Ciccio on the road

Due to limited mobile service, the current blog entry had to wait a bit.

But here I am, on the other side of home. Just arrived in Esperance South Australia, the weather is a bit cooler today and the sky is covered with clouds.

But let's rewind a bit.....After my stomach had calmed down after a turbulent complete emptying, the suitcases were all packed and the room (MY room) was clean for the next adventurers after four exciting months, on January 11th it was time to go to Pudong International Airport for the last time.

After a 5-hour flight and a climate change of +30 degrees, I arrived in Kuala Lumpur. Another pulsating Asian capital. A wonderful mix of Christian, Muslim and Buddhist culture. I had a single room in a cute hostel. After a well-deserved sleep, a walk through the city and some last errands, the next day finally continued towards the final destination.

At 2am, tired and completely overexcited, I arrived at Perth Airport. Since my travel companion's flight was unexpectedly delayed, I found a cozy corner at the airport, put on my eye mask, stuffed earplugs into my ears, and tried to get some sleep. Surprisingly, the plan worked quite well, and after a few hours of sleep, a shower at the airport, and a delicious breakfast, I was refreshed, in a good mood, and very excited to see Jakob. He finally arrived, tired and yet excited, with a delay from Abu Dhabi.

Together, we took the bus towards the city center and into a very spacious, completely tasteless but absolutely sufficient apartment complex with a pool, where we shared an apartment with Jonathan (a very nice Australian) for the next four nights. The apartment was located in the middle of the Australian capital of the west, and in the following days, we explored the neighborhoods of the quickly growing yet pleasantly sleepy city. We explored the harbor, went to an open air cinema in King's Park, ate in Subiaco, and ended up in a small trendy bar in Northbridge where the beer cost a casual 7 EUR (Welcome to Australia). But the first few days were also busy with finding a home on four wheels for the next two months. And little Ciccio soon found his way to us. We bought the small chubby one from a French couple for 3500 AUD. After a visit to Ikea and a big shopping trip at Aldi Australia, we were already on the road. From Perth to Fremantle and from Fremantle to Spearwood to Brad and his wonderful family. We found shelter with Brad, Sandra, Lenny, and Noah in the following days and took part in family life. Surfing lessons with Brad, going jogging with Sandra, and grilling together in the garden in the evening were on the program. We also enjoyed a few more nights in a "real" bed. Fully equipped, it actually started on January 21st. We started towards Margaret River.

Since then, we have been wandering through vineyards, surfer villages, gigantic forests, climbed a 62m high tree, descended 80m into a limestone cave, spent nights on dunes, rocks, and in the jungle. We treated ourselves to lobster by the water, wine and cheese at a winery, and homemade beer at a brewery. We cooked a lot, played UNO, did sports, read, and slept a lot. We enjoy every new place that awaits us. With an extremely handy app, we find hidden and free parking spaces where we can spend the night.

We have already driven over 3000km and still have about 2500km ahead of us. At the moment, we are sitting in a small café in Port Lincoln and will spend the night here tonight in the national park. Tomorrow we will continue towards Adelaide and then on to Melbourne until we sell our home in Sydney in mid-March and fly to New Zealand.

Since the travel bug still holds us captive, we have included two weeks in the Philippines before finally leaving home. After a road trip, hiking in New Zealand, and total relaxation in the Philippines, I will return to my beloved home on April 25th.

I will keep you updated as much as possible and send you hugs and kisses.