SCANDANAVIA TRIP

DEPARTURE 080607

Moving house is always stressful. Bev and I rented a small key worker flat in Woolwich london, for the last two years . Furniture and clothing has accumulated along with an array of electrical gadgets and paraphernalia

Bev has moved back to NZ . Rachel and her will be revamping our flats in readiness for providing Traveler accommodation next summer . Art has always been a desire for Bev, she is in the process of setting up her art Gallery in Hokitika . I have packed tea chest full of the remaining and sent this home . To think we came here with a couple of suitcases and always had restrain when buying goods and clothing.

My last day in the flat was hectic . People coming to collect goods and furniture I had sold on the net. I was putting out the last few bags of rubbish when i heard the click of disaster behind me . Luckily i had put trousers on as i was now standing in the passage way with no way to get back into the flat. I had retrieved me spare keys from my friend in readiness to hand the keys in on Monday . They were neatly arranged on the sink bench inside along with my Mobile and keys to the camper van. .

I utilized the neighbors phone to arrange a Locksmith . £150.00 for an emergency weekend call out. Bugger that what other options. I called my friend to buy me a Tee shirt on her way over and i was bereft of clothing from the waist up.

Monday morning, a bloke form the shop below my flat had blocked me with his car in my usual parking spot . I told him of my dilemma "I used to be a locksmith, Ill open it for you" gratitude bubbled from my lips.

Last year when Bev and I traveled down to Turkey in the Camper van we met an older German couple . They had worn out two Mercedes Camper vans and had covered 400,000 km around the continent . I asked which was their favorite countries . They both answered in unison, Turkey and Norway. We both agreed with there assessment of Turkey. A must do for travelers . Their suggestion that Scandinavia was a top spot remained with me. My ancestors are vikings, hailing from southern Sweden . I have been to the family home in Borgholm and will go back this time with a chance to dig deeper and see if i can find any remaining links from the past .

I have had the van for sale over the last three months . One taker pulled out a month ago and left me with the opportunity to travel north . My work at Oxleas Trust was a temporary nature . I chose when it finished and now I'm ready to venture north .

The usual checks on the van's wellbeing have been carried out, Breaks, Oil, MOT, Insurance, Tyres. Ill try to get another 6000miles out of the back tyre . Probable expose me to more punctures, Ill test my luck.

I have a GPS which covers Scandinavia. New roads and alterations may not be right up to date but hears hoping . The usual safety equipment is aboard . First aid Gear, torches, replenished gas bottles,drinking water. My cupboards are chocker with the food supply from our flat.

I'm a bit addicted to the Internet and had withdrawal symptoms when i parted with the PC in our flat. A quick search of the internet and i had a new Laptop with WI-FI capabilities . It has been a surprise to me how many places have unsecured Internet access. All to my benefit. A site on http://www.multimap.com/ will indicate where the Cafe's and Hotels are that offer this service to guests and Camper van drivers who park temporary in the yard to search and send .

its early June and working towards the shortest day of the year soon. 21^st June I think. I plan to be up beyond the arctic circle by the end of the month. The northern lights, Aurora Borealis is said to be spectacular sight . Parkie has been in the southern Fjords of Norway which by all accounts will be awe inspiring. I plan to be away from England for about two months. Summer has been erratic weather wise so far . We have had some hot days but only into the low 30s . London seems to generate it own heat on hot days, which has the locals panting.

I looked at the Speedo as i pulled out of Woolwich 80880 miles on the clock. My trip planning tells me a further 6000 miles will be added over the next couple of months .

I'm now writing this update sitting above Dover's White cliffs watching Sea France, Norfolk Line and P& O ferries come and go into the harbor. The wind is blowing enough to rock the van. I cant quite see across to France 20 miles away as there is a low haze and sea mist. Grey overcast sky, its early summer in Kent . The wheat crops a full grown and the seed heads have formed . The country side is lush with new growth and abundant wild flowers.

My ferry booking is for an early sailing tomorrow morning. I had hope to be able to bring it forward but the buggers want extra money, I would sooner put it into the fuel tank than into their pockets.

I have scanned my anxieties about the future couple of months. Bev and i have learn to keep our documents and ourselves safe traveling over the last few years. I'm confident in the camper van the mechanics are good, ford transits are great work horses, its facilities are all i need. I will have to do a bit extra to keep it to the standard of tidiness that Bev set on previous trips.

Theft will be a constant risk. I'll try to carry my valuables with me in the back pack. I have a back up British passport now in case I do get rumbled.

