Itchy Boots Season 8 UK Break: England, Wales, and Scotland

 In my last post about Itchy Boots, I announced a short break while she was on a book tour in the UK. She did indeed do a small series about her ride there. I found it delightful! I often read books based in the UK so it was exciting to see these areas from Noraly's perspective. Even though she is Dutch and has traveled to multiple countries all over the world, she had never explored the UK. While this wasn't a vast exploration of everything, she did show us some interesting sights.

June 15, 21, 22, 25, and 29 we watched episodes that took us to England and Wales.

Noraly experienced her first Sunday roast, left her book in a few places (like in Oxford, at a few free book markets, inside red telephone booths turned free libraries), signed copies of her book in bookstores; took us to the white cliffs of Dover; road around with Charley Boorman; exclaimed over the beauty and cuteness of the English countryside and the Cotswolds,  The bike she's using (a more-modern and powerful Yamaha than Frankie) was stolen and thankfully recovered in Wales.  Weird fact: her bikes had never been stolen in all the seasons before (that we know of), but they have been stolen twice this season, once in Iraq and once in Wales.

July 2, 9, 13, 16, 19 (2 episodes), and 26 we saw a bit more of England and several places in Scotland

Noraly showed us Bristol where she studied for a time while getting her Master's degree, and there she did a short Banksy street-art tour. She found a working telephone in one of those red booths, and got change from a local lady so she could call her friends. The call was expensive, but she was happy to get the chance to call. She went on to Devon and Dartmoor which were lovely!  She showed us a bit of the Lake District and then was off to Scotland. She got a new drone in Glasgow, and then went to the Highlands where we saw lovely landscapes and she stayed overnight at castles. She went to the Isle of Skye, saw a pine marten, looked at Loch Ness and saw beautiful fields of flowers. I like that she bought a stuffed Highland cow at one of the shops as I rarely see her buy souvenirs. 

She told us at the end that she had traveled 3,400 miles in about 3 weeks. She did book signings and spoke at a motorcycle rally.  Now she's going to reunite with her motorcycle and should be back on her YouTube channel in a week or two. 

Super fun fact: my long-time blogger/Facebook friend Sarah lives in Edinburgh, and she knew about Itchy Boots from posts I shared on Facebook a few years ago. She went to her book signing and met Noraly!  She first posted about it on her Facebook page, and then mentioned it on her blog.  

Itchy Boots Season 8: Iran to the UAE

 Here are some notes from this season's adventures which so far have been in the Middle East

See this link for notes from the beginning of Season 8

January 8, 12, 15, 19, 22, 26, 29

We watched episodes 26-32 which took place in Iran and Iraq

Noraly was given the wrong stamp so she wasn't able to get out of Iran right away. Mohammed helped guide her for hours sorting things, and she even stayed with him and his mom overnight. She explored with Mohammed who showed her where Sadaam had hidden at one point from the Americans. (eps. 28) I enjoyed the tour of Baghdad with Aya, a lady who does tours and advertises her business on Instagram. It was interesting seeing Babylon, Saddam's palace, holy sites and Ali's shrine. I enjoyed her visit to Ur, seeing the ziggurats and seeing her interact with lots of nice people. In episode 32 Abu Haider sang to her and she met Marsh Arabs who live where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet. 

February 2, 5, 10, 12, 16, 19, 24, 26, 

We watched episodes 33-40 which took place in Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia 

Noraly was able to get Frankie fixed, and I greatly enjoyed her ride in the wadi in Saudi Arabia. It was unlike anything I imagined that country looked like! She met Sandra and Fiona who have their own social media channel, we saw lovely rocky mountains and a volcano in the desert. I love the sweet groups of men and women who helped carry luggage, fed her in the rough terrain, and kids popping their heads out of the cars (see eps. 39).  

March 2, 5, 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, 26, 30

We watched episodes 41-49  which took place in Saudi Arabia 

There was a mirrored building and Nabatean tombs, and she met a Scottish lady walking with a local guide and two camels, Juicy and Lula. That lady is walking north to south in the country.  She showed us a coral house along the Red Sea and yellow grasshoppers near Medina. She saw a car on fire and had her own mechanical issues, but had very nice people helping her. 

April 2, 6, 10, 13, 16, 20, 25, 29, 30

We watched episodes 50-58 which took place in Saudi Arabia and Yemen 

Noraly flew into Yemen - a part where the Houthis were not getting bombed. She couldn't have her own motor bike there, but borrowed a variety of Chinese bikes from locals. She had a  required guide, tried khat, and showed us mud-brick skyscrapers. The men often had daggers and guns and she had to wear an abaya while riding her bike in certain places.  Much of her time in Yemen was actually riding on an island named Socotra. There we saw caves, nice pools and dragon blood trees.

May 4, 8, 11, 16, 20, 24, 25

We watched episodes 59-65 which took place in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates

In Socotra, she went on a boat and saw lots of dolphins. She also met a man, who often lives in a cave, catching fish with his hands!  She flew back to Saudi Arabia where she rode through a beautiful wadi, did some climbing, and heard yelling monkeys. She tried camel meat, rode through some of the Empty Quarter showing us a narrow "hidden" canyon and pigeon houses. She took us through parts of Riyadh where she lamented the traffic and watched Captain America at a super-fancy cinema. She watched the movie while waiting a couple of hours for the sky bridge to open at 4 PM.   She went to Dubai where she announced a break on the channel as the first leg had ended. She's going to the UK as part of her book tour. Her book was published this year in English in the US, UK, and Australia. Based on what she said, I think she'll do a mini-series of some sort during this break. 

Last year at this time, she had had her accident in Africa and was recovering back home.

Itchy Boots Season 8: Bike Building in Germany to the Border of Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran

 I haven't written about Itchy Boots' adventurers since Season 7 ended in Africa. She took a few months off to heal from her surgery, and in late September, she started posting videos again to her YouTube channel.  I decided to post this about her first 25 episodes of Season 8. 

2024 

September 29; October 6, 13, 20

We watched episodes 1-4 which were in Germany and the Netherlands

Noraly was in Germany showing us her new bike which is actually a 1987 Yamaha which Moritz and his mechanics custom-made for her.  1987 is special to Noraly because that's the year she was born. In the second episode we learned the bike's name, Frankie, because she is a bit of a Frankenstein.  This section wasn't my favorite as I'm not a huge motorcycle person and prefer Noraly traveling to showing off the new bike, but I know she was eager to get this season started after her channel was idle for over four months.

October 27, 30

We watched episodes 5 and 6 which were in Turkey.

Noraly rode from European Turkey into Asian Turkey. I enjoyed seeing the flamingos, the lake, mountains, and trout farms.

November 3,6, 10, 13, 17, 20, 24, 27

We watched episodes 7-14 which were in Turkey

I enjoyed the historical and cultural aspects, seeing a Roman amphitheatre, the city of Konya, Rumi's grave, and a whirling dervish performance. I also enjoyed little girls who were saying "bye" like a southerner (in my opinion) and "I love you" (eps. 9). It was interesting to see underground cities and an abandoned village in Cappadocia (eps. 11), and watching Noraly ride through many tunnels along the Euphrates River to a city on the Black Sea (eps. 13). 

