hour swim and beach session was almost 5 hours by the time we got back onboard. We barely had time to get showered and changed before dinner, made for a good story though.

Skopelos -Mama Mia!

August 8^th was Skopelos. If the name sounds familiar its probably because that’s where most of the Momma Mia movie was filmed. This was the one place we had chosen to do a tour and yes it was the Momma Mia tour. We had a blast and all of us thoroughly enjoyed crossing the island, singing along to the tunes and seeing where it all happened. We all hiked up the narrow little trail to the tiny chapel, perched high on a rocky outcrop. We then visited the famous beach where a lot of the action happened, including the guy’s dancing on the dock with snorkelling gear on. Sadly, it’s no longer a pristine, untouched beach, it was wall to wall sunbeds and bars. But the next beach over was still relatively unspoilt, so we went to explore. This is when I managed to put my foot in a hole and turn my ankle. At first it wasn’t too bad, but by the time we got back to the ship, we thought it best to get it iced and the ship’s nurse to have a look. He bound it up and cautioned me to rest it.

Guests of Honour

Today was also Captain’s Dinner night. Everyone dresses up a wee bit more and the menu is usually a little fancier. There are always the lucky few, who get invited to join the captain for pre dinner drinks and to join him at his table.

We were flabbergasted to find we were in the lucky few, a printed invitation waited for us in our cabin. We were also invited on the Royal Clipper, but we know that was because our friend knew the Cruise director on that ship and had set it up. But this time we had no idea why. Maybe it was to make up for the ‘beach stranding’, but apparently not, none of our fellow stranded had been invited.

The captain was a personable man from the Ukraine and was very interested to know that we had been on the Royal Clipper. He kept asking what we thought of it, and what was the biggest difference between the Royal and the Star Clipper. I managed to be diplomatic and not tell him that we much preferred the Royal, she was bigger, more comfortable, the food was better and they didn’t leave us stranded on a beach with no shade for over 4 hours. We got the distinct impression that he wanted us to tell him that we preferred the Star Clipper, but sadly I could not oblige.

Perfect Poros

August 9^th  Poros was our port of call. It looked very pretty with its pastel-colored buildings but with my gimpy ankle, I left it to Jane & Michael to go exploring. I found a book and some shade and enjoyed the peace and quiet on board. 

It was also another swimming day, and it was here where Jane took advantage of the watersport equipment on board and had a go at Stand-up Paddle Boarding. Before we knew it, she was on her feet and having a whale of a time.

Round Trip

August 10th was our last day. We were back in port; we said fond farewells to some new found friends and disembarked after breakfast. We took an Uber to Rafina as it was convenient for getting to the airport the next day for our flight to Croatia.

We had a wonderful time and would recommend the Clipper Line to anyone, but to be honest I think it will be the Royal Clipper again next time.

Next Stop Split Croatia – No Wait Mikonos!

The next leg of our adventure was soon to begin, but Greece had one surprise left for us. We boarded our flight to Split, Croatia via bus, and were comfortably settled in our seats when the second bus load arrived. Before we knew it, there were people complaining that others were in their seats, including us apparently. Before I pulled my boarding pass out, the problem had been resolved. The second bus load of passengers was supposed to be going to Mikonos, not Split. They had been brought out to the wrong plane! They were quickly rounded up and herded off, and we were away, although later than planned.  That’s a ‘first’ for us in all our years of travel and we got quite the giggle from it.  

In the past twelve years of housesitting we have spent a cumulative total of over four years living in the Caribbean Windwards Islands (Saint Lucia, Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada).

When asked “Aren’t we scared about the risk of hurricanes in the Caribbean?” we have always responded with “not really as we spend most of our time in the south where hurricanes are less common”. To be more accurate we are usually between 12 and 14 degrees North of the Equator. Most of the storms we have seen form head our way briefly then turn north. Some fizzle out and some turn into Tropical Storms or Hurricanes and do damage further North’.

Past Performance is no Guarantee of Future Results

Well, this year proved us wrong that’s for sure!

When we were offered this particular sit, we had the choice of either – end of May through June, or all of September, we opted for June as the weather is usually nicer and the risk of hurricanes is far less. Wrong again!

