It's always a pain having to pack and organise everything for a trip without forgetting anything important, we left Tunbridge Wells just after our planned departure time and reached the eurotunnel in plenty of time. I must admit i had a bit of a shiver down my spine to the tought of being let loose in a strange land, driving on the other side of the road and not wanting to mess anything up. This feeling was soon eased down and i was able to relax.

The roads were beautiful; mostly empty, at times it felt like i was on my own private motorway heading East. Words can't describe the freedom of suddenly being on the same landmass as most of the world and knowing that borders were the only thing separating me from faraway destinations such as Siberia or China. The car drove like a champ and even though it's just a few bits of metal joined together i felt it come alive and enjoy the drive as much as i did. We drove on through the evening and night. Due to the higher speed limits of 130kmph or 80 mph i was able to open the throttle up just that little bit more than in the UK. It gave a further feeling of freedom and cruising at just under 3000 revolutions/minute the Fiesta took us ever Eastwards until morning. The sun rose just after 5am to what seemed like a very instant dawn and soon we were once again driving in the daylight. The scenery grew stronger and soon we were in the Swiss mountains. Plowing through the miles at now 75mph i was engulfed in the powerful and mystical views from the farway valleys; snowcapped mountains that were much higher and meaner than anything i had previously experienced before, it made me want to be up there on the solid rock attatched to the rope, living.

It has now passed a week and although we only went on one hike, i have been able to relax like never before, the sunshine has been amazing and we spent most days by the pool catching the rays, which for us "brits" is no a common experience. Tomorrow morning we will be setting off back home and aim to reach Calais' tunnel terminal in just over 10 hours. I am as always very excited about the long drive and can't wait to see the look on my friends' faces as we turn up to Karina's 21st birthday party. A spontaneous thought decided that instead of taking two days to drive back we will do it all tomorrow and therefore be able to attend their much antisipated gathering which we would otherwise miss.

That's all for now, cheeeerss!

Santiago.

Snowdonia, Snowdon and Tryfan

It was June 13th, and the start of a three week holiday off work. A friend of mine, Wes, and i decided to head to the hills of North Wales for a few days and attempt a bit of climbing. Leaving a bit later than expected due to repeatedly snoozed alarms, we made a good 130 mile run non-stop and finished off the trip shortly after. The campsite was situated just outside the national park, about a thirty minute drive, which was maybe a little too far to drive everyday to go climbing but we soon got used to it and the site's owner was pretty chilled which just added to the fact that it was empty, quiet, and real nice and clean. On the first day we drove around and i showed Wes the area as i have been there before a couple of times, the roads are incredible, it reminded me of the car advert where after a series of turns a picture perfect road appears and the sat nav reads "now, enjoy!". According to the weather forecast Tuesday was to be the clearest day of the

week and following this forecast we decided to take on Snowdon's Miners' track on that day. We made it up there in a little over two hours which with my current level of fitness at least, wasn't too bad. It was busy as usual up there with dozens of people enjoying the endless horizon and suprisingly summery atmosphere. We even had a little nap on the grass admiring the view below! This was now my third ascent of Mt. Snowdon and i must say i really enjoyed it just as much as the other times.

On Wednesday i wanted to try my luck on a second ascent of Tryfan, this is a little more technical than snowdon and tends to get a little edgy, i knew Wes would enjoy a bit of an adrenaline rush so we headed up there and tried the North Face of the mountain. The weather wasn't great and it was spitting with fine rain, we saw a group of people heading up there so we too decided to give it a go. About half an hour into the climb after we tackled one of the first scrambles, the rain grew thicker and providing

Wes didn't have proper hiking boots (only trail shoes), he was slipping on some of the footholds that should have otherwise been safe. I didn't want the day to end on the back of a Seaking rescue helicopter so after assessing the situation we decided it was probably best to head back down before it was too late and attempt the same route on a drier day with better footware. So for the rest of the day we visited some of the local waterfalls which were pretty cool, a fair bit of water flowing through them due to the past few day's percipitation.

On Thursday we found out that the weather wasn't going to improve, and without those proper shoes we were limited to just less exciting walks, so we opted for the lazy man's option and took the scenic route back home. We headed West to the coast and then headed down the A470 to explore the rest of Snowdonia's scenery, it was quite pleased with what we found on this scenic route, picture perfect forests, rolling hills, rocky faces and little traffic just about sums it all up. I'm glad we did that instead of taking the usual A5 straight back to England.

After about a good 8 hour run we were back home, exhausted but quite pleased to what we had achieved and with future plans to return to Tryfan and "knock that bastard off!".

