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World Trip 2017-18
  • Mats and Jenna
Jun 2017 – Jan 2018

World Trip 2017-18

A 193-day adventure by Mats and Jenna Read more
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  • Trip start
    June 30, 2017
    Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    Groningen

    June 30, 2017 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Last day in Groningen... Let the adventure begin!

    Welcome to the adventures of Jenna and Mats! Follow along on our journey with us to experience the things we saw and did.

    Catch the highlights as you follow the main thread of the blog. Or learn more about each topic by clicking on links inside each post to take you on a temporary offshoot.

    We’d love to hear your feedback. Enjoy!

    <u>Picture</u>: Our last belongings    Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    Groningen

    July 1, 2017 in the Netherlands ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    We handed in our keys and had a nice farewell at Ard-Jan’s with Mao and Baukje. We even fit in a midnight celebration of Canada's 150th birthday. Thanks for the T-shirts Angelle!

    Then the following day, it was time to leave Groningen (definitely bitter sweet!). Carrying one big box and our two travel packs, we ferried everything on the back of Jenna's bike to the local bike repair shop to try and sell it before hoping on the bus to the train station. Turns out the bike shop doesn't normally buy bikes, but the guy took pity on us and gave us 5 euros for it anyways (so we could at least buy a beer).

    The bus and train ride to Delft was emotional. It finally sunk in that most of the people we spent our last 4 years with we would not see again or at least in a long time. We will miss you!    Read more

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    Delft

    July 2, 2017 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We spent a few days in Delft with Mariska and Michiel before we flew to Portugal, which was the perfect way to catch our breath and relax a bit.

    Mariska picked us up from the train station in Delft and we had a lovely time hanging out with family. We celebrated Michel’s birthday, visited Sruti and Prim and went to Lelie’s to have excessive amounts of gelato.Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    Flying to Faro, Portugal

    July 6, 2017 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    At 6:00 we got up and (sleep-)walked to the train station. It was funny to pass the students on the streets of Delft that were just heading home after a late night of partying. After a short train train ride to Eindhoven, we had a relaxed flight. No turning back now!

    Flying into Faro, we descended over the lagoons off the main coast. You could see the islands, boats and salt flats clearly as we were landing. We took a bus and train to Tavira where Victoria, our Workaway host, met us to bring us to the Quinta (farm). Unfortunately, she thought that we would arrive the following day. After e-mailing from the nearby Lidl, and waiting a few hours, we finally managed to get a hold of her and she picked us up. After a quick grocery run we were off to the Quinta.    Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    Why Portugal?

    July 7, 2017, Ribeiro das Eiras Ruivas ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We went to Portugal for the opportunity to learn about <b>permaculture</b> (http://wp.me/P2OyVq-6r), something we want to experiment with ourselves. Also, it was a chance to recover from a busy period. We could de-stress from work and from wrapping up our lives in the Netherlands. And we would have some time to plan our future.

    It was also a nice chance to get away from the mild, rainy weather in the Netherlands. We were warned that the hot and dry weather would mean there was little work on the farm. We were completely fine with that. :)

    <u>Picture</u>: Jenna relaxing in the hammock overlooking the farm    Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    The Quinta

    July 8, 2017, Ribeiro das Eiras Ruivas ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    The Quinta (Quinta Alvorada do Ouro) is a farm in the hills of the Algarve region of Southern Portugal.

    The house is made with beautiful clay walls. It stays nice and cool in the summer heat. There are art projects everywhere. The house is built on old ruins, which is the easiest way to get a building permit in Portugal. All around the property are <b>permaculture</b> (http://wp.me/P2OyVq-6r) gardens that we took care of.

    Here is a link to the profile of the farm. https://www.workaway.info/199743224ba8-en.html    Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    Farming

    July 9, 2017, Ribeiro das Eiras Ruivas ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    So, what kind of work did we do?

