Gloucester Old Spot

Are those not the cutest pigs you've ever seen? Gloucester (pronounced Gloster) Old Spot is the name of that type of pig. They also have a type called Saddleback. Either one makes a great sausage...don't tell the pigs!

These ones had buck teeth on the bottom row and hilarious tongues and they made hilarious sounds. I had an apple that I was eating and I took one big bite and they heard the crunch and here they all came! Pretty funny! The pigs reside at Bell Farm in a place called Frampton on Severn. Very nice little village. Had alot of artists sitting in the sunny green (common). Lucy and I went for a bike ride. Well Lucy did I just went along and took some pictures. She was a good sport though. I had to stop for every church and and of course the pigs.

We rode along the canal next to the Severn River. Its where all the canal boats are. Very nice and quiet, tons of boats. The train finally got too rough for the bike I was riding and so we called it a day.

I went to Nailsworth with Lilla and had a bit of a shopping spree at the second hand store. Bought a "new' t-shirt and a pair of shorts that fit and a hilarious new hat! You'll see it in photos, don't worry!

This afternoon I finished mowing the lawn here at Tree Tops. Its not easy there are little paths and secret garden spots everywhere so it was hard work, the mower is really heavy!!

On Sunday afternoon we are all headed to Wales. I think I mentioned it before?! Not sure. We are staying for a few nights at this house. NOt sure what thats all about but it will be great I am sure. Rob said we can use the toys there too. So that is power boats, sail boat etc. Should be good fun!

Anyways, all for now. More pretty scenery and funny pigs.

Later,

K

My very own English Miagi

anyone familiar with the Karate Kid will get it. In the last few days I have done nothing but jobs that could easily translate to work on a boat... Robert is secretly trying to be my Mr. Miagi. First sand the bench, then use filler to take care of teh gaps, then resand and then paint. Hmmm maybe its just me but I've decided that is whats happening.
This morning John called. He is the hilarious old guy I met in Poole and who took Tony and I sailing. He wanted to see what I was up to and tell me he has great photos from the day we went out. He has just gotten back from Greece and was at that moment driving to Gatwick to catch a flight to America. I forgot he said he was doing that. So we'll catch up when he gets back.
He wanted to tell me to keep walking the gangplanks. Keep talking to strangers. It was really funny. He is a funny man! I wish sometimes I had his gift for gab.
After that call I got to work on the bench. I put the paint on it and it looks really good. No one around here likes the color except for Robert who picked it out and me. I like bright colors. Personally there isn't enough of them in England I think! They all liked the grey primer color...figures! I told them it matches the current weather pattern. Though this day was sun and rain and sun.
This afternoon I went and did some chores at their rental flats and then Robert drove up by the view point again. It is so beautiful when teh sun is out. The valley is so green and its just indescribable how pretty it is.
Today must have been a great day for the glider planes because the skies were full of them! They are so neat to watch because they are so quiet, and they just soar above you. There were 3 of them today that I counted just in my area of the world.
This afternoon I went and helped Robert out by mowing this huge lawn at the "factory" not sure what they make tehre but they have a huge lawn for the workers. So I took about 1 and 1/2 hours to mow the whole thing. Sheesh! Robert has currently got a bad foot adn bad back to match it so I offered to help out. I got my butt kicked by a tree. That was pretty funny. I went under this tree branch thinking it was thin enough for me to move and it wasn't so I got swept up clear off my feet. It was so funny! I just had to lay there and laugh for a minute. Of course Rob was watching so he had a good laugh too! Sheesh!
Now I've just completed dinner and am getting ready to go read a book. Right now I'm reading Touching the void. About some climbers in South America. Good so far.
The other thing I was anxious to remember here was this thing they have called a common (a piece of public land but with old public rights). To me it seems like a big patch of field, usually at the top of a hill. This one is nearby here, I've driven past it before. But today you should have seen the activities! They play golf, the have cattle that roam freely there, there was a couple of dog walkers, One golfer had is dog along with him! A grandma and grandpa playing cricket with their grandson. Badmitten, a man flying radio airplanes, kites, bikes, hikers. It was incredible! I have never seen so much stuff going on and everyone was oblivious to each other. Amazing!
I think that was about it today. It was a great day! I am tired!
K

Watchet Rewind

Well, its been 5 or 6 days since I've written. I was totally disconnected for most of that time visiting the seaside village of Watchet. It sits on the Bristol Channel. Across the water about 17 miles is Wales. It was a really cute little town set up right along the sea, so close they had to build big walls to keep the high tide waves at bay.

The Gazzards (whom I am staying with, Robert and Lilla and Lucy) got us all packed up in the family van and off we went (Lilla stayed home in the end). We were staying with Roberts mum and dad. Anne and David. They have a cute little flat right up against that sea wall so they have a view of the channel out each window. It was great! In the photo they are 2nd white flat from the right of the pink one.

I am not sure where to start. I guess I'll just cover the highlights. I kept a few notes in my journal of some of the things I didn't want to forget. When we first arrived David told me that the waves used to crash up on the house and so they would keep these metal grids over the windows to keep the rocks from breaking the glass. You see when the tide goes out the whole place is rocky and muddy, no real sand to speak of. When the tide comes in or goes out you can hear the rocks grinding on one another. Just like back home in spring time when the streams are really flowing you can hear the rocks moving.

I went for a walk with David and Anne and their insanly bad mannered dog to a place called Kilve beach. It was fantastic! You park next to this really amazing house (castle sized to me) and then walk between the wheat fields to get to the sea side where you circle back, anyways, very pretty walk for sure. It was nice!

I didn't end up sleeping on the boat. I stayed at the house and slept in a terrific little bed all the way at the top of the flat. I read the entire book "Shrimpy" very good book I recommend it! I also finished Tony's book he lent me "Trade Wind Hitchers"

I walked around town a little bit by myself. Not much to it, didn't take long. I did notice more disgusting scary teeth in Watchet, more than I've seen anywhere else. People always said the English didn't have nice teeth but I haven't really found that to be true until now. Amazing! And Yikes!