December 1, 4, 9, 11, 15, 18, 21, 25, 29

We watched episodes 15-23 which were in Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan

I enjoyed her interaction with the locals in many of these episodes. In Kurdistan, it was interesting to see the monastery as well as the Yazidi temple. (eps. 19). I was amused by Muhammad trying to interest Noraly in his 18 year old son, and I enjoyed that she was able to give them a gift of honey after they were so hospitable to her (eps. 20).  While Noraly had a great time in Kurdistan, unfortunately, her bike was stolen in Erbil for a bit, and the thieves cut several wires which made the electrical part of her bike unworkable. Because this bike can also be kickstarted, it came in handy that it was an older bike with that option until she can get it fixed (eps. 22). 

2025

January 1, 5

We watched episodes 24 and 25 which took place in Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran

As she started for the Iranian border, she discovered she had left her passport at the hotel. Thankfully she wasn't terribly far away so she could go back and get it. A man there reminded her she needed a hijab to use while in Iran so she purchased a scarf. (eps. 24).  The reason she is headed to Iran is so she can, hopefully, enter Federal Iraq. Apparently she can't go directly from the Kurdish region into the non-Kurdish region so she's going into Iran to sort out the visa so she can explore another part of Iraq. She's hoping to get Frankie fixed in Baghdad.  It was interesting to see the border crossing: the helpful people and the ones warning her about petrol smugglers.  Also, a nice customs official left a bag of oranges on her motorcycle while she was in the hotel (eps. 25.)

Itchy Boots Season 7 ENDS: Central African Republic to the Netherlands

 

When I posted about Itchy Boots' adventures in early February, she was in the Central African Republic. Since then she made her way across several other countries, and finally concluded her ride, but not in the way anyone hoped.  Here is the final post about her trip.

February 5, 7, 11, 14, 18, 21, 15, 28

We watched episodes 79-86 which were in the Central African Republic, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, and Angola

While crossing a river in the dark, Alaska fell in the water. A mechanic took 3 or 4 hours to fix it in the dark. (ep. 80)

Interesting to see Noraly wait over an hour for gas and for her to ride on the nice Chinese-built road (ep. 81).  In order to avoid the Democratic Republic of Congo, Noraly sailed around it into Angola which was very nice and had cheap gas.  In Angola, her motorcycle got a nice service.  Noraly enjoyed how the locals called her amiga, but felt old when the kids called her tia even though she said she was an "auntie." (ep. 84). Angola is a lovely country with a huge waterfall especially in this rainy season, and a rushing river.

March 3, 6, 10, 13, 18, 20, 24, 27, 31

We watched episodes 87-95 which were in Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Ethiopia (airport and hotel only), and Madagascar

Noraly was frightened to be caught in a thunderstorm with lots of lightning, but in the next episode she continued on to the border with Zambia crossing some sketchy wooden bridges. We laughed at pigs enjoying the mud puddles in the middle of the road. She also rode through thick sand before reaching the border (ep. 88).

I enjoyed the nice people in Lusaka (ep. 90) and the wild animals on the safari in Zambia (ep. 91). Noraly decided to fly to Madagascar where she rented a KTM Enduro bike in order to explore some of the paths. She also took along a guide, Didier, for most of this visit. There were many rough roads, but the scenery was pretty. She mentioned being there during hurricane or cyclone season.  

April 3, 7, 10, 17, 21, 27, 28

We watched episodes 96-103 which were in Madagascar

During a nighttime forest walk, we saw some lemurs and giant snails. (ep. 96). Noraly's Enduro bike did well in the sand, but her guide had a Chinese bike which made the trails tough, and he ended up falling quite a bit.  (I read a comment that he was given that bike because all of the other Enduro bikes were rented for an event taking place around this time.)  I enjoyed the children Noraly saw around episode 100, and absolutely loved her time with the fishermen and videoing them underwater (ep. 101).  In episode 102, Noraly traded bikes to a vintage African Twin due to her being more on tarmac as she rode towards the capital. Also, she said goodbye to Didier who guided her throughout her Madagascar adventure near the western areas.

May 1, 5, 8, 12, 15, 19, 22

We watched episodes 104-110 which were in Madagascar, Malawi, Tanzania, and the Netherlands

Noraly declared Madagascar to be one of her top 5 countries after having visited over 100. She ended her time there with food poisoning that left her racing for her destination in order to leave the country. Back in Malawi, she was reunited with her bike, Alaska, and we saw beautiful views and a huge lake. She was also able to meet up with her best friend Mandy who was visiting Malawi at the time. Unfortunately Noraly left her rain jacket at the last place she stayed, and because the roads were tricky, she decided to not go back for it. One day she saw local college students out fixing the road (ep. 108). 

 

Unfortunately in Tanzania, something happened that caused her trip to end abruptly. She was going to tour Tanzania and end her journey in Kenya, but things didn't go as planned (episode 109.)  In the final episode she told everyone about her rescue, leaving Tanzania, and her surgery and recovery prospects. The surgeon punctured her lung during surgery and they didn't realize it so she's also dealing with a collapsed lung.  Note to self: the x-ray in Tanzania indicated that her crash was on April 17th. Based on other things she said, I think her surgery was in early May.  It was rather emotional seeing Alaska loaded up. Noraly has already said she is getting a new bike for her next adventure. Alaska carried her through many states, provinces, and countries. 

 

 

I really enjoyed her time in Africa, and look forward to seeing where she goes next!  I hope she rests this summer and heals, and we'll see her on YouTube again in coming months.

Itchy Boots Season 6 Notes Finished (Mexico to Alaska)

 

See the first part of Season 6, here

August 12, 2023

watched episodes 84-86 which take place in Mexico

Pretty mountain roads, tunnels under the streets and cool temples.

August 26

watched episodes 87-88 which take place in Mexico

Red dunes, the gorge, and mountains

September 4

watched episodes 89-90 which take place in Mexico

I love her reference to being too Dutch re: time when the parking lot is supposed to open at 8 in the morning, and she's still waiting several minutes later.

September 5

watched episodes 91-92 which take place in Mexico

Noraly visited people who lived in a cave, I laughed at the escape dog when she was trying to leave the guesthouse, and enjoyed learning about the zone of silence.

September 8

watched episodes 93-94 which take place in Mexico

Riding through Copper Canyon, cartel area, which had some lovely mountain views and friendly people in the towns.

September 23

watched episodes 95-97 which take place in Mexico

Ferry ride to Baja California and riding in the desert

October 7

watched episodes 98-99 which take place in Mexico

October 8

watched episodes 100-101 which take place in Mexico and USA

Border crossing and riding through the desert in California; I like that one of the border guards recognized her; he said his father in law watches [her] all the time!

October 20

watched episodes 102-104 which take place in USA (California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah)

It was funny seeing her riding with the train; she comments on the long trains, big cars and roads and portions; Noraly rode through Las Vegas; Later she was hurt on a steep hill so Ed from C90 adventures picked her and Alaska up and took them to his house in Moab, Utah, so she could recover for a few days.

