Yes yes, ive been very slack, a month since my last post!!
Ahh well, have lots to tell, so grab a cuppa & sit down.
Left Ireland and flew into Bristol airport in the UK, the highest and foggiest airport in all of Europe apparently. We had no idea we were about to land because of the heavy fog on the runway, so the sudden jolt of the wheels touching down gave everyone on the flight a bit of a scare! Caught a cab over to a mates place in Bristol and met up with some English buddies i met in Aus last year..Matt & Dan. Spent the whole night drinking having a great laugh & then took off to Cornwall in the morning for the weekend. Lovely place Cornwall.....in summer though. It was really cold & a bit windy the whole time, but i met some great crew & saw all the good pubs & surf breaks.
After returning to Bristol and having another big night out on the lager, i boarded yet another easyjet plane & went down to Malaga in the South of Spain to meet my uncle, aunty and numerous cousins at the villa in Puerto Banus. Beautiful place, Beautiful language and great weather. We had a great week, checking out the richest peoples boats & lifestyles of the even richer in the harbour of Banus. Ate loads of Paella and drank large amounts of sangria. All good!!
My cousin Nik and i decided to hire a car and go for a bit of a mission along the south coast of spain. After getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road, the sights were fantastic..we checked out Gibralter from the mainland and could see Africa over the water, only 14km away!! Our first destination was a windsurfing mecca called Tarifa. Windsurfers heaven!! Kitesurfers and windsurfers shops everywhere and heaps of little beach bars & clubs which hired out kites, windsurfers and gave lessons. Nik had a windsurf & i was thinking about taking a kitesurfing lesson, but the wind wasnt really strong enough, so we just chilled in one of the beer gardens & took it all in. Ended up camping there the night...apparently illegally as we were questioned by the Spanish police when we awoke the next morning. Luckily Nik speaks spanish, so he managed to talk us out of a fine. We continued on to a little town called Cadiz where Nik dropped me off to get a coach to Faro, in the Algarve, Portugal, via Saille in Spain. After arriving at Saville in Spain on the bus, it became apparent that there were no buses to Faro, so i decided to go to Lisbon and up to Peniche instead. After a long 5 hour bus trip, i was there! Walked into the surf camp and within 5 minutes was at the beach bar in the sun drinking beer with Steve, a fellow Aussie who has decided to take up residence next door to the surf camp. Hes a legend & is planning the summer in Morocco. Spent the next week meeting loads of great people and having a laugh. The waves were disappointing, small, onshore and a little crowded, but hey, thats what travelling for surf is sometimes like. After 6 days the forecast for the waves/wind was not looking any better so i decided to move on back to the UK to stay with the family for a bit & do some last catch ups before heading to london.
It took me 14hrs to get from Peniche to Manchester, 3 buses, a plane, a train and a cab ride!! I also had an argument with a portugese cab driver about my surfboard...but thats a story better told over a cold beer when im back in Aus..hee hee. Since being back in manchester i have been to watch the end of season rugby game for Mnachester R C, my cousins boyfriend plays for them, then had a big night out with the team after their win...phew..rugby boys in the UK are just as mad as those in Aus! Another tale better told over a cold aussie beer...
I have been for a mountain bike ride & also a trip out to the pub on Niks motorbike and am going on a bit of a shopping tour in Manchester tomorrow with my mad shopaholic cousin Harriet!!
Anyway, am sayig my goodbyes to the Manchester contingent of the family on Thursday & jumping on a train to London. Will do some sightseeing for a few days & no doubt more touring around on Niks bike and am then heading back to sunny Aus next week.
Will post all of my pics from the last month soon, once im back in wireless range. Looking forward to getting back to Aus & will have plenty of tales from my adventures.....Seeya all soon innit!!
hehe
Carls xx
