CURRENT MISSION

To travel the world...again and again and again!

ABOUT ME

Hi, I'm Joanne from the UK. I am well travelled, an accomplished sailors, easy going and have a talent for getting along with most people.

I have been traveling and working for around for several years. Working in such places as France, Venice, Italy, Croatia, Iceland, Australia, Germany, Bulgaria, Switzerland and Caribbean.

I have traveled to many places but have spent the last 3 years sailing. The Red Sea, Yemen, Eritrea, Egypt, Telaviv, The Med and the Atlantic.

Somewhere along the way I decided I would sail around the world from the Caribbean, through the Pacific, Indian and Southern Atlantic Oceans, to return to the Caribbean. I completed my circumnavigation in May 2009 taking in such delights as the Cook, Samoa and Fiji Islands along with places such as Tonga, Christmas Island, South Africa and many, many more. Oooops, almost forgot Suworrow, an island so remote it wasn't even on Google Earth!

I have also travelled to Peru, Chile, Argentina, Paraguy, Bolivia

PHILOSOPHY

To live it... is to see it, touch it, feel it, smell it, taste it... As the great Walt Disney said, 'Quit talking and JUST DO IT'

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW WE PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Surf and Hos
COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Our couch surfing experiences have been limited to the USA. It's a great idea. Not really any cheaper, in fact can actually work out more expensive. Gifts for hosts, meals out and drinks in bars that you possibly wouldn't go to as a budget traveler. But it's a great way to meet new people, get local knowledge, see/do things you probably wouldn't do and immerse in the local culture. I spent a week-end at a lake in Oklahoma, rode on the back of a Harley through the Blue Ridge Mountains Of Virgina and went apple picking at Lake Michigan in Chicago...definately not the 'run of the mill' touristy things!

Interests

traveling, cinema, films, walking, sailing, sports.

• arts
• culture
• cooking
• breakfast
• coffee
• running
• working out
• walking
• drinking
• flying
• yachting
• boating
• shopping
• clothing
• movies
• traveling
• cars
• survival
• music
• fishing
• surfing
• sailing
• sports
• emergency services
• history
• tourism
• budget travel
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Most music and read anything.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Circumnavigated the World.

Slept in a tree house in Turkey.

Did a conservation dig in Iceland.

Treked to Maccu Piccu...sounds touristy and tame, it's the hardest physical thing I have ever done!

Saw a 9mtr Minky whale jump nose first out of the water right in front of a boat.

Sailed through tropical storms with forked lightening all around the boat in the Bahamas.

Trecked out of the jungle in the middle of the night.

Teach, Learn, Share

My couch surfing experiences have been limited to boats. I started a journey in Yemen, the Middle East...here's a tale it's rather long, but funny...

I Arrived at Sana'a, Yemen somewhat apprehensive and nervous. I thought well I'm here now so what the ell, grabs a trolly, dumps my bags on it and walks outside to find a taxi. I was surrounded immediately by about 15 taxi drivers all haggling for a fare. I just smiled at them all and they promptly started fighting, yelling and having a real 'to do' amongst themselves. I was a little worried but then I spied a taxi driver sitting in his cab about 5 cars away. I started to slowly inch my way towards it leaving the rest of them brawling in the road. I got 2 cars away and made a run for it, yanked open the door, threw in the bags and told him to drive...and he did. I
looked back and the rest of them were still brawling away.

Sets of for the hotel, talk about total contrast. It made Morocco like going into Starbucks in Manchester on a Saturday for a coffee. The roads were dusty as anything, car chaos, a real white knuckle ride, every car was covered in dents and had bits hanging of like bonets and doors, some didn't even have doors! Kids playing in the street, scooters, women in black, men
in skirts, a guy wielding a gun at the side of the car (I'm not even going there) jets flying over, helicopters, noisy as anything and total chaos
everywhere.

After 30 mins of white knuckle driving we arrived at the hotel, right in the middle of the noise and chaos. I was like "Oh my god" The hotel looked like
one of the houses, derelict and rough as, the owner was nice, friendly and high as a kite on qat (local drugs, more about that later). I was in total shock. I've gotta admit I kept thinking are you mad, you've lost the plot completely. Anyway, finds my room, which is obviously very basic but I've got to admit very traditional and quaint. The door was 4ft tall with a massive step up, so you had to watch your head when getting in. All the floors are uneven. There were 2 sets of windows. The first being really high up, arched shaped and with stained glass, nice! The second being on floor level, about a foot and a half tall, arch shaped with double shutters, even nicer! Right outside the windows (the bottom ones and yes you have to sit on the floor to see out of them) is a local shop by that I mean a hole in a wall with some items for sale. There is also a huge gathering of men, 30/40 of them. it must have been where they all hung out. I was really tired as I'd travelled through the night and decided to go to bed. I slept on and of, the noise is horrendous. Firstly there is the chattering of the men. Then the prayer call, with loud speakers, several times a night, cars honking their horns, how they love to honk their horns! and children playing in the street. I woke up at 8 in the morning, showered and went for breakfast.

