We always say that is so refreshing and relaxing to travel…
Every time we’ve made a trip, we have said before the trip: “This time we’ll really have a rest, just take it easy and enjoy”.
YEAH, SURE! *giggles* It never happens!
We’re enjoying the trip, but we always have to recover after coming home again. For some reason it always will be more activity than we have in mind from the beginning…
Well, we do want to explore so much when we’re out in the big wonderful world! If you on top of that add the fact that you rent a car to get around – which we almost always does – then the unthought-of will most likely happen… At least when we’re involved.
One of the first trip in the rest of the Europe that me and Mr Lifecruiser did was to the Spanish island Fuerteventura in 2004.
One of the days when we were out driving we decided to take one of the smaller roads on the map, because we were a bit curious of a small sweet water lake at the map. There were a very small road on the map connecting it to another bigger one further ahead, so this was just a little scenic shortcut.
Hellooo! Doesn’t the word shortcut just ring hundreds of warning bells for you???
The Travel agency had warned us for the smaller roads, but it use to go well if you take it easy. Well, the road WAS very pebbled and it went very SLOWLY!
There were only us, the sound of the wind, the mountains, the wildlife…
Because Fuerteventura is so close to Africa, there is both desert sand from Sahara on this island and dromedaries there. It really were very peaceful. Then. Or more like a deserted rock desert.
Then we saw a spectacular beautiful Eagle gliding in the air above our car at the drivers side, so Mr Lifecruiser stops the car to take a shot with the camera. Do you really think that he got the camera ready in time? The only thing I see is how he tries to get rid off the safety belt, get snookered in it and the camera strap and I realize that he won’t make it.
So I make a try to sneak out of the car (how on earth are you sneaking when it’s deadly quiet in the nature and the car’s metal and lock make so much noises?) to take the snapshots with my camera instead. Try to do that with back problems too! Do you really think that I got the shot? Gone with the wind were that Eagle!
We did spotted some of the dried out lake though…
…and with some kind of rests of a dam wall too.
We continued on that road and our next meeting is a white dromedary that we have to be settled with instead of the Eagle. That’s the real reason why our vacation photos are as they are… *giggles*
A bit ahead of the dromedary the road suddenly to our big surprise ended at a gate into some kind of bigger paddock! I’m looking in disbelief at the map. Yes, we’re on that road, we’ve not taking the wrong road. We did look around us. No humans as far as we could see.
The idea of bumping back all the way on that pebbled road again were NOT appealing to anyone of us. It had taken a very long time. We’re looking at each other – shall we? So we did. I opened the gate, Mr Lifecruiser did drive the car into the paddock, I shut the gate. The road in there were visible. In the beginning…
Rocky land is not to recommend to drive with a Renault Clio, so by now it went even more slow than earlier. I had to jump out of the car quite often to lift away rocks in our way.
Peek-a-boo! Under almost every rock there was a cute little lizard! It was almost like xmas… *giggles*
At one point there, we almost gave up. Suddenly the road just disappears into thin air, but to turn back again? How long wouldn’t that take? No, as I said before: I’m stubborn as a red pig sometimes, I’ll NOT go back on that same road again!
See that tiny white thingy over at the mountains? That’s Mr Lifecruiser out looking for a road to drive on…. *giggles*
At the other side of that field we saw some kind of buildings – it looked like some kind of a junkyard with junk cars, so it simply MUST have been a road there somewhere.
After a very long time of rock lifting, lizard peek-a-boo and praying that we shouldn’t get stuck, we finally got there. Phew!
It was no one there – but a flock of evil looking dogs! They did outbursts barking real angry at us and you were just very, very happy that they were tied up, because when they couldn’t get to us they started to attack each other instead! And in a real mean way, not just barking!
Had it been today, I’d have stopped for 10 seconds more taken photos of them just to show you, but the place looked really cluttered with junk and dirt and both of us got a vision of a brutal man that would jump forward to us any minute with a shotgun…
Sometimes it’s not so good with too vivid imagination! *giggles*
No need to say that we did not step out of the car and quickly went the other way and found a way out of the junkyard. So we thought…
We were driving about a hundred meter against the freedom at the bigger road we could see out there – and STOPPED! Oh, no… The owner had put up an iron chain across the way, that roped off our way towards the freedom!
As you can see, there were really no marginals at the roadside that we could have used either.
That was really the first time that we used certain very sulphureous oaths… What the heck do we do now?! It started to get late and we were not sure that we even could go back the same way again and the thought of meeting the owner to this place really wasn’t something we looked forward to.