Upon arrival in the island’s we knew things were going to be different. It was unseasonably hot and sticky, apparently the weather had not cooled down during the winter months as it usually does. This did not bode well for the upcoming hurricane season.

Getting into the Groove

We slowly adjusted to the heat, helped along by dips in the enormous pool and trips to our favorite beaches. Over the first few days we learnt the ropes, for what has to be the most unusual home we have ever looked after. By the time our hosts left we were pretty comfortable we had it all under control, including how to close and open the louvres and storm doors as needed.

We soon settled into a routine with the cats, dogs and staff, with everything ticking along smoothly. Although it did take us a little while to get used to living in what was basically outdoors. The whole home takes the concept of outdoor living to a new level, it felt like we were Uber Glamping in the clouds.

Shadows of Things to Come

Our first sample of things to come was about 10 days in, we were upstairs when a sudden rain squall hit us. From the bedroom it looked pretty normal, but when we checked the front of the house, that was a different story. The rain was coming in sideways; the whole kitchen/dining area was being rained upon. We dashed downstairs to deploy the storm doors and were soaked through in seconds. Then it was time to clean up the puddles before cleaning up ourselves. Within an hour the sun was shining and there was nothing amiss in the world.

One of our routines whilst in the islands is to keep an eye on various weather stations, as this allows us to keep an eye on what is likely to head our way. Disturbances tend to form in the Atlantic off of the coast of Africa, slowly making their way towards the Caribbean either as tropical waves or potential tropical storms. Over the years we have watched many of these storms form before heading north. Sometimes we have had these tropical storms pass over us (including Ian, Dorian, Harvey, Matthew, Irma & Maria) giving us some gusty winds and lots of rain before heading north and building into Hurricanes and wreaking havoc as far afield as Canada and the United Kingdom.

Storm Clouds on the Horizon

The first hint of trouble showed up the morning of Tuesday June 25^th when a little yellow cross showed up on the National Hurricane Centers map.  This was a new system with a low probability of development into a storm. On the 26^th the probability increased, and then jumped again on June 27^th. Later in the day that little yellow cross had become a tropical depression.

Tropical waves are pretty common in this part of the world and it is only when they develop into Tropical Storms that they are named. The first storm of the year will have a name beginning with A and the next will begin with a B. Names also alternate between male and female. 2024’s first named storm was Alberto and the second–whom we were to become very familiar with–was named Beryl on Friday the 28^th when she became a Tropical Storm.

This was the day following our hosts return home. We had done handover and as we were officially off duty, we headed to the beach for some R & R and our hosts went to catch up with friends. Upon our return home, to find out that we now had a named storm coming towards us was a little concerning. We had ridden out many storms before, so it wasn’t a major concern. Plus, we had already figured out where we would hunker down if a storm was to hit, as is our usual practice here in the islands.

Serious but not Desperate

On the morning of Saturday 29^th June 2024, Beryl became a Category 1 Hurricane and by the afternoon a Category 2. After a serious discussion with our hosts, we made the decision to bail and caught the 4 pm ferry into Kingstown. This all happened so fast we were scrabbling to find somewhere to stay, as we were originally supposed to stay on site until the 2^nd July as our flight to the UK was on the 3^rd.

The forecast was predicting that Beryl would increase in intensity and that the eye was heading straight for St Vincent & the Grenadines. We were offered a friend’s house which is lovely, perched high on a hillside on the Windward side of the island as it is. But after realizing that we could be facing anything from a 150 to 250 kilometer per hour winds, we decided that we needed something more sheltered.

Fortunately, we know the islands fairly well and have stayed in a few different hotels, so we were able to consider each one in turn. We settled on The Cobblestone Hotel in Kingstown. It was built sometime in the 1800’s, is very solidly built and is also protected on either side by two slightly taller buildings. The only downside we could see is that it might flood, if we took a direct hit and got the estimated 6 to 9’ storm surge.

In for a Bumpy Ride

The ferry ride over from Bequia was a little bouncy. We took on one nasty wave which had my heart racing for sure, but it calmed down after we got through the main channel. We made it safely to land and checked in at the Cobblestone. The staff were excellent and when we said we were going to ride out Beryl there, they offered us a lovely room on the ground floor. Which we took, as it had a big bathroom that would make a perfect ‘panic’ room. Supermarkets were still open, so we stocked up on food for a couple of days, water, candles etc.

