Ramblings of the travelling nature

Having being granted another long weekend I decided to head south and check out Mexico.
Setting off from San Diego, me & one of the boats stewardess (Helen) made our way to the US/Mexico border and crossed over to Tijuana where we picked up our hire car for a 3 day adventure.

The plan was to drive south till we hit the town of Ensenada where we would stay the night before heading west across the Baja Peninsular to San Filipe & then eventually driving back up through Mexacali and Tecate and back to the border; well that was the plan. Nothing too exciting on the way just see what happens and go with the flow kinda style, but something in my gut told me that this was going to be an adventure even if we were only there for three days.

We picked up our hire car at the airport and while Helen was wishing for an old VW Beetle I was just wanting some manual el cheapo car that didn't scream 'Tourists!' to every passer-by. We ended up with a 2006 Toyota Tsuru which although produced in 2006 honestly looked like something from the late 90s.
Off we went heading south down through some serious fog bound for Ensenada, as it's within a couple of hours from the border I imagined it would be full of American tourists but it actually wasn't; just a few drunken college kids at lunch time and that was it, not even at the Street/Dance/Bar Festival that was going on that night. Bonus!

With thumping hangovers we started early as we had a 5 hour drive ahead of us across the peninsular to San Filipe where it's not only the home of some of the biggest tides in the world but also those massive giant cactus.
Arriving around 1pm to the park entrance of "The Land of the Giants" we collected our map from the lone man in his shack and started to make our way through the park. I don't think I realized just how big these things were, absolutely massive with some above the 10 meter mark and thousand of years old.
As we passed a sign stating '4WDs only past this point' we thought we should be alright and could see that the bigger cactus were deeper in the park, so there was no way we were going to turn around. As the path turned into a sandy bumpy trail Helen insisted that I should be driving as it was jut too much fun for one person! So I take the wheel and continue driving and as my off road driving skill range from low to non-existent I really had no idea but found that just planting my foot to the floor seemed to have positive results even if my passenger was clutching the dashboard and letting out muffled squeals as we gracefully flew over the dips.
As on the map there seemed to be a tiny but steep little mountain in the middle of the whole lot which you are meant to drive around......somehow, but ended up on a trail going right up the thing! In what was not my brightest moment up we went; pedal to the metal, rattling round like clueless rally drivers. I did have second thoughts half way up but god we were committed now. Still hammering up the mountain loosing traction and who knows what else we reached the top and after a few jarring thumps and ear peacing scrapes were brought to a holt. Oh shit!
Personally I was more worried about the front spoiler being all banged up as that's something not easily fixed or hidden, and what might have being a small stroke of luck it was fine except for that oil leak steadily pissing out the bottom. I didn't really see it as a big problem, just get back to the shack get some Mexican bush mechanic out and stick something in the hole. Fixed!

Well it didn't quite go like that as we never made it back to the shack, well at least not with our car. Seems like I got into a spot of bother on the way back and managed to get suck in the sand......two front wheels 3/4 buried. Perhaps it was the lack of water as my first dillusional thought was "Well at least we've plugged the hole", no no it's sand you idiot. Well now it's serious; here we are stranded in the desert atleast a few kilometers from the main road with half a bottle of water for the two of us and in searing temperatures. The decision was made to start walking back to the entrance to get help, a tow and a mechanic. Trying to keep the thoughts of scorpions and rattlesnakes out of my head and not daring to mention it to Helen as she's English and most probably think snakes go hunting for humans, anyway after what must have been 2 hours of walking through the sand we finally reached the shack and after Helen hosed off and turned back to her normal colour we explained in broken Spanish the problem. So he left us his gun to play with and went off to get his boss the ranch owner.

Well I'm going to summarize now as its going to take way to long to explain it all......
- Ranch Man came (really nice bloke), hauled our car out of the sand with the look of "another bloody tourist stuck"
- Back at the shack; problem found. Transmission sump plate torn open with multiple scrapings and gasket buggered!
- Ranch Man drives us round for 2 hours with one oily removed sump plate to find a welder/mechanic. No luck but nice tour of the town though.
- Buy steak for Ranch Man & he points us in the right direction for the next morning.
- Spend the night in San Filipe. In the morning try finding a mechanic. No luck; no one can do it or just don't understand.
- Find a mechanic. Fixes plate. Sends friend with us to reattach
- Glue plate on, fill with oil. Fuck there's another hole. Seal newly found hole and repeat.
- Pay everyone and finally head off.

With the car practically fixed but still dripping oil we load up on bottles of transmission fluid. to hopefully last the distance. The drve to Tijuana should take around 5 hours and with it being 3pm and having to return the car by 9pm as the rental shop closes and needed to get back to America and be ready for work first thing the next morning. It was going to be tight and there's no way we could fit a breakdown in.

