Audacious Freedom Live anywhere. Travel everywhere.

There were always two things that were guaranteed when we went on family holidays -

1. We would have a lot of fun and laughter.

2. We would get stuck.

A holiday without getting stuck just wasn’t a holiday! As per usual we had goaded my dad into taking sand roads to explore off the beaten tracks, to get away from from the other holidayers and find a place filled just with animals and no people. This time we were well and truely stuck in mud in a private game park with the nearest help 3 hours walk away – and no the combi does not have 4×4 mode! Notice it is only the guys trying to figure out a plan! The girls, we were all laid out on the grass in the shade of the car, unpacking our well prepared picnic basket.

There is something intently awesome about being stuck out in the middle of nowhere, having to figure out how do become ‘unstuck’, having to work together and knowing that it is going to get really messy. It becomes a story of  ‘that sinking feeling it has happened again’, of everyone having to chip in and do their bit, of laughter and giggles and the victory of succeeding and safely arriving back at camp.

Nine locks! Nine locks on a run down door that comes directly off the main pedestrian area in Lima, Peru. What is so valuable that the doors need to be locked, padlocked and then locked again for good measure?

I wonder what tales these doors could tell us – the tourists stopped and inspected them, the Peruvians used the step as a place to rest and the kids kicked their balls against it.

We never did discover the secret of what was behind those doors…

During our last year in the UK we decided to do as many weekend trips to Europe as possible. One thing we always wanted to do was hire a fast car and drive down the Autobahn. With a flight booked to Denmark, it seemed a perfect opportunity to hire that car. My adventurous mom-in-law agreed to subject herself to us pushing the car to the speedometer’s limit, on condition she got to walk around Hamburg.

This bridge in Hamburg was one of those magical places for us – where time stood still as we shared laughter while soaking up the music, sunshine and atmosphere. The race back to the airport from here was ‘epic’, even with wild driving we still arrived at the airport 4 minutes after the gates had closed. Somehow between my mom-in-law limping in agony, dropping the car back and me fluttering my eye lashes at the desk clerk they let us on the plane. Close call!!

As we settled on the plane for the trip home we shared the exuberance that comes from high adrenaline and ‘seeing your life flash before your eyes’. The last time I saw my mom-in-law she still laughed about this trip and the ‘magic’ that she experienced.

The Minoan Palace of Knossos is built on an imposing site, with many natural advantages for strong defenses,  good water supplies, access to the sea and close to fertile forest lands. I found it fascinating walking through a historical city dated from 6000 BC. From the remains and ruins that are left, this must have been grand place. According to history it was a live and prosperous right through till the Middle Ages when it was down graded to an unimportant village.

Skeleton coast – even the name conjours up all sorts of imagery. This vast stretch of Namibian coast is now void of human activity, however it got its name from the mass of bleached whale and seal bones that were disgarded by whaling industry.

Travelling along the dirt road through this national park, it was eery to see the ruins of boats, factories, trucks and cars. A land forgotton, a land protected!

There is nothing more African to me than a proper windmill patiently pumping out water to give thirsty people, plants and land a drink.

This picture was taken in a private game park about 10 kms south of Etosha Pan, Namibia. The story behind the photo goes like this: We booked to stay over the Internet. When we arrived we discovered the only language spoken was German which led to a very fun afternoon. Once we got to the camp site, we set up camp and started our camp fire when we saw strange things. A car was trailing a dead animal behind it! The humans then tied the carcass to a bush near this windmill pump, passed out rifles and then took cover. We had no idea what was going on, but figured that there must be a ‘dangerous’ animal in the park. Not wanting to take any chances we locked ourselves up in the car for the rest of the night.

In the morning we found out that they were hunting hyena that had been killing the antelope and neighbouring farms cattle. Then the owner, in an off handed way, mentioned that there was also a pride of lions roaming around and that it would be best if we didn’t have any barbeques.

I love remoteness and I love contrast. This picture was taken at a point on the way from Utah to Colorada where my two loves met! It was a magical world that just called for us to stop, heat up some water for hot chocolate and relax in the moment.

Who needs a TV when you have the greatest soap opera live right in front of you? The dry season in Etosha Pan brings animals of all sorts into contact with each other, who under normal conditions would keep a healthy distance apart. As the animals congregated around the few water holes that had any resemblance of water all attempts at establishing a hierarchy were strongly resisted. Their interaction would keep us amused for hours!

This great idea of posting a favourite photo started with Nancie to celebrate her One Year blog anniversary: http://budgettravelerssandbox. Why don’t you join in the photo fun? Put up a photo then link to it via Nancie’s site so that we can all come have a look.

At the begining of February, I planned out my weekly photo highlights, uploading the photos and scheduling them for publishing. At that stage I had no idea that Japan would be affected by an earthquake and tsunami. The destruction of the towns villages and coasts have been more than my mind can comprehend. The photos and videos do nothing to depict the real terror, fear and hurt that those in the affected area of Japan are experiencing. Healing and rebuilding takes a long time.

When we were in Samoa, we had the opportunity to stay in newly built falas in the tsunami affected area of Upolu. A year after the tsunami and it still felt like it happened just the other day. Ghostly empty houses sitting two or three metres from their original foundation, car wrecks and debris littered the landscape. Every few yards were lavish gravestones – sometimes one, sometimes six stones together all showing where loved ones died.

The survivors of that area left a mark on me. We were invited to see what they had done – the rebuilding of lives, farms and business. They shared personal stories of how they had to deal with loss and despair and somehow rebuild their lives. Miko, a local invited us into his life for a day and spoke candidly of arriving just in time to see the tsunami wave reach the shore, his search for his son and relocating his family to higher grounds. As he shared a traditional meal with us we watched the family sing as they worked full of courage.

The owner of the falas we were staying at said he had come to terms of what had happened by inspiring the locals to take part in community rebuilding projects. Initially he said this gave them focus, something to do without having to think to much. Slowly over time as they saw what they had built, enthusiasm and pride set in and the community is gaining confidence. By this stage he was almost shouting because of his excitment at being the best travel location in the world – where people would be greeted as family and spent many happy hours enjoying coconuts, sun, sea and spectacular fish life.

Travelling is about exploring and experiencing local culture. In Samoa, we were given the opportunity to stay in family resorts and share in their lifestyle, eating and sleeping like they do. Sleeping without a locked door or in fact without any door is a challenge for those of us who are used to living in western houses. It took a while to adjust to the insecurity caused by not having solid walls to hide behind. Once I got used to the flax walls I found it freeing to lie in ‘bed’ (a mattress on the floor with a sheet) at night and gaze at the moon over the sea or wake early and watch the deep hues of sunrise paint the sky.

This great idea of posting a favourite photo started with Nancie to celebrate her One Year blog anniversary: http://budgettravelerssandbox. Why don’t you join in the photo fun? Put up a photo then link to it via Nancie’s site so that we can all come have a look.