The magical Maldives

Days 440 – 447

So it was off to the Maldives for a week of white sands, beautiful blue seas and a couple of days of luxury – I would like to apologise for the number of photos here but it was oh so beautiful.

As this was a totally unexpected stop we didn’t really have much time to do any proper research but had discovered that there were two options here….to stay back packer stylee on an inhabited island or all out five star luxury on a resort island.

Purely in the name of research of course we decided to try both options for three days each with an overnight stay in Male (due to flight / boat transfer times)

For no other fact than I had become cross eyed with the huge amount of choice we made our first stop the very small island of Fluidhoo, with its population of around 200 swelling in high season to 400.

It was an hours’ speed boat ride to the island, passing loads of resort style islands and lagoons on the way. The sea is really as blue as the pictures we’d previously seen….and the sand even whiter!

We were met at the dock (picture tiny floating platform which was like trying to balance on a paddle board) by the lovely owner and his trusty wheel barrow to carry our bags. There are no roads or cars on the island and just a sandy track down the middle. Bags dropped and it was off with him for a detailed show of the island, including the tiny bikini beach area at one end. As the island is strictly Muslim, women are only allowed to wear costumes in this one tiny area with screens at either end to prevent any embarrassment for the locals. I think I would have given them heart failure! 10 minutes later we were back at the guest house – no hiking here then Dave! Whilst the children on the island were very friendly the adults did not really interact with the tourists at all. The island was very basic…but did have a swing!? (When I say swing I really mean an old garden chair tied to a ‘too long’ piece of rope ⬇️)

The island is run by a chief and a committee decide on how to spend the money they pay to live there. I am guessing all the women mustn’t have received the meeting invite on the day they decided to build a much needed full size football pitch with floodlights. Still, it got the men out of their hair every night as they all down tools from 4 – 6pm to play….EVERY DAY! Luckily enough they manage to wrap up the game just in time for their tea being put on the table!

A few days of sun, sun and more sun….and it was back on the speedboat to Male and onto our next resort. And this is where things moved up a gear – the only way to access the next island was by seaplane! I had so envied all the seaplanes coming and going in Fiji but was now going to get a much longed for tick on my bucket list. The plane only takes about 10 people + luggage + two flip flop wearing pilots. We were the second stop so also got the opportunity for an extra land (…is it land if you on the sea?). Worth the compulsory expense? Absolutely…for views like this

We were met by a tender at the landing platform and quickly whisked off to this beautiful island

We were greeted at the jetty by all the senior managers, a quick sign in and off for a tour of the island….including seeing some of the eight reef sharks who have made their home inside the lagoon. Three unadulterated days of eating and drinking our way through the menu and cocktail list – we are definitely not the sort of people all inclusive resorts make any money from, snorkelling, dolphin watching, swimming with manta rays….and then the bubble burst and it was all over. The rooms were wonderful with outside bathrooms, sunset views from the veranda and at times being the only two people on the beach but it was time to leave and experience the ying to this yang.

Another seaplane flight back to Male and quick connection to Colombo where we then spent the night on the floor waiting for an early morning connection – now there’s ying and YING! Next destination Thailand x❤️

Hotels

Fluidhoo – Island Break. Very basic but fab a/c. £56 per night (to stay in the Maldives!! wow!) with a traditional Maldivian breakfast of tuna, onion, lime and roti – delicious. Evening meal not so good and only one other option on the island but we didn’t want to appear rude as we were the only guests at the time

Vakarufalhi Island Resort and Spa. Heaven on earth – so expensive I get butterflies in my tummy if I think about it but as Caitlin said ‘Mum, go big or go home’ so I am blaming her for making me spend her inheritance

Shhhh – the secret that is Sri Lanka 🇱🇰

Days 411 – 439

This was our first time in Sri Lanka and what a country! – we loved it all from start to finish.

We started the month in Colombo and other blogs and books had really suggested leaving as soon as possible as there isn’t much to see – this is probably good advice but as I was still feeling unwell from India we decided to stay for a few days to help me get back on my feet. I unfortunately spent most of the time in bed but Dave did get out and about on a walking tour and into the Dutch Hospital area…like a ‘Billy no mates’. I was a bit rough on and off over the next three weeks but eventually managed to get some antibiotics that kept things at bay – all the doctors I visited were so nice, caring…and cheap – I picked the best place to feel poorly.

Anyway, back to Sri Lanka – it really is a perfect destination with culture, beaches and wildlife all so close together.

We started out with a driver for a couple of days who took us to the huge temple sites at Dambulla and Anuradhapura, Kandy (where we stayed in the weirdest Airbnb out of town. Dave was made up that they had a tv as the England v Colombia game was on – this quickly turned to horror when he saw that the tv hadn’t been turned on in the past 5 years, had a two inch layer of dust and appeared to be connected to an aerial in Kazakhstan), to Sigiriya with the famous Lion rock and finally to Trincomalee and the first proper lazy days in a good month. The stupas were amazing, Dave loved the climbs up Lion rock and Pidurangala (he would recommend the Pidurangala climb if you only have time for one as it had a better view, was a harder climb and cheaper), and we saw our first elephants. We came across a herd of about 20 whilst driving past a national park – just beautiful . There is also an elephant in Sigirya but she was shackled which was so sad to see – she did however have the last laugh as her handler couldn’t get her out of the river later in the evening. She just sat looking at him and squirting herself with water – Go girl!!

We took the opportunity at Trincomalee to do absolutely nothing but sit on the beach, eat and drink…..oh and watch the World Cup Semi final on a huge screen on the beach. We have an earphone jack for the phone so we can both listen to some music at the same time but for a change decided to listen to a Mickey Flanagan live show. Earphones (and sunglasses) always make me feel invisible and I thought we were in our own little bubble of laughter. It turns out we were laughing out loud so much the couple next to us were desperate to know what we were listening to so they could join in. I’m not sure how Mickey’s humour travels but he may now have two new fans in Austria!

Next stop Arugam Bay and the lovely Stardust Beach Hotel run by a Danish lady. I had read the ‘How to Hygge’ book and this place had it in abundance. This is a real surfers paradise and the waves were amazing. I stupidly talked Dave out of learning to surf after having a particular girly moment and forgetting that you learn in the shallow water and not on the 2 metre waves at our spot on the beach – not sure he’ll forgive me for that one.

I did receive the best medical attention here with blood tests and antibiotic tests …. but best of all when the Doctor went to the pharmacy in the next town to pick up my prescription and personally delivered to me in the bar where we had gone for a drink!! – it turned out to be e-coli most likely picked up from dirty drinking water in India. We had assumed if the bottle was sealed and with an extra plastic seal on top that we would be okay. However it turned out that most businesses have the facility in the back of the shop to do this themselves, so it’s only supermarket bought water from here on in.

Onto Ella and up into the cooler hills. We had a lovely spot clinging to the edge of a cliff and nice easy walk into town. We had planned to go on the train over the famous 9 arch bridge but the train had unfortunately been derailed near Kandy (!!) so instead took a train in the opposite direction for an hour…and at 7 1/2 pence each really couldn’t complain. Still not feeling my best Dave took off with a guide for a morning whilst I did a vegetarian cooking class in town. I had continued eating vegetarian after India to minimise any effect from the ‘not so fresh’ meat there and after watching ‘forks and knives’. Who knew that beetroot curry and mango curry could taste so good! We did eventually make it over the 9 arch bridge where we met a lovely Dutch couple who we arranged to travel onto our next stop with to share the cost. (A car and driver here is the same for 2 people or 4 – so some bargains to be had if you find someone brave enough to eventually tune into Dave’s accent and travel with you).

Thanks to this amazing meeting a seed had been planted for our next destination…. Whilst they were both only 22 and just out of full time education they were moving onto the Maldives next!!! Yes, the Maldives!! The thought of going had not even crossed my mind until this point…and then there was no turning back.

Udawalawe next and a fabulous safari through the national park. We took the afternoon session as getting up at 5am felt so wrong and were lucky to see everything except a cheetah – turns out no-one ever sees it….perhaps it has moved on! We did however get to see the baby elephants at the orphanage who have lost their mums to accidents and spend 5 years being reared before joining new herds in the park. It was so great seeing them run to get their milk from the keepers!

Maldives booking done! and it was time to move onto to Galle. We had a lovely place in the old fort and a few days on the beach and in the coffee shops.

Our final stop in Bentota was a bit of nothing really but did give us an opportunity to visit the Tsunami museum. We had not appreciated just how vast the damage here was nor how they had never experienced such a thing before. The devastation to the village was huge but has now been rebuilt and with a lovely memorial from the Japanese people.

We loved everything about the country and will definitely be back in the future – hopefully x❤️

Hotels:

Colombo – Grand Orient Hotel. An old colonial building with so much potential but sadly now decaying and an overriding smell of damp.

Kandy – Havana Homestay. Lovely lady and a huge breakfast – but a little overpriced and leaky bathroom

Sigiriya – Otunna Guest House. Two rooms available with a lovely family on the edge of town – highly recommend.

Anuradhapura – Heritage Hotel. Ok – a bit of style over substance.

Upivelli – Coconut Beach. On the beach, nice room but food just ok.

Arugam Bay – Stardust Hotel Loved the huge feel, food and simple tasteful room – recommend for a quiet stay.

Ella – Rawana Falls View. Nice simple homestay, walkable from town with lovely views (does what is says in the tin)

Udawalawe – Nature House. Loved the room, host and fabulous vegetarian food. Also used for the excellent safari.

Galle – Knight Inn. Simple room in the very heart of the fort. Nice family. Best dahl for breakfast

Bentota – Aayu’s Guest Nice room in a homestay – breakfast ok. We were shown around and suggested the best local restaurant but found out later that the owner receives 10% of our spend but her cousin owns the restaurant next door??

India – The good, the bad and the ugly…

Days 390 – 410

Who sets out to travel around the world for two years, packs three times the amount of clothes and other items they think they need but never use, buys all the books and reads all the online blogs to find out where to go…..but fails to check the weather? Only us!! Our plan had been to leave Malaysia and go to Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India and end up with a week on the beach in Goa to have a rest before our next trip home. Only two little thing got in the way…. our ability to fully read the books and the annual (happens every year and has done so for centuries) MONSOON!

Once we found out it was a quick change of plans, booking of a golden triangle tour to save the numerous train journeys and the simple task of getting a visa. This is the 21st country on our travels and the most difficult to get into by far, which included sitting in a dress shop in Malaysia for hours – who knew!

Way back in 1974 I had done a project on India and Hinduism, learning all about the very sacred cows (although Frank Vintus had drawn a ‘scared’ one!) and here we were in the land of the (not so) scared cow – and boy do they run the place. If they want to step out into oncoming traffic, they do – if they want to lay down en masse in the middle of the street, they do – and if they want to take up the whole width of the alley and just stop and stare, they do!

So on to the title – the good, the bad and the ugly. India has been a total sensory overload and like nothing I have ever witnessed before and I will say that the good far outweighs the bad and ugly – but it’s only fair to mention all.

THE GOOD:

• The colours! – never before have I seen such beautiful colours in everyday life
• The people (well most that we met!) – from the gorgeous Dutta family from Lucknow who we met on our train journey from Shimla. Who knew that a nine year old could love the sound of the bagpipes so much and also how many versions of rock, paper, scissors there are!….through to….
• The lovely lady in Varanasi who was covered in leprosy from the top of her head to the tip of her toes who nearly started crying with the note I placed in her tin amid all the small coins and would not let me go until she had thanked me so, so many times – also see the ugly below
• The beautiful Red Fort of Jaipur with the most stunning hall of mirrors
• The Taj Mahal
• The dawn boat ride in Varanasi with the opportunity to understand the importance of the cremation ceremonies
• The amazing water well at Abhaneri
• Shimla in the foothills of the Himalayas with the very Nepalese feel
• The lovely Ahmed doing magic tricks in the market, although I will forever regret not doing more to encourage as help him to stay in school. I hope he is wowing his friends with his new found card trick!
• The early morning side streets of Varanasi where people have pulled their beds into the street to escape the 50 degree heat – a real community
• Dave bowling in a cricket game by the Ganges
• Our lovely proud tuk tuk driver in Varanasi
• The hard working temple community in Amritsar
• The fabulous spectacle of the Wagah Border Crossing – absolutely not to be missed

THE BAD:

• The temple security in Varanasi where I had by boobs physically grabbed and squeezed … by a woman. When I shouted at her to get off she merely looked at me and shrugged her shoulders. When her partner then tried to frisk my bottom half and was met with a ‘don’t you dare touch me’ quietly stepped aside to let me in.
• Delhi belly – yes it is a real thing, yes I did catch it in Delhi and yes it does travel … it decided to stay on board with me for the next 18 days!
• The litter left by the locals in the most unexpected places – what to do with the shoe covers you have to wear at the Taj Mahal to protect the beautiful building but toss them in the air for someone else to pick up.
• The millionaire ‘dons’ of Varanasi, who as outcasts are not deemed worthy to visit temples or restaurants but are entrusted with the cremation of loved ones
• The sad sight of the piles of wood by the Ganges – 800 rupees per kg and maybe not having enough money to purchase enough
• My permanent bindi – a holy man in Jaipur insisted on applying this with a piece of wood which scratched me and I still have now

THE UGLY:

• I thought I had prepared myself for the dirt and poverty I had read about but I clearly hadn’t done enough prep. My initial sight of Delhi when arriving at 1am will stay with me forever – there were bodies strewn everywhere sleeping wherever they could.
• Leprosy IS curable
• Children should NOT be working – from the three year old barefoot boy selling balloons at the traffic lights in Chandigarh to the lovely ten year old Ahmed doing magic tricks in the marketplace in order to make money for their families. They should be playing without a care in the world.
• The open air urinals (!!) – often in the middle of the market place where people are trying to make a living selling fruit and vegetables
• People using the very sacred Ganges as a public toilet.

We will be back! X❤️

From the green jungle to concrete jungle…and a little trip back home.

Days 367 – 389

A very short hop across the Straights of Malaka and we were in Singapore where it is super clean, super sterile and super corporate. We’d booked a few nights in an Airbnb which turned out to be in a great complex. A gated community with everything included to make you never want to leave – swimming pools, lap pools, state of the art gym, barbecue areas and rooftop gardens….and all yours for only 2,000,000 Singapore dollars. Unfortunately this amount of money only buys you a one bed cardboard box apartment with no living area but a washing machine! We were so grubby at this stage that we were more than happy to swap comfort over clean clothes.

We jumped the trains each day to get to Little India, which I loved and made me excited for our India leg ….see next blog 😳, the downtown harbour area and the famous Chip Bee Estate. I had lived here in 1970 and despite the huge amount of change that had taken place was able to remember the streets and old house. These were just Army quarters when we were here but now a very des res part of town. A quick FaceTime with home to show the oldies how it was still the same….but posher!

We had read beforehand how expensive it was in Singapore and particularly alcohol, so fresh fruit juices it was …. only kidding – I’m with Dave! We had agreed that if we saw something we wanted to do and couldn’t do it anywhere else we would go for it and so our last night was spent in the lovely Marina Bay Sands and we only ended up on the 47th floor with spectacular views over the gardens…..oh and of course an 11pm swim in the rooftop infinity pool.

The only downside to the stay was that we had to get up at 6am to catch our bus to Malaka in Malaysia and so didn’t get to have a nice posh breakfast but if there are ever two people who can do with missing a meal it’s probably us.

This was our first bus in SE Asia and we hit lucky with lush executive travel but lucked out at the rest stop when I had forgotten to get some Malaysian money in advance and could only drool over everyone tucking into their food – Dave scored my admin skills here a big fat 0.

Malaka is all a little quirky – remnants of the Portuguese and Dutch periods including a windmill and canals. I’m not sure whose legacy the tricycles were but a ride back to the hotel on Piccachu was a must (and my ‘driver’ was 10th generation Portuguese too!) They each have their own music blaring and to see 10 Japanese tourists in their favourite character in a long line, with lights and whistles was hilarious – their bemusement was on another level.

A quick visit to the mosque meant we had to wear robes which was fun – I was called over by a group of girls who had just finished a Koran class and asked to have my picture taken with them, with teachers included too! I’d never been inside a mosque before and probably picked the best one for a first visit – so peaceful

On the move again and this time up in the hills for some much needed fresher air. The Cameron Highlands, tea plantation country, had a very ex British feel about it but is now a firm backpacker stop and is full of hostels and very basic hotels. It was here that we had our first and only steamboat – tons of veg, chicken and seafood which you cook yourself in your choice of broth – it was delicious.

A couple of walks up to the mossy forest, a tea plantation tour and little hike to the Robinson Falls and we were done with ‘I❤️CH’ and in need of some lovely beach time.

Another month, another fall… this time whilst carrying all our stuff into a small boat to get us to the Perhentian Islands – I’m not sure if its my eyes or the weight on my back!