    Our main tasks each day included feeding the chickens and the cats (morning and evening). In the evening we would let the chickens roam free, while we watered the plants. Watering once the heat of the day was gone was important for saving water and staying out the heat. Victoria had three main beds that follow <b>permaculture</b> principles.

    We planted several plants that Victoria bought at the flea markets. And we put up chicken wire around a garden to protect it from the chickens. We also helped out with tasks around the house: general cleaning, patching up the clay walls, updating the website for Victoria's son's guest house, etc.

    <u>Picture</u>: Juno (the cat), not quite sure what to do about Ophelia and Fatima (the chickens) eating his food.    Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    "If you can't take the heat, ..."

    July 10, 2017, Ribeiro das Eiras Ruivas ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    "... don't tickle the dragon."

    It was regularly above 35°C at the Quinta. It felt like you were standing in front of a giant blow dryer. All planning was based around the times of day. We quickly learned to respect the heat, not fight it. You understand why people have Siesta in the afternoon. It is just too hot to do anything.

    We mostly found our relief inside, reading lots of books. In the morning and evening the hammock was nice as well. And a cloth sunshade provided some cover over the outdoor dinner table.

    For sleeping arrangements when we first arrived at the Quinta we had the choice of a small studio apartment at the back of the farm house or to 'sleep under the stars in the ruins'. At first we opted for the small studio apartment because sleeping under the stars seemed a little precarious. We were thinking what if it rains? But Victoria assured us, it would only rain again until November/December. Literally, not even a sprinkle while we were there! We are definitely not in Holland anymore.

    Once we learned to appreciate the 'lower' temperatures at night (25°C) we quickly took Victoria up on her offer to sleep under the stars. The ruins turned out to be an extra room at the end of the farm house that was never roofed when Victoria was rebuilding it. It had a normal bed with a mosquito net to keep the bugs away. It felt so refreshing. And being out in the country, we were fortunate to have very clear, starry skies.    Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    Water Management

    July 11, 2017, Ribeiro das Eiras Ruivas ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    Besides (or because of) the heat, water was limited. The Quinta (farm) is off-grid with no connection to a sewer or running water. Victoria has a large water reservoir that fills up in the winter and spring. But from May until September (sometimes until November) there is no rain. So she relies on the reservoir for the farm. When we arrived the river was gone, except for a small puddle. There goes our hope of jumping in the river to cool off!

    The cover on the reservoir had ripped and water was evaporating fast. We had to conserve as much as possible. It made it easier that Victoria had a (dry) composting toilet and there were no appliances (no dishwasher or washing machine). Gray water from hand washing dishes and clothes with biodegradable soap was given to the trees and flowers.

    Engineers to the rescue! We installed a new cover on the reservoir. And we pumped water from a well across the road to refill it. Exciting day at the Quinta!    Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    And for fun...

    July 12, 2017, Ribeiro das Eiras Ruivas ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    Although we mostly stayed at the Quinta (the farm), we had a few outings. Beside the weekly grocery run, on Sundays we also went to some local flea markets combined with a trip to the local beaches in Fuseta, Sao Bras and Olhao.

    A few weeks into our stay the Tavira Film Festival started. It was an open air theater in the court yard of an old monastery. We saw some alternative films such as Dersu and Amasan, but the best were:
    - Toni erdmann - absolutely hilarious https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0uwi5EPnpA
    - O Grande Fusi - inspirational https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q34DavoaEdE
    - The eagle huntress - just really cool https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfi5JS6HTH0

    We were also able to do a bit of work for Horta das Canas, a guesthouse just down the road. There we could jump in the pool and borrow some mountainbikes. We biked to the top of a nearby hill with the ruins of an old windmill, just in time for a beautiful sunset.    Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    Farm animals

    July 13, 2017, Ribeiro das Eiras Ruivas ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    The cats and chickens sure had some character. They deserve their very own post!

