Aoife O’Connell chronicles the adventure in the diary below:

Day 016> Tuesday 17 September > Nice

Since arriving in France, Mike has delighted in showing off his knowledge of the region. Partial to the finer things in life, Mike and the team flew into Nice airport in a plane sponsored by an Irish businessman:

"It was just fantastic arriving into Nice by private jet rather than low cost airline - definitely the only way to travel".

France was always going to be a high point for Mike who had established contact with the Jubilee Sailing Trust, an organisation that provides adventure sailing for able-bodied and physically disabled people. Docked at Nice port was the Tenacious Tall ship, the trust's pride and joy. The 'Tenacious' cost a total of 14.3 million but has some amazing facilities on board such as lifts between all decks, vibrating alarm pads fitted to bunks and Braille signs throughout. Certainly a sight to behold, the huge ship was easily recognisable amongst the pleasure boats and yachts docked at Nice.

"The first glance of Tenacious was wonderful, after months of only seeing pictures of her" said Mike.

The evening before the sailing, the crew invited the team on board for a tour of the ship and to sample the culinary delights of the on-board barbeque. Having encountered less than acceptable levels of wheel chair accessibility through out this journey to date, Mike was delighted to find that the Tenacious had put time and effort into researching disability facilities:

"The ship has a very well thought out design, making it accessible to its disabled crew. It is very impressive, in that it allows every body to take part in the sailing and the 'looking after' of the ship". Not only did France offer Mike a chance to sample the delights of the vineyards but also to meet with old friends. On board the Tenacious, Mike bumped into Bill Thornton, a fellow adventurer from a few years back.

"It was an amazing coincidence to meet up with Bill again, who had done the wheelchair relay from Paris to Santiago de Compo Stella, like myself. Bill was only one of two people to complete the whole distance of 1200km…he was full of admiration for the Around the World in Eighty Ways mission and will be talking to his contacts in Thailand on our behalf"

France also presented Mike with the opportunity to meet with a very special friend of his, Birgitta Forssius. Mike describes Birgitta, who lives in Monaco, as his 'nearly Aunt'. Birgitta was due to marry Mike's uncle, but tragically Nigel died suddenly before the wedding could take place. Birgitta and Mike have remained close friends and according to Mike: "Birgitta has worked tirelessly on behalf of the ATW80W team, even down to having a cello and a violin duo serenading us as we docked in Monte Carlo".

Birgitta, who organised sponsored hotel rooms and a wonderful celebratory dinner at one of Monaco's top restaurants, also arranged an interview on board the ship, with a French television station, which Mike described as "quite testing". He added: "interviews are not easy at the best of times but in French they are verging on the impossible!"

It certainly has been a 'hands on' adventure for Mike who even managed to convince the ship's crew that he be allowed sail the Tenacious:
"It was a great privilege to take the helm of the Tenacious ship up to the entrance of the Monte Carlo port …and not bump into anything…So far this has been a journey of incredible contrasts from driving Land Rovers around assault courses in England to riding a horse in Carlow for the first time since my injury, to sailing a tall ship in the Mediterranean!"

Mike describes the stay in Carlow (Ireland) as "hugely moving". The whole experience was a revelation for Mike, who got to ride in a saddle belonging to renowned disabled Carlow man and MP Arthur McMurragh Kavanagh, who travelled through Europe and Asia on horse back over a hundred years ago:
"It was a fantastic honour to ride in a historic saddle, restored especially for my visit…Mr. McMurragh Kavanagh must have been a remarkable man to have regularly hunted and travelled on horse back despite having no arms or legs."

Hitherto Mike has had some incredible adventures of his own in Europe, no doubt he will bring new meaning to the phrase "following in his footsteps" as Mike and the team prepare to launch their own adventure in Asia in a couple of weeks time. Foot-steps we may not all have, but paths to glory we can surely manage!

Day 017 > Wednesday 18 September > Nice

Technology and the team: A day in the life of the techi team - Around the World in Eighty Ways

I am firmly of the opinion our bags would be about twenty two stone lighter if we lost the technology. We are like walking techi's. People who pass us in the street must imagine we are piloting new phones or testing new walkie talkies or perhaps we are all from a television station, radio station or newspaper.

