Bonus & Wendy's Big Adventure . . . .

[davetapson]

When we lived in SA we were so caught up in that rat-race.  I think part of it is that life there is not predictable or guaranteed in any way, so you feel the need to be chasing the whole time.

When you get to places where life has not changed much for generations, folk are way more chilled - much more dialled in to just living where they are.

We notice it in the schools here - they just don't stress.  The kid will do what the kid will do.  Don't stress.  Us saffas are always feeling like we need to push and apply pressure.  At the surface, the local kids seem to do just fine.  I'll let you know in 6 years time...

 

[Bonus]

The rat race here is so slow moving you can't see it! 

[Bonus]

My son visited us from the UK last week and he bought his Drone with him, so we did some filming.

 

He took a copy of the footage home with him and put together this video of our "Project" up in Guaso and some of the beautiful places we visited while he was over here

 

He's left the drone here for me to play with . . . 

 

[Bonus]

Yesterday it rained all day and was colder than it has been for a while . . . . today it was dry and we could see the damage yesterdays weather bought with it . . . . Brrrrrr

 

 

[Robbie Stewart]

I am reminded of the winter we just came out of here in Cape Town. It looked much like this. I am happy for the sun for a change, I won't lie.

 

[Scooterza]

Hey Bonus & Wendy, good catching up on your adventures. Do you recall catching up with my wife and I at the restaurant in Randburg to chat about "options" in terms of getting out of the rat race? It took us some time to make the change but we're now living in a lovely little village bordering the Yorkshire Dales in the UK. I do LOADS more cycling than I used to do (plus lots of trail running). Thank you for providing a little inspiration to us to make the leap into the unknown. 

[Bonus]

2 hours ago, Scooterza said:

Hey Bonus & Wendy, good catching up on your adventures. Do you recall catching up with my wife and I at the restaurant in Randburg to chat about "options" in terms of getting out of the rat race? It took us some time to make the change but we're now living in a lovely little village bordering the Yorkshire Dales in the UK. I do LOADS more cycling than I used to do (plus lots of trail running). Thank you for providing a little inspiration to us to make the leap into the unknown. 

 

Hey well done man! That's great to hear.

We met at Lifestyle Garden Centre if I recall? And you were considering trying the Western Cape? 

[Scooterza]

7 minutes ago, Bonus said:

 

Hey well done man! That's great to hear.

We met at Lifestyle Garden Centre if I recall? And you were considering trying the Western Cape? 

Yes that's 100%. We considered a lot of options! It was a hard decision to leave JHB and SA!

[Bonus]

18 hours ago, Robbie Stewart said:

I am reminded of the winter we just came out of here in Cape Town. It looked much like this. I am happy for the sun for a change, I won't lie.

 

 

Our friends who live in the Underberg tell us that it's snowing in Lesotho at the moment! 

[Bonus]

4 minutes ago, Scooterza said:

Yes that's 100%. We considered a lot of options! It was a hard decision to leave JHB and SA!

 

Yep. It's hard. Best of luck to you.

We have friends up in Scotland and on one of our future visits to the UK (although it def won't be the one coming up this Christmas!) we plan to drive up and visit them - I'll give you a shout if we do...

[Scooterza]

24 minutes ago, Bonus said:

 

Yep. It's hard. Best of luck to you.

We have friends up in Scotland and on one of our future visits to the UK (although it def won't be the one coming up this Christmas!) we plan to drive up and visit them - I'll give you a shout if we do...

That would be great! Please do...

[Bonus]

After a couple of grey days, this weekend was stunning! 

 

 

[Bonus]

Sitting at Barcelona airport having some supper before looking for a comfortable spot to curl up for the night.....

I'm flying first thing tomorrow morning to Denver, Colorado - via a couple of hours at Munich airport, to meet up with "Wendy" who went over 3 weeks ago. Her daughter moved there a while ago from NYC with her husband. Like "Wendy" I'll be meeting a 6 month old Grandson for the first time, thanks to Covid! 

The news across Europe has been a bit worrying this last week with the new "South African" variant coming out, but as far as I can tell I'm still good to fly, assuming my Covid test here at the airport tomorrow morning at 5am is negative! It should be - I tested myself yesterday and I was fine..... 

I'm hoping that the "Remember to wear a face mask that covers your nose & mouth and maintain a safe distance from other travellers" recorded message that seems to be on a 3 minute "repeat cycle" will switch itself off after the last plane leaves here tonight.....  

[Bonus]

So.....

We’re currently in Denver, Colorado visiting "Wendys" daughter and a new 6 month old grandson (who we adore!) and that we couldn’t previously visit thanks to Covid.

The weather has been unusually hot for this time of the year, mid teens and sunny over last weekend, but that is now changing and temps are dropping at night. 

Thankfully the houses are made for it!

[Bonus]

Denver Trip Update …..

Two things we’ve noticed here:

1) There are cycle lanes everywhere! In Denver city centre and throughout the suburbs there’s a dedicated cycle lane on both sides of the road. The roads in general seem to be clean and well maintained, no broken bottles here 🙂 There are also cycle lanes throughout all of the parks we’ve walked through and when we went out to an area called Red Rocks, there were no specific cycle lanes but there were dozens of cyclist road riding without seeming to have any issues with motorists. In our experience, drivers here seem to be very considerate.

2) They have a city-run “see one, grab it, use it, leave it anywhere for the next person” e-bike & e-scooter hire system. Looks like you have to swipe a card to unlock the vehicle and I’m not sure how they keep them charged, because they are left all over the place, leaning against trees etc, but it certainly seems to be well used.

Loving it here, but only a few days to go now and I see it’s raining back home in Spain 🙁

Edited December 8, 2021 by Bonus

[Bonus]

We have our odd cold days in Spain for sure, but Nederland, Colorado wipes the floor with us!