I have been thinking about this van since I mentioned it on here. I think it should be one of those turquoise ones with three seats along the front for Garry, Mr. Dog & I. I'd have to grow my hair long and stop shaving (although I don't think Garry would like that all too much). Garry would drive whilst Mr. Dog sat sniffing the air and I navigated with a map that had been used so many times, it had holes in.
We'd stay in each place a couple of months until we had enough money to move on to the next; working in bars, restaurants, café's, clubs or even shops. During the day if we weren't working to get enough money for food we'd sit in café's with only a cup of coffee telling stories of our travels letting Mr. Dog wander between tables making new friends who would sneak him a bit of their lunch.
The van would have a 1970's flower power retro sofa-bed that pulls out at the back of the van for us to sleep on, and the curtains around the windows would match. There would be low running and high up cupboards filled with clothes & books & things people had given to us on our travels. The cupboard doors would have pictures stuck on them from all over the world, wherever we'd travelled. The Eiffel Tower, the leaning Tower of Piza, The Great Wall of China... The lower cupboards would be scattered with cushions and candles, presents from friends along the way, maybe.
We'd have a small kitchenette with just two rings and a fridge run by a small generator. We'd live off tinned ravioli's and packs of dried rice mixes with whatever fresh veg we could get hold of. We wouldn't have a kettle, we'd just boil water on the stove & make hot drinks that way. Occasionally we'd get a stew or lasagne made for us by someone we met on our travels. There would be a shower and a toilet opposite the kitchen, but to use them we'd have to park the van behind somewhere that would let us use their water main to have showers.
Could be good...
Friday, 14 March 2008
Thursday, 13 March 2008
Footloose
Definition: free to go or travel about; not confined by responsibilities.
We're currently having to unplug the telephone downstairs at night so we have light to eat by. After being changed only the day before we left for Gran Canaria and then being left on for seven days, the bulb in the main living room light decided to give up the ghost; we're now using the 10€ Ikea light we bought only a few visits ago.
Life in Fuerteventura is quiet; finally. We've had a few fallings out with various people we thought we could trust over the past few months. We've found out many, many things since these fall outs which may or may not be true. Now it all seems sorted, finally. On the other side, property is a total losing game right now. Banks will not give mortgages and when you're dealing with investors, that's not an easy thing to explain back to those buying. Otherwise we're just trying to enjoy the relative peace. We've taken to watching downloaded English Television programmes. My new favourite is Lewis, an offshoot from Inspector Morse- sad old lady telly, but brilliant with dinner and a few tins of beer in the evening. The dog tends to curl up between us waiting for affection, or food, whichever is going really.
A while ago, I was reading a friends journal, as we have semi-public blogs, and this caught my eye right at the end: "My friend & I decided if we fail at college we're going to open a bracelet shop & sell handmade things. Our apartment will have a fire escape that we'll sit on late at night & listen to music from". It was the first of many things my friends have written about their lives that made me think. A different friend from the same blogging site has been posting pictures of cookies she's been baking, she lives in her own flat in Brisbane. Even on my travels to Gran Canaria; I love the way everything is right next to each other in Puerto Rico. The most recent is another person, someone I knew from school, on blogger living in Paris. Paris, for crying out loud, fashion capital, and with so many café's perfect for people watching I think I'd be in heaven. I keep seeing all the ideals, when I know life isn't like that.
From the age of 10 I wanted to live in Fuerteventura, yet now I tell people on holiday that its not all its cracked up to be. In some aspects it isn't, for example I cannot buy bra's on this island whatsoever, they just do not sell them in my size. I've spent three weeks hunting down vanilla essence so I can make cookies, and still failed to find it. The supermarkets are rarely fully stocked, due to us only having two boats of food shipped in a week right now, long story all to do with the gobierno. On the up side, it's sunny 7.5/10, I don't need to work here right now & I can shoot off to Gran Canaria within an hour by the time I've got through the airport.
Some nights I lay awake wondering what it is I want to do with my future, other nights I sleep, dreaming of dancing to percussion music like that of which from The Witch of Portobello. Some nights I awaken I smell coffee laden with brandy and the scent of chocolate being made like a potion, as in Chocolat. Yet all these dreams, and scents are just fiction when I'm trying to work out what I want for my reality. Right now I'm thinking of earning enough money to buy myself a VW hippy van, with two beds in the back and travel around Europe with the dog in it, but tomorrow I might think of settling down to a quiet life in a little Spanish village. I guess right now I should focus on the smaller things, and just get my novel finished whilst I still can.