We picked the bigger of the two islands as the smaller had been pitched at the younger, hipper, cooler crowd but to be honest they both seemed the same to me – we blended seamlessly into both!! Cozy Chalet was to be our home for the next four nights but I was ready to leave after the first! The whole place was really quite dirty and just unloved a bit but it was the bedding that finished me off. We made a pledge never to look too closely at pillows and mattresses as you could become quite neurotic but when my pillow fell out of the case and was covered in black mould….I was nearly to take away! Turns out all four were the same, so we picked the two cleanest wrapped them up in sheets and I slept with my head in my plane pillow thing dreaming of the Marina Bay Sands 😫

But the beaches all around the two islands were amazing! For several days we had the whole beach to ourselves with the most amazing sand of the trip so far – like talcum powder. We met the most beautiful little girls on Flora beach who wouldn’t leave our side for the couple of hours we were there – like a surrogate Nana and Grandad for a couple of hours which was fun. We also got the opportunity to snorkel with turtles and reef sharks which was great but this was my first time snorkelling since Dave had ‘saved my life’ (his words not mine) and I had really lost my bottle. Another disembarking a boat, another disaster (see Fiji)….only this time I actually fell out of the boat face down into 12 inches of water – I could only howl with laughter as Dave almost ran back to the room pretending not to have noticed.

We have a pretendy go pro but I was so nervous in the water that I didn’t catch a picture of the sharks at all – probably the combination of being out of my depth and sharks!!

Back on the road and off to Georgetown in Penang. We had a choice of a cheap 8 hours in a minibus or more expensive hour in a flight – no real choice there then. I had picked the most amazing £20 a night room in an old colonial building on the front (with loads of pics taken for my perfect bedroom when I eventually have a permanent home!). Half of the attraction in coming here was to see the street art…..I just hadn’t banked in Dave seeking out every single bit of it.

We had the most lovely food here with the sticky Chinese pork at Teksen, head and shoulders above everything else. Fabulously cheap curries, fresh juices, best choice of cakes I have ever seen in one place in my life, hours and hours in the Indian dress come pharmacy come anything else you wanted to get your hands on shop to get a visa for India (???), our first ‘gig’ in absolutely ages and our time in Malaysia was coming to an end. If you love your grub Malaysia is definitely the place for you!

Next stop…..India x❤️

How many numbers? – 2 weeks, 3 countries, 9 beds and 1-32 degrees change in temp!

Days 325 – 342

Its been a crazy two weeks on the move involving buses, ferries, planes, trains and automobiles….

We started off finishing a wonderful stay in Japan. On our final full day I wanted to see the active volcano in Kagoshima but Dave didn’t really fancy it and so making the most of my rail pass jumped the Shinkansen bullet train to do the 344 mile round trip. Dave opted for a better look at Fukuoka. I was quickly singled out by an American man who wrongly assumed that as we were the only two non- Japanese in our car that we would be come travel buddies and life long friends. I unfortunately realised that our friendship was to be short lived when he spent the whole two hour journey there telling me about himself and all the therapy he had done but didn’t ask me a single question about myself! At Kagoshima I made my excuses and quickly got down the quay to see the volcano. Dave had read in the book that the whole town is covered in a layer of ash and sadly it was right, so it was a quick look, some photos and then back on the train. I met a lovely lad at the station who clearly wanted to practice his English and talked me through the names of all the different types of blossom in Japan – I didn’t have the heart to mention my ‘Blossomitis’ and only hope it isn’t contagious and that I’ve unknowingly left him with a dose.

Bye to Japan then and off to South Korea albeit only for a couple of days. The ferry was really slick and easy to navigate but the first problem of the day was the route to the hotel. On the map it was just opposite the ferry port but I hadn’t reckoned an a huge railway line between the two and only one bridge to cross. 2km later and our legs becoming an inch shorter due to the loads we were carrying ( anyone who know me understands that this is the one area I don’t need to lose inches! Boobs ✅ legs ✅ hips ✅ but height ❌❌❌).

The second problem became apparent on arrival – I had booked another ‘love hotel’ but this time it was 9.30 at night, we were cold (1 degree) and starving (we’d had our tea confiscated on arrival at the port) and were in the middle of nowhere and so became our digs for the night. The room was really horrible and we slept in our clothes all night – there were no lamps in the room but luckily the fridge with adult toys kindly illuminated the room. (Should point out here that the toys weren’t illuminated – that would be wrong….and potentially dangerous!)

We didn’t hang around the next morning but crept out at 8am and jumped the first train to Seoul. We would have to forgo the princely £20 we had already paid for a second nights stay and miss the sights and sounds of Busan.

We had included a trip to Seoul as very highly recommended by someone we had met along the way but have to say that we were a little disappointed to be honest. It’s a huge place with I think 10 million people and a shopping area with 30,000 shops but very little else. The old palaces and squares were interesting until you read that they were less than 50 years old and re-creations of the originals, so not much history either. We did see an amazing parade protesting against the talks with North Korea which included thousands of people and so polite. The people and the food were lovely – Korean BBQ is something else but we didn’t quite perfect the portion size when we were asked how many others were joining us! All in all the diversion was probably not worth the effort and money. This was brought home to us when we did the ‘hop on / hop off’ bus tour when everyone got on at the start and only hopped off with us at the last stop – all the while being serenaded by Les Dawson stylee piano music! However, like the young Japanese girls and boys they do like to dress up in their Kimonos to walk around the ‘old’ palaces. And beautiful they were too. We did meet some American Filipinos at the airport who told us most people come to Seoul for the amazing shopping only – but with not one square inch of available space in our rucksacks was wasted on us!

Next stop the Philippines, starting in Manila! What to say about Manila but OH MY GOODNESS – so many people, cars, jeepneys, tricycles…..and much older European / American gentlemen with young Filipino girls. Oh! And the incredible heat, amazingly cheap Levi’s (£20) and fabulous cheap street food.

Manila is just basically an arrival / departure port for us and so we were quickly off to Mactan Island / Cebu for a couple of days R&R by the beach and out of the cities where we have been living since Tokyo. We had picked our hotel as it was a) cheap and b) by the beach but hadn’t reckoned on having to drive through such an impoverished neighbourhood to get there. It was really quite upsetting to see the conditions that families were living in as you then arrive at the gated hotel (not a good sign)

Imagine our pure joy when the whole grounds of the hotel being taken up by a ‘works do’ for the day with around 500 people and techno music, with the DJ set up strategically outside our room….yay! Peace at last ❌

Next day when peace had finally found the O’Gradys, it was lying around on one of those double bed things by the pool all day – I felt like one of the beautiful people you see in Ibiza or Miami…. Dave felt ‘too close’ and needed his own space!…charming!

It seems Mactan Island also has its own version of places to slope off to with the love of your life with rooms to rent for two hours – we couldn’t decide how much you needed to love your lady to pay for the air conditioning.

£2.47 or £3.15? And who says romance is dead! Girls – if your man offers the fan it’s time to move on!

After a quick two day turnaround it was off to the island of Malapascua. This involved a four hour drive and 30 mins ferry crossing which could be done for either 400 or 4500 pesos, depending on the level of comfort required….or as I put it to Dave, the happiness of your wife for the next six days. The first option had no air conditioning and a 20 min trek with rucksacks across the sand or the second, an air conditioned car for two with the boat pulling up outside your hotel. Option 2 obviously won but I was thinking how I could claw the money back…. when fate kindly intervened! The local rum and coke had 3 different options : a single for 82p , a double for 75p and a treble for 68p . So in an effort to save money it’s trebles all round. We then also found out it was cheaper to drink cocktails at happy hour than eating – 2 gin and fresh watermelons for £2.05 (and we were getting our 5-a-day!)

A lovely hotel with sea views for £40 a night and six days of bliss!

Next stop some island hops and then up into the mountains x❤️

Blossom blowout!

Another crazy week in Japan and we have shinkansened and walked our selves out. Added to that we have probably seen more cherry blossom than many would have thought humanly possible.

We carried on the week in Kyoto but decided to get out of the city for the day and caught the train up into the mountains. Dave had found a walk he assured me was a short steep walk uphill, across a plateau and then back down – not too bad I thought! The ‘short uphill walk turned into 42 flights of stairs, all of varying heights…..and of course 42 flights back down….without the promised plateau too! . The village we ended up in was so rural and old that we unfortunately couldn’t recognise any of the food so had to have water only – my body is saying yay! Thank goodness!.

I can’t describe what a huge thing the blossom is here in Kyoto – people take every opportunity to sit underneath it for a picnic everywhere you go (with so many of the younger lot wearing traditional kimonos which are so beautiful) but don’t look quite the same on the European tourists – as Dave said it’s like visiting France and dressing like Marie Antoinette. I have also discovered there is an ancient condition here – Blossomitis and I think I have a bad case of it!

Kyoto is the city of temples and I think I can safely vouch that we saw them all. The Great Buddha also contained the tree of enlightenment where,if you can pass through can see a better world. The alternative was to pay for a wishes card….. you guessed it – more money for us to pay!

Next stop Hiroshima on the Shinkansen. We had bought a Japan Rail Pass when we arrived and have so had our moneys worth! The hotel prices are a little crazy at the moment as everyone flocks to see the blossoms across all the parks. Hiroshima has the visitors also coming to the Peace Park, making the city extra expensive. Rather than just roll with it I thought I would still try and get something reasonably priced….and that’s when it started to go wrong!

I managed to get 3 nights in a small hotel for £220 ….. not taking any notice of the ‘adults only’ guidance, thinking well I haven’t got any kids with me. The taxi driver quickly realised I had booked us into a ‘love hotel’, which again I thought was for couples only. It was but for couples who aren’t really couples 😉, if you know what I mean. Instead of the usual city maps and interesting places to see information in the lobby, the place was full of ‘special’ lotions and potions, magazines and videos that had clearly fallen off the top shelf! At this point Dave turned to me and said ‘this smells like a brothel – have you ever been in one?’ Another odd question to join his ‘have you ever worn cricket pads’ question in Australia?!? Luckily the poor lad in reception who was even more embarrassed for us than we were for ourselves quickly cancelled our booking….and we sloped off red faced to find a proper hotel.

I didn’t know what to expect of Hiroshima and was so surprised. The Peace Park with the Atomic bomb dome was not a place of sadness but a sign to the world of the devastation caused and a cry out to stop this ever happening again – the horrors of nuclear war. The museum had loads of pictures of the horror and effects that had been damaged but the most poignant part was the final 3 items – the last words of three little boys who were 100m from the drop zone and survived the initial blast but died from radiation burns two days later. Sadako Sasaki was two when the bomb dropped, surviving the initial devastation but later developed leukaemia. Japanese people believe that if you make 1000 paper cranes you can make one wish but unfortunately the cranes she made did not prevent her death. The children’s memorial was inspired by her and everyone is encourage to bring a paper crane – for peace…. and there are thousands left at the memorial each year. My one presentable crane took almost a whole pack of origami paper ….and was ever so slightly bigger and less beautiful than the ones she had made.

Off to Fukuoka for our final stopover in Japan and yet another different city experience. Each one has been so different from the others. Here it seems a very male business world with the bars and restaurants in the evening full of mainly men – we couldn’t work out if they actually ever go home. We had a great night out in a local cafe sitting on upturned beer crates with a plank of wood serving as the table!

Japan has been the land of contradictions:

No smoking on the streets but you can in bars and restaurants

Nowhere to dry your hands in bathrooms but heated toilet seats with a ‘wash and dry’ facility everywhere

No jaywalking anywhere but cycles all over the pavements you have to dive out of the way of

A chairlift designed for six petite Japanese people should not include 2 ‘jolly sized’ Europeans – I’ve never heard so much giggling in such a small space!

…..and the rickshaw sidestep is a whole other story….

86198 steps this week = 12314 ave this week / 13690 ave overall

2 days left in Japan and then off to South Korea x❤️

Konichiwa Tokyo mata Kyoto 🇯🇵

After a fabulous two week R and R back home with not one but two lots of snow, but so sorry we have unfortunately missed Niall’s passing out parade due to his broken arm. Its now off on Leg III of our two year adventure where we start in the land of the rising sun. To save some money we travelled via Bangkok but quickly established that money isn’t everything! We had been attracted by the two night flights but had forgotten about the hours in between sat in airport lounges (and my total inability to sleep on a plane!). Eva Air for the first leg were amazing and I would highly recommend….but give Air Asia a miss unless you’re trying to save some money!

First stop Tokyo – we have travelled to a few places over the past 35 years but have never been anywhere quite like Tokyo. The sheer manic-ness, inability to read the signs, not knowing what food to order and basic travelling on the trains was an initial shock to the system….but we thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m a bit more up for a crowd than Dave (despite only being able to see ahead and therefore thinking I’m alone on either side haha!) but I do think looking after himself and keeping an extra lookout for me gets to be too much….he keep muttering about the beach and mountains and rolling hills….but crazy Tokyo it is.

Our Air bnb left a lot to be desired with just a few of life’s staples to keep you comfortable missing – like curtains, crockery and cutlery but there’s always a heated toilet seat to make your worries go away.

We mixed up the days between the total madness of the Shibuya crossing where up to 1000 people cross the road at the same time (everyone so preoccupied with looking where they were going that no one gave a six foot Alice in Wonderland drag queen a second glance) to the Asakusa Shrine with all the beautiful kimonos, to the craziness at the top of the skytower where I’m sure the health and safety people counter must have failed, to the Shinjuku Park and the start of the Spring blossom.

We decided on this leg that we have to lose some weight and cut back on trying a new dish every night….but it’s sooooo hard! To help we are going to try and average 12000 steps every day except on big travel day..so wish us luck. This week came in at a fairly impressive 105,459 = 15,065 per day.

I still haven’t quite got my head around the food as there is so much choice and although the ingredients may sound the same, come out in all sorts of concoctions. We did go to a traditional tea ceremony with green tea and a Japanese sweet. Call me naive but I had thought it may have tasted like Tetley green tea but was unfortunately more like tea made from boiled veg – step in my hero Dave who finished off mine too (as it’s considered impolite to leave anything. The Japanese sweet (bean curd) left in my bag!)

We jumped a bullet train to Mount Fuji which did turn into a lot more effort than we planned … a bit like trains, planes and automobiles but was worth the effort to see the iconic image up close and personal. However we did get to see just as good a view the following day on the train to Kyoto. Dave has asked for further training for his Admin Assistant!

The bullet trains are out of this world and looking out of the window is a bit like being on the waltzer at the fair – you can’t focus on anything close to but when the train goes round a bend it’s really something else.

This is the first trip where we are backpacking only without the comfort of cars and our beloved Betsy…and all I can say is thank goodness I bought a smaller backpack – our walk from the station to our gorgeous hotel ‘Home Inn Tojo’ felt like a hike across the Brecon Beacons. (Dave would like to add at this point that we only walked about 20 mins and that some of the Japanese kids had school bags bigger then mine). I shouldn’t really complain as I’m carrying his clothes 7kg and he’s carrying mine 17kg and Dave , yes I am sure I need my ghds, new sparkly black dress and make up! I WILL FIND SOMEWHERE TO WEAR THEM (at least once)

Kyoto was a total juxtaposition to Tokyo (try to use the word once every day to annoy Dave so thought it’s the least I could do to add here!). Hardly any buildings are above 4 storys and so different to Tokyo.

We arrived in time for the blossom but quickly realised blossom = expensive hotel rooms – you can’t have it all. We went to our first blossom party with dinner at the chabudai tables and had to sit cross legged in the middle of the park. Now in a private , darkened room we may have got away with it but being the most un agile couple going it was a mammoth feat, whilst all around us dinky petite ladies were gracefully falling into position like little ballerinas. I didn’t dare make eye contact as didn’t want to see the pity in their eyes…or see them laughing at us.

All in all it’s been an amazing week – the people are so polite and helpful, the whole country is spotless and the difference in culture as been a big eye-opener.

More Kyoto next week and off to Hiroshima x❤️

(I am trying to finish my last Australia blog too as I ran out of time on the last leg!)

G’day Melbourne 🇦🇺 …. and Happy (?) Australia Day 🐨

New week, new country and our very first time down under! As we were arriving just before midnight I had booked a hotel close to the airport before setting off into town the following morning. Unfortunately that meant a really short pick up for the taxi drivers at the airport and the first three refused to pick us up as they said we could easily walk there….3 miles along a dual carriageway?! One even refused us as a ‘security risk’ – I like to think he must have taken a look at our athletic bodies and thought we were going to do a runner at the other end! We eventually got into our room at 1.30am and were met with a 70s porn palace straight out of ‘Casino’. If Robert De Niro has walked out of the bathroom I wouldn’t have bat an eyelid. I have been soooo missing baths on my travels and was tempted to climb the stairs to get a bath but had a horrible premonition of ending up on some dodgy internet site so gave it a miss.

Onto Melbourne itself and we picked up the most fabulous apartment opposite Flinders Street Station, in the heart of the city – in a student block and so central. Melbourne was abuzz with the Australian Open and the fact it’s Australia Day in the same week too, so for once the O’Gradys are in the right place at the right time!