I now have a week back home, again off work, and on Friday Millie and i are heading to Switzerland, the long way round. Driving through France it should take us between 14 and 16 hours to reach the scenic settlement of Nandez. It's something i have been looking forward to for a few months and i must admit i was even happier when she agreed to take the car rather than fly out there. There's something about a long distance drive and brings a smile to my face, perhaps its exploring unknown territory or just time to listen to music or sit quietly with nothing but the open road ahead.

Santiago

So far away from me

Here I am again in this mean old town
And you're so far away from me
And where are you when the sun go down
You're so far away from me

So far away from me
So far I just can't see
So far away from me
You're so far away from me... All Right

I'm tired of being in love and being all alone
When you're so far away from me
I'm tired of making out on the telephone
'Cause you're so far away from me

So far away from me So far I just can't see
So far away from me
You're so far away from me... All Right

And I get so tired when I have to explain
When you're so far away from me
See you've been in the sun and I've been in the rain
And you're so far away from me

So far away from me
So far I just can't see
So far away from me
You're so far away from me...

So Far Away From Me...

I love you Millie, i miss you so much.

Santiago.

559 Miles

It's 4am and i am about to get in the car, the tank is full and the road ahead is clear...today will be a good day : ) Just off to Scotland, if the weather allows i will try and climb Ben Nevis, if not then just have a wonder come back down to the Lake district and see what Scafell Pike looks like. I will post photos and let you all know how it went when i get back in a few days!

Santiago

21082 metres

The sun is shining and despite various rumours during the last few days that the weather was going to deteriorate, mr blue sky is here with us. Breakfast today is a bowl of chopped fruit; two kiwis and two bananas to be exact. I can't eat too much as this will result in stitches. In a couple of hours i will be in the first few steps of my 13.1 mile half marathon which will take us around the back lanes of Tunbridge Wells, Bidborough and Fordcombe. Am i looking forward to it? Yes i guess i am, i am full of energy, i have set up a playlist long enough to see me through the worst of it, and all i have to do now is put one foot in front of the other.

"It's the eye of the tiger."

Santiago.

Half marathon; a work in progress.

I am pleased to say that this week's running went as planned, and i have done five 3 mile runs one of them including a very long and steep hill. All these add up to about 15 miles in one week and I can feel my body beginning to adapt to the ongoing physical stress it has been exposed to over the last few days and i am becoming fitter, being able to run more easily for longer and my heart becoming stronger. I hope to keep up this training and in the next two or three weeks up the distances to about 30 miles per week.

Santiago.

Band of Horses

Sitting here in my candle lit room, i think i am going to chill this weekend and leave the big run to monday evening, a grueling nine miles should do the job! Will be going out for a few drinks tonight so that should be awesome. For now just browsing and downloading a few tunes, recent "band of horses" album has a few good hits!

Have a brilliant weekend!!

Santiago.

Long time no see

I guess it's been a bloody long time since my last post. I could blame it on the fact that I've been busy or just admit that i was a little lazy. The truth is i wasn't really inspired to write much during the last four months, and when i came back on to this and saw that my domain "traviajero.com" has been taken (my domain rights ran out and i failed to renew), well then i definitely lost all motivation to write a new entry.

However, i now feel like i am ready to write some more posts so i will begin 2011 by telling you guys a little bit about what has been happening. December was a little crazy work-wise. As you may know i work in a family butcher's shop in Hawkenbury and we sold somewhere in the region of 600 turkeys and hundreds of other orders. It was many long days of hard work to get the preparation on track and have all the fresh meat orders prepared for when people came to collect them. We managed it though and all that hard work paid off by adding a few naughts to my bank account. I have been juggling my time between that and spending time with a very special person I got to know and in the last few months have become very close to, I am delighted to say that she is now my girlfriend! Well, these news are a few months old now but it's never too late to announce good news. We are planning a couple of weeks away somewhere and providing I pass my driving test next week (19th) then the idea is to drive to the Swiss Alps and spend a few days skiing and driving around Europe. I will no doubt be posting such events on here and gladly get this blog back on the right track with more travels.

Last but not least, i have joined the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon on February 27th which i am training for as of a couple of weeks ago. I have joined the local gymn in order to do a few upper body workouts and get me ready to take up rock climbing for real once i get my driving license here. I have just got back from the gymn tonight and tomorrow I plan to run eight or nine miles around town in preparation for the marathon. It feels great training for something real that is going to be happening in just a few weeks time. A real sense of achievement comes from all the hard work of running more miles than i have ever done before. I will let you know how it goes tomorrow and how many miles i managed to struggle through.

That's all for now, please keep checking back as I promise I will keep this updated regularly from now on!

Good to be back on the blog,

Santiago.

"Follow your heart,

and nothing else."

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man (1973).

For some reason i have lost my traviajero.com domain to a random generic and utterly useless vaguely travel related website. As good as a name it was i'm not too sure