Goodbye Peru and Welcome to Heathrow

My final two days in Lima were the least exciting days I have had in South America. I played hours of table tennis in the hostel (very enjoyable) with fellow guests and rejoined Dan and Joanna. We walked along the beachfront and saw what little Lima has to offer.

One evening, we all went to the water fountain show in the centre of the city which was quite fun albeit a bit bizarre.

After 2 months, I finally had to bid farewell to Dan and Joanna and wish them both good luck as they continued on their travels and headed north to Colombia. The past two months travelling with them has been unforgettable and I am very jealous that they get to explore South America further.This is now it. The end of my gap year travels and what a year it’s been. I am so lucky that I have been able to explore so many different beautiful places in this world and cannot wait to explore more. This year is only a taster of many more years of adventure and exploration to come. The travel bug has truly got me.

From Snow to Rain – England bound

Heading home

In less than two weeks I will be back in England. 3 months in the mountains have passed a lot quicker than I thought they would even in a job where time stands still. Unfortunately the snow this season arrived far later than usual and I also haven’t skied nearly as much as I would have liked to. But, when I have skied it has been great. I have also met some cool people in Chamonix and met my fair share of French xenophobes who resent foreigners trespassing on their mountains. But all in all the people that come here (especially the seasonaires) just want to have a good time and enjoy what snow there is.
I do look forward to coming home however. To having a bedroom facing a field rather than a nightclub, to having a bed not in the kitchen, to having more than one pot for cooking etc. Anyway I am looking forward to being back home, even if it is sodden.
I have learnt a couple of things since being here. Not things about myself (too cliche) but of the french way of life.
1. French politics is currently backwards and the French love to over complicate things. For example, In Chamonix, a town of 10 000 people, almost 500 work in the town hall. 1/20th of the population! Surely in a place where you can practically see the start and end of the town there is no need for so many people.

2. I learnt very quickly that if you want to earn a living, do so where there are no surrounding mountains. The wages are low and the cost of living extortionate. But, at the end of the day there are mountains. And as stupid as it sounds you can’t ski where there aren’t mountains.

I still want to relive the alpine life and will definitely return to do another ski season in the future. But, when I do, I will go to a place free from overflowing buses and 10 euro drinks and to a resort with more than three rusty chairlifts that remain open even if the employees  don’t feel like working.
I rant about the French people’s incessant complaining, lack of work and the limited skiing available however Chamonix is a great town and it’s not everywhere in the world you can ski on glaciers and climb the Mont Blanc.

Goodbye snow, hello rain.

New addition to the family

Day 33 and 34 (the end)

I woke up to my final day in New Zealand on Great Barrier Island (a serenely beautiful place but very far from civilisation and an airport. I did have a slight doubt about the ferry and if it were not to arrive I would definitely miss my flight home). We hitch hiked to a village near the ferry terminal where we rented kayaks for a couple of hours to pass the time and soak up the scenery of the Island. Fortunately the ferry did arrive (although 30 minutes late) and a long 4.5 hour ferry ride back to Auckland followed. There were however, huge bottle nose dolphins which swam alongside the boat for some time which was quite amazing. I ate some proper food in Auckland before going to the bus stop where I briefly skyped my ‘kiwi’ family. Unfortunately the bus came and I had to leave them to go to the airport. 24 hours worth of flying ahead and a nice little time change to go with it. This is the worst part of my travels so far – leaving NZ for the Uk.

Day 34

After a day of travelling I am finally home! I have had the best two months of my life and I will definitely be returning to New Zealand.