Although we usually watch the Grand Slam events on the telly we have never actually made it to live tennis – despite trying to get in the Wimbledon draw on numerous occasions. In Melbourne is just a simple buy a ticket online! We managed to get tickets for the Rod Laver arena to watch 4 quarter final matches – 2 women’s, Chang from Korea and Aussie fav Lleyton Hewitt. We would definitely try and get to the Tennis again if we are luckily enough to be somewhere at the same time.

We did get to see the toughness and sassiness of the strong Aussie woman up close and personal. A woman of around 40 was happily walking through Federation Square without a care in the world. Suddenly behind her was enthusiastic suitor ‘Mr A’ shouting out to her ‘Donna….Donna…..Donna…..Donna’. Everyone stopped to see Donna turn round and fall into his arms ala the D Day clinch… – alas this wasn’t to be. Donna lashed out, punched him square in the face, shouted F*** *** at the top of her voice and carried on walking. Mr A, face bleeding by this stage merely sulked off with his dignity dragging behind him in tatters.

In the run up to Australia Day we had seen lots of reports of people boycotting events in recognition of the aboriginal people and it wasn’t long before the annual parade through Melbourne was followed by an even bigger parade of those calling for the cancellation of the day they refer to as ‘invasion day’ and the reinstatement of the aboriginal flag to replace the current flag, even shouting at the people who still had their flags from the first parade – quite the juxtaposition! We really don’t know enough about the politics to comment but it does seem a little odd to celebrate the discovery of a country when people had lived here for 50,000 years.

Nice bars and restaurants, cheap havianas and it was time to pick up the car and start off to Sydney but not before a trip westwards along the Great Ocean Road.

We had read very little about Australia before landing and I had no idea that kangaroos and koala bears were all around the area (Dave has requested an amendment to….’Nicola had read very little’…but who’s in charge of the blog?) and did get to see our first kangaroo quietly sitting by the side of the road. We’ve yet to see a koala but see plenty of signs. I know they are out there as Mairead and Matt who we met in Fiji are spotting them everywhere …..having got over my garland envy, I now have an acute case of koala envy ….we WILL find them 🐨 🐨!

The coastline is fantastic with the 12 apostles who have withered over the years to seven, London Bridge and loads of gorges. The temperature at this stage had risen to a scorching 42 degrees but it honestly felt so much hotter….I thought I was melting but it seems human fat needs much higher temps unfortunately. A night in Cobden (as no beds at all available in Port campbell – less of a one horse town and more of a one Shetland pony with 3 legs and a limp town – we wouldn’t recommend at all…. and £80 for the privilege?!). Port Campbell on the other hand was lovely, with the pre requisite small brewery tucked away in the backpacker hostel. We did venture onto the beach and thank goodness for the Fiji tans as we would have frazzled despite the factor 30.

As I have been doing all the researching, booking, budget on the move and for the last 10 months and was drowning with all the different arrangements and bookings I did ask Dave if he would mind picking up the iPad and helping out for a bit. He didn’t manage to find anywhere to stay but you will be pleased to know that he now knows the lineup for the End of the Road festival in September, where Hamilton Leithauser is playing next, the comings and goings in the transfer window and that Melania Trump is not happy with Donald! Will come in very handy for Sydney?? So we’ve decided to chill about booking ahead on the road to Sydney and just rock up places and see what’s available.

I have been in touch with Christy’s godmother Gaby who lives in Sydney and I haven’t seen for 23 years and am so excited to be catching up with next week. X❤️

White sands, blue seas and lazy days….

As we left Waitui Basecamp and were finally in the safety of the Flyer, Dave also told me about the mice in the room and the one stranded in the toilet during the night! I have a habit of attracting mice on holiday but thank goodness I wasn’t aware of these….I’d have rowed myself off the island!

It was then off to the Octopus Resort on Nalauaki Island, the cheapest of our stays to date (our proper stays, Waitui excluded). A gorgeous beach front, loads of sun beds and the most amazing blue waters. We were given an upgrade with a real bathroom to ourselves for the first time, which was great. At first it did seem a little quiet compared to the other resorts but I think it was just so chilled. We met up again with Nadine and Reon from NZ.and Nancy and Dave from Blue Lagoon. We had the best food here in the Yasawas and were even given a night under the fairy lights by ourselves – it felt a little bit like being put on the naughty step to me …. I’m guessing Wami the restaurant manager felt a little sorry for us sat amongst the numerous ‘loved up’ honeymooning couples. We heard about the most amazing honeymoons – Mairead and Matt taking 14 months to travel around the world – wow! With most of the others including Tom and Char doing the whole Oz / Fiji / NZ thing! We had a fortnight in Morocco, I caught salmonella on the first night, we spent all our money on Mars Bars (as they were in wrappers) and I wasn’t able to get rid of it for six months. Still, silver linings and all that…I was the lightest I had been in my adult life!

Time for some activities and whilst Dave took off for the mountain trek, I took off for a pedicure. We did go on a snorkelling trip together though which was good, with the lovely Mosese who told me all about his four girls (7-12) who go to boarding school on the next island Monday to Friday each week. This is free but secondary school has to be paid for and is only on the main island – I later found out that most of the hotel staff in the resorts across the Yasawas are on the minimum wage – approx F$3 per hour – just over £1 per hour!!

I have been shedding a little of my inhibitions on our travels, having been so self conscious in the past….but with that also comes the shedding of my dignity which I finally left in tatters on the beach at Nalauaki . For the first time in years I summoned up the guts to walk along the beach in my cossie to the end of the cove, promptly fell over in front of the dive shop on the slippy rocks, but then couldn’t get up as I kept slipping – An older less delicate Bambi springs to mind with bleeding grazes! If only that was the worst that could happen! As we left the resort on the tender to our boat to Viwa, as I had one foot on the new boat and one on the tender the two began to move apart. A quick thinking person would have hopped back into the tender….. not me. I merely stayed put until I was in a Olga Korbut-esqe splits pose, the only difference being that she didn’t have a horrified husband in the background when she got her perfect 10.

Finally safely on board the Viwa tender and it was a 45 minute ‘hang onto your hats’ bounce across the waves to our final island stop in Fiji … and we definitely saved the best to last. There are only 11 bures in the resort with your own hammock and sun beds out front. Huge beds with the most gorgeous bedding from which you can look out over the sea…a true bit of heaven. We were shown to our room by the resort manager no less and then another lady appeared to give us both a foot massage – I’m not sure if news had reached Viwa about my boat acrobatics!

Roy, Louise and Sheung (the owners) live on site and take time out to speak to each and every guest – a real personal touch. Akilia , the manager managed to find out that we had celebrated our 30th anniversary a little while ago and we were met with beautiful flower garlands and a cake later at dinner that night. I’ve had garland envy every time I’ve stepped foot on the Flyer….and finally had my own.

Lazy days, snorkelling out to see the most amazing giant clams – all blues,greens and purples, a snorkelling trip, historic cannibal walk and Pacific dancing from the staff (I even managed to get up and dance in the beach aided by the heavenly Bananarama cocktail)…. and it was finally time to leave the beautiful Yasawas and get back on the road.

The long flight to Fiji is worth every minute….who knows, I might be back for my next honeymoon! (You have to keep them on their toes) x❤️

Bula Fiji ❤️

Bula definition: Hello, hi, how are you?, how’s it hanging? You okay?……LIFE!

So it was off to Fiji, bumping into a policeman at the airport – what do you think of the uniform Niall?

With the first three nights booked into the Bayview Cove Health Resort – I had booked the first few nights back in March to make sure we had somewhere to stay as we were not arriving until 9pm and had already stayed in Nadi on the way out to New Zealand. After discovering that we would be staying during cyclone season we had managed to lower our weather expectations during the drive through the last 3 months. However, the weather has been as unpredictable as you would imagine and we have had the hottest, sunniest week.

Bayview was not quite as we had imagined either as a) it wasn’t in a bay b) no cove to speak of and c) nothing healthy to speak of either….but the weather was good! We were immediately given an upgrade to a one bedroomed apartment and understood why the next morning at breakfast – we were the only guests in the resort! So it was just 2 days of sunbathing and a lazy time all round. We had to walk to the next resort for tea one night as in ours it was the ‘chefs’ day off, the manager had just been sacked (on his second day) and they had no food of to cook! Answers please on a postcard as to why the resort was empty!

Our next stop was Nadi where we were getting picked up for the Mamanuca and Yasawa islands the following day. We jumped the local bus into town for 40p each – what a great experience – reggae music blasting out throughout the bus and the most colourful Bula shirts imaginable. Nadi was very different to what I had imagined but exactly as Lonely Planet described – ‘people come to Nadi twice …. Once to arrive and then again to leave. There is very little to buy but what there is is available in every shop….all for the same price. I’m really not sure how people select one shop over another but maybe it’s who you know. Dave went all ‘traveller’ on me and left the town with his Bula shirt tucked happily under his arm! If you know Dave you’ll also know that if it isn’t white blue or black he isn’t wearing it…so this mad crazy brown and yellow splash of madness will be a welcome change 😬

Time for the islands – We picked up breakfast at the ferry – a lovely lady selling chicken and potato roti wraps for 40p each- a flat white and all aboard the ferry for the next few hours! The flyer is a little like a bus that sails up through the islands dropping people off and picking others up. Small tenders then come out from the resorts to ferry you to their island.

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r first stop was about 3 1/2 hours away from the mainland at the gorgeous Barefoot Manta – a lovely shack directly on the beach with a shared bathroom and an outside shower. What a lovely place to start out island hopping but in retrospect possibly too nice and should be saved to the last as the coral and sea life was absolutely amazing….hundreds of Butterfly fish, blue starfish and amazing blue and yellow stripes fish…unfortunately we don’t have an underwater camera and you will have to take my word for it. As we left we learned that we could have hired a go pro from the dive center…but once again the O’Gradys were behind the wave! The staff, night time dining, singing and other guest were all fab too – a real chill out zone and a must see if doing the Yasawas. We met Nadine and Reon from New Zealand, with the lovely Luca and dancing Milla x – stay in touch guys.

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o it was off the Yasawa group and Blue Lagoon Resort – set in a beautiful bay with the obligatory palm tree fringed beaches but much more corporate than before. Dave took off for a couple of hikes up the mountain behind the resort but at 30+ degrees I used that energy to make sure I had enough sun cream on! We did sign up for a trip to the caves but on learning that you could get pregnant if you went in I decided to give it a miss – the kids would never forgive me! Sorry….. I misunderstood, you have to get into the cave like a baby being delivered, twisting mid way! Still it was too dark for me so Dave had to do on his own. Cultured as ever, Dave described the only limestone island in the Yasawas as ‘the place Brooke Shields got her kit off in Blue Lagoon’ – guess he’ll be wanting to down load the clip at sometime!

We did take part in the crab race one night, where you find a crab on the beach, are given a number which is painted on his shell, the crabs all start in the middle of a big circle and the first one out of the circle wins its faithful owner $30 off their bar bill. Caitlin crab (#20) and Christy crab (#15) were not the most athletic of the bunch and unfortunately did not reward all the training we have given them with G&Ts for us! They are then returned to the sea with their new tattoos.

Final stop for the week was Waitui Basecamp where we were due to be glamping for three nights! We did have a little warning that things were going to be a little iffy when it took 4 emails before we received a reply to confirm they would be picking us up from the Flyer. On arrival it was clear this was not going to be the island experience we had had to date as there was no beach to speak of, merely a clearing where the Mangroves had once been. We were taken to the tent we were due to sleep in and told to keep it zipped up to keep all the frogs out! And when asking what all the many holes around the tent were for only to find out they were crab holes! I was almost hyperventilating at this point as the toilets were a good 30 feet away and the thought of crossing that mine field in the middle of the night would have meant Dave giving me a piggy back to the loo – 😳- never going to happen. After asking 5 times if it was possible to move while Rosa thought about it (there were only 6 others staying here!), it was off snorkelling . Although good, we had been so spoils at our first stop! We did eventually get a cabin with fabulous views over the bay but unfortunately the missing panes of glass, unflushing loo and broken floor tiles suddenly made the tent appealing. The food was really poor but the company of the other guests was good and we could have a laugh about it. Off to church the next day at the next village which was an experience…ending with the Sunday School kids singing a fabulous song in English. Then the rain came and it rained and rained for hours. We sat in our room trying to watch GOT but couldn’t hear it above the rain and were getting soaked at the same time! Enough was enough and holding hands to say prayers at dinner was the straw that broke this camels back….so we are leaving a day early and moving to our next resort. Shout out though to Monica and Michael from Germany (Happy 80th birthday Michael – enjoy your party!!!)and Kane and Jen from the Isle of Man who helped us laugh in the face of adversity.

We are hoping the sun will reappear next week x❤️.

Poroporoaki New Zealand …😢

Total miles travelled: 5919

Total steps walked: 761,392 – Bournemouth to Galashiels

Total floors climbed: 1280

Total places stayed: 49 different huts, campsites, motels, hotels, air bnbs and Bitsy!

What can we say but wow! The whole trip has been amazing from start to finish and far out weighed our expectations. The people, scenery and wildlife have been fabulous.

I arrived still bearing the weight of my work heavily on my shoulders but am leaving a much less stressful and happier, smilier Nicola – thanks to my fabulous driver (only kidding!!) and partner in crime Dave xx

We have so many highlights of our trip:

• Oparara – whimsical Dr Seuss land
• The Blue penguin raft coming back to land in Otago
• The pod of humpback whales in the Milford Sound
• Pancake rock blow holes
• Mt Taranaki appearing above the clouds
• Climbing to the top of Roy’s Peak
• The Haast Pass
• The Hooker Pass
• Flying albatross
• Boiling mud pools and Frying Pan Lake
• The layer of shells at Kidnappers Cape
• Coromandel
• The Abel Tasman hike

…. and the stunning sunsets…:

….and the beautiful birds….:

….and the superb sea life ….:

….and the tremendous trees….:

…and not forgetting the majestic mountains:

We made it top to bottom and even managed the middle bit and it’s now time to move on with our travels …… but we will be back x❤️

Happy Christmas and Happy New Year 🎇 🎉 🎊 …. Happy 2018!!

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Miles travelled: 509

Steps walked: 60879

Floors climbed: 115

So how did the first Christmas away from all the family go? In the words of Bjork….’Oh so quiet’ 😢
We stopped at Hamilton overnight on the way to Raglan, expecting loads of parties and raucous people on the last Friday night before Christmas (as it would have been back home) but it was just another sleepyish night in town. Whilst there were no decorations at all in the town they did have the most amazing Christmas Tree.

In our final bar we did bump into a small group out from work with the girls wearing snowmen dresses as a nod to the Christmas mayhem to come?!

Off to our nice Bach in Raglan for four days and although we hadn’t told anyone where we were staying, we were greeted at the apartment with a parcel from home 😭. Caitlin and Christy had pieced together bits we had said about the Bach and were spot on with The Silos. We were both so made up that they had done this and so the first tears of Christmas there then. We decided to leave it until Christmas morning as it was the only present we had to open…..and suddenly to tree looked just like the one from home – minus my heart decs and tons of wrapped gifts. For the first time in my life I had organised my presents for home before we left so it was just food to do.

When in Rome….. and all that, and it was bbq bits, 2 disposable bbqs and in keeping with a Kiwi Christmas – strawberries,cream and pavlovas for pudding.

We popped into town for a drink on Christmas Eve in time to see Santa complete with Ray Bans being driven around the high street for the kids. People had turned up at the pub with guitars, ukuleles and banjos and played Johnny Cash and the like for a couple of hours…..not a Slade or Wizard rendition all night. Back home for Love Actually and a couple of bottles of wine

We loved our pressie from the kids – Lindt Father Christmases, chocolate reindeers, socks, cards and….. it only turns out that M&S have copied our ‘infamous O’Grady Christmas Name Game’…. and selling off as their own invention. More tears! FaceTimes and calls from home just made the day even sadder and then finally all the salad to go with our BBQ had frozen and couldn’t be used, the disposable bbqs could only cook 2 things….but the pavlovas and champagne made up for it!

We went down to the beach where loads of Maori families had set up gazebos on the shore with a crazy family gathering. They all seem to love to jump into the water off anything…. picture the 30 stone man teetering on the edge of the hand rail before ‘top bombing’! Peter Kay would have been so jealous.
Off on the road again to Auckland via Waiuku for a couple of days watching sand yachts and horse buggies on the sand.

It was so nice to see Auckland in the sun and we had picked a fabulous Air bnb in Devonport with views across the harbour to the Skytower. A final 5 great days spent hiking to the top of Rangitoto Volcano in the bay, meeting up with JJ and Kim from home for a night out at the Viaduct which was great (they had air curling in one bar that JJ and I were dying to have a go of but didn’t manage – maybe next time!), a trip to Waiheke Island and tour around the vineyards – walking through the actual vines, frantically finishing a baby blanket I have been making to send home ….. New Year! We had maybe got a little excited for some great festivities and whilst I did get up with a band to play the percussion and keep them in beat….. sorry that should read maracas, it wasnt quite the event we had been expecting. I imagine that house parties are the big thing here but unfortunately without a house to go to it was down to the beach to see the Auckland fireworks – nice but probably not worth waiting the four hours for that some people had. I think next year will have to be at home …. or taking the whole family with us.

