Around The World In 80 Waves

I started the day watching England struggle to beat Italy in the six nations, setting up a mouth-watering final clash of this year’s championship in Cardiff next week.

I followed that with a great Skype conversation with my mum back in the UK. It was great to use the residence’s internet connections to see the folks back at home. Apparantly it was 1C there and about to snow. Not much chance of that here.

The staff do not work at the weekends here, so as my contribution to Mother’s day here I allowed the Ambassador a day off and cooked everybody a Sunday roast. Roast beef, cauliflower, mash, beans, carrots roast potatoes and lashings of gravy. It was an absolute feast and I had also prepared a giant lime jelly laced with fruit cocktail for desert.

It also gave us the excuse to tuck into some more of the wine I have brought across two continents from the Napa valley. The Syrah tasted like Ribena and we quickly polished off both bottles.

Other than that not much going on apart from enjoying the Top Gear Africa special on the iPlayer in the evening.

Dear Mum

Hope you have a fantastic day today and that you like the flowers and chocolates that should be delivered today.

I trust they will have arrived on time as arranged.

I will be thinking of you all day today.

Lots of love

Robert

XXX

I’m heading off to scale an active volcano today. Will let you know how I get on.

Cymru am byth for the rugby versus Scotland in the interim.

Congratulations to the Swans for winning their first major trophy.

I am sure Wind Street will have been off the charts on Sunday tonight!

My USA number is not working anymore so use my British number if you need to call or want to text me:

+44-7775-746861

It is largely switched off to avoid huge data charges but I do check it from time to time.

I may well get another local number at a later stage and will pass that on, if and when it occurs.

I am wishing my mother a very Happy 70th Birthday. One of the big regrets of this trip is that I cannot be there to celebrate this with you.

I hope you get to have some fun today and enjoy the bookbinding course I have treated you to later in the year.

You are always looking out for me Mum and I love you loads for it. We can have a belated birthday meal when I get back.

I also found this online which I hope you like – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIkqwWKkQUM

Special shout going out to my good buddy Pete Griff who has surfed his way to 40 today. Pete and I had epic sessions back in the day when we were first allowed on the roads and had access to boards.

Nobody else will understand the night it was too windy to get the tents up in the corner at Hell’s Mouth, so we fashioned a shelter of sorts from driftwood we found on the beach and slept in our board bags which were wrapped in the fly sheets to keep the torrential rain off. We were hoping that the swell would clean up the next day and alternated stoking the hobo stove we made from an oil drum as well as piling in another arm full of wet logs through the night. Even the farmer whose field we were supposed to be crashing in came looking for us because he thought we were dead! I seem to remember it being in the middle of winter too but I could be confusing it with many dawn raids which were more than a tad frosty.

Hardcore Pete. You know the score. Sorry the message is a little late dude. Aparently it is going to be triple overhead near San Francisco tomorrow. I’m going to check out Mavericks and some other breaks dude and will bag a beaut’ for you.

On my travels I spot this back pack and say hello to the bloke carrying it. It turns out his dad is the Welshman and he comes from Welshpool where my Grandfather’s brother was the town solicitor. Wales being what it is he knew my Great Uncle Elwyn Roberts. Small world

My Home Break

I am expecting this to be the most upsetting wave along the way. Had a very busy but lovely two months being pampered by my Mum in North Wales before leaving on my travels. We enjoyed a lovely walk with Hugo along the sea front at Llanduno before I left, which is where I grew up and my home break. Lovely day and a wonderful image to take away with me. I was sent on my way with lots of love and a packed lunch like I was going on a school trip to Conwy Castle. Quite sad to be leaving.

My apologies to all those I didn’t get to spend as much time with as I would have liked to before departing. So much admin, one loft conversion, one garage clearance, one mototorbike sale, a neverending chase of the dog around the house, one disposal of milk bottle collection, moving my entire life in and out of storage, and Vodafone failing in every regard to do what they said they would do all cost me loads of time, which impacted on the goodbye time. Sadly Vodafone is an ongoing battle.
Anyway I am on the road! Watch out world here I come.