November 7

watched episode 105-107 which take place in USA (Utah and Colorado)

She went in a side by side with Ed mostly in Moab while her ankle healed

November 16

watched episodes 108-110 which take place in USA (Colorado)

November 27

watched episodes 111-113 which take place in USA (Colorado and Wyoming)

She visited a town called Nederland where she found out about the Frozen Dead Guy Festival and told that story; she was surprised by a snow storm.  In Wyoming, she loved seeing bison.

December 5

watched episodes 114-116 which take place in the US (Wyoming and Montana)

Great look at the Tetons and part of Yellowstone

December 8

watched episodes 117-119 which take place in the US (Montana and Idaho)

Here Noraly met Roger with his chain saw

December 11

watched episodes 120-122 which take place in the US (Idaho) and Canada

Noraly crosses from the US into Canada (Creston) and sees the glaciers

December 12

watched episodes 123-124 which take place in Canada

Noraly visited some indigenous people and saw buildings dealing with the fur trade. She was also part of chicken and duck races - ha.

December 14

watched episodes 125-127 which take place in Canada

Noraly visited Haida Gwaii islands and did some beach hiking

December 18

watched episodes 128-129 which take place in Canada

Boat tour of Haida Gwaii islands: totems, sea creatures, hot springs.

December 19

watched episodes 130-131 which take place in Canada and the US (Alaska)

First Nations; Hyderized; ice sea and glacier

2024

January 1

watched episodes 132-133 which take place in Canada

She went to a remote area of British Columbia with pretty views

January 5

watched episodes 134-136 which take place in Canada and the United States (Alaska)

Noraly visited the Red Onion brothel, took a ferry to Haines (I've read books from a lady who lives there), and she commented on motorhomes she saw along the way.

January 16

watched episodes 137-139 which take place in Canada

I enjoyed the silver trail museum, learning about the gold trail, Klondike River and Bonanza Creek. Meeting some of the people who work in that area including a family and a twenty-year old miner; even Noraly panned for gold. Whew, there are some huge mosquitos there!

January 19

watched episodes 140-141 which take place in Canada and the US

She followed a tradition of blowing up her panties, and found a British motorcycle gang who helped with a fork seal.

February 9

watched episodes 142-144 which take place in the US (Alaska)

Great tour of an abandoned copper mine and walk on a glacier. Met Bill the mechanic.

February 12

watched episodes 145-147 which take place in the US (Alaska)

Noraly stayed with Bill and wife, toured Cabela's and was amazed by all the stuffed animals and guns

February 20

watched episodes 148 and the first part of The Movie which take place in the US (Alaska) and recap her adventure

February 21

watched the rest of The Movie which is a recap of her adventure plus her plunge into Prudhoe Bay, Alaska ; great season!

A reminder about this journey to Alaska:

At the end of the movie, Noraly mentions that she started her journey on October 1, 2019 and ended it on August 11, 2022 when she reached the Arctic Ocean. (Remember that her journey was interrupted due to the covid-19 pandemic). She traveled 65,000 kilometers and went through 18 countries.

See more about my Itchy Boots watching, here.

Itchy Boots Season 7: Benin to the Central African Republic

 

Not terribly long after Noraly's break from Africa in which she traveled a bit more and managed to break a bone in her hand, she was back posting her twice-weekly videos. She started in Benin where her motorcycle Alaska had been waiting all these weeks. Noraly acknowledged that she'd left Alaska longer than she had wanted, and it wasn't a good idea to leave a bike that long. She showed where rust had formed on Alaska because the bike had been left in a humid climate. Thankfully she was able to get most of that off, and told us Alaska started immediately!  That bike took her through parts of South and Central America, and from Mexico up to Alaska before Noraly shipped her to Spain for this adventure in Africa. So, Alaska has been through a lot. In her recent (January 2024) newsletter/email Noraly said she was looking for a new bike for when she starts a new trip later this year.

In the meantime, Morocco and West Africa has morphed to Return to Africa on her YouTube channel. Here's the last couple of months!

December 3, 6, 10, 13, 17, 20, 24, 27, 31

We watched episodes 61-69 which were in Benin, Nigeria, and Cameroon

In these videos, she got a huge stack of money when she traded in her dollars and CFAs as the Nigerian money "is not doing well."  She started this return with a Live Chat with other subscribers (our first time joining a live chat). She noted few helmets were used in the part of Nigeria she was in which was strange since they had been required in Benin. Nigeria had so many checkpoints, many of which were sketchy so she didn't stop for them unless they seemed official, or it was just not possible to continue.  The locals used tree branches to block parts of the road.  In one episode she crossed the Niger River in a ferry. Nigerians on YouTube and Facebook said they use a bridge and didn't know you could ferry across. Also, some Nigerians wondered why she used these terrible roads instead of the main roads.  (She likes backroads usually so she might have chosen them instead of ones she thought were busier. Then again, her GPS might have taken her along these routes.)   One interesting thing to me (ep. 63) was seeing the locals dry the grain by placing it on the streets.

Noraly went to the capital Abuja to sort her visa to Cameroon. She seemed to really like this capital as she said it was laid-back, and not like those she's typically encountered. She also seemed to enjoy having running water and electricity. I think she stayed there a few days to do some work and rest up as she seemed better-rested when the videos resumed.

Episodes 65 and 66 were my favorite in Nigeria as the mountains were so pretty, the locals were friendly and she interacted with them more (or showed it more than some past videos where she just struggled to ride the bike on muddy roads.)   (Note: my mom grew up in Nigeria and her youngest brother was born there so my mom would point out things that were familiar to her. She said this mountainous region was similar to where she attended boarding school at Kent Academy.)

In episode 67 Noraly made it into Cameroon. She noted that she used this particular border crossing because other crossings were closed to foreigners due to rebel activity.  In Cameroon she has done more sightseeing which I enjoy. She admitted skipping this in Nigeria because of security issues in that country.  She visited a snake and spider museum and got instructed on how they make bronze statues.  She also visited a waterfall that was gushing water after many recent rains. We got tickled at the local who said the lake area directions. Something like "take this bad road, and the next bad road and then..."  And, yeah, there were some bad roads, but that lake area was gorgeous!

2024

January 3, 7, 10, 14, 17, 21, 24, 28, 31

We watched episodes 70-78 which were in Cameroon and the Central African Republic

Such muddy, horribly rutted roads! Noraly dropped her bike, lost a mirror and half her windshield in Cameroon, but met kind people who helped her along the way. I enjoyed seeing the sunset at the beach and her night-time turtle patrol (ep. 72.)

In episode 73, I loved the church ladies singing in the road and Noraly's time in the capital. Yay for pizza! Also notable was her search for petrol and those huge rain drops!

Loved her riding with the cattle and something notable were those toll detours (ep. 74).

I loved the military guys taking pictures with Alaska at the border of Cameroon and CAR. Yikes, a broken start button and quickly approaching nightfall: thank goodness she stopped and found shelter with the villagers. Really great episodes in CAR! (see #75-76)

Forest elephants at their mineral-rich watering hole. Noraly counted over 100 of them! So pretty! Then in the next video, we see western lowland gorillas in the wild - fascinating!  I love the people.  (ep. 77-78).