Time to get packed and back on the road again. X❤️

Volcanoes, volcanoes….everywhere!

Miles travelled: 550

Steps walked: 35546 (17.77 miles)

Floors climbed: 117

We started the week back at the lovely Okahune campsite, in the same gypsy caravan! The place had been shrouded in mist the last time we passed through on the way to the South Island but this time were able to see the snow covered tops of the volcanoes.

The site had a lovely spa tub and the thing I have missed the most when we have been away is a bath! Oh and the kids – of course!😜. Whilst I knew I wouldn’t be able to take my beloved Lush bubble bar in with me at least I would be able to get my shoulders under the water…so all good you’d thin! Well that’s what I thought until I was in the tub (which was outside) and realised it was in front of the kitchen window as everyone was making their tea! I thought Dave was going to have to pay for further sessions until midnight and it was safe to get out. Luckily someone started playing the piano and distracted them all – Usain Bolt would have been proud at the speed I leapt out!

We had come back so that Dave could do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing – with the Red Crater and the infamous Mt Doom. I had offered to join him to carry his sandwiches and offer some words of encouragement when the going got tough but he insisted I have a lie in and enjoy my day…… plus he only had an 8 hour window to complete the trek and we had calculated I would need a good 15 hours! He said whilst going up was tough, coming down was much harder and I would have struggled with my 15 hour window!

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did meet Harry Charsley’s parents on the way back and made them glaze over with his tales of being an official Everton superfan. We then met them later in the evening when Dave invited himself to join them for dinner – no embarrassment there then, but a nice evening was had.

Off on the road again to Mt Taranaki on the west coast, on our way to Raglan for Christmas. I kept looking out for the volcano without any luck when I had the most ethereal moment. Way, way higher than I had expected and above the clouds the snow covered crater suddenly appeared – I can only imagine the experience to Frodo seeing Arwen for the first time in Lord of the rings.

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based up in New Plymouth for a couple of days so took the chance to see all the modern sculptures it’s known for on a bike ride. I even managed to sit through an hours film on an abstract artist….or was it the plushest cinema seats ever that kept me there?

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stop off near a volcano would be nothing unless we walked up it (!). Luckily for me it is classed as a advanced walk with snow gear required so we had to suffice with a hour and a half uphill to the last observation point – well worth the effort with awesome views.

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d a quick nights stop in Hamilton on the way to Raglan and took the chance for a night out on the town. It was the last Friday before Christmas and would have been a huge night at home but have to say that this was just like any other night here. We did bump into one small office group with the girls wearing dresses with snowmen on which was funny.

Last stop for the week, and Christmas was Raglan and four nights in the luxurious penthouse in the Silos. An old cement silo had been converted into 4 luxury apartments with ceiling to floor views across the harbour – gorgeous – more in the next blog. X❤️

Sleeping Sound(ly)….

Miles travelled: 510

Steps walked: 64245

Floors climbed: 46 (1308 to go 😩)

What a start to the new week! I had woken up with a headache and just asked Dave to pass a couple of ibuprofen. He duly passed over two brown(!) tablets, which I thought was unusual but took them nevertheless. We jumped in the car to go for a walk and I felt so tired all of a sudden….and then I remembered what the tablets were – sleeping tablets that I have been taking for the past two years. I made the decision to try and wean myself off them whilst travelling and Dave had only given me, not the 10mg originally prescribed or the 20mg they were increased to …. but 40 mg. I was out like a light and for the rest of the day only getting up for about 30 mins for something to eat and then back to bed for the night. However I did manage to record a paltry 20 steps for the day! Luckily Dave had a good day – out somewhere or other till about midnight! Suspicious!

A day wasted and then it was off up to Picton to catch the ferry back to the North Island. We hadn’t caught a proper look at the Marlborough Sounds on the way in so took advantage of the Queen Charlotte Track.

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have now found a utopia state when walking – walk separately! We can both go at our own pace (which saves me hanging round for Dave!!) – and so we caught the boat out to the edge of the Cook Straight at Ship Cove to drop Dave off (and quickly view the Captain Cook commemorative plaque) and then headed back down the straight to drop me off. I got to see the beautiful Blue Cod which are neither beautiful or related to the UK cod but are the most amazing cobalt blue colour.

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had agreed to meet up at Furneaux Lodge and I was determined to get there before him, armed only with a cheese and pickle butty and Harry Styles songs to keep me going. 13kms and 3 hours later and didnt he only just go and catch me up as I was walking through the gate! I’m guessing he ran some of the way! The sound is lovely but very remote – with some amazing bach’s – a perfect escape.

We had one last morning on the South Island and so we booked up to see the dolphins in the sound – me supposedly swimming with them and Dave watching from the boat. The eagle eyed among you would know that this involves wetsuits! I have only had one previous encounter with the said garment during my time with the Princes Trust. On that occasion the zip was at the front and as I pulled up the zip my boobs just got higher and higher until they became part of my neck – one of my lower points in life. Picton wasn’t going to be outdone and managed to make this the very lowest, rock bottom, down in the depths moments for not only did I have to get into a 7mm wetsuit but I then had to walk along the quay to the boat – a horrendous 5 min walk. As you can imagine Dave was nowhere to be seen – apparently he had lost a contact lens in the bathroom and had to go back and retrieve – and I wasn’t even aware he wears them! Luckily he caught us up as I was safely ensconced in the boat!!

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m not sure if it was the pressure of feeling claustrophobic in the wetsuit or the fact that the guide reminded us on numerous occasions to remember that we would be in the water with ‘wild’ animals but by the time we saw them and were quickly ushered into the water I was totally beside myself. Added to which I then had the further embarrassment of having to sing Jingle Bells to lure them closer!

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fortunately but luckily for me they had seen some tasty fish on the other side of the boat and had made a beeline for that! One final indignity for the day – getting back into the boat. Truly the deepest, shameful moment of my life! I decided at this point that I would much prefer to join Dave viewing the spectacle than being part of it and did manage to see them flipping out the water and scaring the bejesus out of the others – they swim at you and then duck under at the last minute – I would have had a heart attack.

Back to windy Wellington and then off to Napier for a couple of days, through the fabulous Upper Hutt and Tararua Forest Park – miles and miles of native bush covered mountains. We had come this way to complete the Kidnappers Cape track – a 19 km stretch of beach that is only visible for 5 hours between high tides. I was so worried about caught by the waves and stranded that I got to the Cape in double quick time but dawdles on the way back making my nephews a very informative geology video (which I’m sure will help Elliot get the grades he needs for Uni – hey El?) that we only just got back in time – with sopping trainers. This area of New Zealand is beautiful and you can see the layers of shells from hundreds of thousands years ago. The campsite here was the worst we had stayed in so far and so whiles away the rest of the day and evening in the fabulous Filter brewery in an apple orchard.

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wards again with the great Tongariro Alpine Crossing in our Daves sights! X❤️

A veritable vista of views….

Miles travelled: 364

Steps walked: 74630 – 37.31 miles

Floors climbed: 174 ( 1354 to go) – Dave did an extra 100+ to this🌟

What better way to start a week than to see Roy’s Peak – Dave from the top down and me from the bottom up! I had read the Department of Conservation route of the walk and when it stated that the route just went up, up and up with no flattish bits I felt that for the sake of our marriage and continued travelling that I should let Dave do this one on his own. I would just walk around the bottom – what could be simpler? Maps lie! It turns out that we both did 23000 steps although admittedly Dave chose the 23000 harder route. Dave walked the way down with Ivy from Malaysia who clearly made an impression on him….Ivy this…and Ivy that! Little did we realise until he came hobbling into the bar where we had arranged to meet, glaring at four Dutch girls eating ice-creams and laughing as he passed them (turns out they had run the whole way down passing him as he hobbled!) that he had actually walked 233m higher than Ben Nevis! Well worth every step with amazing views to boot. The bottom wasn’t as flat as I had imagined either – the start of the walk had described it as an intermediate mountain bike ride and it was only when I saw the riders having to get off and walk some of the six peaks that I realised what a slog it was. I had forgotten to pick up my water when jumping out the car and didn’t come across anywhere to get a drink for 3 1/2 hours , stumbling in like Robinson Crusoe but so less elegantly!

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One last look at the lovely Wanaka and ‘that Wanaka tree’ and it was off to Mount Cook village.

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There is only one way in and out and the view in was absolutely beautiful – the lake was electric blue and look just like it had been lifted out of the Caribbean and plonked in the middle of New Zealand.

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We had probably become a little smug with our ease at getting places to stay and it didn’t occur to book ahead here….but paid the price as there are only a handful of hotels / motels and as Booking.com had completely sold out in the village, any establishment with space could name their price! $575 later and two nights booked it was off to see the Edmund Hillary exhibition at the only hotel with complete views of Mount Cook.

We were up and out early the next day to do the Hooker Pass. We hadn’t reckoned on the sudden rise to 33 degrees to do the hike – with no winds at all! Putting NZ factor 30 on here is like putting on neat baby oil at home and it wasn’t long until we were frazzled 😡 – ouch! But the amazing view made every step worth while. And we only bumped into Ivy and the rest of her family! … and she was just as Dave had described – lovely! The lake at the bottom has baby icebergs floating in it and whilst I was having a plod to cool my feet down another huge lump fell off the glacier causing a mini tidal wave – I had read on the way up to Mt Cook that the Christchurch earthquake in 2010 had caused a piece 1.3 km x 300m high, weighing 30 million tonnes to break off into the Tasman Lake next door causing a 3.5 high wave!

The Mt Cook area is one of 10 places on Earth where you can see the most amazing night sky including the Milky Way if you are lucky, so I thought I must finally have a chance! Dave drove me back to the Blue Lake Pass around 10.30 at night to try and get some pics and I did manage to get this but unfortunately only saw one star myself 😩.

On the move again and this time to the Banks Peninsula and Akaroa, our stop for a couple of nights. We had read about this being where the French had landed but were just pipped to the post by the English in claiming New Zealand as their own. We had been expecting a very French feel to the village but whilst a lovely place, apart from a couple of streets with ‘Rue’ as the prefix and some French flags was not so French as we had been expecting. The temperature here was up to 35 degrees and far too hot to hike anywhere so a couple of lazy days were had.

We had ‘Fush and Chups’ one night for tea with Elephant Fish being the catch of the day! It was more like white tuna than anything cod-like. – not sure I would have again.

Back on the road again and moving back up to the North Island for Christmas and the New Year via the scenic route off the Peninsula – more amazing views x❤️

The remarkable Remarkables, marvellous Milford and the big catch up..

It’s been a mad couple of weeks and so hard to keep up with my blog everyday ….so buckle up for the last couple of weeks – days 207 – 220!

Miles travelled – 986

Steps walked – 102384 – 51.19 miles

Floors climbed – 150 (1528 to go)

And so the journey south continues with this couple of weeks travelling from Wanaka to Wanaka via Queenstown, Milford Sound, Bluff, the Catlins, together with so much wildlife we are turning into a proper little couple of Attenboroughs .

There are a number of towns around Queenstown that were old gold mining towns and definitely worth a look. Arrowtown, Cromwell and Clyde were all great but very busy with Chinese tourists in their busloads – we really hadn’t appreciated the Chinese connection but they also came to the gold rush, staying long after the main miners had left and by mining the small amounts left behind also managed to make their fortune – who knew.

Beautiful Queenstown and the amazing Remarkable mountains – so impressive. Christy’s tip for here had been the famous Fergburger! However from looking at the constant queues of 30+ people there also seemed to be a strict queue code – you had to be under 25, have long and lithe limbs, have a gorgeous sun kissed tan and really good looking – so I just had to eat mine in front of Dave!

I have been umming and ahhing about doing something a bit daring but haven’t yet managed to get the courage to do anything mad and settled on the jet boats at Queenstown where some 20 year old misses bouncing your head off the canyon edge by inches – although I’m sure it’s a lot more scientific than that – a really good experience. I also managed to get Dave into the gondola to go above Queenstown and a photo stood near the edge but you could hear his heart pounding all the way back down.

Off then to Te Anau and the outstanding Milford Sound. We decided to splash out here and spend the night on the sound which was amazing – we had an hours hike in the Milford Track, Dave had a swim, saw seals and gorgeous Fiordland crested penguins and after an early wake up call in the morning sailed out into the Tasman Sea to see four pairs of Humpback Whales playing in the bay! They are only in the bay for a week – how lucky were we!

As we were so close to the end of New Zealand we thought we would get down to Bluff for the obligatory picture, which meant a night in Invercargill. This is the southern most city and has an abundance of one style of store……Tractors and farm-y type machinery, counting 6 shops on one street alone! Unfortunately that about sums up the town, so it was quickly off to Bluff and then onto the Catlins.

The Catlins hadn’t really been on our radar at all but we absolutely loved it here. We stayed at the Lazy Dolphin backpackers with the amazing Vickie and viewe from breakfast of the Hector dolphins playing in the bay all day and night. It was then off to Kaka point and Nugget point lighthouse. We stayed in the very luxurious spa run by Lisa but I had the most horrendous migraine ever which wiped me out for 3 days. I felt like I had been hit by a truck – poor Dave! All I could think about was our David and his cluster headaches – I don’t know how he did it! Luckily we did get to Surat beach beforehand and spend a few hours with the whole beach to ourselves…. and some huge sealions.

 

While in the Catlins we met a couple of girls who were telling us all about Roy’s Peak in Wanaka which had been closed for lambing when we first passed through – their pictures were so amazing we decided to re-route our journey back up the island so Dave could do the walk. We passed onto Dunedin before turning back inland to see the Albatross and perfectly formed tiny Blue penguins.

Final couple of stops for the week were in Clyde – we had spied the most lovely hotel and restaurant the first time we passed so took advantage of going for Daves walk and stopped over – we are really not getting to grips with this budgeting malarkey at all but were having a celebratory night as I’d just received confirmation that all my angst with work is finally over, after 2 very long and stressful years.

Final stop Wanaka, staying just outside at the Lake Hawea campsite. We managed to get one night in the ‘lakeside cabin’. The full translation of this is ‘small hot box by the edge of the lake, bed and fridge only, decking but no seats…..and miles from the toilets!’ But it was great to sit outside until 10.30 at night, albeit covered from head to toe in mossie spray to deter the pesky sandflies.

Now for Daves hike, Mt Cook and the road back to Auckland x❤️

Glaciers are like buses…you wait ages for one ..and 3 come along together..

Miles travelled: 569

Steps walked: 87952 – 43.97 miles

Floors climbed: 224, I think I need to say that again – 224!! – 1678 to go

A great week! – New Zealand just keeps getting better and better. You think you have been wowed and then see something more ‘wow-y’

After leaving Hokitika (where I missed the glow worms because of an old episode of X Factor (!?!) – still, I’m sure I’ll see them later….or will I?.) and it’s along to Franz Josef and Fox where the glaciers used to meet the sea.

On the way up we had our first and only altercation since leaving home in April. We were driving down to the beach along a 10km windy road and didn’t pass a single car so Dave was cutting corners slightly to stop the giddiness, all very safely as you would expect. The car following us then pulled up alongside with the passenger effing and blinding about the danger caused (!!), telling us both to shut the **** up when we tried to talk to him. He then reached in to the car grabbed the keys out of the ignition to drive off with them! I pointed out this would be theft, so he threw them into the bush screaming that he was going to the police with the video evidence? We have since learned that in NZ a number of people make their own recreational medication – I guess he may have got the quantities a bit mixed up?

We both absolutely loved both the glaciers as the valleys to walk up to them are amazing and you get to see the size they were originally.  Photos really don’t do it justice at all….and particularly where there are parts where you are told not to stop as the area is prone to rock avalanches.  Thankfully Dave was on hand to record my struggles walking up the hill! I am absolutely fine walking on the flat and could go for miles, but these hills (or mountains as I have to keep reminding Dave) are a-killin me…..and then there is the small matter of coming down.  I can’t see anything below my nose and so am having to stoop like a pensioner to see where I’m going….

We had ummed  and ahhhed  about doing a helicopter trip to the glacier but are really trying to budget our money a bit better so we can keep travelling for a bit longer, so we’re quite secretly pleased when we got up on our last morning to see the clouds had totally covered the glaciers and saved us a bit of money.  So it’s off to Wanaka, through the Haast Pass instead…and in the words of Craig Revell Hallwood – fab-u-lous! But not before a quick trip into the woods to see the thousands of glow worms.  Picture the scene – I can barely walk along a pavement in the dark whilst clinging onto Dave so why did I think I would be able to walk through a bit of the forest, in the pitch black dead of night, walking on totally uneven ground (resembling a dressage pony as Dave kept prompting me to’lift my feet’)?  Because the thousands of glow worms would be lighting up the forest I thought.  I hadn’t reckoned on glow worms being like stars to me – totally invisible to my eye!  Luckily Dave did manage to take a photo for me to look at later….