Well we made it after crossing though another baron desert and one of the most spectular mountain highways I've ever driven on before getting back to Tijuana at 8:50pm.
Now do we tell the rental company or not? The decision was split and was left up to me. After settling the bill I casually mentioned that the car had all of a sudden started leaking oil and we had to keep filling it up. possible refund? I don't think he understood........perfect!

Check out the pics here >>>
http://redmonkey.smugmug.com/gallery/4986184_u2VBc/1/298906581_euYEa

After crossing the Caribbean Sea we reached our destination of Colon in Panama after making a brief pit stop at the stunning San Blas Archipelago.
Colon would be the start of out Panama Canal adventure of which would normally only take 12 hours but managed to last nearly 2 days due to a pilot shortage and consequently having to stay overnight in the canal, which is apparently a very rare thing. During the overnight stay I was the unfortunate one that had to do anchor watch in what has being one of the most nail biting watches I've done.
After dropping anchor the captain has informed me that we are sitting in about 8 meters of water with the arse end of the boat just about in the canal channel, the front within 10 meters of the canal bank and 2 big steel moorings either side which we could possibly hit if we swing around. Nice! the perfect watch. As I'm pacing round the bridge trying to spot the mooring and the shore line in pitch black darkness I notice a massive cluster appear on the radar (like something you see on a Loch Ness Monster film), can't be rain I thought as it's a perfect night and can't possibly be a ship can it, it's massive! So I grab the binoculars and peer out the window noticing that all the shore lights behind us that were there a minute ago have disappeared and now our yacht has started to rock up and down violently, what the hell it going on here. It's only then that I notice a sliver of colour change appear in my binoculars lens, as I step out onto the deck to see a wall of steel hull silently and stealthfully push ever so closely past out now seemly small stern.

Having finally made it through the 5 locks of this marvel of engineering we anchored off Panama City where we are now not only on the other side of Panama but also in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. After being granted shore leave, I headed into Panama City to get my first taste of Latin America.
Having walked round the city for nearly a day and discovering its charms I decided to venture down a street that looked quite enchanting in the beginning; with multi-story colourful shacks and children playing in the streets and chirping "Hola" as I walked past, but then turned quickly into a seedy neighbourhood where anybody not from this neighbourhood should not be. Ignoring my hunch I continued on down the streets, with my head in the sky looking up at what was; and going deeper into somewhere I shouldn't. Somewhere where even if I wanted to turn back I couldn't.
As the realisation set in that I was travelling the streets of a Panamanian ghetto, my heart started to beat faster as my legs picked up the pace and my sense were at high alert before BAM! It happened. In all the time I have being travelling nothing remotely similar had happened like this. I was being mugged. Not knowing how to react to the group of teens who had came up from behind me, I turned round with my bag that they had being trying to snatch still firmly attached to my back and started throwing a few swings here, there and everywhere before they fled with nothing but what they arrived with.
In hindsight I think retaliating like that was probably not the best of ideas, as the rest of there buddies and no doubt there family were down the end of the street waiting to see what bounty they could come back with. I don't hold a grudge to people I don't know and rarely to those I do, and I was just a walking opportunity in a place where opportunities are few and far between but still it scared the shit out of me and I got the hell out of there quick smart.

After spending a few days in Panama it was time to start out 10 day voygue up to San Diego. The first few days were absolutely perfect with clear skies and a rippleless ocean which made it possible to spot the countless turtles and pods of dolphins. It seemed like we were disturbing the peace as we cut through the middle of it all; making waves and noise in the otherwise unspoilt landscape.
The seas picked up a little after a few days and the fog drifted in briefly but our trip to San Diego was just about near perfect......except for the fact that we couldn't get off the boat, were still working on the boat, and were rationed to 2 beers per day

Check out the pics here >>>
http://redmonkey.smugmug.com/gallery/4648377_n8w4r/1/271325639_Fp4SA

Well I've made it!
I've made it past the one month trial period, but only just as there have been a few incidents which I thought would have stitched me up for sure. Such as pre empting an anchor drop & letting it plummet to the ocean floor while still pushing 4 knots and then there was nearly losing the waverunner which I could have sworn I clipped on; until seeing it about 200 meters away and realising that " Hey! That's ours!!". But I take a little comfort in the fact that my deckhand buddie, who is also a newbie; managed to nearly lose the tender....at night! We were lucky enough to see it in the dim moon light being wished away by the strong currents. The captain must think he's got a couple of clowns working for him.
So it's being a very interesting, challenging and tiring month.

