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Everybody’s looking for that something
“Are you Christian?” I’ve been asked this more times since moving to Qatar than ever before. Interestingly, I don’t recall being asked “What religion are you?” or “Do you believe in God?”. My...
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Qatar History: Growing Up Fast
Our children study Qatari History as part of their school curriculum – it’s compulsory. I like the idea and agree that international students should gain a better knowledge and understanding of their...
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Girls To The Left, Boys To The Right
It’s our ‘holiday vaccination day’ at a local medical centre. We enter the building through two separate entrances; one male, one female, only to be joined together again at one big reception desk...
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Niqabs, Thobes And Henna Fingers
All in-flight safety videos are not the same! The local versions really make me giggle – I’ve particularly enjoyed the different cultural references as the video production teams have had fun with...
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Love The Skin You’re In
We’re on holiday in Bali and today a lady selling bracelets on the beach compared the colour of her skin to mine. She was suggesting that mine was nicer because it was “beautiful and light” and hers...
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Hot Enough To Fry An Egg
Sheikha Al Mayassa, reported to be the most powerful person in the art world, is (a) the sister of the emir of Qatar, (b) the chairperson for the Qatar Museum Authority, (c) has access to a LOT of...
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Day one: London Heathrow
Sunday 7th September We’ve spent the last few weeks editing, editing and re-editing the contents of our travelling kit to the real minimum – or at least the kind of ‘real minimum’ our family can cope...
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Day two/three: Miami
We land in Miami and immediately learn important lesson number one – to save important ‘next step’ information outside of an email and into a calendar or note that does not need wifi. Once we get over...
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Day four: Quito, Ecuador
9th September 2014. We arrived in Quito last night. It was dark, late and we’d arranged to be met at the airport. We were advised that we’d need two cars to fit us all in. Quito has its safety problems...
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Day five: Equator, Ecuador
Today we head to Mitad del Mundo – Middle of the World – The Equator. There are two equators here, the original one and a second more accurate one (since the invention of GPS). Rather than real and...
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Day 6: The Galapagos Islands
We had our photo taken on the plane today. All five of us sat in a row and all happened to be using technology. One of us was creating a movie, one editing photos, two were reading books and one was...
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Day seven: Santa Cruz, Galápagos
A sea-lion and several lazy pelicans entertained us at the fish market last night stealing off-cuts from the fisherwomen. We were also entertained by the local fashions and the various ‘blue footed...
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Day eight: Santa Fe, Galápagos
Today was a truly great day. No home-school (it’s the weekend) and we took a boat trip to Santa Fe, another island about an hour away. We were promised swimming with sea lions, sharks, turtles and...
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Day nine/ten: Darwin, Santa Cruz, Galápagos
We plan in a couple of quiet days on Santa Cruz, allowing for home learning catch up, general downtime and some battery recharging. One day the children work on a project about tortoises and turtles...
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Day eleven: Daphne and Pinzon, Galápagos
Sickness tablets: check Snorkel gear: check Wet suits: check More wrong guesses on which two of the children are twins: check An early start today – we’re off on a boat trip to the islands of Pinzon...
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Day twelve/thirteen: Isabela, Galápagos
Arriving by boat to Isabela island is a bit like playing a game of wildlife bingo. After a two hour boat ride with some serious mind-over-matter-horizon-concentration, we arrive in a gorgeous turquoise...
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Day fourteen/fifteen: Cycling around Isabela
We’ve extended! We’re going to stay five nights not four. The luxury of time really hits home this week. We see people coming and going all the time, the turnover is fast, people stay for one night,...
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Day seventeen: Sierra Negra Volcano
There’s a team from REI staying at the hotel – they’re here to make a promotional video. They’ve brought a load of staff with them and are fully kitted up with cameras, GoPros, drones – the lot. We...
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Day eighteen: Guayaquil and Montanita
Today is a travelling day. A harder day. A dull day. A meal management day. A home learning day. Everyone’s mood changes for the worse when we’re hungry and generally our patience levels are low. We...
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Day eighteen: Montanita, Ecuador
It’s our first morning waking up in the Eco Lodge. Well, I say Eco Lodge, but this morning it feels more like an unfinished (albeit quite stylish) wooden shed. We have all had a terrible night – it...
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