I want to get to meet the people in their own environment, The back roads are best in the van. I will visit the museums in the cities but will mainly be in the rural s utilizing back roads

I have trepidation about coming down through the Baltic states from Tallinn in Estonia down to Poland. I have some contacts to link with in Helsinki and will get there advise and guidance before I take that route.

My evening meal tonight is Buckwheat , Red Salmon with a touch of olive oil and parsley. I can eat it out of the pot to save the washing up.

090607

Saturday

Slept soundly , Several other vans parked nearby , I heard one head away for an earlier sailing. I woke at 0430 ,daylight was poking through the sky light as my eyes focused in the gloom

Tomatoes on toast and tea with condensed milk. I had sorted the van last night and was prepared if my internal alarm fail me . I had set the mobile to let out a scream at 0445.

It always surprises me the range of activity at the Port of Dover, one of the busiest ports in Europe. Being midsummer there were hundreds of campers and caravans , Freight truck and Motorcyclist all cued to get on the Ferries comprising the P & O Line, Sea France and My favorite Norfolk Line. My sailing took me north to Dunkirk a two hour crossing . Wi Fi connection for passengers must have played a part in the Norfolk Line company receiving a ferry operators award this year

The motorway north through Belgium was flowing freely. The the right and left is industrial complexes distribution warehouses and manufacturing factories . Hay making is in full swing the farmers will be cursing the enclement weather . Towards the Netherland border the canal become more prevalent. I was tempted to turn off the main drag for a while but the occasional down pore help me decide to remain o the fast route north.

A variety of smells reached my nostrils . The dominant smell in norther netherland is of dairy effluent . It sprayed on the paddock with high pressure pumps leaving the smelly part airborne.

Other smells at of recently milled or treated timber, freshly cut grass , and on occasion, the fragrance of flowers, emitted from massive tunnel houses .

The new three bladed super wind Harvesting generators perched on 100 meter towers are scattered through out Belgium , Netherlands and northern Germany . To help these monsters to blend in the base is painted green shading up to white at usual tree level , It does help to blend the tower into the surrounding environment

Occasionally the traffic comes to a crawl . On one occasion a caravan had flipped on to its side . An elderly German , pale and shaking stood by, looking in disbelief at his smashed up Mercedes Benz and near new caravan.

I had driven most of the day with several stops for s cup pa and chat with fellow travelers . I had covered 460 miles since starting off this morning so called it a day in North east Germany at Oldenburg. Found a quiet truck stop and pulled the curtains

The food tonight is Tomato's on butter fruit bread

100607

Sunday WWW. HOSPITALITY-CLUB.ORG

The night was accompanied by a huge thunderstorm, very heavy rain lightening flashed throught the skylights . I slept well.

I woke at 0530 , toast and a cuppa before hitting the road again . I revered to driving on the left as i pulled out of the truck stop , gave way to a car who intended to turn where i was waiting. He shook his head and drove round me. "stupid Pomms".

The north eastern corner of Germany is rural. Main crops seemed to be Wheat, barley, Rape seed, Corn,as i moved fiurther east towards Hamburg. Forestry and specialist plantations of Ammenity trees broke the natural landscape of pine and willows.

Hamburg Highways where full to overflow . I crept along in second gear for 20 miles . Road works and the shear volume of traffic. The workmen were at home but had left all the barriers and deviations in situ. Overall the roads and road conditions are excellent. They need to be as the highways have an open speedlimit . I can travel at 105 km / Hour. And get passed as if im standing still by modern BMW, Audi's, Merceded Benz, and array of fast Japanese cars.

Due north from hamburg , two hours is the Denmark border, i pulled my Documents in readiness only to find the staff were having the weekend off. No checks or stamps here. I was staring to wilt , and needed to get off the highway . My map indicated scenic routs across to ESBJERG. The fifth largest town in Denmark, Fishing haven for the north sea fleet . A relaxing brew on the wharf watching the ferry depart for UK Harwick, the off shore wind farm boats with their sea legs to spub into the bottom while erecting new towers for wind turbines , and array of support vessels , and thousands of fishing boats . If this many where in port how many where there at sea. I drove through a Fish processing factory . Seemed to be in recess as there was no action or sign of recent activity. The smell was still atrocious with fish oil and old industry. Notable was the lack of bird life, no Gulls of Turns scavenging or waiting for opportunities for food.

Monday 10^th June

Camped it Vardie Town car park . Met Germans

To get a bettr undestanding of the danish country side i took to the B Roads. These are slower and pass through villages and hamlets , The speed limit is 50 KM in the towns . Im sure i had my picture taken for exceeding the limit on one occasion .