    Ophelia and Fatima (the chickens) would somehow squeeze through a small gap in their cage and we'd have to chase after them before they got into too much trouble. They would bolt for the cat food and take dust baths in the garden, digging up and knocking over the veggies. They laid eggs consistently, ate ants and any kitchen scraps, so we put up with their shenanigans. But "if they get in the garden one more time", they'd become chicken soup.

    Juno (the cat) was also quite special. If he wasn't lazing around, he'd be wrestling his mom (Branchinia), or disturbing the seeds in the seed bowl. We slept outside, and once Juno realized where we were sleeping, he'd sneak over the bamboo roof and be sleeping on our legs in the morning (outside the mosquito net). Talk about cute!    Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    And other inhabitants

    July 14, 2017, Ribeiro das Eiras Ruivas ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    It was fun to explore the Quinta for other animals. There were some interesting bugs around, like a praying mantis, a snake, huge bees that were pollinating the passion fruit, a few types of spiders. There were lots of geckos, but they were too fast to get a good picture.Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    One last walk across the farm

    July 26, 2017, Ribeiro das Eiras Ruivas ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    In the time we had been at the Quinta, the vegetables had grown big. The water level in the river had dropped even lower but we felt like we had contributed a bit to this cool project. We got some perspective on permaculture farming, although in a different season we might have been able to do more hands-on learning.

    We had spent 3 weeks at the Quinta. Even though we could easily have stayed for much longer, we were also looking forward to explore Southern Spain. We booked a rental car and made plans to go to Faro to pick it up.    Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    Seville

    July 28, 2017 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Our first stop of our Spain road trip was Seville. it is a beautiful, stately city with some impressive history and architecture.
    Some of the highlights included:
    • Street performers singing and dancing Flamenco
    • The massive Seville Cathedral, especially
    — Its beautiful gothic architecture
    — La Giralda, the bell tower, which used to be a minaret to the Moorish mosque
    — The Tomb of Christopher Columbus
    • The Torre del Oro, a defense tower turned historic navy museum by the river
    • Real Fabrica de Tabacos, a fortified factory producing most of Europe's cigars
    • Plaza d'Espanha in Parque de María Luisa, built for the 1929 Expo
    • Triana district, to enjoy a traditional Paella dinner while sipping Sangria and Rebujito    Read more

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    Cordoba

    July 29, 2017 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 30 °C

    Driving through the rolling hills of Spain's countryside we left Seville to go to Cordoba. On our way we spotted a impressive Moorish castle and watched a beautiful sunset from the hills overlooking the city. The next day before going to Cordoba itself we explored the ancient ruins of Medinat Al-Zahra, which was a capital city built so the Muslim ruler at the time could become a Califa.

    In Cordoba, some of the highlights included:
    • The Judaria, Jewish district, with whitewashed alleys and beautiful flowers
    • Statue of Seneca, Roman Stoic philosopher
    • Roman walls and bridge over the Guadalquivir river (same river flowing through Seville)
    • Moorish banos (baths)
    • The Mezquita, the hybrid Great Mosque and Cathedral of Cordoba    Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    Trouble in Paradise...

    July 30, 2017 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows, and traveling has it's ups and downs too. Social media often skews our perception of reality because we only share the positives. So we want to share this part of our trip as well.
    When we returned from exploring Cordoba, we found the driver door of our car loose and the backseat down. OMG someone had broken in! And they stole both our packs with most of our gear, including our electronics. Right there in the middle of a public place, along a busy road in broad daylight. They definitely knew what they were doing. Thank goodness we had had our passports and bank cards (and luckily all our photos) with us.
    We checked to see if we had remembered to lock the car and we definitely had, since we couldn't even stick the key in the lock to re-lock the car. We sat down on a bench to process what just happened. Waves of emotions were washing over us, anger, frustration, worry, and the feeling of losing temporary faith in the world.
    But adrenaline kicks in fast and you soon you start to focus on what needs to happen. We immediately went to the police office to file a report, contacted the car rental and insurance companies and found a last-minute hotel for the night. The next day was a long day driving back to Faro (Portugal) to exchange the car and shop for new underwear and charging cords. Know your essentials ;) After that we were able to head back to Spain to make the most of the last few days. Fortunately we had insurance on our gear, once we got to Calgary we worked on declaring our lost items.    Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    Italica - Dragonpit