….yes, it’s the one glow worm of the night!  The other thousand must have had an early night!

The pass starts at the sea and winds its way up and up following the bed of the Haast glacier with short(ish) walks along the way.  I’m sure I have mentioned the sand flies before but. I swear these were killer sand flies – they actually attack you as soon as you step outside the car.  To make matters worse they then followed us back in and continued to bite as we were driving……and to add insult to injury there wasn’t a grain of sand to be seen!

We did however manage to see the great Raging Billy falls, walk across the old glacier bed, get down to the Blue Pools and drive the lengths of Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea.

Wanaka is a little oasis in the middle of the mountains with a Great Lake too. We managed to do the Rob Roy glacier hike which included 35km off road each way, fords and a short 4km hitch hike each way as Bitsy couldn’t get through the fords! What a view – well worth the effort.

Next stop Queenstown x❤️<<
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The wonderful, whimsical West Coast….

Miles travelled – 586

Steps walked 55951 – 27.97 miles

Floors climbed 62 – 1906 to go

Another travel day…. another rainy day. However, this didn’t spoil the views at all – following the Buller River right down to Westport. We had read about the great alpine village where the views should have looked like this:

….. but unfortunately looked like this:

…guess you can’t have it all! Haha

The West Coast has the amazing Great Coast Road which we have travelled from one end to the other from Oparara at the north end to Haast in the south.

We started the week in Westport, which in the middle of the gold rush must have been the place to be, but whilst very central for getting out and about was very quiet – 8 of us in the one of two pubs for a Sunday roast (and I’m not sure that the other 6 were only there because they were lost!)

A great couple of trips out to the seal colony with mums and pups, Denniston (watch the Denniston Incline on You Tube – they tried to stop English Miners coming to town as they were Methodists and thought they would stop all the drinking in town – they hadn’t met my Great Uncle Ivan – Unc ll !), a great hike along the Charming Creek railway (Dave walking across the swing bridge like he was being followed by the Blair Witch – eyes down, don’t look left or right and walk as fast as you can!!) and the amazing Oparara – worthy of it’s own separate blog)

Next stop Greymouth but not before the amazing Pancake Rocks – what a fabulous sight made so much better by the 3m high tide….if only we could manage to get a decent photo – we are as bad as one another. We got soaked through to our pants but, always an advertisers dream, I forgot just how wet when tucking into my bacon and banana pancakes afterwards in the cafe.

We specifically stopped in Greymouth to catch the Tranz Alpino train through Arthur’s Pass to Christchurch. As there is only one train a day it’s an overnight stay in a heavenly brand new B&B with your own shower!!….and flip flop free! It was nice to go on a cloudy day and have sun on the way back but would I recommend it as a trip? Probably not. Nice but not really worth the money or precious time but we did meet a lovely Australian couple who helped with our plans for Australia – Melbourne to Fraser Island.  It was funny to see that some people didn’t look out the window for the whole journey with one lady even pulling over the curtain! – guess she didn’t make it to the open air carriage at the back then.

Final stop for the week was Hokitika – a glimpse into the real New Zealand. The temperature here is definitely hotter than would feel at home, for example 17 degrees in the sun does feel like a good 25 degrees at home – we just have to remember the sun screen every day or will return home like whizzend prunes! We happened to stumble upon a pool competition in the local bar with Jacko dressed in an Ali G thong bent over the table as I walked in. We were quickly introduced to everyone and given an explanation to the possum fur strategically placed in the front of said thong – to spare blushes (mine, not Jacko’s). Dave declined an offer to stroke the possum??

Onwards to the glaciers, snow and the south x❤️

Ps – keep following on instagram where it’s easier to load bits of video x<<<<<<
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Oparara – outstanding, out of this world, oh my goodness-ness!

If fairies exist! – and Oparara is surely the centre of their universe. If you only come to New Zealand once – make sure the Oparara Basin is on your list.

Thanks to the last minute advice of our non-resident tour guide – Christy Tours inc. we stayed on in Westport for a third night to take the 118km drive north to visit Oparara. Its at the very end of the State Highway and what an amazing place – truly Mother Nature at her very best – I absolutely loved it. Christy had described it as a ‘De Suess forest’ – it’s so magical you would think that Disney had thought the whole place up. All the trees and forest floor are covered in fairy’s footsteps and baby ferns.

The car park is reached by a 14km bone shaking off road track ( the type you would only drive down in someone else’s car – thanks Spaceships!). A couple of trails take you the Operara Arch and Moria Gate Arch

The first is a 37m high/ 200m long cave you have to climb up into whereas the second trail just ends at a hole in the ground. You scramble on down to find this absolutely amazing sight…..

….and then the small matter of getting back out with dignity intact (I unfortunately didn’t manage the dignity bit)

You then walk over the top of the arch and kids can follow and count the Moa footsteps – Dave walked off all excited to follow in the Maori tribes steps…only to find that a Moa is ancient bird that became extinct around 800 years ago. However he did proudly manage to count the 242 steps!

Christy tells me there is another cave you can only see with a guide, hard hat and torch but it’s full of giant spiders and bats – sometimes God moves in mysterious ways and having RP isn’t so bad!

Alice Sebolds ‘Lucky bones’ describes heaven as whatever you want it to be – I had always imagined mine would be a giant Dunkin’ Donuts store you could sleep in but now hope it is like this ….. assuming of course I don’t catch the downward escalator instead!❤️

Beatles, breweries and beautiful Tasman….

Miles travelled – 385

Steps walked – 58642 (29.3 miles)

Floors climbed 118 – 1968 to go

What better way to start another week in beautiful NZ then standing up in a club you have just joined, to sing karaoke for the first time in your life, in front of people you have only just met…..’how to (un) make friends and influence frighten people’ – never mind putting the Kiwis off The Beatles for life!

We arrived at Himatangi Beach on a nights stopover on the way down to Wellington and after a quick walk along the beach and driftwood like I have never seen (or unlikely ever to see again) were looking for a quick drink. Sherlock O’Grady who could spot a drinking establishment from 10 miles scanned the only available watering hole in the town – Himatangi Beach Fishing Club. Not only were we welcomed in like long lost friends, we were given a membership, handed a tambourine and maracas and asked to sing at the karaoke! Dave has only sang karaoke twice, both with disastrous results – ‘Blue Bayou’ and ‘I am the walrus’ will never sound the same again, and so, to save his acute embarrassment I offered to sing for him! Dave kindly repaid the favour by recording the whole thing for prosperity.

Down to Wellington and three nights of luxury in an Airbnb – it’s a pity we had no-one to meet up with as we had two bedrooms but maximised the space by having one each! – as if, we can’t bear to be separated for even a night – 24hrs a day and all that, we have become joined by an invisible Velcro! (Picture Daves raised forehead where his eyebrows are just peeping through at this point if you will!)

Two mad days incuding the outstanding Te Papa museum with its great Gallipoli exhibition and the amazing giant Peter Jackson figures, the cable car to the botanical gardens (although we still haven’t found them yet!), a catamaran sail across the harbour at sunset, a visit to the BATS theatre for the play ‘Locke’ (Davey culture there!), watching the teenage wharf jumpers, spotting a 6 foot wide sting ray and an evening with Lester, a worldly wise Maori who dislikes the police and tax systems! Did we mention we are a builder and hairdresser when travelling!…..not to mention the 3 am fire alarm that had us standing outside for over an hour as the man with ‘the keys’ could get up in so quickly.

Off to the dreaded Cooke Straight ferry crossing that turned out to be really nice. We spent the 3 1/2 hours chatting to Claire and Rick who have invited us in for coffee when passing theirs on the way back to Auckland – both native South Islanders, they gave us so many tips for the South Island.

First stop here was Nelson and the opportunity to do some of the Abel Tasman hike. There is a three day version where you walk with all your kit, staying off in huts overnight but at the moment only really had time for the one day (yes! ..my feet secretly cried). The boat dropped us off at Midlands Beach and would be in Anchorage Bay 4.5 hours later – 12km in 4.5 hours? Easy peasy! But what about the up and down and walking in sand? I felt like I had a giant countdown clock ticking in my head the whole time. We met Jon and Neville on the last stretch (who also invited us to stay over in Oamaru when we are passing) and arrived around 10 mins before the ferry with 70 floors to Everest under our belts. The beaches were amazing.

Richmond near Nelson was the birthplace of craft beer in NZ, started by the All Black Terry McCashin in the 80s. At the brewery we had the paddle tasters where Dave mistook my ‘thats okay’ comment about IPA as a green flag to join CAMRA, buy a checked shirt and spend every weekend in ‘The Shed’ when we are back home. He obviously hasn’t yet fully learned the Nic scale of loveliness

We are off to the West Coast next and snow covered mountains x❤️

Water, water everywhere…

Miles travelled: 559

Steps walked: 67534 – 33 miles

Floors climbed: 53 – 2086 to go! 😫

We have never experienced so much water in one week, from 2m swells on the sea, acid lakes on White Island, lakes at Rotorua and Taupo (and didn’t realise this was a volcanic crater- wow!), 98 degree hot springs, Frying Pan Lake, Inferno crater, bathing in 42 degree pools at 7 am, raging waterfalls ….and the small matter of rain, rain and rain!

We started the week at Mount Maunganui but the rain kept us off the top, so it was just an afternoon trying craft ales instead – every cloud and all that. We had booked a motel in Whakatane due to the mad rain and it was just like the last time we had stayed in a motel ….in 1989…. complete with nylon bed spreads, brown and mustard patterned carpets and getting covered in bites – but this time from the invisible ninja sandflies. Still, we had White Island to look forward to in the morning.

A sleepless night, more rain and a phone call to cancel the trip with no other plans – so it was a basic cabin on a campsite, big bar of chocolate and a bottle of wine until the rain stopped!

White Island was rearranged and what a trip. The boat ride over was a little dodgy for me with the big swells but once we got on the island was well worth the 75 min trip – sulphur oozing from everywhere, the crater filled with an acid lake and boiling rivers. We had thought the hard hats and gas masks were just for affect but you did definitely need the masks. (Since we left the island I have been following an earthquake app and see there have been two 5.0 quakes off the island yesterday!). The island last erupted last year but thankfully nothing stopping our day.

We then moved in land but not before taking a 25km off road trip to see an underground river waterfall! Who knew such a thing existed.

Rotorua was great with our first glimpse of the hot springs and boiling mud lakes … and the town filled smell of bad eggs! We have been trying to keep our ‘floor’ walking up in an effort to get to Everest but it was so flat here but managed to get Dave on a nighttime treetop walk in the Redwoods. It was hilarious as he is not too good with heights or moving bridges and this has both.

We loved the Waimangu Volcanic valley but had arrived a little late and virtually had to run down the valley for 90 mins to make sure we caught the last bus…. hold on – Dave is correcting me here …’we had to walk at a normal pace and not Nic’s usual snail pace’. We had a fab campsite at the Waikite Valley Thermal pools, and had the chance to use the pools until 9 at night and from 7 in the morning – worth getting up early for!

The week ended up at Lake Taupo where Dave had located a 2 1/2 hour flat riverside walk to the Huka Falls but my phone managed to record 28 floors with all the ups and downs….nothing to mention the blisters from wearing flip flops! If you ever visit this area also go the dam gates at Aratiatia, which are opened 3 times a day – amazing sight.

Finally we finished off our time here with a quick drink in town which unfortunately for me ended up with a long drink, too much wine and busting some very unusual shapes on the dance floor….you know that feeling when you think you are Madonna but end up looking like fat Maradonna….ouch!,

Onwards to Wellington and the South Island x ❤️

Back on the road but Betsy has become Bitsy….

Miles travelled: 496

Steps: 78325 = 39.1 miles

Floors climbed: 90 = 2264 to go

We started the week with four nights in a hotel(!?) / backpacker style hostel in downtown Auckland which was, by good luck, on the bus route from the airport.  It was clean, had free wifi and was on the 12th floor so all in all a good choice.  It unfortunately had rain included and so we spent the first 3 days away like we were back home. We did however manage to get to Devonport, Ponsonby with all the young hip dudes and to the top of the old volcano Mount Eden with magnificent views across Auckland. We hadn’t expected the 8pm nights in but have finally managed to sleep off our jet lag

Time to get back on the road and pick up our home from home for the next 81 days…and the sudden realisation of how everything seems so much smaller in real life. When looking for somewhere to stay back in March, the most important thing in the whole wide world had seemed to be cold drinks. Not headroom, legroom or somewhere to put our bags…..but. a cold drink! I clearly hadn’t considered that it would be Spring here and the practicalities of getting dressed lying down… or two ‘less than agile 50 yr olds’ squeezing themselves in……but Bitsy it is! I am just hoping that it gets hot enough to want cold drinks as Dave isn’t impressed by my choice up to now. By day she is a lovely car (with curtains) but at night can transform into a boudoir Louis XVII would be proud of…..or as Dave describes ‘a right pain in the a***!

Lesson 2 – English language is not spoken the same all over the world.

Whilst we have this ‘common’ language with the Kiwis, isn’t doesn’t mean a shared common understanding. I have very quickly established that the letter a, whilst appearing in words doesn’t exist. The letter e is pronounced i and the letters i and a pronounced e . As in:

Picking litter = pecking letter

Apple = epple

Getting better – gitting bitter

Confused? You really have to tune into what people are saying and we are slowly getting there. Only confused even more when learning that wh together sound like f. We will be kiwi word perfect by Jan!

The people here are so genuinely friendly and we received a first ‘Howdiddlydooly’ today when we walked into a bar – how nice!

After picking up Bitsy we have managed to cram in a visit to 90 mile beach (which is of course 64 miles long (!)), Cape Reinga at the northernmost point, at 10k hike ‭through a mangrove forest at Haruru, the Bay of Islands a visit to Dargaville and a night on a hippy commune type place. It was a ‘pay on trust’ campsite but as soon as she saw Bitsy the dream sleeper, she added another $5 each on the price – not so hippy then! We met 2 couples who are walking the Te Araora – from the tip of NZ to the bottom (our Lands End to John O Groats – 1452 km as the crow flies but 3000 km to walk and takes 4-5 month. Thank goodness for Bitsy is all I can say!)

We had heard before we arrived that New Zealand was akin to England in the 1950s but Dargaville was more like a 1930s USA.

Lesson 3 – Black coffee is only black when you take the milk out!

We popped into a cafe there for a quick coffee and bite to eat. The only coffees available were latte and cappuccino so we asked if we could just have black coffees. The girl serving didn’t think so but would ask her manager if he could make them. He said he couldn’t but would be happy just to put an espresso in a cup if that was ok?

We spent a great night on Ahora island in an eco campsite with two resident kiwis. I felt so ignorant when asked if I would like to go searching for them after dark …apparently they are nocturnal, shy and have bad eyesight – I had got them mixed up with dodos and thought they were extinct! You could use a torch but would have to cover with a red film so I had to pass – I can barely get around in full street light whilst hanging onto Dave but am hoping there will be an opportunity to see them at some stage.

Off to the Bay of Islands and Paihia now for a couple of days – speak soon xx❤️

Life on the road -Part 2 – LDN-HK-NZ

After two and a half weeks home, catching up with all our family and friends, meeting new neighbours and sorting out a mountain of paperwork (my gorgeous PA Caitlin had sorted out the rubbish – thanks 😘) it was time to get on a plane and hopefully switch off some more. I hadn’t really appreciated whilst driving around in Betsy that it doesn’t matter how many miles you put between yourself and any problems you have, you actually take them all with you in your head and it’s exactly this I need to work on during this time away – no pressure New Zealand!

As we are backpacking on this leg I had been rather pleased with myself in having managed to get all my things in one bag and feeling quite smug on the way to the airport…until we arrived at Gatwick.

Lesson 1 – It’s not the amount of things in your bag but the weight of it all – I must admit that I hadn’t even picked up the bag to try it out. I had just packed, zipped it up and Dave carried it down to the car. Imagine my horror then as Caitlin and Tim were driving off waving and smiling while I was hobbling to the terminal with what I felt like a sumo wrestler strapped to my back – I honestly thought I was going to fall backwards like a cartoon character and be stranded with my legs flailing about in the air. With no trolleys to be seen it was Dave to the rescue to carry both bags leaving me with a camera and small rucksack – who knew a few T-shirts and shorts were so heavy!

First there was the small matter of getting there and we had decided to break up the journey with a stopover in Hong Kong for a couple of days. First we had the 7 hour leg to Dubai with 3 hour stopover to deal with….unless that is if we take off over 2 hours late and have to run the whole length of Dubai airport in 38 degree heat…in jeans!

Off to Hong Kong and to a great room with a view at the Butterfly on the Waterfront – I think ‘compact and bijou’ would be an estate agents description. I had lived here during the early 80’s and couldn’t wait to show Dave around but was so surprised to see the enormous amount of change. Whilst I had been prepared for the new higher, shinier skyscrapers, I had not anticipated the removal of the old Chinese tenements, fabulous signs hanging over the road and local food stalls. These have all been replaced by hundreds of designer shops – the majority of which were empty – a real culture clear out which was such a shame.