The first edges of Beryl were supposed to hit us either late Sunday or early Monday. So we settled in for a restless night, running through scenarios in our heads and trying to figure what we needed to do to get ready. ‘Prepare for the worst and hope for the best’, was the maxim going through our heads.

Things were Getting Real

We woke on Sunday 30^th to find that Beryl had intensified into a Category 3 but had also veered a little to the south of us, so we might be fortunate and not be hit by the eye, just the outer edges. Later in the day Beryl became a Category 4 with the potential of sustained wind speeds between 131 -150 miles or 210 – 250 kilometers per hour.

We spent the day letting everyone know what was going on. Plus trying to plan for worst-case scenario’s i.e. complete devastation and lack of power and internet for days, or if we took a direct hit maybe much longer. We did everything we could, with what resources we had, which in a hotel room is somewhat limited.

Sunday afternoon we decided to get some sleep whilst we could, or at least I did. Mike had been concerned right from the beginning about the potential of flooding. If we were to be hit directly by the eye or center of the storm, there would be a considerable storm surge of 6 to 9′, plus waves on top of that. So being on the lower floor, even though it was at least 4’ above street level, was not sitting well with him.

Not Sitting Well

After watching the latest meteorological updates and understanding a little more of the effects that the unusually warm water this year was having on Beryl. Mike decided we needed to relocate onto a middle floor. The staff kept insisting that we wouldn’t flood as it “never had in the past”, but then they had not had a Category 4 or 5 Hurricane hit them before, so we decided to play safe and move.

We had a choice of rooms and chose one with a very small window off a central corridor, as that would help limit the risk of flying projectiles impacting us. We carted all our belongings and supplies up and set about making our room as secure as could be. At this point we still had power and water so we refilled our water supply and got off a few messages as we were told the power was going to be turned off that evening.

All this time Beryl was still headed our way, but she had done a wobble to the south, which was good for us but not good for other islands down the chain. Problem with hurricanes is that they are very unpredictable and can change direction without warning. She could turn back to us at anytime and once we lost power, we would have no way of tracking her.

The Angst before the Storm

We spent a restless night and awoke to find that Beryl had not yet arrived and that we still had power. A quick check showed that the eye was still heading to the south of us. It looked we were going to be exceedingly lucky and would only experience the lesser wind speeds on her edges.

A Multitude of Storms

On Monday July 1^st Beryl landed as a Category 4 in the Grenadines with Union, Canouan & Mayreau taking the brunt of it. As did the Grenadian island of Carriacou.

We didn’t feel anything until around 9 am when the wind started to whistle and howl outside. It got a little more pronounced as the morning progressed and we lost power around 10/11am. Maybe because of where we were in the building, we hardly felt it all, for us it was just like riding out another tropical storm.

Although there was quite the storm brewing next door, even with a hotel as solid as this one, we could hear the couple yelling and screaming at each other in the next room. We couldn’t help but hear it and, in some ways, it helped take our minds off what was going on. But we were concerned when we heard people leaving and stomping off down the corridor into the storm.

By 2.30/3pm we deemed it safe to venture out and immediately headed upstairs to the rooftop terrace. The normally flat, calm blue seas where a churned steel grey, angry with great rolling waves crashing against the cruise ship dock, causing regular blowhole plumes and pounding the ferry piers.

We Dodged a Bullet

We had survived a Category 4 / 5 Hurricane making landfall in the Windward Islands. However, we did not the full force of Hurricane Beryl, we only had to deal with the outskirts of the system and did not have to deal with wind speeds of 210 – 250 kilometers per hour and we are extremely grateful for that.

By 5pm we went out to check out some of the damage, which included a huge gap in the parking lot wall by the Massy supermarket, where the waves were still crashing through and flooding the road. Waves were still pounding the ferry terminal and part of the pedestrian way in and out of the dock had collapsed leaving a big hole which the waves were still leaping from. Security huts were overturned and two small white trucks were pinned against the fencing next to the passenger terminal. Waves were still flooding the cruise ship terminal and the whole area was covered in debris, garbage and mud.