The town put on a carnival Sunday (rain or shine they said...they must have known what was coming because it poured rain all day Sunday!!) the carnival included a parade through town and a big Fete up in the park above town. It was great! These people poured their hearts out into these floats adn they were dancing and all dressed up and it was fantastic! I'm actually really serious about it too, they really did a great job. Mostly American music I'll add :)

A few days into the whole weekend I started to panic about the sunshine. Where the heck is it? Blech!!

Friday and Monday both days Robert and David and I attempted to take the boat out for some good hours of sailing only to be met outside the harbour with big seas and high wind. Since the boat is only 18 feet long and Robert had two novice sailors onboard we didn't go very far out either time and came back around and headed home. What a bummer. Not only do you fight the wind and rain (which we had) and the waves but the tide is unbelievably strong there too. How frustrating. You really are at the mercy of the sea. I did really really love going up to the front of the boat in the wind and waves and struggling to take the jib down! (that is the front sail) It was great. Bouncing around trying to tie it down and all while barely hanging on. It was awesome! The second time I went to do it it was really wild and I had to put the tie downs in my teeth so I could use both hands to tie up the sail. So much for germophobe! It was great! The boat would go way up in the air and then I'd feel it go way back down, I kept waiting for the next wave to wash up where I was but it never hit the boat like that. It was great fun, very challenging!

Robert did take the time to teach me some knots and quiz me too and also taught me how to start the engine etc so i would know in case. It was great.

One day Robert drove me up to a place called Minehead which is just another town up the seaside and it was a nice walk around. Felt like a really modern place, they had changed the store fronts and dressed it up more than some towns do it was weird.

I went into the church there and you would not believe it...it had a huge sliding glass door! An old church!!? I mean, really?! And all the old chandeliers had energy efficient bulbs in them! ( Fine, use them but cover them up, they are ugly!) it was really a shock. I didn't like it. I like the old dark damp smelling churches personally! Call me crazy (American)

The best place I saw the whole trip was a place called Dunster village. It was really cool. Nestled into a really pretty bunch of hills and next to a huge castle and I think it was my favorite. Goes to show my internal debate really does exist sea vs. mountains.

So now I am back home. I've done my work for today. I sanded down this big wooden bench and put a coat of primer on it. Tomorrow it will be red! So, I'm learning some things as I go. Which is good. Still not sure what the future will hold.

Rob called from Wales, he is having a great time and will be home Sunday some time. We'll see how long he is around this time. He does stay busy. Tony is volunteering on his tall ship right now, sounds like he is having a great time too.

I think I had more to say but this is really long enough now. Photos above are pretty simple. Watchet Harbour, me on the boat (called Phoenix) and the countryside where we walked the dog. Lucy, Jeanette and Robert on Phoenix heading out of the harbor.

The tale of the boat goes that Robert was looking for a wooden boat to burn in their annual family bonfire so he bid on this boat on Ebay and paid 123 pounds for it. When he got it he discovered it wasn't wood and was in better shape than the one he has now so he put it in the water after all that. Pretty funny.

Later,

K

Visit to Gloucester

This evening I went to Gloucester with Lilla in the little sports car. It was a great trip! We left early evening and the sun was out so we put the top down and put on some music and cruised all the way to the city of Gloucester (pronounced Gloster~ don't ask me) We saw the Cathedral, from the outside, we had only just missed it closing. And then walked to the Gloucester Docks which are famous...I'll look it up and find out why but I think they used to build ships there and they are a ton of warehouses and locks for canals so it had to have been a busy place at one time. It was really quiet when we were there so we could explore at our leisure. The tall ships in these photos are two taht were in dry dock. The one was nearly ready to sail off adn the other had a ton of work left to do on it. Both amazing ships!! Amazing!! The place they sit is pretty amazing too. You can see how they just open the gates and flood the place and the ship floats up and out. Pretty cool! Those were the kind of ships I wanted to see. They were smaller than Tony's ship and also smaller than the Stavros S Niarchos but had wooden tops on the decks so much less steel looking. Just like I imagined it. Someday I'd really like to make it to Portsmouth so I can see the big ship Victory (I think thats it) which is a tall ship all wooden as well. (I know, it only looks wooden, its probably all steel)

Today was pretty nice! The weather was good! Very dry and warm and sunny...ah the sun. my old friend!

Robert took me to see "Mad Lucy's" nursery that he and Lilla are helping to get started and it was pretty cool. She has alot of work to do but I can see what she's getting at. She has pigs, one huge pig, like the prize winner from State Fair (the movie) and the pig had babies too so there were 10 little piglets running around in the mud. She was a Saddleback. One of the type they are famous for here in Gloucester. The other is Old Spot, I haven't eaten or seen any Old Spot yet. I'm sure I will before my time is up here.

After see Lucy's place I came back home and changed and went with Lilla to go paint one of their flats. They are trying to get it ready to rent. It just needed some touching up. We didn't quite finish but will soon. We would have finished today but Rob (they call him Little Rob~pretty cute) came home and called and so I was summoned to go see him before he left for his next trip.

I chased him around for about an hour while he repacked and brushed his teeth and then he was off. We (Robert, Lilla, and I and Rob) joked about sailing the boat from Watchet to Pembrook where he will be camping. Or even just going camping which would be great fun!! Rob will be there for 10 days so through next weekend so we'll see what happens.

Rob also briefly mentioned that Charlie (the delivery skipper for Princess~whom I've talked about in Palma) said I'd be able to go along on deliveries that were in/around England so that is good news, it will be paid work I think and that is never a bad thing.

