Motorhome News from Estonia Sunday 20th May 2012 I was just four years old at the outbreak of WWII. My memories of those years are somewhat vague after all that time; the fearful whine of sirens, school lessons in dark underground shelters, the drone of German aircraft overhead, the bombed out house with the lampshade on top as I walked to school, watching the VI 'buzz-bomb' gliding past the front door, our Anderson shelter, shrapnel through the front-room window, evacuation to Birmingham when the V2's started to fall around London and the VE Day street party by the local concrete-shelter. But World War II didn't end there for some. The Red Army returned to Estonia in September 1944 forcing Germany's Nazi troops to surrender, leaving the country under the dark cloud of Soviet domination once again. ... read more

Motorhome News from Europe 49 6th March 2012 Return from Morocco: Tangier Med, Algeciras, Laguna de Fuente de Piedra, El Torcal, Nerja Caverns, Alpujarras, Cabo de Gata ‘Life begins at Seventy’ OK. Hands up. It's time to put it on the line. At 76, going on 60, I'm looking back on a mis-spent youth and a quadruple heart by-pass. That's how it was and that’s how it is. There’s no turning back, so let’s make the most of what’s left and live the joy of travel. I guess I'm not your average blogger. I seem to remember I did my last days work when I was 69 and self employed and very shortly afterwards set off with the lovely wife, Janice, on a three year non-stop journey by motorhome around Europe and North America. ... read more

Motorhome News from Morocco 2 22nd January 2012 Continuing our travels through Morocco by motorhome, with friends, Kit and Morag from Norfolk, UK, and Brian and Kathryn from Adelaide, Australia. The Saffron Trail - into the desert, and that red warning light is still trying to tell us something! We came to Tafraoute on an anti-clockwise route previously recommended by friends; from Tiznet on the Atlantic coast, climbing up the precipitous road into the Anti-Atlas Mountains. For the Imelda Marcos fans amongst you, Tafraoute is the place to come for shoes; the round toed Berber variety, plain or delicately embroidered, yellow for the gents and red for the ladies, all hand-made in the tiniest of dingy workshops on narrow alleys in the souk. I guess we take bread for granted back home. But it's a staple ... read more

Motorhome News from Europe 48 5th January 2012 Continuing our travels through Portugal and Spain en route to Morocco by motorhome, with friends, Kit and Morag from Norfolk, UK, and Brian and Kathryn from Adelaide, Australia. Off to Morocco! Silves, Sagres, Monchique, Tavira, El Rocio and Tangier Med, Morocco With a few days in hand before our sailing to Morocco, we had all gone our separate ways, treading water so-to-speak, and we continued west from Vilamura to Silves, the red sandstone Moorish capital of the Algarve, a walled town topped by a fascinating Cathedral - and Castle as one would expect; a true delight in the bronze glow of the falling sun. A hundred motorhomes shared a special car-park for motorhomes only here. We joined them overnight, parked up by the river for free; spacious, clean, ... read more

News from South America 4 Ecuador - Cuenca, Quito, The Centre of the Earth and Bellavista Lodge in the Cloudforest “Where are you off to?” my ever-smiling doctor asked when we went for our jabs before leaving home. “Peru? Wonderful!” she exclaimed. “You must get to see the Cock-of-the-Rock when you’re at Machu Picchu.” We didn’t know she liked our feathery friends until then, but we did know she had a point. The Cock-of-the-Rock is the National bird of Peru; it’s big, the size of a crow and bright orange, but we failed to find it in the rainforest around Machu Picchu though we searched the most likely spots with recent recorded sightings. “They’ve moved up into the hills to breed,” our guide there informed us. Let’s hope we have better luck in the cloud-forests of ... read more