One guy told us he was part of the clean up crew and that they were going to be busy for awhile. The resilience of these island people still astonishes us. In the last four years they have ridden out Covid, a volcanic eruption when Soufriere blew its top in April 2021 and now a Catastrophic Hurricane.

Power was back in Kingstown by 2pm July 2^nd which is just over 24 hours, other parts of the island took longer but most was back in a few days.

Getting Back to ‘Normal’

St Vincent was extremely lucky, Union, Mayreau & Canouan not so much as they took the full force of Beryl who landed as a Category 4 / 5. Power lines downed, 90 to 95% of houses destroyed or severely damaged, and barely a stick of green left on the islands.

Our beloved Bequia took more of the brunt than we did, but everyone we know is safe and well. There was damage to a few houses with the most notable one being the one we had vacated just a few days ago. Our hosts did what they could to prepare for the storm and hunkered down in a neighboring house with the dogs. They are all okay, but the house lost most of its roof and they are now dealing with the aftermath, salvaging what they can and getting on with the clean up process.

As we ended being stuck on island for longer than expected due to flight cancellations we met some of the evacuees from the badly hit islands. Their stories are heartbreaking to say the least. What really hit it home for us was seeing whole families getting off the ferries in Kingstown, carrying all that’s left of their worldly goods in a few small suitcases, backpacks or hastily stuffed shopping bags. We have done what we can to help here and we know they will get through this as they are a resilient people.

Post Beryl we are safe and well although a little bruised (emotionally and mentally) we were exceedingly lucky. We had asked for your good wishes to the Weather Gods and we think they heard you.

Thank you!

Yvonne & Michael

“Nature abhors a vacuum, and if I can only walk with sufficient carelessness, I am sure to be filled”.
— Henry Thoreau

2023 The Year in Review

As you probably know by now, we like to do a recap of the past year in our annual New Years newsletter. So here you go.

2023 has been one of our busiest travel years to date; our travels took us right around the globe! We started heading West in January and keep on moving in that direction, which of course eventually became East.

It was our second circumnavigation of the globe, the first was completed when we first met way back in 1995.
 
We are currently cat sitting in Puerto Vallarta Mexico, after spending a few months in Ajijic, which is a beautiful spot on the shores of Lake Chapala 45 minutes South of Guadalajara.

We completed four house sits in Ajijic, in four completely different neighborhoods. Our favorite was without doubt the one way up the hill overlooking the lake. The view was amazing and our charges Gracie & Watson with their sweet and funny characters, kept us endlessly entertained. 
 
We are currently doing our first housesit of 2024 here in PV, after a mini holiday in a beachside hotel. After that it’s on to Merida for another two sits and from there probably Cancun.
 
But hey wait a minute, this section is supposed to be about 2023, so here is a quick summary of what countries we visited during the year. [click  the links for galleries]


Hawaii (US of A)
Japan
Malaysia
Cambodia
Thailand
Laos
Vietnam
Dubai
Turkey
Italy
Home (England)
Back to Italy
Ireland
Home (Canada)
Mexico

Travel Highlights of 2023

• Visiting Tokyo and Kyoto Japan     [-Gallery-] [-Blog-]
• The Shinkansen Bullet Train     
• Ankor Wat Complex     [-Gallery-] [-Blog-]
• Cruise on the Tonle Sap River     [-Gallery-]
•  Mekong River by “slow boat”  [-Gallery-]
• Cooking Classes in Chaing Mai     [-Blog-]
• Luang Prabang Laos     [-Gallery-] [-Blog–
• Halong and Lan Ha Bays in Vietnam     [-Gallery-]
• Rome (because Rome is Rome)     [-Gallery-] [-Blog-]
• Housesit in Trevignano Romano [-Gallery-] [-Blog-]

Year in Review Continued…

Rather than us trying to convey what the year has been like by writing about it, Michael has put together a visual journey for you. No doubt you will find it much more entertaining. So please head on over and join us for a very condensed review of our travels in 2023.

2023 Fast Facts
 

Friends and Family