Tomorrow sometime, I get the feeling we're headed to Watchet. Should be an interesting weekend. I'm likely to not have internet so I'll take good notes. We should be there until about Tuesday I think. Then its back to work for me! We discussed the work today and decided they would start a list for me and I'd just chisel away at it. They call it "woffing" something like that. Means Working On Organic Farms for Free. So I've been dubbed the American woofer. Super. Just call me the dog lady. But apparently Mad Lucy wants a woofer so I'm in demand. People all over the world do this sort of thing. You get food and lodging (or a roof of some kind over your head) in exchange for about 4-5 hours of work a day doing odd jobs. I guess Lilla and Robert did it in New Zealand for a bit. So I'm not putting out any money and helping them out in the process. Its great!

I got an email from Greg today. He mentioned the trip to the Canary Islands. I had asked him about the itinerary. From Portugal to Madiera to the Canary Islands. About 6 or so days. Should be alot of fun, I am really looking forward to it! He also said I could come along to the Caribbean too if I wanted but I'm going to wait and see how this first trip goes before I sign up for that.

I spoke to Tony tonight. I was sick of texting and emailing for the moment. I really like to hear a friendly voice every now and then. Plus he is very encouraging too, so its nice to hear him on the phone.

I just can't even tell you how much this part of the trip has meant to me. This part of my journey up here to stay with this family has really been something! I don't think I've mentioned it before but my Papa used to talk about Wales and the moors and how he wanted to go and see this part of England because it was in his books he used to read. And now I'm here! The Gazzards are planning to take me to Wales too, so that will be really neat!

I can hear the rain, its just started. Hopefully it will clear off for the weekend.

Sheesh, I've just realized how long this got. I better quit for now. So much more to come! I can't wait!

Until tomorrow,

k

More Wednesday at Tree Tops

The movie was way longer than we all thought it would be. They do the theatre different here! We get assigned a seat so that everyone has a spot and there is no overselling of a movie. Very weird. They fill every seat. So you buy your ticket, pick your spot if its not too full and then go find someone to escort you to your seat. Weird! Harry Potter was alright. I've missed enough movies in between this one that I'm going to have to get caught up.

Rob text me while we were in the movie and he had gotten to go up in the crane in the boat yard. I guess the motor yacht they took to Rotterdam was being put into a container of some kind and shipped somewhere. So he was working hard and waiting for his ride back to England. We'll see him tomorrow afternoon sometime.

The sun peaked out briefly before it started to rain again, it really comes adn goes here fast! You can see it coming across the valley. I had an interesting afternoon. Basically, reading until dinner which was so good! And then Lucy decided she was going to sleep over at her friends house so we (Lilla, Lucy Iona and I) all gathered up and headed out. Lilla dropped the girls off and then we went to go for a hike. When we reached the top of the footpath it was still raining so we went for a drive until it passed over the hill we wanted to walk around. On our way we passed through Uley and they had Morris dancers outside the little pub so we stopped and watched them for a bit and then on we went on our drive. It amazing the hill tops here, you don't realize your on the top of a hill until your looking down onto a village. We circled around adn then went for a hike around a place called Uley Bury. Basically a big fort (or spot where a fort stood) back in 300BC!! So we had a mile hike and then hit the overlook again for the sunset over Wales adn then home again. The hike was really fun and it was the first time I saw that many slugs around! Also snails. They crunched under your feet, it was pretty weird at first to hear the crunch. It was fairly muddy but not too bad, a nice hike, very scenic. As you've heard me say over and over about this place!

I applied for some outdoor rec jobs I found online. There are alot of those around here. Not sure how that will work but its amazing there are quite a few jobs available for that sort of thing. Its encouraging. I'm off to bed soon and may sleep in a bit I am tired! Not doing much is tiring, how is that possible?

Like I said already today, not quite sure what to do with myself these days. Just taking it one day at a time.

I'm sure I've missed something I wanted to pass on. Its been such a great visit and I am so glad to have met Rob in Palma! (thats of course all thanks to Tony!)

We'll see what tomorrow holds. Cross your fingers, say a prayer, whatever you do. I need it!!

Later,

K

Time at Tree Tops

The name of this place is Tree Tops. The name of the family farm is The Ham. So the address is quite literaly Tree Tops, The Ham ... pretty neat. The pictures are an attempt at the view of the valley.

Well, its been raining for the past couple of days now. Well almost all of yesterday and today again. Really a drag, as its beautiful around here and there is plenty of biking and walking to do. I love this new rule about the Right to Roam. So it gives you a little more freedom to wander. They have maps with all the footpaths on them. I'm going to try it out one of these days if it stops raining for 4 hours or so.

Rob was busy texting last night, I think he must have been on watch and was trying to stay awake, I got woken up at 4:30 am. He is in Rotterdam now waiting for his ride back to England.

I think he may get another job to follow up with this one. Which is great for him!

I've been diving into my stack of books and contemplating my existence here at the moment. Who knows what's ahead. I really want to try and stay on longer. Not necessarily here but somewhere.

Just taking it one day at a time I guess. We'll see about the sailing this weekend. Should be fun. I am not sure when we'll head down to Watchet but there is a carnival going and I think I'll be there as a helping hand. Which will be interesting.

Not much else going on. I'm escorting Lucy and her friend to the movie. Harry Potter. They are not old enough to go alone I guess. 12A is there restriction. It means something like kids 12 and up or with an adult. Who knows.

So, more later,

K

Cotswolds

Oh my goodness, this place is so amazing!! Today I spent the entire day traveling around the Cotswolds! I don't exactly know where that is but I've seen it now and it is beautiful! I can see Wales from the hilltop above where I am staying. Across the River Severn. Look it up!

Sunday I left Poole (a very tearful goodbye to Tony~whom I've grown very fond of!) and caught the train up to Cam & Dursley. I'm trying to think how far back to go. Tony adn I went to Corfe Castle on Thursday. Friday we had a real relaxed day and then met up with his friend Jumbo at the Kings Head pub (then off to the Jolly Sailor) Jumbo knew Tony from way back so I got to hear alot of good stuff about him from before. Saturday we got up and walked to the Quay and watched the tall ship Stavros S Niarchos come along side. That was really awesome! I'll attach some photos so you can see it. Tony used to volunteer on that ship and had sailed on it quite a lot. He has also climbed up to the very top of the rigging so it was really cool to see that very ship that got Tony started on his sailing adventure!