Everywhere we go each team member has a phone stuck to their ear, the dicta-phone whirling, the camera rolling or the mini-disk recording. Each morning this kit, together with laptops, chargers, extension leads, adapters, and a billion other gadgets are loaded in to the transport or vehicle of choice. Of course it is fantastic to have all these thingamajigs until they start to play up or are given to temperamental lapses of good behaviour.

So far something as 'simple' as accessing the internet has been major head ache for the team. You start off plugging your modem into the phone line, cross your fingers and hope for the best. Then you get that rotten little message popping up on your screen delightedly telling you; "Sorry but your modem isn't working" or your phone line isn't plugged in or some other useless piece of information as you stare dumbly at the screen.

Keeping in mind its now probably well after 10pm, you've been up since 6:30am, gone jogging, met 57 people, drank 6 coffees, had lunch with some-one supposedly very N.B, have 3 new modes of transport under your belt, have tripped over a step, bumped into a pole, been hoisted from vehicle to vehicle, spoken about disability for half an hour to some VIP's, smiled till your cheeks ached, lost a bit off your wheelchair, posed for your photo 36 times, had an interview in broken French, carried the 11 suitcases up 4 flights of stairs , strained your back, ate something dodgy, after all these every day activities you sit down to send a few bloody emails and do you think the state of the art technology would work - not on your life!

A deep breath, perhaps a glass of wine later, you try connecting to your mobile phone and if you finally connect to the damn thing you are guaranteed to be sitting in front of your laptop for at least two hours trying to send one word document! You could instead get very excited when you walk into your hotel room and find that there is internet access on your television. You trip over yourself trying to grab the remote control and the keyboard but alas there are no batteries in the remote or perhaps the keyboard is just having an off day.

It is then, and only then you reach the point where you are clutching the keyboard with white knuckles, in a tight little voice you whisper foul language into its various data ports and vow to throw the thing against the nearest wall, if it does not behave its bloody self and send the damn email!

Alas, again! The tiny international techi espionage that live inside your computer are too busy destroying files, losing your work, not responding to commands and ignoring phone lines to listen to the death threats you whisper through the USP port. Unfortunately for you the tiny terrorists are far too absorbed in their work to notice your mini heart attack and subsequent collapse on the floor!

The joy that is technology will be with us as we travel around the world in eighty ways, lucky us.

Day 018 > Wednesday 19 September > Rome

It seems I spoke to soon. Yesterday I ranted about the team's difficulty with technology; today that difficulty reached a dire level. Perhaps we were too positive and buoyed by our message and the response to 'Eighty Ways' that we neglected to remember the presence of real evil and opportunism.

Last night got off to a great start. It was the beginning of our first adventure stage. We crammed into the tiny sleeper cabin on the 9:03pm train from Monte Carlo to Rome, tired and hungry; we shared a picnic together in the shabby and foul smelling cabin. It really was like something from a film as the boys leaned out of the window and bought two bottles of Chianti from a passing vendor. Drinking Chianti from paper cups the whole team shared loaves of bread and passed cheese, ham and chocolate amongst each other. The spirit of friendship, respect and camaraderie was alive and well in that train that night until a stranger came and smashed it.

Mike our camera-man whom we affectionately call 'Carbonara', volunteered to sleep in the cabin next door as all of the team and their bags could not all sleep in the one 'sleeper'. Sometime in the middle of the night, a thief stole his television camera and my kit bag as he slept.

When we woke the next morning Mike was darting in and out of both cabins and it became obvious something was very wrong. By then the train had still not reached Rome station, so all we could do was sit and think about this person or persons who had stole from us. The sickening thing about the crime is we were probably marked out from the start as being vulnerable. We were obvious. We had bags, white sticks, camera's, wheelchairs, equipment and of course disability. Once again we were the easy target. Thieves are notorious in Italy for their adept skill, I'm sure it was not just one opportunist on that train that night but an covetous pairing or a band of thieves that spotted us as lambs for the slaughter.
Revenge and retribution are not the answer but what comes around goes around. Karma is a worn out and often ridiculed idea, but it has been around long enough to convince me these people will get what is coming to them. At the very least they will find it extremely hard to sell a professional television camera to some one in the industry.