We had a great couple of days and nights, meeting up with Dave and Trish Webster to see a dragon festival, complete with 20,000 burning incense sticks, skybar cocktails at sunset to watch the harbour light show, a bus trip to the quiet side of the island, trip to the highest observation point (100 floors) and a visit to my old house. It had since become a psychiatric unit – maybe it always was! ….. oh and the small matter of loads of walking

Dave had very kindly bought me a smart watch for my birthday before we left so I can keep an eye on the number of steps completed, which had to be my best present ever 😫 !! Anyone who knows me understands how tetchy I get if I haven’t achieved at least 10000 steps a day – not! And what’s even better, it also logs the flights of stairs you walk up each day (but apparently not if you are in a lift or on an escalator – mores the pity!) I’ll keep you updated on my progress – Mount Everest is the equivalent of 2419 flights – so watch this space.

A flight to Fiji with a 24 hour stopover due to connection times between flights and we were then NZ bound. The people of Fiji were so friendly with their BULA greeting everywhere you went – can’t wait till we are back in January for a proper trip.

Our hotel for he next 4 days is in the centre of downtown Auckland near the tower and waterfront – here’s to a good couple of days.

Miles travelled – 14,007

Steps walked – 74,092 (37.04 miles – not bad as we spent 29 hours in the air!)

Flights climbed 65 ( 2354 to go!!)

Xx❤️

End of the road – part I

After 157 days, 9005 miles, 10 countries, 50 different stops, 7 ferries and a lifetime of experiences….we are back home.

Thanks again to Caitlin and Tim for providing a fabulous soft bed, lovely clean towels and all the home comforts we have been looking forward to on the way home, for the next couple of weeks.

What have we learned on our travels:

Nicola:

1. Any little niggles you may have with each other are magnified 1000 times in such a small space – just chill!
2. I am much more untidy than I realised
3. Dark clothes don’t show the dirt as much as lights and whites
4. All clothes eventually turn grey in a campsite washing machine
5. I don’t need to take 10 pairs of shoes ‘just in case’
6. Always wear flip flops in the shower!
7. You can chill wine with ice cubes – who knew?
8. Park your van as near to the shower block as humanly possible when you have had kids!
9. Octopus isn’t that bad
10. The Romans were cool guys

Dave

1. There are so many more nice people in the world than horrible
2. Nic is far more untidy than I ever noticed before
3. Ironing is so 1960’s
4. There is nothing wrong with drinking before midday
5. Never take your wife to a European away game
6. Find out how to open the bonnet of your van BEFORE leaving England
7. Fish soup is not the same in every country
8. I can survive without having a bet on a Saturday (Nic – just!)
9. Always agree with your wife
10. Harry Styles has a lot to answer for.

We didn’t quite achieve what we had set out to do in Part I in respect of losing weight and getting fitter but I have learned to try and chill a bit and not get over anxious – but hoping to do more in Part  II

We are off again on 1 October for Part II of our travels in Australasia and Asia, starting in Hong Kong.  We really hope to try many more new experiences, meet lots of new people and walk our socks off.

Please keep following our adventures and once again let us know if you are planning to be anywhere near us

Cheers Nic and Dave xx

Thirty years already?

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Why Rovinj?  So we could catch the catermaran to Venice for a couple of days, to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary! Can you believe it!  I still don’t feel 30.  I remember starting boarding school on 1 September 1975 when I was 11 and being welcomed in by Lynne Scutt.  She was just 18 and oh so grown up and I remember her folding her arms under her bust – I couldn’t wait to be able to do that and have still never perfected!

Rovinj was so beautiful – an old town on a small outcrop of land and only 2 1/2 hours to Venice, although we just had a couple of drinks and an early night to get up at 5.30 for the ferry…. However the weather had a different plan and we had the biggest thunderstorm I have ever experienced – it was completely overhead for a good 40 minutes, even managing to drown out Daves snoring! He didn’t hear a thing!

We have never been to Venice and had purposely not read up on it, to just take it as we found it and what an amazing place we found – I really can’t believe we had never visited before.  Caitlin and Tim had arranged for a lovely bottle of champagne in the room and the hotel had upgraded our room to their nicest room too which were both lovely.

We spent the next few days walking our feet off, having a gondola ride, visiting the amazing San Marco Bascillica, visiting a fabulous Leonardo da Vinci exhibition where they made models of all his drawings ….and get us, went to a performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.  I’ve never felt so cultured. We ended the trip with a taxi ride down the Grand Canal – a perfect way to leave.

Back to Rovinj, Betsy and the rain – summer is now well and truly over.  We had planned to visit Plitvice Lakes and Lake Bled as we slowly made our way home but the forecast was rain for 4 days solid so changed our plans to get home a little earlier to prepare for trip 2.

Two days of crazy driving with pitstops in Bled, somewhere in the middle of nowhere in Germany and a last little night of luxury in Versailles.  We only had a couple of hours to look around the amazing gardens but will definitely be back. X

Back together again ……

A fabulous, lazy week in Stikovica with the O’Grady clan.

A very hot drive down the coast with Niall and Laura with an overnight stop at Ston – this time with an inflated mattress!  We had real sand on the beach for the first time in Croatia, which got everywhere – bring back the stones!

Off to The Cliffside House, Stikovica (Owners direct) for a week of laziness, swimming, eating and drinking.  The house is exactly as described with only one very small detail missing in the blurb…… the 150 steps you have to walk down to the house….oh! ..and the further 150 you have to walk down to the private beach!  Luckily everything else was great and we had 3 strapping lads …ok – 2 and Dave to bring everything down.  Dave and I bagsied our room first and let the others have the balcony vs en-suite dilemma.  Christy got the last room by default but worked out extra lucky for him as it had a small prayer / contemplation corner – activities of which he does neither.

Caitlin and Tim arrived soon afterwards and it was so good to see them and get a proper cuddle – Niall needs a little work in this area!  They had left home 10 days beforehand and had driven down through Austria, Switazerland and Slovenia and were in need of some lazy sun time.

A lazy couple of days on the beach and into the village for a meal before Christy arrived into Dubrovnik, wrung out after his best man duties at the weekend – we didn’t expect to see him surface until the afternoon the next day but the prayer corner must have had the desired impact and he was up and in usual Christy mode first thing!

We hired a small boat and skipper for a fabulous day out around the islands.  We started off with a stop at an underwater cave with Ivo pushing us under and along to get in safely – if only I had noticed that my top had come down!  We had about 5 or 6 stops for eating, swimming and snorkelling with the obligatory belly flop from Dave.  I actually think he can dive like Tom Daly and just does it to makes us laugh!

​An afternoon in Dubrovnik / Kings Landing and a walk around the walls as we were missing the house steps so much!  Have now heard so much about Game of Thrones and had Christy ‘shaming’ me around the town that I’ve decided to give it a go on our next leg.

A great few days finally came to an end with the McCabes getting off first for the long drive back to Calais in 3 days!  The rest of us moved into an Air B&B for the night and got to see the other side of Croatia – a night in a Soviet style block of flats with the noisiest neighbours imaginable – back to earth with a Big Bang.

An early start with the kids off to the airport and me and Dave ona 800km drive to Rovinj to catch a ferry x

Transient in Trogir….and scary in Split!

Up early and it’s off to catch the ferry as a shortcut back to the mainland.  The Croatians really have the ferry process licked and it’s just a case of turn up, buy your ticket and you’re off – a gorgeous 45 min sail across the bay.

Driving up to Trogir on the motorway was a bit of a nightmare with Dave having to really grip the steering wheel as Betsy was all over the road – only then dawning on us that we had not secured the roof properly and she was really trying to take off!

Into Trogir, picking up our friends Tony and Jen on route to the Lorenzo Apartments with fabulous hosts Lydia and Ugo.  You know it’s going to be a good property when they have placed bottles of homemade schnapps, prosecc and wine in the fridge for your arrival.  They joined us for a drink…and another….and another!

We find a local beach with sun beds…. and the cheapest we have seen on our trip £2.50 a day – if they had only bothered to collect the money!  A trip to the beautiful Krka lakes but unfortunately 5000 other people had the same idea and it turned into a balancing act on the boardwalk with an obscured view of the waterfalls.

Our other friends Stew and Deb arrived and after a quick pizza and sleep it was off for a day on a private boat with the gorgeous Nicky.  We had a really good laugh, stopped and swam 3 times, Blue lagoon, Maslinica for lunch, Nicky catching an octopus, learning the Hadjuk Split chant and finishing off with a diving competition.

Think Busby Berkeley with fat fifty year olds and numerous belly flops and you have it – Dave won the best belly flopper  with Stew winning best overall.

A trip to Split to see the first leg of Hadjuk v Everton was a must but I’m not sure that the local bus in 34 degrees was the best way way to get there – Dave and I fell out the bus after 45 mins looking like we had just swam the Channel! Good result but nerves were starting for the second leg.  We had tickets in the home end but the more we heard about their fans the more we were wishing we had away tickets when Niall and Eddie came to the rescue – 4 tickets with the safety of a police escort……or so we thought!

We ended the week in the house with a fabulous barbecue by Ugo and Lydia – we have not laughed so much for a long time …. Ugo was on star form cooking a lovely wood barbie and trying to educate him on the silent k in knot will stay with me for a long time!

As one set of friends leave it’s time for family! It’s been a long time and we were so excited to have Niall and Laura arrive on the Wednesday and conveniently at exactly the same time as the Everton squad!  Dave managed to acost Tom Davies, Leighton Baines, Duncan Ferguson and Ronald Koeman for a handshake before being asked to step aside by a gun totting, robocop wearing burly Croatian policeman.

A night camping (poor Niall and Laura spending the night on an uninflated air bed) and then off to Split for the footie.  I had booked a room for the four of us in town ….just like Big Brother but without the jacuzzi!  There was a quick bite to eat before moving into the Fanzone …..although this was more zone and less fan!  It was the safety of being bussed to the ground that had lured us in and not the expectation that all the peacefulness of the zone would erupt into a hot, sweaty raucous bus journey and eventual smuggle into the ground through some bushes and via the back door.

The Hadjuk fans in the ground were everything we had been expecting and more – they sang and bounced for the full 90 mins and even another 30 mins after the players had left.  I’m not sure the police could have made them leave the ground even if they had wanted to.  We were kept in for a good hour and that’s when the fun started.  We were held outside the ground for another 40 mins before being escorted back to the buses – but there were only two leaving hundreds of people without transport and hundreds of heavily protected police with guns sitting in vans watching on.  We were told that we could start walking but that the Hadjuk fans were sat in waiting further up the road!  We were eventually walked up the road about half a mile with police vans protecting us before being shouted at to run for a bus which had caught us up….and driven to safety.  I felt more responsible for Laura, who Kim and Neil had entrusted us with on holiday, than Niall and Dave!

3 and 3/4 hours after the match had ended we were all safely tucked up in bed and ready for our hols – last European away game for the girls ….too stressful.

Driving down south tomorrow and onto Dubrovnik xx

Balkans, budgets and borders…..

Did we do it…..yes we did!  And the secret ingredient to our success?  Irena from Poland’s apple pancakes for breakfast!

We quickly decided that the small money allowance would be best spent on alcohol and therefore dug deep into our emergency supplies from home to keep us in food.  From these meagre supplies and a couple of items in the fridge I was able to provide 3 square meals a day – including French toast with jam for breakfast, salty crackers dipped in cream cheese for dinner and a wonderful Goan Fish Curry for tea.  We have marvelled at the said stall at the End of the Road festival for a number of years and little did I know how simple it all was.

Recipe for Goan Fish Curry  (Nic stylee)                        Ingredients:                                                  Packet of Uncle Bens boil in the bag rice.              Packet of Balti Curry sauce from Home and Bargains                                                                   Tin of John West sardines in olive oil (brine or tomato sauce may alter the flavour).              Method:                                                                 Step 1 : Heat up and mix together.                        Step 2 : Eat up and be thankful you have money to spend on beer!

Irena and her husband have a daughter Karolina who lives in Poole with her husband and two children and were parked up next to us at the site, all facing in together.  After two days of watching these concoctions I think she took such pity on Dave’s constitution that on our last day, produced the most amazing apple pancakes coated in icing sugar for breakfast – amazing!  Thanks Irena!

Off again to Budva but more importantly, the ATM for much needed funds.  The road to Budva was probably the busiest road we have been on since landing in Santander….and imagine our horror when the lovely Montenegrin village we were expecting turned out to be the Blackpool of the Balkans.  A quick turn around and we were in our way to the Bay of Kotor – so beautiful.

Whilst the Montenegrins have the scenery licked, they don’t quite have the same success with campsites.  They are very basic to say the least, with shared toilets that are not always the cleanest, very basic showers that may have a trickle of hot water if  you are lucky (I was never lucky) and little else in the form of facilities.  After looking at a couple in Kotor we decided to opt for a room for a couple of nights with a decent bathroom and air-conditioning – basic but bliss, with a fab view of the Bay thrown in too.  We were located just past TIVAT (which some clown had managed to change the signs to T**T with a black marker) and very near to the car ferry that crosses the Bay (about 100m across).  Imagine our surprise a little later when we looked up to see the Rhapsody of the Seas enormous cruise liner sail past….such a huge boat on such a narrow strip of water.  This happens twice a day in the summer and the locals don’t even look up from what they are doing.

The old town of Kotor was a nice break from the heat, full of windy cobbled streets.   There was a fantastic art installation in the old town prison, built over 200 years ago, with students depicting prison life with string.  It all sounds a bit arty farty but was really good – the prison looked like the one in ‘The count of Monte Cristo’ and had only stopped being used in 1989 – the naughty boys and girls in England have it so good.

Off to Croatia (and possible Bosnia and Herzegovina if we can) and through the dreaded border – it took 2 1/2 hours to move 1km in 36 degree heat!  Before leaving Montenegro we had bought 2 cases of wine for next week and Dave was grilled as we went through – we didn’t realise that as Montenegro is not in the EU you cannot bring it across.  I am such a wimp and was ready to hand it all over but Dave brazened it out!

We had decided to head straight for the Bosnia border but it was getting late and so made the detour to the  Dalmatia peninsula – Orebic

We have a lovely pitch right next to the sea, have visited the next island Korcula, have been wine tasting in the hills and had dinner at a small winery that only produces 15000 bottles a year and ended the week by waking up to the most amazing tornado – see Instagram.

Beach games this week have included how many pebbles you can stack on your knee,  getting Nicola on the lilo (not yet accomplished) and home made 0s and Xs.

Off to Trogir tomorrow to meet Tony, Jen,Stew and Deb for a week of a luxurious bed and much merriment x

Marvellous, mountainous Montenegro…

After leaving the Albanian border we slowly climbed up to 5000ft (1500m) into the Durmitor National Park with over 30 mountains over 2000m high.  A beautiful beautiful place and very like Iceland…with a few million trees thrown in.  We find the campsite on the side of the hill and Sonia actually came out of her small reception hut to welcome us to Zabljka – what a lovely touch.  We told her that her lovely site had been recommended to us and she remembered the family straight away.  She handwrites every visitor into her book despite having a computer next to her. We get a fabulous pitch looking up to Bobbo Tuk, the second highest peak in Montenegro.  We are so high that the evenings are really cold and have had to dig out all our quilts and blankets to get a great nights sleep.

We thought we would start off with a short 40 min each way hike to Black Lake at the foot of the mountain and Dave went off to get the directions through the wood. Sonia said ‘Turn right at first red sign, left at second red sign and right at third red sign’. Dave heard ‘Turn right out of camp, next left and next right’….and nothing about red signs! Six hours later and by some miracle we had eventually found Black Lake and made our way back, passing the said red signs without the vaguest recollection on Dave’s part! Still managed to appreciate the Lake which unsurprisingly was electric blue in colour!

We also took in the amazing Tara Kanyon (10th deepest in the world) and I even managed to zip line across twice! The first time was billed as the longest zip line in Europe but it was just like a ride at the fair as you sat down, so I also had a go on the one on which you hold on instead – fabulous. Dave kindly videoed from the bridge but some how managed to fall 3 inches off the pavement mid flight and missed my wave – see Instagram! Feeling all brave from #sheflies we decided to try the ski lift to the top of the second highest mountain….but ski lifts seem so much scarier without the soft landing of fluffy white snow. Dave didn’t fancy it but I thought I’d have a go. Little did I know it would involvej a change in ski lift half way up, jumping up onto the next lift as it comes swinging round and then walking up about 600m when you got to the top – far far more scary than the zip line! And then walking back down the 600m with my eyes – a nightmare! I did think on the way down who could possibly ski down only to find they were all black runs!

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We ended our time in Zabljak with a go at white water rafting in the canyon. We had a great boat with a group of Italians from our campsite. When the guide was giving directions to row, Dave had him saying ‘Everyone and Nicola row now’ in a pure scouse accent.