Sunday we went out for a Sunday roast dinner and that was really nice. We had a great time and then ran to the train for me to take off. I headed toward Weymouth and then changed trains at Bristol to reach this place. Rob came and picked me up in this really terrific little sports car. Really great fun!

This morning Rob and I walked to the family farm and said hi to Uncle Sam and Auntie Claire and then we all geared up and went to the lake for some sailing. Such great fun!!

This lake they go to is actually a little pond, compared to our lakes back home. You let yourself into this gate and there is this great lake lined with dinghy boats. Nobody on the lake, thank goodness and so you set up your boats, change in this really terrific empty house and then off to the lake with ye!

I borrowed a shorty wet suit from Rob and all the other stuff basically and off we jumped. Rob tried to teach me about crewing, running the jib sail etc. then he put me on the helm, which was a real disaster, turns out I really sucked at multi tasking!! Go figure, I'm usually so good! So after a while, Rob stopped us and we learned about capsizing! So much fun to capsize, we did it over and over again. Lots of good experience, similar to flipping a raft on purpose to learn about righting it again. the boat was called a Laser.

It was really great!! So awesome! After we came in I jumped into Lilla's (rob's mom) boat and it just has one sail. Its called a Topper. So I played around quite a bit in it. Rob took Lucy (his little sister) out to learn to capsize as well. So it was just us "family" at the lake, no one else was there to enjoy the place I couldn't believe it!! It was awesome! No worrying about dodging boats! Thank goodness!! I was a maniac at the helm!! Hilarious!!

This place where I am staying is so cool! We are up on a hillside overlooking the valley, the name of this farm is called Tree Tops. There is an actual sign out front that says Tree Tops, and their address really is Tree Tops. They have a huge garden and a cute little pool. Tonight we all walked up and watched the badgers play. Yeah, badgers. They are the cutest little (big really) things, playing around and wrestling. Really quite cute. I had to fight the urge to run away. We always here about badgers being so mean! Who knows.

Rob got a phone call about sailing a motor yacht with Charlie over to Rotterdam and then back again so he leaves tomorrow early morning adn is back late Wednesday night. Which means I won't see him until he returns from his 10 day trip with this school group. Luckily his family is amazing!! So great!! They will put me to work earning my keep and show me around while I'm here and its going to be great!!

In the mean time Greg has said I could go along with him to the Canary Islands and that will happen mid August. I have to get to Portugal from the UK. Greg will be in touch with me when it gets closer to the time to go.

Lets see what else. Oh yeah!! On the way home Robert Sr (Rob's stepdad) took me in his Mazda MX5 and we went on a scenic trip all over the place! We went and had a pint at this place called the Tunnel House (they built a canal for the 2 rivers Severn and Thames to run) look it up, really neat. I had a glass of this stuff called Old Spot from a brewery in Uley. Then we drove to this hill top looking over the whole valley adn the sun had just peeked through and shone on the whole valley! It was one of the most amazing sights I've seen! So amazing, green, the sun seemed to shine on each field individually! I can't even begin to describe it and since I've broken my camera it will have to be in my head forever!

We drove through towns called Nailsworth, Amberly, Cirencester, Tetbury, Minchinhampton, who knows what else, it was great fun!! The Mazda has a soft top so we were cruising in style with the top down! No rain!! So awesome!!

I can't think of what else. Its been a great day! Totally full of stuff. Tomorrow Rob leaves and Lucy and I are planning a bike ride and it should be another eventful day for sure!! Who knows whats ahead!

I'll keep you posted. They have Wifi on this farm so I'm in luck! Uncle Stan and Aunt Maureen will undoubtedly be in York for this week.

I'm headed to bed soon. Having had a great busy day for sure!

Later,

K

p.s. pictures are of Stavros S Niarchos, look it up on You Tube there is a funny video of them performing a song by "queen" so hilarious.

Poole to Corfe

Let me describe the photos here, The first one is Corfe castle, then the Steam train station with the castle in the background, Tony in the compartment of the old train, The last one here is me in front of "old harry" rock, on our way to swanage.

Well, its been a while! The internet at the pub costs me a pint so I don't come here right away in the morning. The neighbor has Wifi but only when she gets up, comes home at lunch, then sometimes in the evening, not always. So its been a challenge to get online.

Yesterday was Thursday. Tony and I got up and caught the ferry to Swanage at 9am. It was pretty cool. No one was on the Quay that early and we thought we had it made for sure. Then just about 9am this huge school group shows up. I mean huge, all speaking french, mostly teen age kids. Yikes!! So about that time the ferry guy hollers at Tony and I and on we get to our own ferry! We had teh entire boat to ourselves. It was great. I guess the group was taking the other ferry to Bournemouth so we went to Swanage by ourselves! Great fun! To them I'm sure it looked like Tony was my high roller and had hired the ferry just for us! It was great!

We had a quick trip to Swanage, its a great little village! Right on the water, very quaint and empty still at that time. On our way into town I went down these big stairs to the water and wandered around looking for shells. They were everywhere! We'll see if they make the trip home or not.

Tony and I had planned to hop on the train to Corfe and see the castle. And every 20 minutes or so they have this really great old steam train that makes teh trip. It was so fun! We got our ticket bought and were just in time to hop on the last car before it took off. Everything about it seemed original the wood, the fabrics the door knobs etc.

It was great fun!!

Corfe was pretty much the coolest place I've seen! So quiet and tidy and it was just really nice! And at one end on this big hill was teh castle. its falling down a bit but still pretty neat looking. Lots of people hiking around and enjoying the grounds and it was just a really nice slow paced place.

Tony and I visited a few pubs that all had gardens overlooking the castle so it was really nice. Lots of amazing gardens there!!

