09May 2020 by The Mahojos No Comments
10 things we’ve appreciated about Coronavirus lockdown

10 things we’ve appreciated about Coronavirus lockdown

Latest posts
Since the middle of March 2020 we've all been under government restrictions to try and stop the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. This situation was so alien at first, but it's surprising how quickly we've all adapted. Despite losing our freedom to travel and socialise with others, we've reflected on some of the good things to come out of this strange way of living. 1. Slowing Down One thing we noticed straight away was that our lives really slowed down. We noticed this more during the weekends. Normally, we'd be rushing around trying to cram as many chores as possible into the short time off work. But now, we truly value the time we have and don't feel as much pressure to put the time to good use. We're even…
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26Apr 2020 by The Mahojos No Comments
We’ve joined a house sitting website!

We’ve joined a house sitting website!

Campervan, Latest posts
In the middle of the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic, and with nowhere to go, we've joined a house sitting website. Why? Read on! Planning for the future When the lockdown restrictions of 2020 are eventually lifted, we can't wait to get travelling again. Our plans to go and watch Le Tour de France this year are ruined, but we're already looking forward to new adventures through house sitting. Doing a good deed We've done some house sitting for friends in the past and have really enjoyed the experience. The people that we've helped have got pets, so rather than put them into kennels or find a pet sitter, they asked us to house sit. It was great for us as it meant that we got a little break in a different…
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14Mar 2020 by The Mahojos No Comments
How to write your own paperback book

How to write your own paperback book

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Thinking about writing your own paperback book? Got an idea for a novel or a non-fiction story? Our short guide includes practical tips on how we self-published our own paperback - read on! Before we start, this guide is relevant to self-publishing a paperback in the UK. There may be different guidelines for where you live so bear that in mind. Start writing Our book 'Two Wheels to Chamonix' took about a year to write, but it started by just opening a Word document and typing out a title. Close to 40,000 words later, it was finished. Along the way, there were lots of self-doubt thoughts such as 'will it be good enough? will anyone want to read it? will anyone buy it?'. With lots of determination and editing, it…
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10Mar 2020 by The Mahojos No Comments
Storm Dennis and Pontypridd Floods

Storm Dennis and Pontypridd Floods

Events, Latest posts
In the early hours of 16th February 2020 the River Taf in Pontypridd flooded. No-one expected the river to flood in the way it did. Over 1000+ homes and businesses were affected when the river rose to a new record height of 5.5 metres at around 5am. We knew things were going bad when the river flooded into the street at 2:30am. Just past 4am we were hastily tying our car onto a metal fence to stop it from washing away. Luckily, our home wasn't affected. But many of our neighbours were. Storm Ciara the week before, closely followed by Storm Dennis, brought an incredible amount of rain to the area. With the ground already saturated, there was nowhere else for the rain to go except down river. Watch our…
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22Feb 2020 by The Mahojos No Comments
5 incredible crime documentaries on Netflix

5 incredible crime documentaries on Netflix

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Looking for something new to watch on Netflix? Here's our top five recommendations for real crime documentaries! 1. Don't F**k With Cats Is it about cats? Kind of. Is it about crime? 100% yes. Don't let the quirky title of this Netflix crime documentary fool you. This three part series will leave you in shock as to how this gruesome story unfolds. It starts with a video of a cat, and ends with a two year chase for a twisted killer. Each episode is one hour each, so it's rated high on the binge chart! “Some of these stories will blow you away” - The MahoJos 2. Making a Murderer You've probably heard various stories about innocent people being convicted of crimes. This story is no exception. Or is it?…
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08Feb 2020 by The Mahojos No Comments
5 top tips for Holiday Car Hire

5 top tips for Holiday Car Hire

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Do you find hiring a car for your holiday a little bit confusing when it comes to the costs? Here are our top tips based on our experience of hiring a car in Portugal... Don't get sucked in to paying additional insurance! You shop around, find a good deal, click to reserve, then you see this: Damage Excess: 1,300.00€ Theft Protection Excess: 1,300.00€ How much?!?! No one wants to have an excess that steep do they? So this is where the car hire companies lure you into buying their 'vehicle cover' to either reduce or remove the excess. One car hire company wanted a further £128 from us for 7 days hire...no thanks! BUT there is another option - you can buy something called 'Car Hire Excess Insurance'. We read…
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24Jan 2020 by The Mahojos No Comments
Three reasons to move to Portugal

Three reasons to move to Portugal

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'The grass is greener on the other side' or so the saying goes. After spending a week in central Portugal, we've taken some time to reflect on whether it would be a good place to put roots down in the future... Our reason for visiting the little town of Góis was to catch up with a family member who has recently moved there. Ellie has been living in Portugal for six months now, so it was a good excuse to go and visit to see what Portuguese life is like. The cost of living is LOW in Portugal First example - Toll Roads: One thing that surprised us almost straight away as we sped down the motorway from Porto was the cost of the toll roads. Having been used to…
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09Aug 2019 by The Mahojos No Comments
The day we did Via Ferrata – and lived to tell the tale

The day we did Via Ferrata – and lived to tell the tale

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It was summer 2017 and we were visiting Chamonix in the French Alps looking for a new adventure activity to try....that's when we came across 'Via Ferrata'... We hadn't heard of Via Ferrata before but after picking up a leaflet in the Tourist Information centre and Googling what it involved, we thought it would be fun to give it a go. It turned out to be one of those activities that looks good on paper, but truly tests your courage when you're actually doing it. Via Ferrata can be roughly translated to 'iron road'. It describes the activity of climbing along a pre-determined route up, or along a cliff, that follows a steel cable. You wear a climbing harness with a couple of 'leashes' on them which are clipped to…
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19Jul 2019 by The Mahojos No Comments
Le Tour de France – five reasons to go and watch it

Le Tour de France – five reasons to go and watch it

Campervan, Cycling, Latest posts
Ugh, we've been back from France for 5 days and it feels like a lifetime! One thing we're missing is following Le Tour de France. If you've been thinking about going over to France to catch some stages, here are our 5 top reasons to go... Seeing different parts of France The route for Le Tour is different every year. In the two times we've followed Le Tour, we've seen two stages in the French Alps and two in north Eastern France. We've wild camped at the side of the road near beautiful little towns and villages, meaning that we're exploring parts of France that we'd never normally see. Experiencing 'The Caravan' About two hours before all the riders sweep past, the sponsors 'caravan' speeds by which is a sight…
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