To say Mike was upset is an understatement. He felt as though everything he worked for was destroyed in one foul swoop. I'm sure he wondered about the justice of taking a chance on a charity and then being robbed, giving up time, money and energy to help spread a positive message and then have it revoked by such a negative malevolent one is the greatest wrong.

I suppose the team's innocent idea, that everyone is on our side was lost with the camera and the bag. Unfortunately that cannot be replaced. Not everyone believes in the message. Not everyone is positive. Not everyone wants to help and share in this. If anything their negativity and disbelief makes our will stronger and our voices louder.

"The higher you build your barriers the taller I become… because there is something inside so strong, I know that I can make it though you're doing me wrong so wrong"

Stolen equipment:
one Panasonic camera - broadcast quality - thirteen thousand pounds kit bag containing: 3 dictaphones, a charger for a canon digital ixus camera, world wide computer adapters, world wide modem adapters, mini disks and recorded footage, recorded interviews, notes, books, kit jacket, blank tapes, pens, notebooks, recording wires, etc.

Day 020 > Sunday 21 September > Italy

It is exactly a week since Caroline and the team enjoyed the very grand finale to the Irish lap of Around the World in Eighty Ways, in Dublin Castle. I spoke to Caroline about her thoughts and memories of the Irish tour:

"When we arrived into Northern Ireland late on September 10th, Although I had only been away for a week or so, it was fantastic to come home and be greeted by the real warmth of Irish people.

Travelling through Dundalk, Roscommon, Galway, Carlow and Dublin, I suppose what struck me most, was the sense of people getting behind you and supporting you and getting excited about what you are trying to do.

Throughout the Irish leg of the trip, the team and I met many great characters like Mattie who drove the tipper truck, Ollie who drove the Garda car, and Paul, in Carlow, our baby-faced pilot who dressed up as Superman for his flight, and of course Seamus who drove us to Dublin in a vintage limo. It was these 'helpers', together with so many other generous people that made the Irish experience so special. I was incredibly proud to be Irish. There was a terrific sense of fun and craic particularly in Carlow, where the organisers had put so much into it that you couldn't but give it socks and really enjoy it!

We received a warm welcome in each town visited in Ireland, like when we stopped at a pub in Mullingar and the locals sitting at the bar made a surprise collection for the team and presented it to we stunned adventurers. People in Dundalk Institute of Technology laid on delicious food for us, Catherine Campbell in Roscommon put us up for the night and gave us breakfast. Absolutely everywhere we went people made a special effort."

The Irish route had many weird wonderful forms of transport from tipper trucks, to helicopters to cardboard boats:

"It was these contrasts that made the time in Ireland amazing. An executive helicopter dropping us in Dundalk and then being picked up by a tipper truck…then on to Roscommon where the Gardai and members of the Galway Fire station transported us to Galway…even riding side-saddle into Carlow town on horseback!"

From Carlow the team made their way to the East Wall in Dublin on September 13th where they boarded a cardboard boat designed for them by Smurfit; "The cardboard boat rounded off the Irish route with the same sense of madness that we began with and was without a shadow of doubt the most unusual and memorable form of transport to date - but the Carlow day really stands out in my mind. It felt very historic and so upbeat. I think sitting side saddle on a pony at Carlow Court House in the evening sun, is a memory that will remain with me always…it was such an amazing day".

"The sense of support, encouragement and fun and the winning attitude of Carlow people was incredible. People like Colette Morrissey, Phil Fleming, Mary King O'Connell and Eileen Brophy from the Rotary Club, who got behind us 100%, astounded me. There has been no other place so far on this journey where we have felt so welcomed. The support from the Carlow Farmers Hunt was incredible, They stood around for hours just for us, as did Tom Tynan and Teresa Brooks with their fantastic steam engine!"