We ran to the train and headed back to Swanage in the afternoon. We had a pint in the Red Lion, its known for having the most cider beers there, which there were alot. Not really excited about cider beer. Its flat and very different tasting compared to what we drink.

So, it was a great day!! We got onto the ferry just in time for the rain. Our school group had caught up to us by then so the ferry was full of people. We went to Bournemouth first and then headed back to Poole and once again had the ferry to ourselves for that last part of the trip. The school group got off the boat at Bournemouth, along with everyone else.

It was pouring rain when we got back to Poole so we ran home, thankfully Tony lives right by the Quay so its a quick trip!

It was alot of fun!!

Wednesday morning Tony and I had coffee with Greg again and Trevor and Pete. Greg has officially invited me to sail to the Canary Islands in a couple of weeks, I am looking forward to that for sure! So much great experience. Tony will be on his ship by then so I'll go solo. Its likely after Sunday of this week I won't see Tony again for awhile. He has officially gotten the job on Tenacious, the tall ship he's been on for a month or so.

So, I'll head up to Rob's family's place Sunday night and Rob will introduce me, get me all set up and then he'll head off for some school trip he volunteered for. Its going to be an interesting few weeks.

I think thats about it. There is a table full of Aussies in the Blue Boar and they are being really loud, usually its really quiet in here.

I'll have internet more regular again this weekend so I'll try to keep up.

Karen

Weekend in Poole England July 11-12

I can’t remember where I left off. I have been staying with Tony for about 4 days now. It’s been great fun. He and I get along great! After only meeting him briefly in February it’s like we’ve known each other forever. It’s really been great! He’s been a perfect gentleman too which is nice!
We met his friend Greg right off the bat and Greg has a boat of his own. It’s currently berthed in Portugal and he is planning to go get it in August. I think I’m invited to go along and do that.
In the mean time we got up and met with Greg for Coffee on Saturday and met a nice old man named John Holland. John is a boat owner also, his boat is here in Poole. It’s called Mi Gitana. Means something like “my gypsy girl” in who knows what language, I think he speaks a few. German, Spanish and maybe Portuguese? John is a bit of a character! Tells a lot of stories and is one of those guys who teaches you inadvertently that giving without question is a great way to get it back in return, just meaning always be generous and spontaneous because it can reward you! It’s really fun to meet people like that. He tells a story about one guy he meets and he did this and that and then it comes back to him again. Pretty cool!
He is a very chatty character and can walk around meeting strangers all day long. Its pretty funny! He chatted up all sorts of people in the marina and sent me to chat some of them up myself. That was Sunday afternoon. We met up with John about 4 pm and were not planning to go sailing. John had had a whole group of people with him, young men he knew somehow. He had taken them fishing etc and invited Tony and I and the boat was really pretty full so we waited until he unloaded and then we hopped on. Tony had no intention of going out but before we knew it John had cast off the lines and was out into the harbor. It was pretty funny. Like being taken hostage! We motored out and put the jib up right away. It was really really windy! So out we went. Tony took the helm and John taught me some stuff about sailing and managing the buoys etc. We went all the way out the harbor entrance past Sandbanks and then to a place called Old Harry or something (old Harry is a name they gave this pile of rocks, there is Harry his wife and children apparently)?! Can’t quite remember! Then we turned around and John put me at the helm and in we went again. Under sail, not power. I was proud of myself for not plowing into anything. It was great fun!! I mean, awesome! It was sunny and when the engines are not going its pretty quiet, other than the wind, which was pretty strong. I had a great time!! So glad I got to do it! He won’t be back again for a few weeks now so I’ll miss him when the time comes.
There is a big boat in the marina right now, called Tugela; it’s a beautiful boat, similar to those I saw in Palma. John chatted them up after we went home and called me around midnight to say they are leaving tomorrow (Tuesday) for the Med and that I should go introduce myself and ask to go along. I think I might. I’ve been down there twice and missed the crew both times.
John had also asked a boat full of Germans who are headed to Gibraltar if I could go along with them cut they barely speak English and are not men I feel comfortable with.
So, it’s been fun! Tony has taught me a ton and Greg and John have too. Turns out most of the people Tony knows are boat owners! And all chatty too, so this has been a good visit so far!
It’s like I told Tony, if the timing had been better Tony and I would certainly date. But that’s not the way it’s going to work this time around.
I am really hoping to figure something out soon! Even doing these trips for free is tons of experience! So good for my CV, then I can head back to Palma with something to show for myself!
We’ll see if I can manage that long. Tony has been really generous so far and its been great!
Tomorrow we’ll take the ferry to Swanage and then head inland to a castle called Corfe or something like that…then a train to Wareham and then back home, should be a fun day!
I will head up to Rob’s pretty soon! I guess he is there right now and having a bit of fun too, but I’m in no hurry to leave here, it’s been fun and the marina is full of activity!
I will be more willing to dock walk since they all speak English and are really nice!
Yesterday I met an American family that has just bought a boat (a really pretty big sail yacht) and they were fun to talk to! They went out for a sail this morning while Tony and Greg and I had coffee!
What else am I missing? It has been a pretty lazy existence so far and been really nice. I am trying to feel like I’m trying but it’s really hard to make an effort I really have no idea how to proceed!
I want to sail, play water sports and get paid for it, why is that so hard?? Shouldn’t be!
I think I’m on the right track being here though, Tony is pretty devoted to helping me with the fight and that is good, otherwise I wouldn’t be quite as motivated I think!
It looks like both Water sports schools (Rockley and Bournemouth water sports) are a much farther walk than I thought L! Like miles and miles not just a mile or two so I will spend Wednesday morning doing some walking and pay them a visit at least!

Who knows after that, I guess I better head north but I’m really liking my time with Tony so we’ll see!