Then my very famous lightening anger kicked in… (I have a very high anger threshold, but when it kicks in, it’s like lightening, fast and furious!)
So hell I’m gonna go back again! I went out of the car, lifted the chain as high as it were possible – with almost none marginal the chain just touched the car roof – and when half of the car had passed under the chain I yelled: STEP ON IT! to Mr Lifecruiser, because not much of my strength were left.
The Victory was big when we left there – despite the fact of a very lovely (NOT) tender tendon I got in my armpit from the heavy lift. If I hadn’t got mad, I would never had made that lift. I had problems with my armpit for months afterwards.
As we say after that: better to get a tender tendon than no tenderness at all on a trip…. *giggles*
Ah, the wonderful road to freedom!!!
Click to see Lifecruisers Flickr slideshow here.
Captain Shortcut Lifecruiser
Is that in Spain ??? Wow… looks like Latin America !
Liked your adventures… Traveling is a lot of fun and well, a lot of unexpected events as well
Zhu’s last blog post..Us vs. Them
My Dad is the same. Trips must always be maxed out with “stuff” to do. Sitting around in a hotel “relaxing” can be done at home in his opinion. Love the scenic routes. Also enjoy calling it a “scenic drive” when you make a wrong turn during a regular day-to-day drive too! Pity about the missed eagle shot but it was incredible to see a non-australian lizard tho! Very cute! Really enjoyd the rocky-desert sensation too – quite a remarkable looking landscape there.
aka R’acquel’s last blog post..Bismillah – In The Name of God?
Hi Captain,
Have you ever thought about carrying a spare can of spinache around with you, it would come in handy for those chain ripping moments and is friendly to your armpits….you might have to leave the car window open though.
Anyway I’m with akaR’acquel’s dad holidays aren’t for sitting around a pool, they are for exploring and getting lost…
Made it through to the second round, so voting starts again, it is like yours , once every 24 hrs.
is your armpit ok now or have you other aches and pains????
Cheers Mark
Mark’s last blog post..Green Thumb Sunday
Oh, I just love the sound of that trip. It’s exactly the sort of thing we do. We’ve had a few adventures caused by routes looking good on the map.
A.’s last blog post..One laptop per child?
Oh my! what an adventure ! LOL You must have a lot of things to remember when you’re at home.
I’ve enjoyed reading this one.
Vero’s last blog post..Mice invasion
Great pics and story!
Hope you’ll forgive me for a very short visit. I’m busy to thank everyone for their Birthday greetings to me this weekend. I’m overwhelmed you know.
Good night Captain
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“Step on it!” … haha, I can just picture you
It’s amazing what we can do when we’re pumped with adrenaline, but then feel the after effects from it later.
Got to vote for you for best European blog today. Holy cow, some of those sites have an awful lot of friends!
Deborah’s last blog post..Nicholas Hendrickx and the Fantastic Mr Fly
Yes, it truly was a remarkable landscape, even for a Swede. Spain has a lot of mountain, very beautiful.
We’ve done several other “shortcuts” at other times too…. Actually the most memorable ones
Ah, the spinach, you’re right Mark, THAT was the missing thing there! *Or the Sailor suit…. giggles*
Thanks x millions for the vote Deborah
Yes, some sites sure got a lot of voters!!!! Makes me wonder a bit, but no longer moment. I’m happy just to be a finalist!
A pic of the eagle would have been nice, but I think you compensated a-ok with the other pics you did get. Very interesting travel tale there though!
Jeni Hill Ertmer’s last blog post..Conflicted Thoughts
This looks like Old Mexico!!
Hootin’ Anni’s last blog post..I enjoyed that poem a lot. I haven’t read much of …
ROFLMBO! Ohhhhhh LC! What a TRIP!!! You two are verrrry adventuresome! That does sound JUST like something I would do too! I love to take little “side excursions”… But you DO never know where you’ll end up! That last photo looks like a cartoon desert oasis!
Melli’s last blog post..The 11th Commandment…. ?
what an adventure my captain! But you kept cold blood! Bravo! I would adore to see the lizards under the stones! I just come to vote for you! tomorrow is the last day of vacation… But the house is full of teen agers in case I could lose the moral!!! Their laugh say me that I will have a white night!
claudie’s last blog post..Melissa’s birthday!
Haha – at least this was something to write home about – not the usual, overcrowded tourist beaches.
PS. We’ve been lost in the Atacama Desert – that was very tough – I did not eat for 32 hours afterwards – only water – Water.
look at the lama..lol how cute
I love lizards! (Hence I clicked this post) – some lovely pictures here! I love looking at roads like these – and yay, pictures of Mr Lifecruiser