As the owner was on for all of our cruising of the Caribbean it's being non stop shifts 24/7 and not being able to get away from it like a normal shore job has taken some getting use to and I'm still not cool with it but we have got to see some wonderful places along the way.
After leaving St Martin we headed down to Antigua to pick up some guests before cruising down to Guadeloupe and all the islands down to St Lucia, which is about halfway down the Caribbean chain of islands; before heading back up to Antigua. It all took a little under 2 weeks to take in all the islands on our whistle stop tour before the owner and the guests got off and we started to prepare for our next journey.

The weather here had being a bit shitty and not really what I expected of the Caribbean for this time of year with choppy seas, non-stop wind and countless passing rain showers to drench the boat that you have just meticulously dried from the previous shower.
But on the days that have been perfect I've tried to make the most of the down time we have and any shore leave that we're given and were lucky enough to be treated to a watersports day where we could use the yachts toys like the jet skis, waverunners and kayaks and I've never had so much fun on a waverunner as I did that day. Jumping over 8-10ft relentless swell of one of St Lucia's beautiful points, wave after wave; airborne and blinded from the salt spray. Wicked stuff!

So now we're heading across the Caribbean Sea, heading fro Panama and the famous canal where we will hopefully get some shore time before making the long 10 days treck up the coast to San Diago and the U S of A baby!

Check out the pics here >>>
http://redmonkey.smugmug.com/gallery/4648377_n8w4r/1/271325639_Fp4SA

The last month has being quite the eventful one, especially in the job area as I have picked up another job on a yacht as a deckhand again. I'm giving it one more chance, to see weather it's for me or probably more to the point if the people in the industry are not all......well like the last lot.
It's a 52 metre motor yacht with quite the wicked cruising itinerary and is a bit of a world cruiser. I have joined it in the Caribbean where it will be cruising around for roughly one more month before heading through the Panama Canal and making its way up the west coast of America to Alaska over 2 months, then who knows where.

I was lucky enough to have to go to Paris for a few days to go for my visa interview to get a US Business Visa, which all went well and had a chance to see the sights of Paris and see some French theatre and attend a travel group with Pierre who I was Couchsurfing with.
As alot of people say that the French are quite rude I tied to tackle it with an open mind and yes I think they can be quite rude; in particular Paris, but no more than some of the other European countries, say Italy and like any big city Paris has got the big city attitude. But what a beautiful it is; quite romantic though. Great if you've got some hottie with you, less so if you don't and especially with a weeks to Valentines Day.

Before heading up to Paris I had a chance to see snow for the very first time; proper snow, although I didn't go for a ski but was still quite cool seeing the fluffy powder.
I also had a chance to do some driving on the icy roads where my normal driving skills were no good to me at all and managed to plough the hire car into a wall of snow after overtaking at speed just before a blind corner, which was rattling enough but then realising that we were just a metre from tipping over the edge of the mountain and tumbling down the side of the mountain!!

So am now in the Caribbean in just the nick of time as the funds were at critical level and just about to max out the second credit card. Now the steep and fast learning curve begins and where I must adapt to the "5 Star Silver Service" yachtie Jason, which I have to say has never been found before!

Check out the pics here >>>
http://redmonkey.smugmug.com/gallery/3818460_MJTfQ#215215310_GEkMi
http://redmonkey.smugmug.com/gallery/4421277_abdf5#251645258_hU27b

After a hectic week in London it was time to leave and go check out the capital of Spain, Madrid!
Having heard lots of wonderful things about this city; especially the nightlife, it was time to go and see if it lived up to its reputation.

After being picked up by my good mate Monica; who I met in Ibiza, and then dropping my stuff off we headed out to a few local bars with her brother Hugo and I soon realised again why I absolutely love Spain. It’s just the Spanish people and their way of life, so relaxed, always smiling and having fun and seems to be enjoying every minute of every day, if only I could speak some proper Spanish it would be so much better.
Well I’m not sure if it was a stroke of luck or what but after walking into this club on the first night they just happened to drop ‘Heater’ by Samim which was the biggest tune to hit Ibiza last season and fuck I just couldn’t get the smile of my face and that pretty much how it stayed for the next few days.

Was staying with Monica, her brother & her wicked Granma in there flat which was just a stones throw away from the Real Madrid stadium. Now I’m no soccer fan but did a tour of the magnificent stadium which took you through the changing room, media room and the pitch. Was a bit of a shame I had no idea what I was looking at in the trophy room but going on the size and the amount of trophies I’m sure it would have been any soccer fans wet dream.

While Monica & her bro were working I took the opportunity to go and get lost in the city and find some really cool spots and places such as an Ibiza Metro station (Corny I know) before heading back home to get ready for the next night out.

