Irish in Portugal

  The mission December 2012 at home on the farm; I bounced into the kitchen with a twinkle in my eyes. I broke the news enthusiastically to Mum in the usual way - "I booked some flights!", making her wonder where on earth David is going now! Earning a healthy tax free income in the UAE and 8 weeks of school summer holidays provided the opportunity for a 30th birthday present to myself like no other. At the time still considering myself 'young, free and single', I happily splurged a substantial sum on flights into Kenya and out of Zambia, a 4 day safari to Masai Mara National Park, and a 21 day Oasis overland adventure through Tanzania and Malawi! Safari snapping The day after arriving in Nairobi, I was happily gazing out the truck window at the vast Rift Valley on the way to Masai Mara. By perfect fluke my visit coincided with the great wildebeest migration, meaning the park was teaming with life. We had awesome sightings of lions, cheetahs, elephants, 31 giraffes, hi...

  Following my two previous summers' epic cycle tours across Europe, Connie (my trusty steed) and I looked forward to a more relaxed adventure around Scotland's remote Western Isles. My two finest touring buddies Niall and James confirmed their availability with an enthusiastic "I'm in!", and my brave girlfriend Raquel liked the sound of cycle touring enough to book her flights without the slightest bit of arm twisting! There's nothing quite like getting chucked in at the deep end for learning the ropes fast! From growing up in Portugal and flying in from the 40 degrees heat of the UAE, Raquel coped remarkably well with her baptism of fire, wild camping and cycle touring in this exposed corner of Scotland. Despite a heat wave hitting the headlines across Britain, it was "a wee bit chilly" for the most part. We enjoyed a cyclist's best friend - glorious tailwinds and warm sunshine some days, and on others we battled a cyclist's foe - strong he...

  As I listen to the Arabian Sea waves gently washing up on the Hilton beach in Fujairah, I feel nicely relaxed after a Nepali adventure, an enjoyable first week back at school with daily sunset visits to the beach, and today’s sweltering impromptu half marathon at dawn. After a stressful second term at school culminating in a final week inspection, I relished my pending escapade as I journeyed to Dubai airport at the end of April. Reading Paddy’s Nepal Lonely Planet on the bus, I couldn’t wait to follow in my big brother’s footsteps around Kathmandu, Pokhara and the Annapurna region.  My introduction to the capital city was a hair-raising taxi journey weaving through busy alternately paved/unpaved streets, pulling off seemingly impossible under/overtaking manoeuvres of cows, pedestrians and all manner of vehicles. Not put off, the next day I opted for the 7 hour bus journey on mountain roads to Pokhara, in favour of the straightforward 30 minute flight. This ride through the ...

  Since coming to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates to teach for a couple of years, I have been keeping active playing rugby and doing a spot of running. In September I took the plunge of entering the Dubai marathon, thinking it would be rude not to while I’m in this neck of the woods! Rugby disrupted my training somewhat as my now fragile runner’s body took a pounding. Two days before the Abu Dhabi half marathon I twisted my ankle badly and had to pull out. A week before the Dubai Creek half marathon I sprained a ligament in my shoulder playing at the Dubai rugby sevens! Thankfully it recovered sufficiently to do that race in 1h 27m 12s, coming 37th out of 1555, taking photos along the way and giving my Vibran Five Finger footwear their race debut!  One week later I was in Muscat, the capital of Oman, when my host mentioned in passing about the Muscat Road Runners club half marathon early the next morning. Why not, I thought! So my Vibran FFF got another outing as I surpri...

  The journey through my first year of teaching successfully negotiated, I said a fond farewell to Wick in the far north of Scotland. I received kindness in many forms during the past 24 hours, from good friends to strangers. Thank-you to:  Alec and Megan - ram packed car left at Alec's brother Ian's for safekeeping, I was grateful for a lift into Edinburgh after a marathon flat packing session and drive from Wick to Edinburgh. Sister Karen - her flat was bike boxing central. Thanks to David Wray for the box and bubble wrap! Bus driver - for letting me on the 35 bus with my huge bike box. British Airways check in lady - for not charging me for going 6kg over my 23kg bag allowance! Airport pub waitress - accepted a few pennies less for my dinner. Dong and Maggie - for my London crash pad, tasty dinner, good company and lift to the airport. Next stop Thessaloniki, Greece. Life is full of adventure, and variety is the spice of life! Arrived in Thessaloniki safely, as did the bike...

  When Niall and James first mentioned they planned to fly to Istanbul and cycle across Europe back to Edinburgh, I thought they were crazy and immediately dismissed the possibility of joining them. “I’m not a cyclist”, I thought. As I pondered my plans for the summer break before starting my first teaching post, I began to realise that cycle touring actually combined two of my loves: travelling and exercise. This could actually be ‘my cup of tea’ and I would be hard pushed finding two better travel buddies than Mr Shannon and Mr Couper. So I bit the bullet, we booked our flights and I splashed out on a lovely new Dawes Galaxy, the classic British built touring bike which I named Connie after Istanbul’s former name Constantinople!  The countries Our plan was to keep the route fairly unplanned, which led to some unexpected detours and surprises. One day we passed through 3 countries, using different currencies and languages to say hello and thank-you in each of them. This route...

  Backpackers I spoke to around S America raved about Colombia, so I was pretty excited as I arrived at the Amazonian outpost of Leticia, my entrance point. Just 10 years ago much of the country was a "no go area", including this city, where the cocaine mafia ruled the roost and tourism was nonexistent. I spoke to many gringos telling funny tales of worried friends and relatives, warning about this dangerous country and of a certain suicide mission! Thankfully in recent years Colombia has become safe and accessible, free from kidnappings, with some of the friendliest and welcoming people on the continent. Leticia forms a triple frontier with Brazil and Peru, where you can pass between the 3 countries without any formalities. I took advantage of this convenience to visit Tabatinga one afternoon, to watch the Brazil v Chile World Cup clash at the pub. To help blend in, I bought a Brazil football shirt for the occasion! Brazil won comfortably, with rapturous scenes after each go...