A fabulous, beautiful, chilly four nights and all for €40. Off back to the coast with a well deserved night in a hotel in Niksic – there was only a choice of two local hotels so we went for a bit of luxury and a gorgeous jacuzzi bath. We had a night out in town which was so weird – the town is in the middle of nowhere and had very little in it at all except for shop after shop of trainer shops and a row of bars which turned into San Antonio, Ibiza come 9 o’clock. Bizarre but good fun.

My favourite beige bra (or the brown bomber as it has become affectionately known) is no more and in desperate need of a replacement thought I might get something here. On entering the very tiny shop I should have known otherwise when the boxes and boxes of bras had clearly been is situ for a good 20 years and the lady was blowing off the dust before handing to me! It quickly transpired that ladies in the town must just buy the bra that fits them the best regardless of the size. When the lady asked me what size I was – 1,2,3,4 or 5! Needless to say I left empty handed as I’m not sure how to say 22 in Montenegrin.

Back to the coast for our final destination of the week, and down the 5000ft we had previously climbed. Veslo was our destination on the recommendation of our young Italian friends, but there is not such a thing as a straight road here. 2 1/2 hours of twists and turns with the final hour on a single track road. The campsite sits on cliff on the Adriatic side of Kotor bay – an amazing site. I was a little worried driving in to find the Kotor side of the headland on fire in a couple of places with fire engines from the 1960s putting out the fire. Things got even worse on the sea side when we could see almost the whole side decimated by fire. The owner told us this was the worse fire he had seen in his lifetime and all the people staying in the camp had to be evacuated to the beach before they could put it out – thankfully his camp avoided the worseWhen we started out we hopefully set ourselves a budget of €50 per day and have only managed this on about 5/116 days – but will definitely manage here. We turned up with €77 euros with the hope of using a card, but due to the fire all telephone and internet lines have been destroyed. Our pitch is €20 euros per night leaving €5.66 a day beer and food money……will we make it? X

….. Ain’t no mountain high enough….

A mad week of mountains, borders and dirt track roads.

We started the week sailing into Bar with the black mountains which gave Montenegro its name providing the perfect backdrop.  First there was the matter of the breakfast included with our cabin price on the boat.  I’ve now been with Dave for almost 33 years and this is the very first time I have seen him refuse to eat – perhaps jam that tasted of vegetables was a step too far.  The only other time when he almost refused to eat was for a meal I cooked for him and our David when we first started living together that I had honestly found in a cookbook – pork chops in tomato soup – still makes our gag reflex go 30 odd years later.

We hadn’t booked anything ahead but were luckily enough to get somewhere in the second camp we tried in Utjeha.  The attitude to pitches was the most relaxed we have seen so far – if you think you can fit in a space – go for it. The beaches were pretty much the same – find a space if you can.  At €17 a night too.  We were the only English people camping but met a lovely Romanian family and a Serbian family who invited us in for drinks – think homemade hooch and then think of the alcohol level of absinthe and you’re about there.  I wasn’t offered a glass as it was deemed too alcoholic for ladies, and was offered a pear instead!  Goran, the husband, is an artist and two minutes after sitting down his wife proudly produced around 10 paintings he had done, from the boot of their car and I thought we were going to have to buy one – imagine a paint by numbers where the pots have been labelled incorrectly and that is Goran’s view of the world.  Most were scenic views except a couple of young girls.  I mistakenly asked their youngest daughter if one was of her before noticing the see-thru nightie on the picture!.

Our site was right on the beach and predominantly filled with families from all Eastern European countries – Serbia, Hungary, Romania and Russia – who have an interesting view of camping. Get up in the morning, put on the very minimum amount of clothing and sit in the shade outside your tent.  Occasionally walk down to the sea, get out dripping wet and go to sit in a restaurant – when dry go back to the tent and start the process again.  Additionally one must always be accompanied by an inflatable (boat, lilo, crocodile or flamingo) and definitely must not come into contact with towels. It also seemed that  the bikini is the only acceptable swimming attire, whether you are 6 or 66 and a size 6 or 26 – no one batted an eye – liberating to see.

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Next stop Albania.  The first 30kms were along a one lane twisty country road, with coaches, tractors overloaded with hay and the whole family on board coming in the opposite direction.  Crossing the border was plain sailing and we were actually pulled over by the Montenegrin police whilst leaving and not entering.  As soon as you hit the first town you can see how poor the country is – with mums holding tiny baby’s and very small kids rushing up to the car asking for money, yet when you get into the town there are lots of men driving Mercedes and filling the coffee shops!

The Shkoder campsite is right by the lake with lush grass that we haven’t seen in ages, no mosquitoes and the cheapest bar and restaurant – a litre of wine for €4 with a large pizza for €3.  The first day had a bit rain but it was a good chance to see the town with a fab photographic museum – I know it sounds dull but it was so interesting.  Google Marubi – a really nice tale.

A trip up into the mountains to see the huge    Lake Koran – if only I was a good enough wordsmith to recreate the day in words – I haven’t laughed so much in a very long time.  You needed a minimum of 6 people to go in the car and so we roped in Sue and Bob from Billericay who were such good fun.  What the details didn’t mention were that

• The drive to the lake would take 2 1/2 hours on a mountain road
• The majority of the road would have no tarmac, crash barriers, chevrons or enough space for two cars to pass
• The driver of said vehicle could not possibly have passed his test
• The car would not have enough petrol to get home and the driver would free wheel wherever possible
• The car would also be devoid of brake pads and passengers would have to get used to the screeching metal when slowing down
• Albanian hip hop would be played at maximum volume
• The’boat’ we would be sailing on had previously been used in the D day landings and would be held together by planks of rough wood with nails sticking out
• The seating on the boat would be old unused garden furniture
• The boat would not actually be able to reach its destination and you would be required to get out and walk the last km almost waist deep in your clothes
• A large piece of yellow plastic would be placed over your head on the way home to stop the rain coming in

That said, we were with a good group of people who managed to laugh our way through the trip.  The final destination was a picture postcard alpine lodge in the middle of nowhere.  It had no electricity but managed to produce soup, lamb, fish and salad!!

The journey back only took 1.15 hrs and our nerves were shot to pieces.   Thank goodness for the very cheap wine at the end to calm us down!

Time to go back to Montenegro but unfortunately the border guards were not quite so happy as when we had first arrived and it took about 1 1/2 hours to move 400m.

We are off now to the Durmitor National Park, with mountains galore in northern Montenegro, as recommended by the Romanian family a couple of sites ago ….and camping for €6 per night.  Fingers crossed for coming in on budget too xx

Ahhhh…Adriatic…

Coming from Napoli google maps had indicated that it would take 4 hours to cross to the Adriatic but more than an hour to do the last 50 miles or so…but it forgot to mention the white knuckle ride that would be!  I just had to close my eyes and hope that Dave would be okay without my usually helpful running commentary…oh my god a massive cliff / we’re never going get round this hairpin bend / that car missed us by inches!  Glad to say he did good!

Our first stop was in the lovely town of Vieste in Garonga – a lovely of fishing village with loads of windy cobbled streets. We went into town on our bikes on the Saturday afternoon and the place was deserted – was there a party we hadn’t been invited to? Had the town been evacuated?  We found a nice restaurant overlooking the sea for the evening and came back into town to find the place absolutely heaving, including the girls handing out the cards to get a free drink in the bars.  Dave decided to show me how he ‘still had it’ (his words not mine) and to sit back and watch how these girls would all be trying to get him into the bar.  Thank goodness I was sat at a distance as a) I could pretend I wasn’t with him and b) he couldn’t hear me shrieking with laughter.  So picture the scene, three girls who clearly use the job to walk up to good looking guys they like and get to engage in some flirty banter.  However, hiding behind the balloon man is a larger fellow who clearly hasn’t been on his own in a bar since his twenties,  (except The Shed I hear you cry) trying to catch said ladies eyes.  They caught his eye too right, caught each other’s eye, gave each other the universal girlie signal for weirdo approaching and turned on their heels – it was hilarious.

The campsite we were on was attached to a four star hotel with a fabulous pool area.  However the pools were separated into the haves and have nots – indicated by the colour wristband you had been given.  So after managing to get our wristbands off,  we enjoyed a couple of days with the haves and their fabulous beach beds.  After one cancelled boat trip due to the high winds we eventually made it to Isla Tremiti, a small group of islands about 50kms off the coast – amazing grottos, electric blue seas and sandy coves.  The trip was 2 hours each way and the poor guy working on board turned into a nursemaid on the way out as so many people had sea sickness – one girl was positively green  Tip – lie face down, full length with head resting on arms (seemed to work for everyone as he laid out!)

After Vieste we were due a couple of nights in a proper bed and Dave found an old olive farm that had been converted into apartments, in the hills overlooking Mattinata.  And better still it came with breakfast made up of a selection of homemade cakes – heaven all round.  We managed a couple of days out in Betsy while we were there.

Padre Pio is a huge deal in Southern Italy, a local laid who experienced stigmata for the last 50 years of his life and who spent his whole priesthood in San Giovanni Rotundo, building up the church from a very small village church to a huge cathedral.  All three churches stand side by side.  He was made a saint in 1990 but the jury is still out with Dave and I with regard to the stigmata.

Another day, another church and this time to a cave in Monte San Angelo where St. Michael appeared in 490AD.  There was a mass on when we arrived with a male choir singing which sounded amazing in the cave.  The windy road to the top, with about 30+ hairpin bends was well worth the trip.

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And finally off to Bari to catch our ferry to Montenegro.  Bari seemed a little like a small Napoli with the women sat outside their houses in the back streets, not talking to each other and looking you up and down from head to toe, as you passed – very intimidating.  The narrow streets had the obligatory look out guy at the front – definitely not one to mess with.

The port is worth a blog all of its own and words will never do the experience any justice.  In an effort to use the best planning skills available, three ferries travelling to Albania, Croatia and Montenegro are all scheduled to leave at the same time – 10pm, with no queuing system whatsoever.  We had to check in on foot to pick up our tickets and I’ve never seen anything like it.  There was a sort of queue but if you were at the back and could get to the space at the front before the bloke who was due to get served next you could.  It was absolute chaos and even the Catholic priest behind me pushed in front of me and twenty others.  That took about an hour and then we jumped back in Betsy where we were pointed to an area in the distance…along with about another five hundred cars, with no queuing at all.  It was a sight to see and we are only here today because of the immense driving skills of David ‘Damon Hill’ O (his words, not mine). Three hours later, at 11.30 we eventually got on board.  In a repetition of an experience last year in Cambodia when our taxi (a rusty 25cc tuk tuk) was strategically parked between two air conditioned brand new limos out of sight, we were directed past the brand new super ferry with about 10 decks, including sun decks and pool to a small rusting decommissioned Brittany Ferry (decommissioned in about 1940).  Our cabin was on the 2nd deck, below the cars and water level, had bunks and no loo. We are definitely experiencing the highs and lows of travelling.  We decided to go for a drink as we sailed out of port, around 12.15, where the 6’8” barman, who was just as wide and had definitely seen action during the Balkan troubles was wedged into a galley which was about 2 ft wide with a head height of around 6 foot served cans from a crate.  I only wish I’d been brave enough to take a picture.  Back to our ‘cabin’ for prosecco and mozzarella with Montenegro to wake up to in the morning xx

Citadels, Capri and clouds….

We seem to have done so much this week after soaking up the sun and lazy days.  We started the week with a couple of nights in the Panorama Hotel in Cagliari, where we would be catching our ferry to Napoli.  The town is a real melting pot of communities with a quite North African feel about it.  The hotel, as it names suggested had the most amazing view across the bay and up towards the Citadel.  Obviously all maps lie and the 20mins it suggested as walking time to the Citadel took well over an hour, but well worth the effort and Aperol spritz at the top.  All went well until I had another fall off a pavement!  Three falls in three months so at least we know when the next one is due! Dave has now been promoted to day duty warden as well as the night manager – he’s  thrilled with the promotion and made up with the extra responsibility!!

Onto Napoli on the night ferry and so excited to have beds and en-suites… well  sort of.  Driving off the ferry and into the Napoli traffic is crazy and if you dither at all, someone behind is sure to take up your place ahead.  We had originally booked four nights at the wonderful  Bluegreen campsite with the perfect spot for Betsy  overlooking the bay of Sorrento but ended up staying for 8 nights as there was so much to see.  As usual Dave went out to ‘get his bearings’ (The google translation this Dave saying roughly translates this to….finding out where the nearest bar is.  Only this time he came back full of the lovely Anna-Maria and her lovely bar … well I think it was bar and not bra.   Turns out Anna-Maria was 75 if a day and had been just as charmed by Dave!)

I’ve always wanted to go to Pompeii since studying it at school… back in 1975.  We jumped the local train to Pompeii and met a lovely family from Cork – the Hartes.  I can only imagine that anyone travelling to work in Napoli must be going by car as by the time we got off I looked as if I’d done a hard shift down the pit.  The little bit of detail I had forgotten from school was the term ‘the city of Pompeii’ …. and that’s exactly what the site is – a city with main streets, side streets, piaza’s and graveyards.  The place is huge and still being excavated on a daily basis.  There is only so much dust and heat you can take in one day Tip if you are planning to visit – the two lovers previously known as the handmaidens and found to be two young men. They are located outside the far exit.  We didn’t realise until after we were back at the start and couldn’t face the mile or so walk in the 32 degree heat – maybe next time.​

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Capri – we had a fabulous day out on a bit of a pricey trip but decided that as we haven’t even managed to stay one day on budget…what’s another €200.  There were only 12 on board which was much nicer than the trip later in the week when we were shoe horned in.  Capri was beautiful but like Amalfi and Positano, probably so much nicer to see out of season as there are just so many people.  Dave took the role of entertainment manager on the trip and organised the swimming stop offs.  We bumped into the lovely Hartes again and will stay in touch to make sure we get to see the secrets of Ireland later in our trip.  We even managed a David Gandyesque photo opportunity, thankfully without Dave in the white smugglers.

We did try to get and see Vesuvius close up, but when we got off the train were told that a fire had shut the shuttle bus down for a couple of hours but it turned out to be closed for a couple of days.  The press had reported earlier in the week that a possible eruption was due and several villages close to the site had been evacuated.   A paper later in the week reported all the cloud to be from fires and not the volcano, most likely to be from the many illegal incinerators hidden in the slopes where the Camorra burn toxic waste for money.  Irony here is that the whole of Napoli were getting the full force of the toxic smoke!

We had a couple of days on the local beach at Piano di Sorrento, sitting on the famous lidos, totally entranced by the professional Italian sunbathing ladies.  Not a visible square inch was white and they make it all look so effortless.  They arrive with a small beach towel and factor 2 oil…..and that’s it.  How do I manage to arrive looking like I have packed for a family of seven, with creams in all different factors, bags within bags, a 5 litre bottle of water….and dave in tow carrying his body weight in towels.  We have a lot to learn.  We also had a night of fireworks and musical extravaganza to celebrate another Saturday in July. In Italy the word extravaganza literally means ‘2 drummers / 2 trumpets playing the same tune over and over again…. but the fireworks were great.

We ended the week with another boat ride to Amalfi and Positano where we met the lovely Hebron’s from Washington, no less – what a small world.  I loved Amalfi and the beautiful cloisters in the cathedral.  They also had the most amazing Sarcophagus, dating from 2 AD – priceless.  Both towns are definitely worth another trip but maybe in September.  Dave took a dip in the sea at Positano but sitting on the beach was like sitting on larva so I just sat in shade and was entertained by a Japanese girl taking selfies for a good half hour.  On the trip home we were unceremoniously dumped at a crossroads where we were assured that someone else would pick us up…..but we’re still waiting!!

Off now to Vieste on the Adriatic coast and onwards to Montenegro xx

Duck, budgies and fish…..

 

Another couple of weeks on the road where we have left Spain, been in and out of France, met two lots of friends and have ended the fortnight camped up on a beach in Sardinia.

The paradore in Córdoba was amazing but it was down to earth with a huge bang with a back to back 4 hour and 5 hour drives in the searing heat with no air-con.  We have found the perfect solution to the heat….singing…and the louder you sing the cooler you become …not!

The road through the Pyrenees was so lovely but nerve racking at the same time – I had told Dave that they were major roads without really having any clue – all roads look the same on Google maps, and luckily for me they weren’t too bad.  Before setting off we gave Betsy a longed for shower with one of those power washer things and promptly broke the windscreen wiper in two and were just left withe metal hook bit – still, we’ve had no rain for weeks now and would be okay (?)

For the first time in his life Dave decided that we needed to fix on route, I quickly googled nearest windscreen wipers on the map and came off the road in the last town in Spain.  The owner was the most lovely man who rang his friend who turned up 15 mins later with the perfect pair, two mins to fit and we were on our way – what a great end to a fabulous stay in Spain.  Just after you enter France you go through the 13km Cadiz tunnel where we came out to pouring rain – and who says karma doesn’t exist.

