Goodbye beer in Madeira

I have now arrived in Las Palmas and have met up with my twin brother. It is so nice to see him again after so long.
We will be sailing off sometime this weekend for Gambia which should take about a week and then I will set off on my new biking venture.

Yesterday was my farewell party in Moynihans Irish bar in Funchal, with my work colleagues from the Savoy Hotel in Madeira. It is not so often that you meet so many nice and sometimes crazy people in the same place. I had such a nice time working there and found myself among a lot of new friends. Everyone there were so nice. They were from a variety of previous professions from doctors, artists, an ex bank boss, even a millonaire, all of who now work there for fun.....and money of course! As well as them there are people who don't like their own country very much, adventurers, ex army who have fought in Iraq, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone as well as people who have some health problems. Right combination so that you can imagine that all of the time it was interesting and fun times. They are really nice people who I will miss immensely and remember fondly during my travels.


Rune Rørtveit from

Norway











Guy Barlow,

my boss from

England










Katrijn from
Belgium, very lovely lady and good friend.



Mark from
England who helps me with
my English now and during my travels.







Doctor Anna and
artist Moud from Sweden.








Alodora and Celina from
Madeira.







Jose from Madeira











Tom from America

Bernard from

Belgium

Leave for Africa 14/03/08

I start my next adventure 14th March where I'll be biking through Gambia, S. Africa and Egypt. I will be meeting up with my brother again in Las Palmas where we are going to sail to Gambia. Many people have tried to persuade me not to go because of the dangers awaiting such as, snakes, poisonous spiders not to mention bigger stuff like lions, elephants, hippos, water buffalo etc etc. Besides that there is always the threat of malaria, dysentry and viruses. As well as that there is of course, people, like guerrilla and child soldiers etc. etc.

Lion (photo: not me)

Black Mamba (photo:not me)

Meet Vikingbiker at Classic Savoy Hotel.

Through this I would like to invite you to the Classic Savoy Hotel on Madeira where I will tell you about my adventures through South , Central and North America which I toured on my mountain bike.

These are featured with pictures and a documentary movie.

In the beginning of March I will start my new adventure travelling throughout Africa.



Rune Monstad

Work in Madeira.

Madeira

Madeira.


I will be here in Madeira for a while and working to have money for my next adventure in Africa. I am working in a pub as well as the famous Savoy Hotel, but is very bad pay here. I am trying out different jobsk and see how it goes.
Now I live on my brothers boat and it is a nice life. Madeira is so beautiful and I have met a lot of Norwegian people.
My friend Kristina, who comes from Seattle in the USA, sadly is in very bad health suffering from bone cancer and will have to go to hospital next week and it will take about one year before she is good again. Lets hope everything will be fine.
I will update my blog once a month now, since I'm not biking. But I want to bike again very soon.