04/07/2004
Happy Birthday Alice!
Today was one of the best days I have had, we got up early and headed down to Los Christianos for a day of deep sea fishing on the “Crested Wave”, we had a bunch of English guys on the boat with us, they were fun to chat with, they all wanted to head to Australia for a Holliday some time.
We trawled for about one and a half hours, with not so much as a nibble, it was a bit of a shame not to get onto something, but the weather was superb, and I had plenty to talk about with my new found English friends.
We stopped to do some drift fishing with hand held rods, and I had lunch (mmmmm Vegemite Sandwiches). We fished for a while, Tim and Max caught a Sting Ray at the same time (they thought their lines were tangled) but no one else caught anything.
The fishing was a little disappointing, so we all decided to go for a swim.

Oh my gosh the water was amazing, it was beautifully warm, and so clear, I could open my eyes under water and see! Words can’t describe it, but it is one of those things I will always remember.

We got back to our resort and packed our bags, because our flight to Madrid left at 3:30 in the morning, we figured it would be easier to stay up, so Tim and I went out and I showed him how to take night shots with his camera, it was lots of fun.

Jon <><

03/07/2004
Tim got me up early today, and we headed to Los Christianos, to get Max’s Late 21st Birthday present, a digital camera (Tim and I had been looking at them for the past few days) we did some awesome bartering and managed to pick up a great camera for less than Ben could get one wholesale back in Australia.
Max was well surprised and very happy.

The rest of today was spent back down at Benijo for another body board, I got out in the water today too, it was fantastic.
Jon <><

02/07/2004
Whoa what a day we had today....... We started off with a trip to the local go-cart track for a quick 10 lap cruise, man that was fun; the carts were a bit sketchy tho (no breaks and slow accelerator response kinda sketchy).
After carting, we went for a drive to El Teide National Park, home of the third largest Volcano on Earth (on the way there we had a little car trouble)

So we stopped for a bit and took in the views. Once we got going again, it was off to the base of the Volcano. There was a cable car that ran to the top, but it was far too expensive, so we had a look around and moved on.
The roads on the way down were fantastic, very narrow and windy (the sort they race on in WRC through Europe).
We stopped at a petrol station to fill the car and ourselves up, funnily enough it was probably one of the best lunches we had, not the kind of servo food we have back in Australia.
We finished the day in Puerto de la Cruz, they had a special pay area down near the sea, but it was closed for renovations, so I bought a postcard, it looked quite spectacular.

You can see Teide in the background.
Jon <><

30/06/2004
Hi Guys and Girls, today we took a drive in search of some surf, we asked a few of the locals where to head........ They told us there were some decent waves on the North side of the island near Benijo, it was a nice long drive through very narrow and winding roads.

We arrived and the conditions were quite good, the water was nice and warm too.

Today was fantastic, and just what Tim and Max had been hanging for. We are definitely heading back here before we leave.
Jon <><

29/06/2004
Hi Everyone, this is just a quick post, I only have 2 mins.
I had the best birthday, we went to a place called Aqualandia in Benidorm, it was a huge water park, I guess I am just a big kid, it was awesome.
We are over in the Canary Islands, Tenerife and we have a Silver Peugeot 206, with Unlimited K´s

here comes fun :-)
Jon <><

27/06/2004
Today I am in Alicante, we hired a car in Málaga and I drove here, tis very strange trying to drive a manual with your right hand on the wrong side of the road, with no map, and no idea of how to get out of a big city.

When we got to Alicante the streets were packed, it was like peak hour traffic at 12:30am, they have a huge fiesta here this week and the city is pumping.
I think it was happening in Fuengirola too, we went to a huge beach party, there were a couple thousand people going nuts, they had a huge stage, djs, wild sound, and bon fires everywhere, I have never seen anything like it.
Anyways, today it´s my Birthday, hello and lots of love to all my friends and family, and a big happy birthday to Gav, and JJ hope you guys are having a blast. Have to go, my internet time is running out, have fun, I´ll see you all soon.

Jon <><

24/06/2004
Max’s Birthday Today, we had some delicious chicken Fajitas and cheap pink champagne out on our Balcony.

Later on tonight we are heading down to the bar for drinks and dinner(they have a 2 for 1 special, and the drinks are free pour). We are going to stay on and watch the Euro, England vs Portugal. Should be a great night.
Jon <><

23/06/2004
I have made it to Spain, wow it’s hot here
Paris was wonderful, I have to get myself back there again soon.
We are down at Marbella on the beach today... tis about 35°C and the water is fine.
One thing that I am still getting used to over here is the Siesta,
all the shops close at 2:00pm and open again at 5:00pm.
Anyways I have to go, send some emails now, whatever you are doing, have fun.
Cheers
Jon <><

20/06/2004
Today is Tim’s Birthday, we are just relaxing by the pool!

Tonight we are heading into Málaga to watch Spain vs Portugal, it's going to be a wild night if Spain win!

Jon <><

18/06/2004
Another big adventure today, we trekked out to the Gardens of Versailles, none of the fountains were running, but the gardens were quite spectacular.
The most amazing thing for me was the scale of the gardens, and the sculptures within it.

This is The Fountain of Enceladus, it is just tucked away surrounded by a huge hedge, it was a nice tranquil place in there.
I was overwhelmed by the amount of gold in the gardens, and the château. It was a truly grand and decadent place.
On our way home we went and had a look at the “Arch de Triomphe” it just happens that They were remembering “The Battle of Waterloo 18th June 1815” so they had a huge French Flag hanging from the centre of the Arch.

Watching the traffic negotiate this place was interesting to say the least, 12 different roads all join together around this monument.
To finish off our last full day in Paris, I went out to dinner with Jason, and enjoyed some Frog Legs, they actually tasted quite nice, a bit like chicken.
We then went for a walk up to see the Moulin Rouge

Tim and Chrissie went out for dinner too, and had some snails.
Jon <><

17/06/2004
Today Tim, Chrissie and I did the tourist thing and went off to the Eiffel Tower.
On our way we checked out some of the retail shops, it's strange to find a whole store for a brand, we saw “Von Dutch”, “Diesel”, “Puma” to name just a few....
We also stopped off at Notre Dame Cathedral, it was very impressive, inside and out.

After spending a bit of time there we pressed on, and caught a bus to the Eiffel Tower.
WOW!!! it is definitely something you have to see once in your life, we took the lift all the way to the top, and took in an amazing 360 view of Paris.

What a fantastic day.
Jon <><

15/06/2004
Well here I am, I have made it to Paris... The weather is hot over here, and the city is beautiful.
I had an interesting trip over, both Chrissie and I missed our plane from Adelaide, so we had to catch a Virgin Blue fight to Sydney so we could get onto our international flight. We made it with about 35mins to spare.
The trip was long and exhausting, and it was a bit strange organising my diabetes, but I have managed.
When we got to France Tim was waiting for us, it’s so cool to be on the other side of the world hanging with my brother.

We found our hotel ok, but they didn’t have the room that we had booked available, so we had to go to a different hotel owned by the same people. It is all sorted out now and we are in the place we booked.
I have been trekking around Paris today with Jason, Tim and Chrissie have gone shopping together.
If you want to say hi, my email address is
away@daklinic.com
I will try to check it regularly
Jon <><

08/06/2004
Well it's less than a week until I am off to see my brother in Paris....
I can't wait to get going, there are still a lot of things I need to do before I go tho.
Jon <><

25/05/2004
My online Journal is good to go.
Jon <><