We're currently having to unplug the telephone downstairs at night so we have light to eat by. After being changed only the day before we left for Gran Canaria and then being left on for seven days, the bulb in the main living room light decided to give up the ghost; we're now using the 10€ Ikea light we bought only a few visits ago.
Life in Fuerteventura is quiet; finally. We've had a few fallings out with various people we thought we could trust over the past few months. We've found out many, many things since these fall outs which may or may not be true. Now it all seems sorted, finally. On the other side, property is a total losing game right now. Banks will not give mortgages and when you're dealing with investors, that's not an easy thing to explain back to those buying. Otherwise we're just trying to enjoy the relative peace. We've taken to watching downloaded English Television programmes. My new favourite is Lewis, an offshoot from Inspector Morse- sad old lady telly, but brilliant with dinner and a few tins of beer in the evening. The dog tends to curl up between us waiting for affection, or food, whichever is going really.
A while ago, I was reading a friends journal, as we have semi-public blogs, and this caught my eye right at the end: "My friend & I decided if we fail at college we're going to open a bracelet shop & sell handmade things. Our apartment will have a fire escape that we'll sit on late at night & listen to music from". It was the first of many things my friends have written about their lives that made me think. A different friend from the same blogging site has been posting pictures of cookies she's been baking, she lives in her own flat in Brisbane. Even on my travels to Gran Canaria; I love the way everything is right next to each other in Puerto Rico. The most recent is another person, someone I knew from school, on blogger living in Paris. Paris, for crying out loud, fashion capital, and with so many café's perfect for people watching I think I'd be in heaven. I keep seeing all the ideals, when I know life isn't like that.
From the age of 10 I wanted to live in Fuerteventura, yet now I tell people on holiday that its not all its cracked up to be. In some aspects it isn't, for example I cannot buy bra's on this island whatsoever, they just do not sell them in my size. I've spent three weeks hunting down vanilla essence so I can make cookies, and still failed to find it. The supermarkets are rarely fully stocked, due to us only having two boats of food shipped in a week right now, long story all to do with the gobierno. On the up side, it's sunny 7.5/10, I don't need to work here right now & I can shoot off to Gran Canaria within an hour by the time I've got through the airport.
Some nights I lay awake wondering what it is I want to do with my future, other nights I sleep, dreaming of dancing to percussion music like that of which from The Witch of Portobello. Some nights I awaken I smell coffee laden with brandy and the scent of chocolate being made like a potion, as in Chocolat. Yet all these dreams, and scents are just fiction when I'm trying to work out what I want for my reality. Right now I'm thinking of earning enough money to buy myself a VW hippy van, with two beds in the back and travel around Europe with the dog in it, but tomorrow I might think of settling down to a quiet life in a little Spanish village. I guess right now I should focus on the smaller things, and just get my novel finished whilst I still can.
Wednesday, 12 March 2008
In my eyes you were smiling in the spotlight dancing with the night...
Home is where the heart is, and my heart is in Gran Canaria, for now.
Here in Fuerteventura, we have our lovely big house with the big walled off back garden, and Garry's office overlooking it. I guess that's why we never get to relax, with Garry's office being in our home. Caleta being such a small place, we can get stopped in the street to be asked about business, even going to the pub can turn into a business meeting. We rarely switch off the desktop, and there are three other laptops in the house, one is on at all times; we're always on call.
When we go to Gran Canaria the phone's go off, get left in the safe for the majority of the holiday and we're more or less anonymous. We spent last week there, for my 20th birthday, it was a wonderful week. There was so much we wanted to do that we just didn't get the time, like take a drive up to the Europa Center, have a Chinese or go on the boat to Mogán. We spent only two days bumming around Puerto Rico, the day after my birthday and Saturday for football.
We always stay in Puerto Rico in whichever hotel is available that doesn't have rubbish reviews on holidays uncovered. We usually get up to Las Palmas to do a bit of shopping, they have a Marks & Spencers and Body Shop. I always spend a fortune up there, Garry must hate taking me. We tend to visit Playa del Ingles at least once- hey a girl needs her top up of KFC every so often! I also love going to Playa de Mogán; Friday is market day. The place gets packed, but its so relaxing wandering around there. There's a gorgeous place called Little Venice, similar types of properties to those we're selling for 81,000€ for sale there at 500,000€ just because they're on the habour.