One of my favorites (paraphrased)... When Noraly was walking down the path to see the elephants, she noted footprints several times. 

She asked her guides: Do you ever see elephants when you are on the paths.

Uh, yeaaah...

What do you do?

Hide behind a tree.

Love that.

Itchy Boots: Andorra, Croatia, India (Season 7 Break from Africa)

 

Three months ago, Itchy Boots informed viewers that she was leaving West Africa. If you are interested in her reasons, see the bottom of this post. She also left her motorcycle, Alaska.

In the meantime, she used some other motorcycles and visited a few places in order to improve her riding skills. 

In the episodes we watched on September 3 and 10th, she rode with Charly, Killian, and Roel in Spain and Andorra; they took us through some towns among the Pyrenees.

Later that month on the 17th and 24th, Noraly was in the Dinaric Rally in Croatia. Unfortunately her rally came to an end when she got off course among tall grasses, flipped in a ditch, and broke her hand.

In October, she started a mini-series called Return to India. She was testing a new pre-production Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle.  We watched October 11, 15, 18, 23, 26, and 29 as well as November 1, 5, 8, 13, 16, 19, 22, and 26 as she showed us many interesting sights in India! She loves India and has been there several times, but had never done a proper series there. She only did a fraction of this lovely country, high in the Himalayas near the borders of Pakistan and China; along a lake which is partly in China; she attended a wedding; rode quite a while in a military convoy; stayed in a houseboat; showed us the floating market; went to a temple where they worship rats (I really hated this place); visited the blue city; went to a temple where a motorcycle is a deity of sorts; I loved the tour guide Kuki and the people she met while with him; I enjoyed the people she met along the way and the animals she saw. It was really cool seeing elephants and camels and buffalo along the road.

In the final episode she rode back to Delhi to return the bike after giving a review. Her first season she had a Royal Enfield named Basanti so she compared the two.

She said after a short break, we should soon see videos from Africa again!

Itchy Boots Season 7: Sierra Leone to Benin; Time to leave West Africa for now

 

Yesterday, August 27, Itchy Boots announced that she was finishing her West Africa adventure - for now - due to three reasons so I wanted to record the episodes from Season 7 since I last wrote about them.  In my last post about this season, I went from February 15 through June 21 videos.  Here are the rest.

June 28

We watched episode 43 which was in Sierra Leone

July 2, 7, 9, 13, 17, 21, 23, 26, 30

We watched episodes 44-52 which were in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the Ivory Coast

In Sierra Leone, I enjoyed the episode on blood diamonds. When Noraly got to Liberia, the main road was so deep in mud that huge trucks were stuck there for weeks. A local guy rode Alaska through some of the mud, but the process was so tough that it burned her clutch plates so she was unable to change gears. She tried to make it to a new town, but Alaska was having none of it so a nice guy named Prince towed her bike with his own smaller bike (ep. 50). Soon after Noraly had her bike towed to the border with Ivory Coast, and then loaded her motorcycle on a truck to be taken to Abidjan where mechanics worked on Alaska's issues. Riding in Africa was tough on her bike!  Sadly, Noraly didn't explore Ivory Coast much due to these issues so I was a bit disappointed in that. Also, she had a bad experience with an official there demanding bribes.

August 3, 7, 10, 13, 18, 20, 23, 27

We watched episodes 53-60 which were in the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, and Benin

I really enjoyed seeing Ghana as I have friends who have lived in this country. There we saw a stilt village, tree bridges, gold mines, a lake, and lovely mountain views!  In creepier news, she was called Sweet Angel by a boat captain who then talked about his wife. She did an episode about scarification, meeting a king in Benin (she took him some whiskey and had to bow many many times). The final episode included a local showing her their palm oil production and a lady making pots to sell at the market.  Then, of course, she told us why she was taking a break from West Africa.

1. She needs to get her visa for Nigeria, the next country, which is tougher to get for some reason. She thought she would have an easier time in Europe.

2. The rains had become heavier and she needed to wait until some of that was over as the roads were tough when they became muddy.

3. Health reasons: she is taking anti-malaria medicine that isn't good to take for long periods of time.

She said she had some other adventures planned so the channel should have some content so we'll see about that.

Itchy Boots Season 6 Notes So Far (Ecuador to Mexico)

 

I decided to post these notes even though we are still watching Season 6.

I was first introduced to Itchy Boots when she was well into Season 6. Andrew started watching Noraly's adventures a few weeks before I started getting interested, but I didn't see her until she was already in the United States.

After Season 6 wrapped up, we started watching past seasons which I've blogged about in recent months. Eventually we got to Season 6 which is where Noraly attempts to complete her journey from Season 2 which was interrupted by the pandemic.

When last we saw her in the Americas, she was stuck in Peru and finally repatriated to the Netherlands. Unfortunately when she started this new adventure, Peru was still closed (though it opened about the time she came back to South America), so she made plans to begin her Season 6 adventure in Ecuador.

April 30, 2023

watched episodes 1-4 which take place in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Ecuador

Itchy Boots shows us her buying Alaska (her new Honda motorcycle), a tour of the Revit place, how her helmet was designed in the Netherlands. She went to the UK to ship her bike, and then she's in Ecuador on her way to pick up Alaska from customs. Getting her bike out of customs took seven hours with a helper. 

May 11

watched episodes 5-7 which take place in Ecuador

May 13

watched episodes 8-11 which take place in Ecuador

I enjoyed seeing the people in the small towns, markets, and the Inca ruins.

May 14

watched episodes 12-13 which take place in Ecuador

May 19

watched episodes 14-17 which take place in Ecuador

She stayed with an Amazonian family and crossed a cable car over the Amazon River

May 26

watched episodes 18-21 which take place in Ecuador and Colombia

More great adventures

May 30

watched episodes 22-24 which take place in Colombia

June 2

watched episodes 25-27 which take place in Colombia and Panama

Due to the season of rough-water crossing, Noraly decides to leave Colombia though she has much more she could explore there. Instead she takes a three-day border crossing which includes a long boat ride around the Darien Gap. She said she hiked through this region about ten years ago, but the interior doesn't have roads for Alaska so she chose to take herself and Alaska around much of this region by boat.

June 4

watched episodes 28-29 which take place in Panama

After Noraly just makes it in time to get her temporary import permit in a city she doesn't want to stay in overnight, she arrives in Panama City where she does want to stay. I really enjoyed watching a couple of ships go through the Panama Canal plus learning some of the history about the place and seeing the Old Town and the modern side.

June 6

watched episodes 30-32 which take place in Panama

I have loved the views and people while Noraly travels through Panama!

June 7

watched episodes 33-34 which take place in Panama

Mountains and beach views!

June 9

watched episodes 35-37 which take place in Panama and Costa Rica

I really enjoyed the river travel and visit with the Naso people. I love the humor of the people in these Central American countries. Noraly gets a tour of a local "milking farm" in such a beautiful volcanic region!

