Irish in Portugal

  Like the occasional flight, life encounters moments of turbulence. Our unique lives are unconventional and full of freedom, while being challenging, by choosing not to work full-time or have children, we have had to carve out our own sense of purpose and meaning. Raquel and I have lived financially independent in Lisbon for three years now, experimenting with multiple hobbies, volunteering opportunities and part-time jobs. Before buying our city apartment we considered more rural living, with the romantic idea of having a garden to learn about growing some of our own food. But we chose Portugal’s capital for the ease of building community, and its wonderful choice of activities to stimulate our bodies and minds. This year brought itchy feet and a heavy dose of soul searching, as we encountered frustrations, such as injuries and Portuguese red tape preventing our parkrun event becoming official, and we thought of ways to build a better quality of life. One moment we almost bought ...

  During our time in Brunei, word trickled through that Taiwan was something of a hidden gem, so Raquel and I hatched a plan to visit before leaving SE Asia. Somehow we discovered the island was incredibly cycle friendly, so we invested in a couple of foldable Tern bikes for the trip, the rest of our time in Borneo, and afterwards. Tern was aptly headquartered in Taiwan, and ‘the Arctic tern was the inspiration for the company name, due to the fact that it travels the longest distance of all migratory animals and is light and small, qualities the company attributes to its bicycles’, according to Wikipedia. As there were no direct flights between Brunei and Taipei, our journey there and back was an adventure in itself. We drove across the border to Miri in Malaysia, we took part in the half marathon and 10km races there, then we flew with our foldables to Kota Kinabalu (KK), another city in Malaysia. At KK, we unfolded our bikes and cycled to our accommodation, then out for sushi di...

  My last blog post was a whopping 8 years ago in 2016, and soon afterwards my blog website TravelPod ceased operating. Thankfully I saved my writings from the 12 years of travelling prior to that, and now the platform Blogger will reignite the storytelling spirit within me. I must thank my friend David Schlaphorst for his keen interest in my travels, and his question "What happened in Brunei?" will now be addressed! I know I can also count on my sweet mum as my top fan, and my gorgeous wife Raquel as my biggest cheerleader. Raquel and I worked as coaches for 2.5 years from January 2017 until June 2019, helping up-skill local Bruneian teachers, in the fields of literacy and numeracy, across primary and secondary. This ambitious nationwide programme involved 60 international coaches and every school in the country. It was fascinating to work closely with such a diverse spectrum of individuals (coaches, teachers and school leaders), who were all passionate about education and m...

  We didn't originally plan to spend much time in Mexico, but with the flow of travelling we enjoyed six amazing weeks in this vast and diverse land. Prior to arriving we felt apprehensions about safety, with impressions of drug related crime from news and readings. Friends had reservations about visiting the enormous Mexico City, as did we, but we were so surprised and impressed with the efficiency of their public transport, the pretty leafy streets and squares, and total feeling of safety. We leave with such a warm affection for the country and its people, which ranks as one of our favourites on this trip. It was brilliant to dedicate ample time to kicking back and relaxing on so many beautiful beaches. On the Yukatan Peninsula the water was a stunning turquoise blue and deliciously warm. The sea was wonderfully calm, and perfect for floating and gazing up at the puffy white clouds gliding across the rarely not blue skies. By contrast, on the south coast the Pacific Ocean surged ...

  Cuba, the seventieth country I have visited, and probably the most frustrating place I have experienced! Many of the simple things in life are not so simple here. Take easy internet access, for example. If you want to get online you must purchase a card to log into a single wifi provider, and this wifi is only located in hotels and occasionally public places. 1 hotel in town sells the card costing USD 5 for one hour, or you can go to a government building to buy them for USD 2. There we waited nearly an hour in a queue of 20 people as the sloth-like team of 5 staff served the customers, one every 5 minutes!! What's the incentive to work harder when your wage is about USD 20 per month (the same for everyone, regardless of profession)!? Logging on takes a few attempts entering the same two 12 digit codes. Be patient though, as the connection may cut out regularly and requires the codes to be entered again. So Cuba is definitely an opportunity to take an internet detox! This was fin...

  Guatemala in many ways is a great country to visit, and Raquel is in every way the perfect travel partner for me. This blog entry is a tribute to both wonders and the joy of compatibility. A short hop from Guatemala City airport is the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site town of Antigua. Cobbled streets lined with brightly coloured stone buildings are surrounded by towering volcanoes and lush green hills. Raquel and I happily whiled away the hours wandering aimlessly and stumbling across hidden courtyards and gems of cafes selling tasty juices, lattes and treats. Our 'sharing is caring' approach to all meals and our mutual appreciation of healthy vegetarian food, means we enjoy tasting two different dishes and drinks. Because Raquel is "littler" and I have "more muscles to feed", Raquel always makes sure I have the bigger half, and I gratefully receive all donations of potatoes and bonus extras! The day we arrived in Antigua, Raquel found a running race h...