I guess I’d better go see about getting online. I am at the Blue Boar. Its Tony’s favorite pub and where we met which has been fun to be back. They are really nice here and the pub is nice, has big windows etc. Its quiet in here right now, its about 3:30 pm and I am sat at a table and Tony is at the bar talking to the chaps in here.
He’d gone up to see him Mum for her birthday and missed her so he came back here and is having a chat.
I got a lot of response from my friends about jumping onto that catamaran with the Germans. I was skeptical and they had good warnings too so that was nice! Aunt Maureen and Uncle Stan had warnings too! So I was thankful to have been armed with good questions when the time came!
I think my ear just popped, its been plugged up for about 3 weeks! I can hear!! Its amazing! Amazing! 3 weeks is a lot of time to go without hearing very well. I always had to be on the right side of someone so I could hear them well enough!
Wow, we’ll see if it lasts! I just bought some stuff from Boots (where Aunt Maureen used to work) they gave me some ear drop things to help out, so I may still need them if it stops back up again but for now I’m okayish! J
I better get the wifi code and get this uploaded. I don’t have the internet up so I’m typing this in word so that its done and I can move it when I’m online again.
Okay, I'm online and feeling good. Only costed me a pint to get online. No big deal...sheesh!
This is a long one. I better end it now. More adventures to come!
K

Poole Quay

Its pronounced "key". Stumped me for a bit too. I arrived this morning at 11:15 am. Poole hasn't changed much! I had to laugh at myself this morning because I managed to get the right kind of ticket bought and get on the right train only to discover I was in the wrong section of train cars so once I got settled in I had to move up cars to make sure I was on the right side of the seperation! Sheesh! By they way, my rick steves backpack has been great but its really wide and when its stuffed it barely fits between the seats!
Anyways, I managed to get that all figured out and had a nice ride south this morning.
Its about 11:47 pm now. Still up...it hasn't been easy, I've been going to bed so early at my aunt adn uncles. Not that it hurt my feelings because I was tired and ready for bed! Just getting caught up! And in such a comfortable bed, with clean sheets, soft pillows and no room mates! Yeah! It was certainly nice, to sleep cooler, and quieter and darker!
I'll be sleeping on a camping pad tonight. Tony has no furniture in his apartment at all. Just a blow up matress and a camping pad! It should be pretty hilarious! He doesn't even have a chair!
Right now he is bubbling up some lamb curry and it smells so good!!
This afternoon we revisited the Blue Boar and said hi to the owner there, who remembered me. It was great fun! Then we got invited to a garden party by Tony's friend Greg and that was fun too...we drove up with Greg to Wimborne and discovered the party had been called off so we went to Poole beach front and had a pint there and talked about boats! Turns out Greg built his own boat and has sailed quite a bit! Really nice man.
Its been nice to be here with Tony. He is the reason I'm here after all. I met him in February and he was just about to head to Palma to look for boat work. He and I get along like we've known each other forever. Its been really fun!
I walked along the Quay front today while Tony went to the doctor but it was so windy and I wasn't prepared for cold weather so I gave up and came back to the apartment.
Monday I'll do some visiting to people who I'd like to work for and apply for some jobs with agencies too.
My friend Ben (the Kiwi) just got a job on a boat! So another one bites the dust.
My eyes are watering from the curry...sheesh! I'm going to get going now. More to come! Lots of things going on in the next few days!
K

packing again so soon?

I am off in the morning again, headed by train to Poole this time. I'll see Tony at the train station when I arrive. He is the reason I'm here so I can't wait to say hello to him and hear all about his work on the tall ship Tenacious. Should be exciting to hear all about that! I still have alot to learn and am excited to still job hunt while I'm here. Boat work still, but if I could find a job here that I loved then I'd work hard to get a visa sorted out and stay put! I love Europe! Tony will be great help for this job hunt too as he's been doing it since I met him in February.

Its been easier than I thought to readjust to this different schedule. Early supper (or back to normal!) and then early to bed (at a decent hour) its been nice to have that routine again, and Aunt Maureen is a good cook, I've been pigging out! I think it was a good chance to get caught up and regroup. I repacked and then spoke to Tony on the phone and unpacked again. He said, weather will be bad (super, I left my jacket in Palma :( ) Mom will be happy though, since it was that fleece jacket she wanted me to get rid of so bad! I bought a new jacket at the thrift shop for 3£ ( I have a keyboard with the £ sign on it! )
Tony also said unpack anything you wore in Spain...which accounts for my dresses and dress up tops, pretty much anything with any color that I brought here! :)
Should be okay. I'll go to Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Southampton and knock on some doors for boat jobs, they do exist here, and if they are not here than their offices are, so that works out great! We'll see what I can find.
I'll be blogging as I go along. I will have internet intermittenly from now on so it won't be regular check ins!
Summer is almost half over already. And me with no work! Yikes!!

Just send money...