    August 1, 2017 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    In Seville we learned about the nearby Roman city of Italica. Only ruins were left but we were curious to explore its history.
    It wasn't too exciting at first. We walked past crumbled houses and markets in the heat of the day. The mosaics that survived were impressive though. And as we walked along, we found out two Roman emperors were born here: Trajan and Hadrian! We saw remains of massive Roman baths and finally came to the highlight of Italica, the giant amphitheater. It could hold 25,000 people (only half the amount of the Colosseum in Rome) and was the 5th largest in the world. It's enormous!
    To our surprise we saw Italica again the following month, as we were catching up on Game of Thrones! The amphitheater is used as the Dragonpit in King's Landing. So cool!    Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    Cadiz

    August 2, 2017 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Cadiz is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities, founded around 1104BC as "Gadir" by the Phoenicians. In their myths the founder was Melqart (aka Hercules).
    When we arrived we were treated by a beautiful sunset. We explored:
    • Museo de Cadiz - incl. Phoenician Sarcophagi and a statue of Emperor Trajan
    • Mercado Central en Cadiz - to forage some fresh paella, polvo ensalada (squid salad) and salmorejo de amondeis (gazpacho)
    • Ayuntamiento de Gadir - Phoenician remains including fish salting basin
    • The old Roman city - including Roman walls, aquaduct and theater
    • Castillo de San Sebastian and Puerta de la Caleta - set of James Bond - Die Another Day
    Christopher Columbus also set sail from Cadiz on two of his four voyages.    Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    Huelva - Los Colombinos 525 Anniversary

    August 3, 2017 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    525 years ago on this date (Aug 3, 1492), Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus) set sail from Palos de Frontera (near Huelva) with three ships: the Santa Maria, Pinta and Niña. His goal was to try and find a faster route to the far East. Instead he discovered a route to the "New World", the Americas.
    We arrived just in time for the party! Los Colombinos. We went to:
    • La Rabida Monestary - Columbus stayed here for two years, planning his trip
    • Muelle de las Carabelas (Wharf of caravels) - life size models of the Santa Maria, Pinta and Niña.
    • Las Marismas de Odiel (Marshes) - we spotted lots of flamingos and some spoonbills
    • Muelle Rio Tinto - Docks used by the mining company that was founded here, that look like the Eiffel Tower on it's side in the water.
    • Los Colombinos - live flamenco music and dancing, local food (chocos) and a giant fair going late into the night    Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    Lisbon

    August 4, 2017 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Santuário de Cristo Rei (Christ the King) welcomed us to Lisbon as our train rolled into the city. And we couldn't think of a better welcome than the one given to us by our AirBnB host. Pedro and his friends were barbecuing 120 fresh Sardines on coals in a brick oven. Daniel, from Cape Verde, made us delicious Cachupa (a stew with meats, maize and other veggies) and let us sip some grogue (sugar cane rum). And another friend made a deadly Madeira Poncha. We contributed pan-fried bananas drizzled in dark chocolate. Great food and great company! They taught us about Biodanza (the dance of life), a dance where you move to relaxing music to develop more self awareness. And they had lots of tips on the best things to see and do in the city. The highlights were:
    • Jeronimos - a great gothic monastery and World Heritage Site symbolizing Portugals Age of Discovery.
    • Pasteis de Belem - delicious egg tart pastries first made by the Order of Jeronimos. Egg whites were used for starching monastery clothes, so egg yolks and imported cane sugar were easily available.
    • The old Trolley up to Castelo de San Jorge    Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    Cascais beach & Sintra palaces