  With 10kg of minimalist belongings on our backs, Raquel and I headed west for some exploring of pastures familiar and new. Our first major stop was gorgeous Trinidad and Tobago, where the number one priority was extensive beach chilling. The sea temperature was perfect for carefree floating, and gazing up at the ever changing puffy white clouds and photogenic coconut palms. Around this time we would usually be coming towards the end of our school summer holidays, except this year we made this much dreamed about trip a reality. For many people life goes something like this: after school and uni, find a job, work for the next 40+ years, retire, rest after working all your life, then die; it doesn't have to be that way!! Travelling is best experienced when you're young and fit. Society often acts surprised when you take time off and travel for months or years. Being unemployed fills minds with shock and fear. There is the expectation to build a family, and therefore working ever...

  Raquel and I celebrated the end of our 4+ years teaching in Fujairah and 1 year of happy marriage with a Kenyan adventure. This trip is the beginning of an exciting 6-12 months of travelling and limbo, with no job lined up and our next direction unknown. In Kenya we experienced rich diversity in many ways. To get around we walked, ran, cycled, swam, rode in cars, matatus (minibuses), safari 4WD, train, motorbike, plane, and glass bottom boat! In accommodation we couchsurfed in Nairobi's Eastlands next to the massive Soweto slums, stayed with a mix of locals through Airbnb and friends, and slept in a cabin next to Masai Mara National Park, with a multitude of night time noises including hyenas! Trips to the long drop toilet during the dark of night were only for the brave or desperate! In the food department, we savoured delicious fresh local avocados, mangos, papayas, bananas, fish, cashew nuts and veggies. Happy foodies we were! Bartering is something Raquel and I don't enjo...

  I rocked up to school at the usual 7:15am, organised my classroom and headed to my 6th form mentor group. I greeted the students as they arrived, they signed exam entries, and there was the usual admin of chasing up homeworks, sick notes and encouraging latecomers to arrive earlier. Period 1 involved checking over slides in readiness for the five different year groups I would be teaching today. I racked my brain to understand some particularly difficult problems which I would be teaching 6th form after lunch, finally grasping it enough to not go into the lesson confused myself. Period 2 - Greet the ever enthusiastic top set Year 8s for the return of the previous day tests. More mental maths week fun as the top four battle it out to become class champion. Post pi day excitement to be had, searching the infinite number of digits for dates of birth. Permission given to bring an apple pie next day for a belated celebration of 3.14! I gobble my fruit salad at breaktime before greeting...

  Spring break school holidays provided the perfect time for Raquel and me to hop across the Indian Ocean from the UAE to Sri Lanka. Being starved of green in Fujairah, this Emerald Isle was a wonderful assault on the senses for a nature lover. One of the highlights of this mini adventure was getting around the country by train, local bus and tuk tuk, on multi hour journeys costing only a pound or two! I excitedly joined the locals hanging out of the open doors on trains and whiled away the hours gazing out the open windows as the warm air blasted my face. During our 8 days we packed in Kandy and Ella in the hilly tea-plantation-clad heart of the island, then Weligama and Tangalle on the south coast. We woke at the crack of dawn one morning to brave rough seas in the hope of spotting the world's largest mammal, and we were rewarded with a few glimpses of the mighty Blue Whale! Raquel fished out a couple of delightful overnight stays from the internet, one surrounded by wildlife in ...

  One by one, the teachers signed up. Interest, excitement, the challenge of a tough physical goal; whatever the reasons, eight brave individuals from Fujairah Academy signed up for the Dubai Creek half marathon on 6 December. A training plan was drafted to fit around busy school life, consisting of three weekly runs of increasing distance over a ten week period. These were a mixture of city street loops, long corniche efforts towards Kalba, and off the beaten track wadi scrambles in the surrounding mountains. As the summer heat subsided and the weeks passed, the initial reservations and struggles were gradually replaced by confidence and the feeling that "yes, I can do this!" Routine was established with impressive commitment by all not to miss sessions and let the team down! An essential element of our urban runs was a sprint finish to our local coconut water and fresh juice cafe, Al Arooba, for refuelling and reporting! The long runs went slightly further each week as race...

  A week's half term holiday from school provided the perfect opportunity for a wee jaunt across the Arabian Sea from Fujairah to Goa. This former Portuguese colony is a beautiful oasis and tourist magnet within India, and 6 days here flew by in a flash. Country number sixty on my visit list will be remembered for its beauty, food and friendliness. Gazing out of the aeroplane window coming in to land, I was immediately hit by a lush tropical green feel in the aftermath of monsoon season. Ever so photogenic palm trees were everywhere and golden rice paddies were being harvested by man and machine. Raquel's friends Manuela and Nelson from Portugal joined us, but were lucky to fulfil their dream of visiting Goa. They accidentally overlooked organising the mandatory Indian visa, only realising their slip on the day of departure! We decided to wing it and astonishingly Air India didn't check, so they made it from Dubai via Mumbai to Goa! Arriving at the immigration desk in Goa t...