Drove back roads to Ferry across to Zealand

ENGLAND London Bombing

My experience of the LONDON BOMBINGS


What a bad day to go to town
It has taken me all afternoon to creep home in buses.

I couldnt use the tubes at lunch time and I heard about the bombs.

I found myself outside Victoria station trying to figure out how to go home and wondering how bad the violence might be.

All underground passengers were above ground.

People were stressed and silent.
No smiles.

I was standing beside a young woman with a white cane.
She had another young woman on her arm.

Something struck me to take a closer look. They were both blind and they were saying things like "Thats it we are really stuck now"
(Alan Edwards told me 2 blind people usually pretend that one of them can see.)

I offered to help the poor things, they had no phone.

I guess in London the phone would be pinched from them in no time -too much like victims.

I offered to give them my phone to take with them but they only wanted to use it

The main problem was they did not have the address where they were going to.
I assumed they knew the way via tube and cane tap. The one with the cane was taking the lead.

They were worried about ME not getting a bus before services came to a halt.

I walked them into a shop and asked some Indian newsagents to help us as my phone wasnt working as due to the crisis BT shut it down sporadically

The shop cellphone was out too.

The women were afraid.

I asked them to come home with me.Then the guys came back after us to say they found another phone that would go. Nice of them.

After a successful call and paper and pen from the guys to write down the address we walked threelinked arms style across the pedestrian walk over to the hectic Victoria station.

I joked how easy it was to charge at people and how they all gave away like water.

Due to reluctance of people to board the buses the taxi queue was stretched the width of the station frontage.100's of people maybe a thousand. Very orderly London style of course.

I talked to the women as I walked to the head of the queue explaining what I was doing.

"We cant do that" one of the women said

"Oh yes we can"

And we did

Bev Olson

USA Florida

Dylan And Torrie

Southern Florida USA

30 minutes inland from our residence at Fort Meyers, Cape Coral "The Everglades" begin.

Bev and I zoomed across the top of a Gator infested lake. The skipper of the air boat skillfully maneuvered in an out of the mangroves causing the resident bird life to forget their next morsel and scatter to the safety of the higher branches.

The captain/ pilot, pointed out Wild hog, Deer, Eagles, Heron , Egrets, Turtles and Terrapins. In the black evil soup below the boat the Gators lurked.Yearlings,18 inches in length slowly moved out of the way of the air boat. The larger females were absent . They were on dry land guarding their nests. Male gators, some up to 12 ft long, cruised with just their heads above the water . As we approached they slunk below into the murky depths to reappear with a chilling confidence for their sly assessment of our meal potential .

Hunting season is upon the Gators . Hunters are allowed to take two gators per season.

I assume they eat the flesh and sell the skin. Spot lighting at night illluminates the alligators eyes. Bullets can not effectively penetrate below the surface.

The everglades were being dowsed with frequent tropical thunderstorms.

The sky was hung with rumbling broad curtains of charcoal and grey . Dazzeling veins of molten silver welded the canopy to the thrashing rain spattered foliage.Marvellous to breathe in the power of the wild skies aware that we were surrounded by miles of primitive carnivorous beasts protected only by our ability to climb in a car and get back to our human houses

The deluge is so intense that the wipers on the car had no hope of keeping up and visibility can drop to zero making it necessary to pull over and wait out the storm.

Tour operators had other zoo collections to entertain us while we waited.

A " Snake pit, out back' Water moccasins , rattlers , pythons , with an array of lizards and mandatory parrots.

My sister joined us for a look at the Florida keys. From the largest Island , Key Largo to the tip of Key West . The keys are linked by 42 bridges scattered along the 126 Mile Historic US 1 Highway. This included the spectacular 7 Mile long Bridge.Mile markers indicate how far you have come or need to go . Motels and Businesses have adopted the Mile Markers to advertise and locate their respective business.

The history of the keys goes back beyond 1513 when the Europeans first located the string of Islands protruding into the Atlantic ocean from Florida , separating the Gulf Of Mexico.

It was inhabited by native Indians and the land was owned by the Spanish until 1821 . During the 1800 sailing ships founded on the multitude of reefs and provided a regular income for "Wreckers" Salvaging Millions of dollars worth of Cargo from ships which had run aground.

The Sponging Industry came and went at the turn of the last century when a 'Red Tide Algae Bloom' wiped it out.

In 1905 a Railway Magnate extended his rail line out to Key West . The process took seven years. He was hoping to establish a deep water port to link up with the Shipping utilising the newly opened Panama Canal . Mosquito's , Heat and nature in the form of repeated Hurricanes in 1935 put the railway out of commission but pioneered the settlements that doggeredly thrive today .

