Martinique, Swim under a waterfall in the rainforests

Sunday.
Relaxation after the birthday party.
Meri, Frida and I went to the Jardin de Balata, a botanical garden. They had a treetop walk. That was pretty cool.
Before going to the garden, Meri took me to a waterfall where I went for a little swim. Thick jungle here. Lots of jungle sounds. Very cool place, and best of all. No tourists  :-)

Back home  Meri got some sleep. Romeo and I took care of Frida and did a little cleaning..

I was supposed to change host this day. He was a little difficult to get hold on. When I finally managed, he explained he could only host me for one night.

Romeo took me half way to Chop (the new host), and Chop picked me up there. Nice. Chop tried to arrange another host after Monday.
There's always hotels, so that might be the solution for a couple of days.

Martinique, almost dead...

Martinique, Caribbean sea.
Romeo took me on a hike with 3 of his friends Saturday. We went to an area called Caravelle.
A fantastic 4 hour hike, with lots of views, mangrove, animals and many laughs thanks to Romeo and his funny friends.
In the end of the hike Romeo saw a big bug (see picture)
We watched it, and the others walked again. I wanted a picture of the creature with my hand next to it. Just to make comparison. "noooooo" I heard Romeo and his friend yell. Apparently this bugs bite, and a bite will send you to hospitable. Glad this bug didn't feel threatened...
We had lunch on a beach. Afterwards we took a swim.

Back home Romeo had invited his brother for a birthday party in the evening. I was invited. Nice!

I wasn't told the birthday thing was a surprise party. So 5 min after the first two guests had arrived I asked "who's the birthday kid?"
I got strange faces in return, so I explained myself again. I was told this was a birthday party. Well done Thomas...
And this morning I spilled a whole espresso can on the floor - and broke a mirror.
Anyway. A great day and evening. Lots of stuff to remember.

Martinique, 9 hour in a plane seat

The flight trip to Martinique went fine. Half an hour late, so 9 hours in a plane seat. Now easy for a hyperactive fellow like Bob.
In Martinique getting my backpack was a bit of a struggle. The conveyor belt area was packed with people. There was no information about which belt had luggage from which plane. But with only two belts I managed to choose the wrong one. The right one broke down after 15 min, but after an hour I had my things.
My host Meri picked me up at the airport. So nice!
I had written I could walk, or take a taxi, cause I thought Meri, Romeo and their daughter lived close to the airport. It was a 20 min drive in car, so glad I didn't walk :-)

In Balata, Romeo welcomed me with a hug, and Frida (9 month) seemed to accept the Danish stranger.

We had a great evening and I managed to stay awake until 22:00
I slept on the balcony. Great temperature there, and heavy rain during the night was only calming.

Paris, security woman afraid of my Leatherman, and an 8€ haircut including extras...

Had breakfast with Marianne and the boys. They don't go to school on Wednesdays, but instead they go to a day care sort of place.
We took the boys there, and afterwards we drove to Créteil Préfecture. A huge shopping mall. Left Marianne there, and took a short look in the mall. My backpack is overloaded, so not point in shopping.
Took the metro to in the area where the Eiffel tower is. Went for a walk, and ended up at the tower. Bob is afraid of heights, and a security woman was afraid of my Leatherman, so I didn't go up in the tower. The security woman asked if I could hide the knife somewhere, and come back... I thought about it, but then again. Hiding a 120€ lifesaver wasn't an option. And it's just a stupid tower. :-)
Instead I took a nap in the sun next to the tower. Very warm day - 23 degrees. Tomorrow the same.
Afterwards I took some random buses. Had no clue where I was heading. I jumped off at Champs-Élysées, and ended up at the Palais de la dècouverte. Natural historical museum kind of place. Most of the information was written in French, so not the most interesting place...
Did some random metro/ bus driving again.

An Indian hairdresser offered me an 8€ haircut. Sure!
He could say "hello" in English, and that was pretty much it.
I pointed to a guy next to me and said "like him". The simple haircut took like 40 minutes. Afterwards he filled my hair with some lemon stuff, and gave me a head massage. The icing on the cake was "breaking my neck" to both sides. Didn't see that one coming. You wouldn't see that in Denmark. :-)

Back home at Mariannes place at 20:15 - still wearing shorts and t- shirt.

Tomorrow I'm gonna do a bit more tourist stuff and maybe some geocaching. Gonna say goodbye to Marianne and the boys, and move to a new host for the last night.

By the way. Don't get used to daily updates. Once I hit Martinique, I'll probably won't be able to update my blog. And definitely not once I start sailing.

Day two in Paris

The boys had to go school, so we all got up at around 7 am. Marianne and I walked them to school, and afterwards she showed me her school where she is working. The kids stars school when they are three years old in France. They had a huge room with 40 beds where all the little ones take a nap at lunchtime.
I remember having problems getting two three year olds to sleep in a Danish kindergarten :-)
I took the metro towards central Paris. Easy system. I only had one problem. To get out of the station. I kept ending up at another track. After ten minutes I realised "Sortie" meant exit...

I visited Notre Dame and Sacrè-Cæur, so that'll probably make my mom proud. She was bit disappointed with my last trip with Bob. Not enough culture I guess. Luckily there is plenty of different ways of culture :-)

I did some shopping for cooking in Danish. I ended up making meat balls with feta cheese with potatoes. Not really a Danish meal, but think at least Marianne liked it :-)

The rest of the evening was spent on tea and lots if interesting talks.

Tomorrow the Eiffel tower is waiting!

Paris, Day one

Arriving in Paris at 21:30, so decided taxi was the best option.
I quickly found a taxi. Showed the address to the diver. He said OK, but then asked if I had a GPS. Being a little concerned about turning on mobile data, I said no. OK was his reply, and we took off. Excellent :-)
15 minutes later he took out a huge map book of Paris. He looked a little lost, so I decided to call my host. She explained him the route, and after another call, I was at my host, Marianne. Great.
She welcomed me at her home. A 16 story building. She, and her two boys lives on the 10th floor, so great view.
Tomorrow I'm gonna see where Marianne's working. A school, in a class with around 25 5year olds. And she is alone. Only sometimes there is a helper...

Testing my new blogger tool

Ready for the next adventure!
Leaving Denmark tonight.
And please welcome "new Bob"!
Old Bob isn't much of a sailor, so I left him behind in Denmark.

New Bob is an adventourus little fellow.
He's already bragging along with his last adventure near Somalia.
I'm not convinced though. He was trying to hide himself under a blanket just before leaving my home..
We'll see...