Apparently Madrid is a bit of a trendy city, so the idea of changing shoes to something a bit more ‘smart’ didn’t go down too well, thought my shoes were well ; trendy, maybe a bit dirty but still trendy....right?
After everyone got dolled up I got into my well ‘usual’ clothes, we set off to have a few drinks in the park with some of Hugo’s mates before hitting the Heineken club then the absolutely unbelievable Kapital club.
Set in an old theatre and made up of SEVEN levels it’s Madrid’s biggest club and has a floor for just about every type of music (even a karaoke bar and cinema), and I have to say (even at risk of sounding like a big geek) the lighting rig was just truly astonishing. I suppose only fitting for the capital of the best country in Europe.

Next day it was up unusually early to go check out the Plaza De Torres bull ring which I was rather excited about. Not the whole bull killing thing but more the tradition of it and it being the second biggest ring of its kind in the world. Well it would have looked a hell of a lot bigger if the fucking circus hadn’t decided to come to town and erect there big top right in the middle, although seeing there elephants and lions roaming around was quite cool, with it being a bull ring and all
It was then time to head home to have a kip before venturing out into the crowds for the 3 Kings Festival which is like a second Christmas for Spain and apparently Italy, where they have a massive parade and all the kids get there presents from the first Christmas! Confused?

I have to say that Monica was an absolute champion as she managed to hook us up with guestlist or free entry every night to some of the best nights and for the 3rd night I became a honorary ‘agents de la noche’ or to the non Spanish ‘agents of the night’. Nothing crude or rude just a company that sends out ‘agents’ to take photos of people partying the night away; to bad I didn’t have a good camera or understand what they were asking for so left it up to Monica while I went and had some fun.

On the Sunday it was time to chill out and after catching up with my buddy Evan, Monica showed me a few of here favourite spots before I had to leave the next day back to France.

I had a absolute ball in Madrid and with it being my 4th visit to Spain its the country I’ve visited the most without living there and has now even got me thinking of studying there for a year or so sometime, but with things changing every couple of months these days who knows what will happen.

p.s A massive thank you to Monica & her lovely family for letting me stay with them. Next time Monica please let me at least wash the dishes won’t ya! :p

Check out the pics here >>> http://redmonkey.smugmug.com/gallery/4143458_8aaCF#240011704_Sfq5G

Being lucky enough to be back in Europe around the festive season meant that I could return to my old stomping ground in London & celebrate with a bang with some of my good mates.

After leaving the yacht & being flown back to Nice one week before Christmas, I ended up staying with my mate Steve at his friends join in Cannes where after he left was by myself over Christmas.
Wanting to make the most of it and at least feel like I was at home, I decided to cook up a storm and after discovering one of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks found the perfect meal for Christmas Day. Upon waking on Christmas Day and discovering that Santa has YET AGAIN forgot to deliver any presents I cracked open the wine and started preparing the feast for one.
One big chicken smother in salt and pepper and drowned in oil.
Then one lemon, some garlic cloves and a few herbs stuffed up his insides then covered in bacon rashes and lied to rest on a bed of potatoes before being roasted for an awfully long time.
In the meantime had turned on the telly and was reminiscing back to the good old days with every single pop chart number one from since I was still at school. Christmas is one of those weird days where you can think back years to where you were on that very day.
Well the chicken was done and totally beat my expectations of how it would turn out....it wasn't burnt!!! But then, like always I realised why I don't like cooking as in the time it had taken to cook I had lost my hunger and wasn't hungry no more but being that I cooked it I managed to fit in one tasty chicken breast before passing out on the couch.

After having to make a hasty evacuation from the apartment after being informed the owner was on her way back and will be there in 10 minutes, I headed to Steve's boat back in Monaco for a night before jetting off to London.

We'll I'm the first to admit that I've given London I bit of a bad rap in the past and it's not one of my favourite places but it did feel good to be back as it's like a second home and where all my mates are.
Staying with my friend Denisa who is living in an absolutely magnificent humongous ex-hostel/ex-squatters pad up in North London was quite cool and after catching up and having a good night sleep it was time to see what everyone else was up to.
Heading out to Brick Lane the night before New Years with a couple of buddies ended up being quite the night and was already exhausted before NYE had even begun!!

Well NYE came and went like any other year, but this year had a special touch about it as it was like being back at home again. I spent the first half of the night at some Kiwi party in a recording studio in Shoreditch where I was a bit hesitant to confess that I was an Aussie in case they all turned on me and to get away from their extremely discounted alcoholic drinks. Then it was off to Ministry of Sound to catch up with the gang again and see what's being going on before ending up at The Key & The Cross for the ultimate New Year's Day party where it got very messy indeed surprisingly quickly.

With only a few days of my trip remaining I caught up with a few other people before bidding farewell again & setting off the Madrid.

Check out the pics here >>> http://redmonkey.smugmug.com/gallery/4138284