June 11

watched episode 38 which takes place in Costa Rica

Lovely view of a crater with toxic water.

June 12

watched episodes 39-40 which take place in Costa Rica

Noraly broke one of her cameras and laptop during a fall.

June 15

watched episodes 41-42 which take place in Costa Rica and Nicaragua

Lots of travel by boat!

June 16

watched episodes 43-45 which take place in Nicaragua

I enjoyed her showing us the variety of fruit growing on the property of the guest house. Her travels on the river were great. We were amazed how the men caught supper (iguanas from high in the tree!) and laughed when Noraly mentioned someone walking their pig "as one does."  Also it was funny when she was waiting to load Alaska on a boat, and a couple of pigs laid down under the motorcycle to enjoy the shade.

June 18

watched episodes 46-47 which take place in Nicaragua

I enjoyed her visit with the native people and their hike in the jungle.

June 19

watched episodes 48-50 which take place in Nicaragua

An interesting tour of a gold mine and a fun trip with Noraly who went boarding down a volcano -- wheeeee!

June 20

watched her Live from Central America video which was from March 23, 2022

June 21

watched episodes 51-52 which take place in Nicaragua and Honduras

Beautiful scenery!

June 24

watched episodes 53-54 which take place in Honduras

cave exploration

June 27

watched episodes 55-56 which take place in Honduras

snorkeling and visiting small islands

June 30

watched episodes 57-59 which take place in Honduras and El Salvador

July 1

watched episodes 60-63 which take place in El Salvador and Guatemala

Her friend Charly Sinewan joins her and they ride through a lava field.

July 2

watched episodes 64-65 which take place in Guatemala

I enjoyed seeing places in Antigua (churches and ruins). Noraly had a police escort her through one area that is prone to bandit attacks.

July 14

watched episodes 66-68 which take place in Guatemala

Noraly stayed with an Ixil family and the cute children were following her everywhere. She found the school she attended ten years ago when she was learning Spanish. She tried to find her host family from then, but found out that they had moved to the US.

July 15

watched episodes 69-71 which take place in Guatemala

She went through a really muddy jungle and also went to a thermal waterfall.

July 18

watched episodes 72-73 which take place in Guatemala and Belize

Noraly told about Mennonite communities in Belize; she visited some Mayan temples and pyramids.

July 22

watched episodes 74-76 which take place in Belize and Mexico

July 23

watched episodes 77-78 which take place in Mexico

Lovely waterfalls and she met modern-day Mayans

July 29

watched episodes 79-80 which take place in Mexico

July 30

watched episodes 81-83 which take place in  Mexico

Details about a group trying to save sea turtles along the Pacific coast; Noraly trying some interesting native dishes, and a long detour to avoid men on the road with guns.

Itchy Boots Season 7 - The Beginning through her UK Trip

 Although this season hasn't ended, I decided to post about it.

Season 7 is the first Itchy Boots season that I've watched from the beginning as she posted videos to her YouTube channel. For that reason, this is not like past seasons where we were able to watch more than one video each time - unless, of course, we saved up videos which we did not do.

Between the time Noraly finished her journey to Alaska and the start of Season 7, her bike was being upgraded and later shipped to an unknown destination. Finally on February 15, she posted her first video of Season 7. She was at a port city in Spain where she left on a ferry for Morocco. Thus, her season in Morocco and West Africa began.

February 15, 2023

Episode 1 was in Spain and Morocco

February 17, 20, 23, 24, 27

We watched episodes 2-6 which were in Morocco

She rode through the Rif Mountains, the Blue Pearl city, through Saharan dunes, and met some lovely people.

March 1, 3, 6, 9, 10, 14, 16, 17, 20, 22, 24, 27, 29, 31

We watched episodes 7-20 which were in Morocco, Western Sahara, and Mauritania

We saw water in the oasis, the high Atlas mountains, incredible, desolate desert views; a mechanic in Morocco fixed the chain guard and two holes in Alaska's airbox.  Some of these rides through Mauritania (episodes 18-23) were with Ahmed who drove a supply truck because her journey was just too remote for her to carry enough fuel and food. He was able to carry her luggage which lightened her bike in order to make it through thick sand.

April 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 17

We watched episodes 21-27 which were in Mauritania and Senegal

A few more rides with Ahmed in the desert with some incredible views. The drone footage looked like another planet at times.  Noraly was headed towards Dakar to have some maintenance done on her motorcycle and she needed a logistics break to plan her next moves, get visas, and so forth. She announced this was the end of Leg 1 and took a couple of weeks off posting videos in order to accomplish these things.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

LEG 2 -- Noraly mentioned in an email that her new posting schedule would be Wednesday and Sundays instead of her usual Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. She said it was just too difficult to post three times a week in this part of the world.  Not only did she often not have good internet, many places still don't have electricity.

May 3, 7, 10, 14, 17, 22, 24, 28

We watched episodes 28-35 which were in Senegal and The Gambia

She showed what maintenance had been done on Alaska, took us to shell island and the delta.

June 1, 4, 7, 11, 14, 18, 21

We watched episodes 36-42 which were in Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, and Sierra Leone

I really enjoyed her ride through the Highlands of Guinea which she said was the water tower of West Africa. I loved seeing the people react to seeing their town on Noraly's GPS and her interaction with the children and other locals.  She announced that she had wanted to do more in Guinea but due to issues with Alaska, she was headed to Freetown in Sierra Leone rather quickly. She was hoping to find a Honda mechanic who could diagnose why Alaska was making a strange noise. Unfortunately the mechanic didn't show up for work, his coworkers didn't know why, and she never received a phone call of his arrival back there. . . .

Noraly has mentioned the coming rainy season which started early and how that might impact her travel especially since so many countries have dirt roads. She loves riding on dirt, but knows with layers of mud and roads turning into rivers in some cases, it will be more difficult.

On June 22, 2023, Noraly announced that she was in the UK for an Adventure Bike Rider event, and would be back with Alaska in Africa soon. The Adventure Bike Rider Festival had just announced her as their Mystery Guest earlier in the day which a couple people on the Itchy Boots fan page had noted. So, no Sunday video this week. 

Also, I saw in the comments of episode 42  (posted to her channel on June 21) that the famous Cotton Tree in Freetown which Noraly featured had been destroyed by a storm in late May. We know Noraly has a built-in delay of when she visits a place and when she posts a video, so we know she was in Freetown sometime before May 24th.

About the tree,

Google says:

Date felled: May 24, 2023 (aged 231 years, 2 months and 2 weeks)

Date seeded: March 10, 1792

 

 

 

 

Season 7 Morocco and West Africa: to be continued...

Itchy Boots Season 5 Notes

 

Season 7 started earlier this year, but since those videos only come out on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Andrew and I have continued to catch up on past seasons.

