So we've fostered a cat...

I quite like cats, I don't know if I've mentioned that before...

I've really missed having a cat around the place ever since Catty was put to sleep back in March this year.

If it was up to me, I'd fill our house with cats. But it's not just my decision and we just weren't in the position to take a cat on forever, it seemed a big commitment at this stage of our lives.

So when we came across the cat fostering section of Leeds Feline Friends, a cat charity in Leeds, it seemed the perfect solution, we get a cat, the cat gets a home and the charity helps a cat but doesn't have to build a huge cat rescue centre they can't afford to run. Everyone wins!

We emailed them and a few days later had a home visit where we pretty much just chatted about cats for over an hour :) bonus!

A week later, Zuki arrived at our house:

She's 10 years old and has been living in a cattery for the last year after her previous owner lost his house. The poor thing lost her home and went from what I hope was a loving home to a strange small pen in a cattery surrounded by other miaowing cats. We're fostering her until a new owner wants to adopt her, but we'll probably have her for the rest of her life because there's a huge shortage of people who want to adopt older cats.

I personally love big, fat older cats. They're my weakness because they already have cat personalities and they're so stubborn that you know they won't change them. Zuki wakes up from her 18 hour catnap if we're talking too loudly and miaows at us in such a way you'd think she'd lived here forever. And we actually talk a little quieter. 

It makes me sad to think of Zuki living the rest of her days in a small unit with minimal human contact and not getting affection. I like to think we've helped one cat, but there are so many more that also need homes.

It's a nice feeling to know you're doing something to help, but to also know YOU get something out of it too :) A cuddly cat (that has very moody tendencies...) to come home to on a miserable weekday.

I think everyone should foster a cat Check out http://www.leedsfelinefriends.org.uk for details on how to foster a cat.

It's ok NOT to take risks in travel...

I was just reading this article about female solo travel and how the author, Shannon, didn't regret choosing not to go deep sea diving in Belize in a spot everyone had told her 'you simply HAVE to do this'. She chose not to for safety concerns, something just didn't feel right.

I can identify with that and I completely agree that you should go with your gut instinct on your travels and not do something just because some one else says you absolutely have to do it, dude.

When I was in Honduras, I visited this waterfall:

Pulhapanzak Waterfall, San Pedro Sula

It's a pretty big waterfall.

I was in charge of a group of Canadian tourists who were DESPERATE to get into the waterfall and all I'd been told was that the itinerary included a waterfall trip where you could go behind the waterfall.

Sounds fun so far.

What I hadn't realised was that the waterfall was over 40 metres high and pounded down around you, the spray hits you from so far back that when you get closer you can't see or hear a thing.

In order to get to the waterfall we had to jump into a rock pool and swim across a river, all the time with the deafening water tumbling around you. I'm not a strong swimmer anyway and I was getting a little scared (ok, a LOT scared).

It was my job to go into the waterfall last and make sure everyone was safe in front of me but at this point I was starting to panic that I couldn't do it. We all had to hold hands as we crossed the river at the bottom of the waterfall and we couldn't see a thing.

See this video for more details...

It was at this point I made the decision to turn back to dry land.

I have no regrets! I know I wasn't a strong enough swimmer and I had no intention of drowning in a foreign country. Even when everyone came back raving about the experience, I knew I'd made the right decision.

No regrets. Don't do something just because everyone else is doing it kids. It's not cool. Yo.

Sunday photo album: Amsterdam

I'm the first to admit that I wasn't at the top of my photography game on this trip to Amsterdam back in 2011. I've been using the same Canon camera I got in Tenerife around five years ago (we took advantage of the tax free situation on a holiday there) and I'm starting to think it's time to invest in an SLR camera.

Any suggestions?

Anyway, you don't care about my camera. We flew to Amsterdam for a weekend break from Leeds Bradford and took the train from Schipol Airport (one of my favourite airports - it has a casino! And sofas! Airports never have sofas!) into the centre of Amsterdam to begin our city break.

I've been to Holland plenty of times before but mainly to visit family friends on the outskirts of Amsterdam and in other cities like Rotterdam. I love Holland.

We had a fun weekend walking around the city and finding our way around streets called Himmerlaanderstraat and the like. Sadly the weather wasn't the best and the rain thwarted most of our plans which meant we had to dodge the rain in and out of bars *sigh*

Here's a few snapshots from our trip:

Have you been to Amsterdam? Did you smoke a doobie? I think we might be the only person to go there and not do THAT. We did the other thing, but not that :) You know what I'm talking about!

