One Man Travelling...

My journey across Europe is almost complete. I have arrived in Spain to stay with friends from Tenerife in a community called Los Arrayos. Situated approximately 60 km to the west of Madrid it falls under the umbrella of El Escorial. I say almost complete as I have some exploring to do here then I am off to France, yes by train, on the 20th December for six months. We are in the high ground with the mountain ranges in the distance, the campo between here and El Escorial spread out before us and breathtaking views as we descend to the plain and on to Madrid itself. Once again I shall be travelling by bus and train. My amigo Jose Luis has helped me to obtain travel passes for the Madrid area and beyond which make the journeys quite economical. The Madrid conurbation is served by both green buses and trains whilst Madrid itself is served by blue buses and the metro. The systems interlink on the ground and by ticket. I have a red card containing a computer chip. As we are about as ...

During my visit home to the family I was having a chance conversation with my youngest brother about my next expedition when he suggested Bulgaria. I had been contemplating returning to Tenerife or, perhaps, Malta but this gave me an interesting thought. Tenerife was as far west as you can get in the EU so Bulgaria would be one of the farthest east.  A look on the internet to discover the price of flights and the availability of long term accommodation proved that the idea was viable.  My next decision was where to to base myself. Varna looked a pleasant place and was situated on the Black Sea affording the opportunity to swim during the summer and to enjoy the air, road and rail links with the interior.  Credit card to hand it was all arranged in two days. Flying from Heathrow with Bulgaria Airways of course, I would arrive in Sophia airport, Bulgaria on the 1st July 2015 flying on to Varna on the morning of the 2nd.

Into the unknown Redundancy at the end of August loomed. What to do next? Don, a colleague of mine who, unfortunately was to join me in the unemployment queue had been prompting me to visit Tenerife for years. Why not, another job at my time of life was a remote possibility, I owed nothing to anyone?  I commenced browsing the internet during July 2011 discovering a substantial drop in the price of a ticket to Tenerife South airport on Monday 1st November of that year. Easyjet would transport me, a cabin bag and my suitcase from Gatwick for the princely sum of £60.00. I booked.