Bothy Bothering

Some time in March me and some of my girls decided some time out in the countryside was needed. So we grabbed our rucksacks and sleeping bags, drove out to Northumberland, and went on the pursuit of a "Bothy". Wikipedia gives the following description of a Bothy:

A bothy is a basic shelter, usually left unlocked and available for anyone to use free of charge. It was also a term for basic accommodation, usually for gardeners or other workers on an estate. Bothies are to be found in remote, mountainous areas of Scotland, northern England and Wales. They are particularly common in the Scottish Highlands. A bothy was also a semi-legal drinking den in the Isle of Lewis. These, such as Bothan Eoropaidh, were used until recent years as gathering points for local men, and were often situated in an old hut or caravan.

So, being that they are considered gatherings for dudes, we were seriously hoping there was going to be a few nice boys in there with a fire lit and prepared to look after us for the majority of the night. Because despite being strong independent women, we were getting pretty desperate with nightfall having waded through the not very pleasant bogs on the Pennine Way and getting very cold and wet. So as we crawl up to this Bothy hidden behind a wood and see smoke streaming out of it, we think GET IN, and hope for the best. Upon entering, we find a solitary lad sitting next to a ROARING fire looking in need of company. Or rather, I informed him he would be getting company. And actually, he seemed quite pleased with it all. Even better was 5 mins later when I suddenly realised I knew this random guy sitting out in a remote bothy. He was none other than Paul, one of the organisers of the climbing course I was enrolled onto do back in town. Gosh, what a surprise. He fed the fire all night and was a proper gentleman. I have since had one or two phone calls from said Paul (for which I fortunately haven't been in to take) and he even offered to let me onto the climbing course for free. I will take him up on this offer, although I will be keeping a fair bit of rope between us, bless him. I loved this weekend; Northumberland is GORGEOUS, quiet, remote, still somewhat untouched. We had a great time.

France

I didn't return back to the Toon quite as soon as I had originally planned, I made a little detour via France. And got myself stuck in the ALT role once again. For 3 months I taught in a school in Morez, next to Geneva. Fortunately the students could actually understand more than "Harro" which was the only thing keeping me from shooting my brains out I think. In fact, their English was so good that they took great pleasure in informing me that Morez is a drugs platform for the rest of France, that they come in from Switzerland via Geneva, arrive in Morez, and are then appropriately distributed. They also liked to inform me that should I need "sorting out", they would be more than happy to help. At this point, I made the appropriate note to self, do not accept drugs from students. That would open a WHOLE can of worms.

Waka-chan was here for about a month before we left for England to complete our trip. Then after England she buggered off to Colombia to begin her career as a drugs mule. And I returned to France. My life consisted of cheese, wine, wine, cheese, whisky, driving in very high snow to get to school, listening to Leanne's chunes and hard hard electronic music like Squarepusher to keep my pulse beating, because it was serious danger of stopping living out in the sticks. In this part of France, the Jura, at precisely 7pm, France just stops. There is not a soul about, nor a car on the road. This is quite nice when you walk about by yourself in the snow at night with a full moon, but otherwise, it was sending me slowly round the bend. Really, I am a fool, because I should have been siezing the chance to learn what is generally recognised to be a beautiful language, but, well, it just wasn't the same as Japanese. With every new word of French I learnt, I was worried I was pushing out a word of Japanese. Absolutely ridiculous theory, I know.

It was however, beautiful. What a country. Vast open landscapes and beautiful lakes, mountains, rocks.... It has also inspired in me a determination to one day climb Mont Blanc. This is my future goal! Anybody wanting to join me on this venture, please message below.

A few videos we took of the trip.

Poland

So we left Moscow after just one day there, which made us very sad. Moscow turned out to be far more exciting than I imagined, and I would have loved more time there. But I was brimming with excitement to return to Poland after 10 years. I could see a massive difference. It was wealthier for starters. You can clearly see the effect of joining the EU and having a load of money pumped into it. Warsaw and Krakow felt a lot different to when I was there with my Polish friend Kasia when I was a wee 17 years old.

Caitlin joined us in Warsaw bringing news of the Toon and all my loved ones. It was lovely to see her after 6 months when she visited me in Japan. From Warsaw we went to Krakow, and from Krakow to Zakopane, where we hiked over the Tatra mountains which look onto Slovakia. And that was GREAT. We hiked with two very funny boys from Germany, although Mike had moved to Canada when he was 12 so was quite Canadian in that respect. And HILARIOUS. Mike was, quite simply, exactly my cup of tea. Constantly funny, seriously into mountains, and showed Pete the proper amount of respect. I couldn't ask for better in a man. It was a sad day when we all returned to Krakow and they went on their way to the Ukraine. Did you know if you type "Ukraine" into googlemap, nothing appears?!?! Poor Ukraine.

I was a little sad to leave Poland. It was lovely.

Baikal - Moscow

Into Russia, Lake Baikal photos

Mongolia Photos