K

I left Palma behind

I haven't been very good at sitting down and typing lately. Last night I attempted to write my blog but I was really tired so I thought I would do it today when I was a little more fresh so to speak.
My trip out of Palma was certainly an eventful one. I thought for sure it would be a piece of cake but when is traveling ever that easy for me! I had most of the morning to pack and get my stuff all put together and that was nice, I wasn't having to rush or anything. I topped up my phone and printed my boarding pass out and then hung out at the hostel with John, Pete, Adam, Charles and eventually Ben. Sarah got woken up with a phone call and an interview so she was off before I was. She sent a text and said she got the job straight away so she was really happy. I think she will have moved onto the boat already. Pretty amazing how fast that works!
Ben was out with his Kiwi friends all day Monday, all through the night and into the morning so I wasn't sure I'd catch up with him before I left but he came back to see me off, which was sweet. He had partied pretty hard and he was kind of a mess. I talked him into dragging my bag down to the bus stop for me and Charles came along too to say goodbye so that was nice. I tried not to cry. Ben could see I was about to. I saw teh bus coming and got my farewell hugs and kisses from the boys and then off I went. (oh and Adam too) The bus was not packed right away but filled up fast, it was totally packed with people by the time we made it to the airport.
Once I got there I had to get in the longest line there to check in my bag with Ryanair. Once I got to the man I was overweight (Not me but my bag) and had to take a reciept to a lady elsewhere and pay a small fortune for the extra weight adn also get my passport checked by her. Altogether a really frustrating experience! I don't recommend Ryanair unless you are traveling with your toothbrush and a hand full of patience because it was pretty aweful through and through. At least the plane was clean and the service friendly otherwise they get you coming and going. Even food and drink on Ryanair costs money. So much for flying all over Europe on "lowcost" airlines, NOT WORTH IT! So I'll be rethinking my strategy for the next time I fly somewhere.
Once I got to Bournemouth though it really got hilarious! The airport there is just a runway and a building. When we were getting off the plane the man said "be careful on the stairs, its really windy and its starting to rain" welcome to England. Very small place for sure. I ended up being the only Non EU person on the flight so I had to talk to the customs guy for quite a while before he'd let me go through. I get that's his job, and he was nice but I wondered what I'd have done if he said no! Ha!
The airport shuttle from the cow pasture (airport) to town center only leaves every hour so since the flight was late and I took a long time at customs I missed the bus and had to wait 45 minutes to catch the next one.
At the train station I discovered I didn't have quite enough british pounds to pay the man for my ticket and the machines won't accept the visa money card (really annoying!!) so I had to run across the street, up the escalator, through a huge store, to the atm, then back down across the street to the station. By then the 17:59 train to London Waterloo was leaving and so I bought my ticket ran out to the platform, up and over the footbridge and then ran onto the train before it left. Once I got seated and caught my breath I realized that this train wasn't stopping in Basingstoke so I had to change trains in Winchester. ha! Figures!
After all that I finally made it here and my uncle was waiting at the train station for me so I was able to head straight to their house. it was pouring down rain here!
Sheesh! I was pretty tired, it took hours to get to B/stoke after all that. I thought I was being so clever to go to an airport that was so close by!
Today I am unpacking and piling up the stuff I don't want to keep carrying around with me. Friday morning I'll head to Tony's in Poole for a visit. That should be really nice! I did a quick check of my finances and its pretty bleak so we'll see how much I can actually accomplish with my remaining time here. I am hoping to still find work on a boat though, so we'll see how that goes. Since i want to work legally in Europe boats are my only option really. And in a few months they will be sailing to the Caribbean for the winter so I'm hopeful to get on one of them.

I had a good sleep and I did laundry this morning so I feel much better now. Its kind of nice to unwind and catch my breath. Though I do miss Palma. Its cloudy here but still really nice out.
After a while Uncle Stan and Aunt Maureen and I will head to town on the bus and have a look around the parts I missed last time. I didn't spend much time in Basingstoke since every day I was here last time it was between train rides and I was just back here to sleep basically.

I better finish this up now. Lots more new adventures to come. Things will be rolling now for a while so I'll try to write more often. I'm using my uncles keyboard and his giant monitor and its really nice. After using my little computer for weeks this is really delux!
The camera is broken officially (i've mentioned that before I think) and so I'll shop for a new one but until then this will just be writing... this really isn't like my journal since there is stuff missing in here that I don't want to share with the world. Just to be clear though I didn't kiss any of those cute boys at the hostel. Ha! the best I got was a kiss on the cheek from Ben when I left and a really nice " first date " with Charles. Not really a date, just dinner and a drink. It was really nice though!
later,
K

I celebrated

4th of July yesterday. I celebrated in style it turned out. No one around here cared of course and it was just another day at teh beach but it was great fun!

Charles and Ben and Sarah and I went to the beach. We took the 106 bus to Puerto Portals there is a beach called Portals Nous. Whatever taht means, you should have seen this place. Posh!! It was really dressed up very chi-chi and we were certainly not prepped for a walk through it in our beach clothes.

The beach was especially hot yesterday too!! But the water was really nice and the scenery was good. This place has some sort of special thing to boat people because all the big speed boats and yachts were anchored just off teh beach and everyone was taking advantage of beach bar too.

We layed around and swam and layed around and swam for hours! It was great!!

We went to the beach bar there for a drink and some shade and ended up spending a bunch of time there just soaking in the atmosphere. It was really cool! Lots of yachts owners there and lots of regulars too, the staff of this place were on top of things for sure! I was really impressed.

Charles and Sarah and I shared some sangria and had some bread with olives and this garlic mayonaise stuff. It was really good. They had good music playing too so we were all jamming out all afternoon.

We walked up the hill after that and found the bus stop and after about 15 minutes we realized the schedule for saturday was different so we grabbed a cab back to the hostel. It was really fun too because the driver was blaring the Venga Boys "we like to party" it was great!

Once we got back to the hostel we were determined to get "out on the town" so to speak and so we got cleaned up and dressed up and went to the crepe place for dinner (huge crepes filled with good stuff for 5 euro) Not bad! Then we went to Made in Brazil which is this great place where they place tons of great brazilian music and there are drummers who wander around in there and it was great! next we headed to this place called King Kamehameha or something. It was pretty dead in there. That was just Charles and Ben and I, Sarah dropped out :) couldn't keep up the pace.

Since that place was dead we decided to finally all go to Tito's. that place costs money to get in and so none of us have been willing to go for it. Last night though we thought we would at least to say we'd been inside. you have to pay a lady at the bottom of this huge building adn then you ride an elevator up and up to the top floors of this place, its awesome. Great views of the city from there. The place is built over the rock basically. So most of the builiding isn't there its just a rock face with a top on it that holds the dancefloor. really cool! They were playing awesome music and they had dancers in there and everything. The dancers were just a bunch of posers basically. the boys couldn't really dance (they sucked bad!) but they were loaded with muscles. Eye candy basically. we danced adn danced and had such a great time until about 6am this morning. It was my latest/earliest night out yet. Probably my last too! Charles and Ben were great sports and it was a good day/evening/morning. So I'm counting that as my 4th of july celebration.