Season 5 starts off with Noraly in the Netherlands as she prepares to relocate due to covid keeping things restricted in Europe. Instead of taking her bike, Rhonin, which she bought at home, she decides to buy a second-hand motorcycle once she gets to Johannesburg, South Africa. Although the official name of this series is Destination Unknown, I believe many refer to it as the Southern Africa season since that's where she went.  (started these notes here on March 12, 2023)

March 2, 2023

watched episodes 1-6 which take place in the Netherlands and South Africa

Noraly bike shops at a place she already researched online, and buys a Honda which she names Savannah

March 3

watched episodes 7-9 which take place in South Africa

March 5

watched episodes 10-13 which take place in South Africa

Of special interest, she went to a wild cats reserve, a place special to Nelson Mandela's life, and went horse riding

March 7

watched episodes 14-16 which take place in South Africa

The Sani Pass ride is just - wow!

March 9

watched episodes 17-18 which take place in South Africa

Noraly spends quite a bit of time with the Xhosa people, and we meet an herbalist/healer.

March 10

watched episodes 19-21 which take place in South Africa

After these were posted, she took a couple weeks break with a friend who lives in S.A. whom she met in India many years ago.

March 12

watched episodes 22-24 which take place in South Africa

We enjoy seeing ostriches and meerkats. Also, Noraly shops and buys an ostrich egg which amuses us as she attempts to cook it. She was told 1 ostrich egg is equivalent to 24 chicken eggs!

The caves she explored were really cool!

Later in the day

March 12

watched episodes 25-27 which take place in South Africa

Cape Town (right on the water) is beautiful!

March 14

watched episodes 28-29 which take place in South Africa

Her visit to the place with fossils was pretty neat.

March 16

watched episodes 30-31  which take place in South Africa

March 17

watched episodes 32-35 which take place in South Africa

Noraly was in Diamond Territory, and spoke of fracking in one video. Also, she tried to visit an active diamond mine near the border of SA and Namibia. Cool video of her tagging along with the security team - wow.

March 18

watched episodes 36-38 which take place in South Africa and Namibia

March 24

watched episodes 39-41 which take place in Namibia

March 25

watched episodes 42-44  which take place in Namibia

I enjoyed seeing Noraly herding cattle - and seeing the farm there. Also, there was a neat geological day trip.

March 26

watched episodes 45-47 which take place in Namibia

The Namib Desert is so pretty, and I loved seeing the wildlife! How cool to see an ostrich running by, giraffes eating by the side of the road, and a few other animals - wow!

March 28

watched episodes 48-49 which take place in Namibia

Those dunes!!

March 31

watched episodes 50-52 which take place in Namibia

Really enjoyed Noraly tagging along with the guys from the Ocean Conservation group, freeing seals from plastics.  Also, I really enjoyed the minerals market and seeing topaz, aquamarine, and so forth.

April 1

watched episodes 53-55 which take place in Namibia

Lots of cool geological stuff like rock paintings and engravings.

April 6

watched the Live Chat from Africa as well as episodes 56-57 which take place in Namibia

What is neat about watching these videos now is that I just started a book from Susan Bauer who worked at a Lutheran Seminary in Namibia with her husband back in the 1990s and early 2000s. She speaks of cities and the desert and even the seal colony and nature preserves that I've seen in Noraly's videos. I really enjoy the timing of reading this book - which my mom read and recommended to me months ago - now while watching Season 5.

April 7

watched episodes 58; 60-64 which take place in Namibia

It's a super-rainy Good Friday so Andrew and I started watching some more videos. We saw the Namibia and Angola border as well as some tribal ladies on the road that I'd just looked up the night before based on the book I mentioned above. We hadn't planned to watch so many episodes, but she went to a nature preserve and got to ride along with Esso whose job it is to ride his motorbike to check the level of the watering holes and the fences. So we were able to see zebras, elephants, lions, antelope, giraffes, and black and white rhinos - fascinating!!

April 8

watched episodes 59; 65-67 which take place in Namibia and Botswana

Somehow we skipped episode 59 yesterday so I'm glad that one showed up as Noraly took some food and visited the Himba tribe. They showed her how to get the red ochre that they put on their skin, and she gave it a try.

I enjoyed seeing her cross into Botswana because the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency takes place in this country so I keep thinking I might eventually see Mma Ramotswe and her family and friends! Wouldn't that be awesome? ;)

Later that day because it was a dreary couple of days ...

April 8

watched episodes 68-70  which take place in Botswana

Loved seeing hippos, elephants, giraffes, and zebra; and a giraffe darted across the street not too far in front of her in the same way deer do here!

April 13

watched episode 71  which take place in Botswana

She rode with James Alexander and some of his friends. He, of Dakar racing fame so ...

April 14

watched episodes 72-74  which take place in Botswana

I loved her chat with the two ladies selling traditional food on the side of the road. I love their fencing around their pots of food.

April 15

watched episodes 75-78  which take place in Botswana and Zimbabwe

Really enjoyed the kind man who went ahead to get petrol for Noraly when she was running low in her last kilometers in Botswana.

Loved seeing Victoria Falls, the warthogs, and Noraly buying, cooking, and trying mopane worms in Zimbabwe!

April 16

watched episodes 79-81 which take place in Zimbabwe

Saw caves and blue water, mountains. Noraly was in the capital looking for US dollars.

April 21

watched episodes 82-84  which take place in Zimbabwe

Extremely muddy roads, a lovely waterfall, banana and tea plants. The Zimbabweans were so friendly, and we saw many of them along the road as she traveled.

April 27

watched episodes 86-87 which take place in Zimbabwe and South Africa

Saw some impressive ruins in Zimbabwe and then Noraly headed back to South Africa as she ran out of countries she could visit aside from Mozambique which had ISIS activity in the north of the country. After meeting with James Alexander a few weeks back, she looked into rally racing, and decided to be part of that although not the formal racing part.

So, she headed back into South Africa, had her friend Mandy help drive her and Savannah (her motorcycle) to the starting point.

We watched the video where she recapped her ride through southern Africa, and then the first three videos of that Kalahari Rally series (there are 9 of those). We saw her getting ready for it (driving there with Mandy; getting her bike inspected; she showed us other bikes and some cars racing there). Then we saw the Super Special and Stage 1 legs of the race which are across a part of South Africa that borders Namibia and Botswana. I liked seeing people along the route watching the race.

April 28

watched Stages 2 and 3 of her Kalahari Rally series which take place in South Africa

April 29

watched Stages 4-6 of her Kalahari Rally series plus her Season Finale which take place in South Africa and the Netherlands

In real life, this series ended in October 2021, I believe, and I noticed Noraly started posting videos from Season 6 a few weeks later. Season 6 is where I was first introduced to Noraly so I've watched most of her videos from her times in the US and Canada, but there are many I missed from where she started Season 6 in South America and traveled towards the US. I look forward to seeing those soon.

In the meantime, as I type this on April 30, 2023, Noraly has been absent from her YouTube channel for nearly two weeks as she was taking a break, getting work done on Alaska, figuring logistics and so forth for the next leg of her Africa adventure. In Season 7 so far, she's taken us through parts of Morocco, the Western Sahara/Morocco, Mauritania, and over the border into Senegal. Last we heard from her, she was in Dakar.