Caroline, who nominated the Jack and Jill Children's Foundation as the Irish beneficiary of Around the World in Eighty Ways found the entire Irish leg very special for another very real reason: "Meeting Jack and Jill Children in Galway and seeing Miles and Mike with the families was a real highlight. One of the reasons we are doing this trip in Ireland is precisely to take time to meet with some of the profoundly disabled children who benefit from The Jack & Jill Children's Foundation. When we meet them, it's a reminder of how far we still have to go to fully include and support all people with disabilities and their families. The Jack and Jill Gala dinner at Dublin Castle had a real sense of occasion, but the reception at the Delta Centre in Carlow was definitely one of my top favourites."
The parents of brave little boy, Adam Dooley Byrne, were present with their two and a half year old son at the event in the Delta Centre. Adam's aunties were also at the reception and handed over a cheque for E1200 to the Jack and Jill Foundation, which they raised by running the women's marathon. Adam has a very unusual medical condition, in that he cannot metabolise fat. As a result of this Adam has had some serious medical difficulties and cannot walk or talk, but he still laughs and smile. Adam did plenty of this when he came to the Delta Centre and was enchanted by the various sights, sounds and textures that the multi-sensory unit at the centre provided.

Caroline was delighted to meet Adam and his family: "I think the whole team was touched by the special effort that Adam and his family made, it really struck a chord with all of us. Now that Adam will get to use the centre once a week, makes me feel that Around the World in Eighty Ways has achieved something really special."

The Around The World in Eighty Ways team and the Jack and Jill Children's Foundation wish to thank everyone in Dundalk, Roscommon, Galway, Carlow and Dublin who helped to organise the Irish leg of the adventure. Thanks to all those who gave up their time to make this event possible. Many thanks for all donations gratefully received.

Day 021 > Sunday 22 September > Rome

Back into the fire and furore of the adventure today, as the team departed for Rome. Again, the generosity of people never ceases to amaze us. The couple who own the farm house, Daniella and Maria, wished us well on our journey, knocked a sizeable chunk off the bill and made the team promise to return.

Trying to find lunch en route to Rome, is not the easiest thing to hit upon in Italy on a Sunday. Everywhere shuts up shop, but we managed to find one petrol station and we stocked up on the healthy eating choices of crisps and chocolate.
The next challenge for the team was trying to find the pre-booked accommodation in Rome. Captain Cook with co-pilot "James Goody", tried to manoeuvre the streets of Rome without much success. At least the team got to see a bit of the city as they drove around in circles with the James Bond soundtrack playing at full blast.

Mike has been nicknamed "James Goody", a combination of two previous nicknames: "James Bond" and "Goody-two-shoes". The name Goody-two-shoes stuck because, as Mike always seems to be on his best behaviour, everyone is just waiting for a slip up.

Due to the fact, however, that Mike has no legs; he's become "James Goody 0011" instead of "007" - the connection being "legs eleven". It is all very complicated in the Eighty Ways camp! Originally Mike acquired the nick-name James Bond from Caroline; "Mike oozes debonair charm and sophistication like James Bond, whilst the rest of us are more like extras from the Muppet Show!"
"The Muppets" together with "0011" and "Captain Cook" finally checked into a Catholic hostel just outside Rome. For the Irish contingent it was just like being back in school again. Linoleum floors and white walls adorned with crosses and holy pictures brought back strange memories. Walking down the corridor, one half expected the doors to be flung open and the corridors to fill with the noisy chatter of school girls in matching uniforms.

After the usual reprieve of a half hour to check emails, phone home and shower, the team braved the Roman streets in search of dinner. Dining on pizza and pasta, the team were almost too tired to speak, although Miles managed to eat his own pizza and half of Jon's! On the way home we stopped at an ice-cream parlour and the boys tried to chat up a very attractive Chilean girl - with about as much success as they had with the navigation earlier that day! Caroline ran off to follow the sound of a blues guitar and was found humming along to a blues band practice session down an alley way. However she did manage to blag a free C.D, more than the boys got!

No doubt there will be lots more pizza over the next few days, but Chilean girls may be harder to come by. Not that the boys seem too perturbed, they have already hatched a plan to get arrested by one of the very attractive Italian police-women! This trip is turning into 'Around the World in Eighty Women' - tongues back in the gobs boys!