Visiting Mijas, Near Malaga

Ola!

I had the pleasure of visiting the small town of Mijas recently on a sun holiday which I'll go into more detail about later :)

Now, if you've never heard of Mijas (pronounced Me-hacking sound in throat-Kas) you're not alone, I'd never heard of it either, but The Boy had been there on a family holiday YEARS AGO and wanted to revisit it.

He went at a stage of childhood where you don't give a rats ass about quaint little squares and picturesque streets, back then he wanted BEACHES and FAIRGROUNDS and ICE CREAM and moaned at his mum for dragging him away from his bucket and spade. I can't say much has changed in that time but there's only so much beach and ice cream a grown man can take, so we took a day trip.

Mijas is located on the Costa Del Sol which is blessed with an alright public transport system, the bus and train systems are easy to navigate and fairly priced too - a great way to see more of your destination.

So we took a train to Fuerengirola and then a bus to Mijas which winds around some lovely steep mountainy roads so shut your eyes if you scare easy, ok?

The road to Mijas

You arrive into an aforementioned quaint little square right next to the Tourist Information office and the donkey stand where you can take a donkey tour around.

I chose to ignore the donkeys as they were tethered in such a way that meant they were facing the wall which looked cruel to me so I chose to opt out of a donkey ride. (I'd also eaten a LOT of tapas on holiday so I thought I'd spare the donkey's back).

If you head to the Tourist Information office, a nice lady will give you a map of the town for free with all the points of interest. It looks like this:

It's not a big place and it's so lovely to stroll around, so get moving on foot and try and find all the points on the map. We only skipped the highest one as we could see it from the distance which seemed good enough :)

Here's some photos from Mijas:

Have I tempted you to get up off your sunbed yet and explore more of the Costa Del Sol?

Should I mention I had some of the best tapas of my life in Mijas and I kick myself now for not taking note of the restaurant name, you'll just have to go there and find it for yourself - deal?

Sunday photo album

"Oh Uganda! May God uphold thee

We lay our future in thy hand

United, free

For liberty

Together we'll always stand"

The national anthem of Uganda is etched in my memory and is drenched in happy memories. I heard it every day for one month sung by children at school to a backdrop of spectacular scenery. How can I ever forget that?

I taught English in a tiny village in Uganda in 2007. One of the best experiences of my whole life and the starting point for my love of travel I'd say. Some of the villagers had never left to see the nearest town, so it was a real culture shock for both visitors and residents.

My time in Uganda was my first ever experience of Africa. I fully blame Uganda for my subsequent crush on Africa but I think I was a but overwhelmed by it and only came to appreciate the haphazard but organised chaos that is Africa. 

I hope you enjoy this album as much as I enjoyed going back over it :)

Home sweet home in Uganda!

Top notch toilets in Uganda

MONDAY photo album

OK so I messed up. I only started the Sunday album idea LAST WEEK and I already mucked it up and missed Sunday.

Ooops.

I have an excuse though. I was driving the LENGTH of the M1 in this godforsaken country where there are too many cars for the roads and no one knows how to drive properly. Can I stress at this point that the middle lane is not just for you to saunter down as you please??! 'Oh there's a lorry in the near distance, think I'll move over now so I don't have to think for a while'

GAHHHH.

Anyway, where was I?

Today's Sunday Monday photo album is from Honduras, central America.

I was a tour leader on a trip there in November 2010 and we helped to build houses in La Esperanza. At the weekends we kept the tour participants drunk busy and showed them around the delights of Honduras.

Honduras is an amazing country and is often overshadowed by it's neighbours, Guatemala and Nicaragua, not to mention it's friend down the road, Costa Rica.

Here's a selection of photos from the trip:

We installed a solar panel in this woman's house so her family could have electricity and stop using candles in her wooden house

There's nothing I love more than seeing children behaving like children. Too often they're given responsibility from an early age and don't get the chance to be a little bit silly.

La Esperanza, Honduras

Very modern methods used in La Esperanza

I have two regrets from this trip:

1. Not learning more Spanish. I really feel that learning more would have enhanced my experience and enabled me to chat with the local guys we were helping with the build

2. Not switching the date stamp off my camera! I could probably remove this but I know I'll never get around to it. I'll just have to live with it...