Itchy Boots Season 4 Notes

 

In Season 4 Noraly is home for the winter so she decides to investigate the Dutch Moto Scene by riding on three Ducati bikes, training at race tracks for motocross and flat track and a Dutch police department, and such things. Sounds kind of dreadful if you aren't into motorcycles, but she made it entertaining and it was a neat thing for her to do while stuck in The Netherlands in late 2020 as the pandemic still had many borders shut.

She mentioned in a Live Chat that she really wanted to go to a place where she could overland with Rhonin, but with some countries open and others not, she was having trouble figuring out where to go next.  In the meantime . . .

Note: all of these take place in The Netherlands except for the last episode in this series.

February 23

watched episodes 1-2, plus a Live Chat from back then ; I enjoyed seeing her talk to the children at the race track where they train

February 24

watched episodes 3-5 which included training on trial bikes, motocross, and a race with twelve year old Jayson

February 25

watched episodes 6-7 which included training and races at a flat track (mud flying onto her face) and a ride on an electric motorcycle as she followed a park ranger through the natural preserve; I enjoyed seeing the cows, sheep, trees, and views here

We also watched the Christmas Special which doesn't have an episode designation, but was enjoyable as Noraly shopped at the Dutch version of a dollar store and bought and wrapped many presents which she passed out as she drove around on her motorcycle while wearing a Santa suit. She also dropped off 140 Christmas cards for residents of an elderly-care place. Though she didn't show us a close-up of what she wrote, it was more than a signature of "Merry Christmas! From, Noraly"!

February 26

watched episodes 8-10 which included two episodes where Noraly trained with Dutch police who ride motorcycles. That was pretty neat, and Andrew and I thought how weird it was to have a civilian, YouTube star train with police. Wonder if this were a recruitment tool for the Dutch PD!

Episode 10 is the only one in this series to take place outside of The Netherlands. Noraly traveled two and a half hours to Belgium to train with a couple of guys who do Enduro races. That was tough!

From looking at the caption on this video, it seems she had more planned for this series, but more covid lockdowns made further episodes impossible at this time. Thus ends Season 4.

Itchy Boots Season 3 Notes

 

In previous posts, I've mentioned Itchy Boots, and I wanted to continue recording our viewing history and my notes here.

Season 3 began with Noraly back in The Netherlands (I never know whether or not to capitalize the "The," so bear with my inconsistencies. I see it both ways.) due to the pandemic. Before the season officially begins, she has a couple of specials where she talks about buying herself a new bike, a Honda which she named Rhonin.  In this season, Noraly travels to some Northern European countries which had opened up. Actually it was quite tricky because as she started the adventure, Norway closed their borders, but later when she gets rejected by Finland, she learned Norway will accept her since she's arriving by a northern Swedish border crossing. So, yeah, covid lockdowns and border closings were a reality for her then.

In order to stay more isolated, Noraly planned to camp instead of staying in a lot of hotels, and she did do some camping, but not as much as she wished. For one thing, parts of Sweden and Norway were just too cold - and at one time it rained for days, so...

I really enjoyed seeing these parts of Europe and experiencing camping and riding with her during these 33 episodes. Also some of the food bits were funny, especially in Sweden as she tried this fermented canned fish that smelled horribly.

February 13, 2023

started with a couple of pre-episodes explaining her decision to buy a new bike, and the name she chose for it

watched episodes 1-3 which were in The Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark

February 14

watched episodes 4-7 which were in Denmark and Iceland

February 16

watched episodes 8-13 which were in Iceland

February 17

watched episodes 14-23 which were in Iceland, Denmark, and Sweden

February 18

watched episodes 24-29 which were in Sweden, Lapland, and Norway

February 21

watched episodes 30-33 which were in Norway, Denmark, Germany, and The Netherlands

Itchy Boots Season 2 & The Netherlands Episodes

 

In a previous post, I introduced this blog to Itchy Boots and how we came to watch her YouTube channel last year. I also wrote about watching Season 1 while waiting for her to start a new journey which I believe she started around January 30. New videos should begin soon, maybe tomorrow. She usually gives herself a couple weeks head start before she starts posting new videos - and she's been leaving her fans hanging as to where she will be this time! (It took so long to start Season 7 because she shipped her bike, Alaska, this time, and apparently shipping takes much, much longer.) 

We started Season 2 on January 17. This was supposed to be the year and a half she had planned to ride from Buenos Aires, Argentina, down to the most southern place she could travel in Patagonia and then start north towards Alaska. But you may recall that she didn't make it to Alaska until Season 6 (August 2022) and this season began in late 2019. Looking at the dates, you can probably figure out what happened to her travel plans.

January 17, 2023

started with "Good News, Bad News" in which she talks about why she can't ride Basanti any more, and instead has a new bike which she named Dhanno

watched episodes 1-5 which were in The Netherlands, the UK (she loaded Dhanno to transport here as it was much cheaper to fly her bike from Heathrow than from The Netherlands), back to The Netherlands (where she flew from), and on to Argentina

January 19

 watched episodes 6-11 which were in Argentina

January 20

 watched episodes 12-16 which were in Argentina

she said she was 1.68 meters tall when she was standing near a petrified tree; I had wondered about her height since I heard that Dutch people were among the tallest in the world

January 22

 watched episodes 17-21 which were in Argentina, Chile, and Argentina again

she got to the End of the Road where there was a small naval station; from then on, she was headed north to Alaska

January 24

 watched episodes 22-25 which were in Argentina and Chile

I really enjoyed when she was showing us her errands in eps. 23 and we met Juan who chatted with her in the store. His questions and responses amused me.

Also, in eps. 24, I really enjoyed the Venezuelan guy who was living in Chile and working at the place where Noraly saw the condors.

She mentioned later that she saw the best wildlife during her travels in Argentina, and I really enjoyed seeing that as well. She took us on a couple of "tours" to places where we could see penguins and sea lions.

January 26

 watched episodes 26-31 which were in Chile and Argentina (mostly)

January 27

 watched episodes 32-35 which were in Argentina and Chile

January 28

 watched episodes 36-41 which were in Chile and Argentina

in eps. 41, she said "welcome to 2020" although it wasn't quite 2020 when she recorded it since she has that built-in posting delay

January 30

 watched episodes 42-46 which were in Argentina, Chile, and back to Argentina

January 31

 watched episodes 47-50 which were in Argentina

Here she decided to take a few weeks off to rest and get some things straightened out. I checked her publishing dates from back then and it went from January 20, 2020, to February 11, 2020, when she posted again.

February 2

watched episodes 51-56 which were in Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia

February 3

watched episodes 57-61 which were in Bolivia

really enjoyed the tour of the silver mine here

February 5

watched episodes 62-66 which were in Bolivia

February 7

watched episodes 67-72 which were in Bolivia and Peru

She had planned to stay a week in La Paz, and even got a week's membership at the gym thinking working out at higher altitude would prepare her for upcoming weeks, but after a couple of days, she had a major change of plans when Bolivia decided to shut down the borders. Noraly had to quickly get to Peru where she hoped she would be able to continue traveling. Unfortunately in Peru, she got stuck in quarantine in a place where she, the blond-haired, blue-eyed European, was frowned upon for possibly bringing covid into their village. She kept a really interesting "diary" of her days while waiting to see what would happen next. She wanted to ride out quarantine in Peru until she felt her life was in danger. She said this was the first time she had ever experienced this in all her travels.