After breakfast I met my guide that I had arranged with the taxi driver. His name was Abdul. He was great. Sana'a is beautiful. When you get away from the chaos, or maybe when you're in it it dosn't seem so bad. Or maybe I just adjusted quickly. Either way it was fantasic. There was markets, millions of them, everywhere. Kids in wheel barrows, spices, nuts, clothes, shoes, mangoes, shawls, winding streets, gingerbread houses, police everywhere, guards in the museums proudly showing you their history and nothing but friendly, happy people. I was like WOW. I just didn't expect it. Abdul took me to a local tea shop. It was where the local men all met for a lime juice, lemon tea or whatever took their fancy. It was cool. I was chatting away to the locals, an absolutely brilliant day!

Departure Sana'a to Aden:-

Abdul booked me a taxi as I had to be at the airport for 6.30, flight at 8a.m. He assures me they are a new company and will turn up on time. 6a.m. almost ready and hears a vehicle. I thinks this is great, bob on time. Grabs the bags and runs downstairs - no taxi. I wait and I wait. 6.15 I called the taxi company (thankfully I had got Abdul to write down their number) And thank god they spoke english. I was assured taxi would be 5 mins. 10 mins later, no taxi. I'm only marginally worried at this point. The flight is at 8 and it's now 6.45 and 30 mins to the airport and no taxi in sight. Hans a german lecturer who works in Serbia for the government??? (I didn't ask) who I met in the Felix Cafe, assured me Yemenia airways always run late. I called the taxi co again and the guy says he's at reception waiting for you. The taxi is not at reception. I tells him to hold the line and went and woke up Ameen, the qat chewing, laid back, hotel owner. He slept behind the fridges (I know... I didn't ask that either!) I made Ameen
tell the taxi where the hotel is. Turns out they're at the Hotel Sheeba. Hotel Sheeba, Taj Tahala, mmmm very similar sounding!!!!

Taxi arrives. I'm now very, very late but there is no way I'm confessing this to Ramean. I have already had several near death experiences on the way to Sana'a and on a local bus with Abdul which was in the middle of the day and when the roads where chaotic.

This is 6 (well now 7) a.m. No problem, I thinks. The roads will be quiet and they were. But that dosn't stop it from being a hair raising experience. We set of in the taxi, almost new I note.....lots of dents and scratches I also note. Hmmmmm

Anyway we get in and I put on my seat belt. It's the first vehicle I've seen / noticed with a seat belt. and of we go..... I KID YOU NOT within 2 minutes, not another car in sight, 7 in the morning and Ramean is honking the horn as if his life depended on it. He's already misjudged a sharp turning and scraped the drivers side of the taxi. I'm starting to worry. In
Sana'a there is a main road with 4 lanes either side, and they are MAD. There is supposed to be overtaking like in the U.K. but no-one takes a blind bit of notice. They chop, weave, over take, undertake, drive down the middle of the roads. It's bloody scary. The worst bit of all is their total inability to judge the gaps/distances they have to get through and the way they they play chicken with each other. (It's making me shake now just typing this) So of we screech, horn honking, wheels spining, music full
blast, Ramean jigging away and beaming a huge smile in the mirror. I try not to look at him as I don't want him distracted from the road, but it's hard
as I don't want to appear rude.

After several scrapes to both side of the car and numerous near misses with pedestrians (he must have killed someone. I wanted to ask him but my Arabic
and his English wasn't up to the conversation) We hit the main road at high speed, down this ramp thing hitting no. 12 on the near death experience!!! and proceed to pelt up the road.

The road has 3 bridges at regular intervals. Each bridge is clearly marked with a 4ft blue arrow pointing which way to go. Ramean ignores them and goes straight for the middle one, which would be ok except the cars coming in the opposite direction were doing the same thing. It's some kind of male
egotistical thing. Another dent was put in the car.

By this time I have abondened my seat belt as I'd worked out if I held onto the seats in front with a vice like grip and sat in the middle the chances
of impact and survival would be far higher.

We then approached the main, main road, the big one. We pulled up at a junction maned by the police. Ramean is already honking on the horn like a crazed lunatic as he'd had to stop for more than a nano second and was starting to inch forward into the traffic, while hurling what sounded like abuse at the copper, when disaster struck. The copper saunters over to a mango shack for his morning juice drink leaving us waiting against a constant stream of traffic.

I could see Ramean was so frustrated and indignant that that should happen and I knew I was in trouble when he put on his seat belt. i was like 'OH MY
GOD, do I put on mine or stay where i am. I decided it was safer in the middle.

Ramean then did a suicidal leap straight into the stream of traffic, causing absolute mayhem. How we managed to not impact anything I don't know. My
angel was looking over me that day that's for sure. For the remainder of the journey I closed my eyes. I think I'm getting a jist of where the Arabs praying on the plane were coming from.

Gets to the airport, shaking and white. I then had to shove my way through piles of luggage, boxes, packages and people to check for the flight. I
got the plane which was great, maybe I should thank Ramean after all.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Lots of travel experiences.

Countries I’ve Visited

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cabo Verde, Chile, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Montserrat, Morocco, Netherlands Antilles, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Réunion, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Virgin Islands, British, Yemen

Countries I’ve Lived In

Antigua and Barbuda, Croatia, France, Italy, United Kingdom

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