    August 6, 2017 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    We took the train along the coast to Cascais, a beautiful beach town. It's a great place to go for a dive and have some ice cream at the famous Santini gelato shop! We also had fun browsing a local bookshop.
    The next day we took the train to Sintra, a cute and colourful village in the hills. We hiked the Rampa de Pena (Pena Ascent) to the palaces, which are perched on the tops of the biggest hills:
    • Quinta da Ragaleira - beautiful palace gardens
    • Castelo dos Mouros (of the Moors) - built in the 8th and 9th centuries and held until 1147.
    • Palácio Nacional da Pena - Romanticist palace in bright yellow and red
    We hiked down through some lovely gardens with waterfalls. And we finished the day with a bike peddle-powered smoothie.
    Thanks Luis and Filipa, for the great tips!    Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    Home sweet home!

    August 8, 2017 in Canada ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    We flew out of Lisbon to spend 6 weeks in Calgary to visit family and support Jenna's parents through her mom's surgery. Our visit was a good mix of spending some quality time with family and friends and helping out around the house.

    We laid new flooring in two bedrooms. Apparently they heard we are floor laying experts (we had struggled long and hard with our laminate in Holland). We also helped take down the mayday tree in the backyard and helped clean out the garage and basement.

    We went to Cochrane for the Calgary Police Rodeo. The events included bareback (horse) riding, bull riding, barrel (horse) racing, chute doggin' (bull wrestling), calf roping, wild cow milking and last but not least cowboy poker (last to leave their seat as a bull is running around), all to earn your cowboy buckle. And for the kids, there's mutton bustin' (sheep riding) and greased pig (catching). More pictures: http://www.calgarypolicerodeo.com/gallery.html

    We made pinhole viewing boxes to see the solar eclipse and set up a theater area with the seats all facing the 'wrong way'. In the picture you can see the sun rays. It was a really cool event to witness, you could definitely understand why people back in the day thought the world was ending.

    We also had a nice dinner to celebrate Jenna's Opa's 87th birthday. And Sherry and Kevin had us over for a great cooking class and dinner. We made a big meat and seafood paella.

    All in all a lovely visit!    Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    Boswell BC

    September 1, 2017 in Canada ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    We headed to BC for the Labour Day long weekend to spend some time with the Thygesen family at their cabin. Jenna T. is the childhood best friend of Jenna. It was an amazing weekend of good food made by Carin and co., playing board games and having the chance to get out on the lake, boating. We had a lovely picnic on the beach. And Mats learned to water ski for the first time and got up on his second try!

    The last day we helped out some local retirees digging out the dam that was used for the town's water supply. It had filled up when a big spring rainfall created a mudslide. We shoveled and hauled buckets of creek silt, then fire-hosed it down. We were glad we joined, since most of the locals were 80+'ers and still carrying heavy buckets.

    Unfortunately, there were wild fires still burning a few valleys over. We were safe but a few days the smoke was very thick over the lake. We drove past an active fire on our way to the cabin. Thank goodness there was a large lake between us. It was a pretty scary sight.    Read more

  • Mats and JennaWorld Trip 2017-18Traveler

    In Transit

    September 20, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    We set out on the next part of our journey. Off to New Zealand! We would have two layovers, flying from Calgary, to Los Angeles and via Brisbane to Auckland, taking 30 hours and 20 min, technically arriving 2 days later. We were packed and ready to go!

    In Calgary, Jenna found charging bikes. Missing Holland, she couldn't resist hopping on and charging her e-reader ;) Flying over California, we got some nice views of the mountains.

    When we got to LA, we had to go to the desk to print off our boarding passes for the last leg, Brisbane to Auckland. When we got there, however, we were told we couldn't board that last flight. We had requested working visas for NZ last minute (to make up some of the money lost when our car was broken into). Although we would have been fine to enter as tourists without a visa, having applied for work visas, we had to wait for their decision! Luckily, they were able to get us tourist visas for Australia. We could still get on our flight to Brisbane, and at least be a step (or 11,500 km) closer to our destination.    Read more

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