February 9

watched episodes 73-76 which were in Peru and the Netherlands

Interesting episodes about how she got to Lima from the small village she had been in for a couple of weeks; how she was repatriated to The Netherlands with hundreds of others; and her arrival at an airport she'd been in countless times - and it was so empty.

After Season 2 ended abruptly, Noraly did a few specials, a couple of which we'd watched before: some footage of times she'd fallen and had some other mishaps, and then some highlights of her travels since she'd ridden over 60,000 kilometers around the world. It was fun to see some of the folks from her Asia trip (Season 1) as well as highlights from Season 2.

February 9

We watched Special episodes 1 and 2 about The Netherlands; she rode a motorcycle she named Lima (this one is borrowed since she had to leave Dhanno in Peru)

February 10

We watched a live chat called "What's Next?" where she discussed some plans while waiting for things to open up again; we also watched eps. 3 about her country (tragic day that affected my family); her father joined her for a few minutes in this one.

In her live chat, Noraly was asked about languages she spoke, and she declared that she wasn't fluent in Spanish, but tried to improve it as she traveled. (In one of the videos, she mentioned living with a family in Guatemala, I believe, several years back where she took Spanish language classes.)  She mentioned having taken six languages in high school: Dutch, English, German, French, some Spanish, Latin, and "old" Greek. She learned some Portuguese during her years of living in Brazil. She said she's lost a lot of that, but thinks it would come back if she ever went there again.

February 11

Finished watching the last two videos around the Netherlands plus another live chat "What's Happening?" -- since much of the world was in some form of lockdown, these live chats seemed popular

The episodes around the Netherlands, she said, took her about three days to prepare. She tried to read historical and interesting information to share, and these last two were really good. She took us to the highest point in the Netherlands which is actually where her country meets Germany and Belgium. She took a walk to all three points. Also, she showed us a limestone mine and had a brief tour of where the Dutch people stored paintings so they would be preserved during World War II. She walked into a vault where the temperature was controlled and where one painting that was too big to store properly, was rolled up and turned daily by workers so it would be preserved.

The final episode was on the day the Dutch were celebrating 75 years of freedom, and she took us to places important in the war against the Germans. There is a bridge named after an American who parachuted into that region. She also recommended the movie "A Bridge Too Far" which told about another place where Allied forces were unable to achieve their objectives. She said the reasons were too much to get into and suggested the movie. She showed a very well-kept cemetery where Dutch soldiers were buried. She said there were others in the Netherlands for Allied troops, but some were closed due to covid. She said the Dutch people adopted the graves to keep them looking nice and putting flowers on them. She said the waiting list was so long for people wanting to adopt a grave, that they no longer accepted names for the list! 

 

 

If you want to watch Season 7 from the start, it should start soon! I wonder where she will go this time.

Itchy Boots Intro and Season 1 Notes

 Last year Andrew was watching a couple of his favorite YouTubers (usually fellows who mow or haul dirt and such), when YouTube gave him a suggestion for Itchy Boots which he watched and started following.

Itchy Boots is the YouTube channel for Noraly, a Dutch lady who decided she'd rather travel the world by motorcycle than write travel blogs or work in her former field (she trained in geology). She'd already traveled quite a lot in the world, and - if I remember the story correctly - started riding a motorbike in India and fell in love with this mode of travel.

Anyway, Andrew started watching her videos, and I would hear them while trying to read nearby. Over time, my listening turned into watching with him so that the two of us would bend our necks over his small phone three times a week when he'd get a notification that she's posted a new video.

 

Noraly was already well into Season 6 by the time I started watching. She was in Colorado or Nevada though Andrew had watched her in parts of Latin America and her crossing into the US. Her final destination this season was Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.  This lovely movie (about 90 minutes) is a summary of her trip that she created once she was home in the Netherlands. Since I only watched the last part of Season 6, I found this a great way to see the parts I missed in South America, Central America, Mexico, and parts of the US. I especially enjoyed seeing the people she met along the way although the scenery and hardships she faced made it more interesting! 

ETA: I thought I recorded this somewhere, but can't find it so I just looked it up on November 30, 2023....at the end of the movie, Noraly mentions that she started her journey on October 1, 2019 and ended it on August 11, 2022 when she reached the Arctic Ocean. (Remember that her journey was interrupted due to the covid-19 pandemic). She traveled 65,000 kilometers and went through 18 countries.

That was sometime last summer and we watched her final episode of Season 6 in mid-November, and then decided to start watching some of her earlier seasons.

On November 23, we started Season 1 which began with a short video, perhaps four or five minutes. I wonder if she was just starting out, seeing if people were interested in watching her videos. Over time, her videos became longer with most of them in the 15 to 20 minute range. She records such things as food she eats, places she stays, people she meets, scenery, good and bad roads, border crossings, stuff about her bike.

I just wanted to record my few notes from Season 1 which were mostly ridden on her Royal Enfield Himalayan bike, named Basanti.

November 23, 2022

watched episodes 1-10 which were in India

November 26

 watched episodes 11-25 which were in India, Myanmar, and Thailand 

She met "Roads Up" stars Peter and Claudia from Austria. She later stayed with them when she was in Vienna.

November 27

watched episodes 26-35 which were in  Thailand and Malaysia

-- find review of motorbike after 10K miles; mentioned on episode 34

November 28

watched episodes 36-40 which were in Malaysia and Oman (she took a ferry to Oman)

December 1

watched episodes 41-45 which were in Oman

While waiting for Basanti to arrive in Oman, she used another bike and took off-roading lessons from someone

 

December 8

watched episodes 46-50 which were in Oman

December 9

watched episodes 51-57 which were in the UAE and Iran

I absolutely loved the hospitality and friendliness of so many people during her travels in this region and in several upcoming episodes.

December 15

watched episodes 58-66 which were in Iran and Turkmenistan

 

 December 16

watched episodes 67-72 which were in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan

December 22

watched episodes 73-77  which were in Tajikistan and she pointed out the Afghan side across the river, but she didn't go into Afghanistan

 

December 24

watched episodes 78-80 which were in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan 

December 26

watched episodes 81-84 which were in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan 

December 27

watched episodes 85-88 which were in Kazakhstan and Turkestan

 

January 2, 2023

watched episodes 89-93 which were in Kazakhstan and Russia

January 3

watched episodes 94-98 which were in Russia, Georgia, and Armenia 

She bought a drone from a hostel-mate Tony from Switzerland, and had Itchy Boots stickers designed by another hostel-mate

 

January 5

watched episodes 99-104 which were in  Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia, Georgia, and Turkey

January 6

watched episodes 105-109 which were in Turkey

 

January 7

watched episodes 110-114 which were in Turkey, Greece, and Albania

 

January 13

watched episodes 115-119 which were in Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, and Croatia

 

 January 14

watched episodes 120-125 which were in Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands where we saw her mom, dad, and niece meet her; She said she had been gone from home for a year at that point.