Today I'll hang out. I'm feeling pretty good except for being tired. Its now 3:40 pm and everyone just layed down for their siestas. Charles and Ben are a little bit fuzzy today, as am I but it was great fun!

I have to tackle packing soon adn I am dreading it big time. I have so much stuff and I've been here long enough to have unpacked it or at least have moved it around so we'll see how successful I am at it. I may have to mail some stuff to myself in England.

Rob is supposed to have made it to Cannes by now and Ralf emailed Ben to say Germany is really cold and rainy, he is missing Palma big time. I imagine I'll do the same thing but at least England is having warm weather. (at least they were)

So, I'll upload some pics and then I'm going to tackle packing and then a siesta.

K

Friday afternoon in Palma

Its nap time here. Everyone is mid sleep right now. Its about 5 pm. The date and time stamp on this blog are off so its weird to be writing about it being Thursday morning (for example) when the blog post day was Wedsnesday.

We had Rob's party last night. We were allowed to BBQ on the roof which was awesome, so we took full advantage of it. The photos are of the main core group of us. Sarah, Charles, Ralf, Ben, Rob.

We (charles, ralf, sarah and myself) went to Porto Pi to the big market and bought all the stuff to feed an army. And have drink too. It was great!

We started dinner around 8 ish and had so much good food and tons of Sangria. We made 10 Liter batches and then refilled them most of the night, until the rum and vodka and wine ran out. Then we hit the fruit inside :) yummy!! We all got dressed up in honor of Rob and I took a ton of photos up until my camera broke. So, no more photos for me very sad! Its officially dead so I'll be buying another one soon :(

We went to Garitos to dance the night away after we finished off all the punch. It was great fun! There were a bunch of us this time so it was really cool! I'll upload some photos.

I am getting excited to head to England on Tuesday. Rob is sailing to Cannes France tonight and Ralf leaves early tomorrow morning so it will be quieter around here anyways. Sarah may head up to Ireland next weekend and I think I'll join here there for a few days. She has free accomodation there which is awesome!! Tony will be home in Poole by the time I get to England so I'll be able to catch up with him and hear all about his tall ship sailing!! What fun!!

Tomorrow if I can manage it I think I'll catch the bus to Cala D'or and see whats around there. Lots of beaches I think! Yeah!

No photos of that for me or you. Unless I borrow a camera tomorrow, which I may do. Not sure if the boys will be up for the journey. Sarah is though so that will be fun!

Ralf wants a farewell party tonight but we'll see how that goes, since we are all still recovering from last night.

K

Rob turns 23 today

thats Rob, its his birthday today. That was 3 weeks ago today. I cant' believe it.

Its now Thursday morning. About 9 am. For some reason I'm awake. Actually we've all been going to bed early these days so its been easy to get up in the morning. Though whats the point since there isn't much to do that doesn't cost money.

Today we are all going to go shopping for Rob's birthday. He turns 23 and he's really excited. He's one of the youngest ones here. We'll be barbequing on the roof, making some Sangria and having a laugh before we go out to dance the night away. Sounds like its back to Garitos for us.

Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty uneventful. I debated about renting a bike, renting a car, taking a bus, taking a nap, mostly that indecision just finds me at the beach. I don't mind that! Yesterday we went to Cala Major and the water was so full of garbage it was really gross! You know on Oprah when she shows that floatin garbage pile out in teh ocean, well thats kinda what it was like. So I didn't swim, just sun bathed!

Ralf is getting ready to leave on Saturday morning, he'll be the first to head out. Then I go Tuesday afternoon. Rob may be sailing off to France before returning home to England, I think Ben will be going soon too. Charles is the last hold out of the bunch. I think he'll stay and find shore based permenant work here. Who knows. We all sort of shrug when asked what we're doing.

Rob has set it up so I can visit his friends and family in England and that will be a hoot! The longer I stay in England the longer I can stay in Europe. Since Linda H straightened me out on the Schengen Visa thing yesterday.

Its been an interesting visit here. I didn't really intend to stay so long but I found it really hard to leave. I like it here. I think that it would be different staying around here and getting an appartment etc because I'd stop meeting new people who are passing through.

I do know for sure that i want to live near the ocean or at least a body of water that I can play on. Things like Scuba and kite surfing and surfing. Any ideas where I go to do all three of those things? Tons of places I guess.

I think that once I leave England I'll head somewhere in Italy most likely. Then up through Germany and France and Belgium then another visit to England. But who knows. I'll be looking for work on boats in England too, it may be easier for me since they all speak english and are friendlier than this bunch around here. The boats here are from all over the world so you don't know who speaks english and who doesn't.

We have a guy staying here right now who just finished working on Hyperion, that is one of the boats from the SuperYachtCup. He sails all the time. He said just keep trying. Easy for him to say that now, since he gets to sail on that ship whenever they go from place to place. His name is Marius, he is from Norway.

Anyways, BBQ tonight, everyone's been invited. Should be at least 15 of us. Sarah and I and Kylee are likely to be the only girls in the bunch, not alot of women here at the hostal at the moment. But we manage to hold our own for sure! Course it doesn't hurt my feelings to be surrounded by good looking men all the time either. England may be a little different, though I found them to be handsome too!!

So, in an hour or so I'll go wake everyone up and get down to Porto Pi and buy some food and drink for tonight. Should be great fun.

I spoke to Stan and Maureen on Tuesday. I wanted to let them know I bought my ticket back to england finally. I fly into Bournemouth and then take the train to Basingstoke, its way easier going that direction than flying into Gatwick and having to cross London. That way Uncle Stan only has to pick me up from B/stoke rail station. Thats alot easier. After a day or so I'll head up to the town where Rob is from and pay a visit to his family. Should be a good connection there, they are all active people, active in girl guides etc so it should be fun!

Well, on and on I go. Not much exciting stuff happening around here until later on. I don't even have new photos! Can you believe it?! I'll try and get some good ones tonight. You guys should see my tan! :)

Later,

K