Somedays we'll wander around Puerto Rico and I could see myself living there. Our friends there are wonderful, different to people I know here. Less bitchy, perhaps? I can talk to them about anything and nothing, and laugh without worrying whether they're bitching behind my back; perhaps I care less when I'm there? One of my friends there is someone I've become close to in a short amount of time. She means the world to me, and we probably wouldn't have spent so much time there over the last year had we not met her.
I love that the center has a few good clothes shops, and it only takes ten minutes to walk down there, as well as a HiperDino and EuroSpar right next to each other. We have clothes shops in Caleta, but they're dead expensive, and our closest HiperDino is in the capital. Last week, whilst we were there, the weather was so much warmer than here, I wasn't expecting it and ended up buying a new bloody wardrobe. It was a lot cheaper than it would have been if I'd just popped into town here to buy new clothes, that's for sure.
Garry always has to remind me whilst I'm wandering around that if we did live in Gran Canaria, our life would be as stressful there as it is here; either way we have to make a living. I know that's true, I just feel like there is more there for me, that I can nip down to the shops and have a wander around or go the beach which I would love so much to do here, but its always too cold, or too hot. Granted I don't need to work right now; I'm supposed to be concentrating on my own career path that doesn't involve working bars or restaurant floors. Which I am... sort of.
One of the things I love, is that feeling of relaxation, the feeling that for one week nothing and no one can bother me and I can just forget my worries. I already miss being there and we've only been back three days.
Here in Fuerteventura, we have our lovely big house with the big walled off back garden, and Garry's office overlooking it. I guess that's why we never get to relax, with Garry's office being in our home. Caleta being such a small place, we can get stopped in the street to be asked about business, even going to the pub can turn into a business meeting. We rarely switch off the desktop, and there are three other laptops in the house, one is on at all times; we're always on call.
When we go to Gran Canaria the phone's go off, get left in the safe for the majority of the holiday and we're more or less anonymous. We spent last week there, for my 20th birthday, it was a wonderful week. There was so much we wanted to do that we just didn't get the time, like take a drive up to the Europa Center, have a Chinese or go on the boat to Mogán. We spent only two days bumming around Puerto Rico, the day after my birthday and Saturday for football.
We always stay in Puerto Rico in whichever hotel is available that doesn't have rubbish reviews on holidays uncovered. We usually get up to Las Palmas to do a bit of shopping, they have a Marks & Spencers and Body Shop. I always spend a fortune up there, Garry must hate taking me. We tend to visit Playa del Ingles at least once- hey a girl needs her top up of KFC every so often! I also love going to Playa de Mogán; Friday is market day. The place gets packed, but its so relaxing wandering around there. There's a gorgeous place called Little Venice, similar types of properties to those we're selling for 81,000€ for sale there at 500,000€ just because they're on the habour.
Somedays we'll wander around Puerto Rico and I could see myself living there. Our friends there are wonderful, different to people I know here. Less bitchy, perhaps? I can talk to them about anything and nothing, and laugh without worrying whether they're bitching behind my back; perhaps I care less when I'm there? One of my friends there is someone I've become close to in a short amount of time. She means the world to me, and we probably wouldn't have spent so much time there over the last year had we not met her.
I love that the center has a few good clothes shops, and it only takes ten minutes to walk down there, as well as a HiperDino and EuroSpar right next to each other. We have clothes shops in Caleta, but they're dead expensive, and our closest HiperDino is in the capital. Last week, whilst we were there, the weather was so much warmer than here, I wasn't expecting it and ended up buying a new bloody wardrobe. It was a lot cheaper than it would have been if I'd just popped into town here to buy new clothes, that's for sure.
Garry always has to remind me whilst I'm wandering around that if we did live in Gran Canaria, our life would be as stressful there as it is here; either way we have to make a living. I know that's true, I just feel like there is more there for me, that I can nip down to the shops and have a wander around or go the beach which I would love so much to do here, but its always too cold, or too hot. Granted I don't need to work right now; I'm supposed to be concentrating on my own career path that doesn't involve working bars or restaurant floors. Which I am... sort of.
One of the things I love, is that feeling of relaxation, the feeling that for one week nothing and no one can bother me and I can just forget my worries. I already miss being there and we've only been back three days.
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