The Overseas Highway was then constructed, by the government, on top of the Rail Bridges and Old rail tracks The highway was nick named the white Knuckle Highway as it was very narrow being restricted to the previously prepared rail throughfare and not suited to the large American cars.

Tourism took off after the depression in 1933 . A Large aquarium was established to pull the tourist to Key West. Fishing for the Tourist remains the biggest industry to date.

Sun sets across the keys are spectacular especially with the towering Cummulonimbus clouds and the misty haze rising from the bays. Traffic seemed light and there are very few road repairs going on. Evidence of past Hurricanes and future promises abound with Super size power transmission poles , Stripped of vegetation trees stumps, temporary office blocks ( Pre Fabs ) and the occasional pleasure boat left high and dry up in the mangoes .

We joined a 5 hr Boat trip from Big Pine Key which included a series of Snorkel Dives on the reefs as well as an over view of the nature and environment. Evidence of the Hurricane Wilma which passed through twelve months ago was present both above and below the water.

All the soft coral had been snapped off and ruined. Only the hardy 'Brain Coral' remained. A myriad of reef fish of all shapes and sizes where in abundance . Rainbow Parrot fish, French Angel fish, Green Wrasse, along with juvenile Snapper and the Occasional Small Groper entertained us as we snorkeled along the outer reef.

Key West is closer to Havana, Cuba ( 90 Miles ) than it is to Miami ( 150 Miles ) has been embroiled in past conflicts of the Spanish - American war to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Old Colonial Homesteads have been renovated to Hotels and B & Bs. Chickens strut amongst the homes and the residents have a Hispanic origins.

Traffic flows freely along the Overseas Highway. Police and radar speed traps are in abundance . Or detector was frequently alerting us to Mufti patrol cars and speed detector cameras.

We came back to Ft Meyers via the old link road the Tamaimi Trail. Air boat operators were out of action because of the evening thunder storms . Spectacular Lightning displays and Load rumbles of the thunder entertained us as we waited in vain for the Air boats to recommence operation.

My brother in Law ( Ginge ) arrives in Ft Meyers today . He has driven his Semi Trailer across the states from British Colombia . I plan to go with him on his deliveries around the Area . Talk about the Blind leading the Blind .

Tomorrow ( Friday ) we fly back to the UK,via New York, into Gatwick.

Thanks to the Florida family for your hospitality we alway have a relaxing time with Yah all.

Regards

I wonder what will happen next

Alvin & Bev

LONDON food poison

I had a trip to Hospital myself

Last Thursday night I had some reheated 'Smoked Haddock Pie'

spuds , Swede and some beans .

One of my favorite meals . (until now )

Friday 0700 i was going for it both ends . I vomited for half an hour until i collapsed while sitting on the toilet . Pulse dropped down to low 40s . i could elaborate more , lets just say 'near death'

Bev called the 999 services and two men in green uniforms helped me down the stairs to the ambulance

A & E checked me out . Heart OK , Blood Ok , all Vital signs OK so the filled up my blood supply with a litre of water and sent me home to rest and reflect

My arse was sore and stomach muscles were tender from all the strain of vomiting . I took analgesia and rested and slept

The next day my arse had exploded the blood vessels (Peri anal ) had hemorrhaged and left me with a very unusual sounding fart and extreme pain . I couldn't walk or extract my self from bed .

I waddled about, pulling as much sympathy form Bev as i could.

I managed the pain and discomfort with analgesia and rest . smeared hydrocotisone around my protrudances with much trepidation as they were tender arrivals .

Bev has gone to France to get away from my yips, yelps and whoops as i go about my day .. watching TV standing up soon gets boring.

I have been able to buy a new DV camcorder £ 1000.00 , on Ebay mainly because i was able to monitor the auction process and slip my bid in at the last moment . I have been beaten like that many times before .

Back to my bum which is my focus this week. I waddled over to my doctor yesterday . "Perianal Haemotoma "was his pronouncement .

"Should be over the worst of it around 72 hrs" and "stuff these up you jackcie" . "Do you need a certificate for work ? ". "Has your wife ever poisoned you before" You tend to remember key points when you are in discomfort.

Bev can expect to be arrested when she comes back across the Dover Strait on the Ferry next week.

My new arrivals have started to bleed this morning . Ill have to go and buy some 'Panti Liners' which will be a first.

Hope this all settles soon and my arse does not turn to cancer.

I wonder what will happen next

Alvin