We spent the first night in Carcassonne with our long lost friends Mabel and Pete who had moved to France 14 years ago.  We had a fabulous evening catching up, with a beautiful typical French meal of confit duck and lots of wine….and to top it all had a real proper bed for the night courtesy of Mabel…..thanks again Mabes x  We will be making plans to return for a longer stay and properly see Carcassonne.

Next stop……. Two nights in a (on paper) the perfect site but that was without reckoning on the owners clear disdain for the English.  We were desperate to do washing and I had to face the ordeal of putting all my laundry, underwear and all, in the machine as she looked on as only she was allowed to push the buttons.  Things only went from bad to worse when I almost had to beg to have my whites on a hotter wash while she clearly thought I was washing greys!  On the plus side the pool was nice and it was only 45 mins to the next site.

The next site on the French Riviera was hot, hot, hot and my first real uncomfortable night in Betsy heat wise.  The head space is only about a foot going down to about 6 inches + no breeze = tetchy sleepers.  There were loads of little kids, probably making the most of the resorts till the schools broke up but there were plenty of beds by the pool and pool a mere 10ft away for me.   All good for me, but Dave’s problems were just beginning.  Those who know Dave understand what a simple lad he is:

Grooming kit – toothpaste, head and shoulders and a bar of imperial leather

Daywear – t shirt and shorts (no namby pamby vests for this guy)

Nightwear – clean(er) t shirt and clean(er) shorts

Beachwear – towel and shorts (and some of Nics suntan lotion but doesn’t carry himself)

Strict rules – no sunglasses, no hats, no gloves, no scarves (He tells me its a scouse rule adhered to from birth)

However, the campsite rules trumped Dave’s rules and insisted on only tight formal swimming trunks (Budgie smugglers as known in GB)  – Girls, you are probably thinking of David Gandy in the Dolce & Gahanna advert, and you would be right.  So many amazing specimens strutting round the pool showing everyone how perfectly to wear the said garment.  So, on day one Dave couldn’t go in the pool.  On day two Dave couldn’t go in the pool. On day three realised he had lost the rule war with the campsite and purchased said smugglers….the vision of him trying to walk to the pool, bent over at the waist to prevent sight of his budgie (some would say baby sparrow) will remain with me for the rest of my life – I am only sorry that there is no photographic evidence to record the historical moment.

We met up with Kim and Neil (Laura’s mum and dad) and a much welcomed parcel from home that they had very kindly driven all the way with them.  We had a great evening…happy hour turned to dinner to bubbly drinks in their van.  When I say van I really mean ‘little palace on wheels’.  It was better equipped than my own home!  Dave finished the evening by dive bombing onto their luxurious bed in the hope that they hadn’t noticed him and he could get a good nights sleep.

We took up the offer of going shopping / air conditioning the next day and had a fab lunch on the beach.  Neil very kingly made a chicken and chorizo paella for us all before we headed off to Nice to catch our overnight ferry to Sardinia.  A really good couple of days.

Dave and are, I think, are the only people who board these ferries with sheer excitement, due to the bed and en-suite facilities!!  We woke up as we pulled into Corsica and then sailed onto Sardinia and Isuledda.

We had booked ahead for the site and had been given the most amazing spot with beach and sea views, and a slight drop in temp to 32 which was welcomed.  All nice and quiet….until 10pm!  It turned out that the site had entertainment which started at this time through till 12.00 at the highest decibels imaginable.  This was bearable on certain nights (Michael Jackson tribute ha ha – clearly when he was at his whitest!) but on talent night….Oh no.  For talent, please read, reading poetry, signing their own songs and best of all recorder playing.  Don’t get me wrong, we all learn the recorder at school but there was a huge difference between those who realised that London’s burning was as good as it was going to get and those that should be in a talent show!

We had a great day out, going out on a Rib to snorkel off one of the islands close to Corsica.  I’ve never been on a Rib before – pure white knuckle ride and we were drenched before we even got in the sea.  The sea was the most amazing electric blue and the pictures really don’t do it justice.  Having had a look at the pictures it seems I had a pair of baby water wings in my pants, although I really don’t remember putting them there – Kim Kardashian watch out!  We did get to see a number of fish but unfortunately didn’t find Nemo!

When the rains come to Sardinia, they really come and rather that spend the day in the 6ft square space available in Betsy, we thought we’d go out for a drive.  Another white knuckle ride….  the 2 hour ride home clinging to the cliff side was scary as.  If adrenaline was a weight loss drug I would now be around 7 stone!

Now off to  Cagliari in the south of the island for a couple of days in a hotel..yay! and to catch the ferry to Napoli.  I we finally won the battle of uploading pics and will put some of the missing ones on in a couple of days. Speak soon xx

 

 

 

 

Sunshine, sunbathing and so long Spain…

Unfortunately  I cannot upload any photos and have exhausted google to help!

Well this week brings a very sad end to the most fabulous 10 and a bit weeks in fantastic Spain.  We have loved every moment, every experience and most of all, the amazing people we have met along the way.

We have had quite a bit of driving this week as we make our way up north to the Pyrenees and so have made all the stops a little bit of relaxation at the beach and poolside.  Our first stop after the Sierra Nevada was in Guardamar del Segura, a typical Spanish beachside campsite with the many obligatory annual stayers.  These are families who park up their caravan for the whole season and use every single available inch of their precious pitch to accommodate everything from full size fridge freezers, fully fitted kitchens (sinks included), dining tables and chairs, TV lounges and even pet corners!  Arriving on a Sunday afternoon is like being dropped into the middle of a Disney parade on the busiest day of the year…the people, the kids whizzing round on bikes, the noise level, but all so very entertaining.  But then 9pm comes and its a little like the old book Ethel and Ernest by Raymond Briggs….something happens and the place becomes eerily quiet.  Luckily for us it wasn’t a nuclear bomb but the end of the weekend.  All the cars are packed up and drive home for the week at work / school.  As I’ve said before ..every cloud and all that… this time it was the availability of sunbeds around the pool.  The choice was huge with just Dave and I, a couple of Spanish families with pre-school kids and the few GB / NL caravans that winter in the Costa’s.  But therein lies another problem, Dave and I are both Librans, very indecisive and not a good combination when it comes to having a lot of choice… but if which sunbed shall we lay on is the main problem we have at the moment things can’t be too bad and we mustn’t complain.

We were next to a couple who had wintered here since Jan and had not once been to the pool or beach in the whole six months.  I’m struggling to see why you would drive all this way and live in a tiny space and not get out and enjoy the surroundings!

We had a good couple of days out on our bikes and although I am slowly getting a little more confident, still totally freeze up on roads and so made the most of the dusty bike lanes to town.

A quick drive up to Xabia for our next stop, more bike rides but this time though ‘orange, lime and olive groves’ as mentioned by the dreamy romantic in my midst (Percy Shelley O’Grady) when trying to persuade me to go for another ride.  Another town, another Ferria, this time in bull country.  The town have a 10 day build up to the xxx festival, and there is something or other going on every night.  On our first night we visited the bull pen, where they let the young bulls out to run and the young lads in the village get chased around and everyone is sat up high cheering them on.  The way they get the young excited bull out of the pen is amazing – a huge, very old bull that has been castrated slowly walks into the ring….eventually catches up with the eager bull, gives him a look and then slowly walks back with the younger bull bouncing behind him – great to watch.

We had expected something else to happen in the evening, but when we returned around 10.30 after a drink found the whole place in darkness.  We went back to Betsy to be then woken up by fireworks and an orchestra playing at midnight that went on until 4 in the morning!

We made up for it the following night by going along to a local street party to watch a Ricky Martin wannabe (more like Micky Martin) gyrating his snake(ish) hips to the flamenco dancing of the locals grannies.

Off again into the hills outside Valencia to the very Spanish town of Navajas.  This was our very first one night stop and to save time setting up and packing up we left all our bits in Betsy and attempted to move around them.  You can imagine the scene, two less than nimble 53 year olds climbing and clambering over tents, fridges, books and shoes to get to the bottle of chilled wine in 34 degree heat – not a frayed temper to be seen (once the wine was finished).  There are lots of things to do here but will have to wait until another time – we’ll definitely be back.

Our final stop of the week, and in Spain, has been a two night stay in the beautiful Paradore at Cardona – set in the amazing castle, originally built in the 14th Century.  We had a beautiful view over the Pyrenees and a 360 degree panoramic view from the tower.  This has been our last comfort until Italy in July and how nice they gave us a lovely room with a 4 poster bed.

We set off over the Pyrenees tomorrow morning, to meet up with my old friend Mabel and her husband Pete….and then off to Sardinia and Italy.   Adios Espana – its been a blast xx

Candles, canyons and cossies…..

 

And another great week on the move, although a bit of a nightmare with the internet and pictures again this week .. We’ve done Vejer in the evening, Ronda and finished with the fabulous Granada ..walked our feet off and managed yet another week missing the planned budget!

We had popped into Vejer last week and discovered the annual candlelight festival was due to take place the following evening. As you can imagine, the decision to Dave was immense…Champions League Final vs thousands of tealights….Champions League Final vs thousands of tealights. But luckily enough I came up with the solution to meet both choices….I had googled the match time for the Champions League which was not due to start until 8.45 (which would be 9.45 in Spain) we could a) get into town early and look at all the candles being lit and then b) get back to Zahora and rock up to a bar and catch the second half = two happy bunnies. The footballers in our midst will have spotted my error from a mile…the time I had read was the time it was starting in Spain. But I am a firm believer in every cloud has a silver lining and all that… The lights were great, as was the drink in the square with a group of Spanish cougars sharing their nibbles(!) and then back for the 5 mins of extra time with a bar full of Real Madrid fans. I’m not sure that Dave saw it quite like this.

Leaving Zahora for Ronda meant going back to Cadiz and upwards, but nice to see Cadiz again, albeit very briefly. We had thought about staying in the Parador in Ronda, perched on the edge of the canyon, but decided to save our Parador stay for out last two nights in Spain and have booked the castle in Cardoba for this – can’t wait.

 

Our hotel instead was the cheap and cheerful Acinipo a couple of doors away but at least it had a bath. The only slight downside to booking something cheap was, in this case, no bath plug. Luckily enough Dave was able to persuade reception that his life depended on getting something to hold the water and ever magical Lush bubble bar bubbles in place. This bar has become my desert island luxury on this trip and I have developed how to make it last. Break of a small piece and having the bath running at maximum fill – perfect bubbles – all thanks to Caitlin’s mother’s day pressie.

A trip to a town in Andalusia is not a trip without the obligatory flamenco show, and we are getting quite the connoisseurs. This was a show with a difference – 2 guitarists, 3 singers and the 1 dancer. I did feel at one moment that I was sitting in someone’s living room watching a group of friends, it was quite different.

Although Ronda is quite small it has plenty to see besides the gorge and I had spotted that they had Arab baths in the town. Seville had also had these but we were unable to book a two hour session at a time that fit in with other things and so gave it a miss – so it was great to see that we could still have the opportunity to experience….or could we.

We dithered about whether to take our cossies with us or just get some more info from the tourist information place next door first. Luckily we picked the second option:

Me: Hi, we were wondering if you are able to hire towels at the Arab baths or have to take our own?                                                                                                                                      Puzzled Assistant: Towels to the Arab baths?                                                                                  Me: Yes (enthusiastically)                                                                                                           Puzzled Assistant calls over Smiley Assistant as she is not sure she has understood.          Smiles Assistant: Can I help?                                                                                                         Me: Yes please, we were wondering if you are able to hire towels at the Arab baths?       Smiley Assistant (whose smile did not leave her face at all during the conversation): Oh I see, you want to know if you need towels for the spa hotel next door to the Arab baths?                                                                                                                                                        Me: (thinking ever so quickly on my feet) Yes please.                                                          Smiley Assistant:  I’m not sure, but here is a leaflet. Can I also give you a leaflet for the Arab baths next door which are beautiful medieval ruins                                                     Me: Thanks  (as I quickly make an exit to the sounds of their laughter filled Spanish conversation about the stupid English woman)                                                                      Dave: Quick thinking Nic, I think we got away with that one!

We eventually made it down the gorge to the Arab baths to quickly see that the last time they had had water in was about 500 years ago! It kept us laughing all night – thank goodness we hadn’t gone straight there and asked for a swim for two whilst stood in our cossies.

The gorges and canyons are fabulous and look so much better than on a photo.

Another thing we have loved to date in Spain has been the journeys between the campsites – you get to see all sorts of amazing landscapes.. and the journey to Granada was no different – fab views. We could quickly see why Granada is so hot as it sits in a bowl, surrounded by hills and mountains. We had two campsites here, one for the couple of days in town and one higher up in the Sierra Nevada.

A great day at the Alhambra Palace, but waiting for our slot to visit the Nazaries palace in 39 degrees was a bit of a life sapper… but once inside made it all worth the wait. I have been loving the Islamic / Moorish influences in Andalusia… all the geometric shapes and fabulous carvings. I’m not sure if Dave has the same appreciation but we have agreed that we are a little churched out at this stage. We also spent a day in the old town where you do get the best views of the Alhambra – in the twisty, tiny cobbled streets and steps that go on forever. The upside to all of this are the many tapas bars to dive into for a drink. Granada is the last bastion of the free tapas and every drink comes with something to eat, from little dishes of cous cous to Iberian hams to a dish of breadcrumbs with peppers and onions which doesn’t sound much but was so tasty. I think if we had stayed any longer than the five days we did, we would have had to sleep separately in Betsy!

Our final stop in the Sierra Nevada was great, but still as hot as Granada itself which we didn’t expect. A little walk to the next village (around 8 kms in 34 degrees) was a bit of a killer. I still don’t remember that for every lovely road you walk downhill that there’s another bugger of a climb uphill – but amazing views. In the village, the final runners of their annual 12km biathlon were just coming into the main (and only) plaza and the place was heaving. I’ve never seen so much tapas being served so quickly. At the end of the race they had a giant pan of paella for everyone to share, including Dave who just happened to have Nike shorts and trainers on…and pretended he had also done the run! In fairness, he went to pay for it but didn’t have to as they thought he had done the run.

 

We have now left Andalusia (with the Doves ‘Andalusia’ blaring out in the van – give it a listen!) and have loved every single moment of it – all the towns and villages have such a different identity but as so proud of their Andalusian heritage. We will definitely be back as there is so much to see and do.

Big shout out to my mum this week who celebrated her 75^th birthday with a fab family night out – sorry we missed it but I’m sure she will take us out when we get home, to make up! xx

 

Fridges, ferrias and ferrys….

 

Another great week on our travels and we still cannot believe how different and amazing all the towns and cities have been along the way… and have been once again with El Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz and Zahora.

We started the week by loading up our beautiful, new, pride of place in Betsy fridge with real proper food, alcohol and chocolate (Yes, finally fell off the wagon with a family sized bag of peanut M&Ms and hold the electrics totally responsible!!)

We drove the short 100kms to El Puerto and didn’t know what to expect. Just across the road from beach and another one of those sandy sites, so we picked our site a little more wisely. We are learning so much everyday…and even found out that some people have brushes to keep their van clean…every day is a school day. After 8 weeks its probably time to invest in one during our next shop!

The roads are so flat here that its been bike rides every day, with my confidence slowly increasing. I have only had one mishap when I had to make the decision to hit a tree or scrap my whole side along a sharp spiky wall..the wall won. There was also option 3, to stop the bike and get off but I must have been at Bradley Wiggins speed at this point and didn’t even consider it.   We started the week with a great visit to a sherry bodegas – Gutierrez Colosia. Who knew sherry was wine? I thought it was just a sickly drink nans and old aunties had at Christmas but I stand corrected. We had a great guide who walked us through the process including century old barrels and some sherry that has been oxidising for over 100 years and is still drinkable. Then off to the tasting…6 very generous glasses and a brandy to go through and all for €10 each. Funnily enough I was so much more confident riding my bike back!?

In the evening, we had our first ever experience of a Ferria and what a night. All the ladies come out in their finest flamenco costumes from 6 months to 86 years old and they looked fabulous. The little boys (and some poseurish older men) also dressed up as little gauchos, complete with bolero jackets, trousers with bells and boots with spurs. The books state that around 200,000 half bottles of sherry are drunk over the 4 day period, so when in Rome…. Having had our tasting in the morning, we ordered our Manzanilla with confidence.

 

Cadiz was a catamaran ride across the Bay of Cadiz and a trip of two halves, the first crossing with 100 five year olds from the countryside, on their first boat trip and the return with 100 pensioners who looked like they were on a Catholic Mothers outing and had instead made the day into a bar crawl of Cadiz.

Dave spotted a lovely shop as we were walking through the town with the type of tunicy tops I like and took me in to see if I liked any of them. I thought it was odd that they also sold knickers, bras and slippers….Oh! Because he had dragged me in a nightie shop….!

The fabulous tapas bar Casa Manteca for lunch with a whole history of the bullfighter Jose Manteca on the walls and your tapas served on paper. The Roman teatro was my highlight of the day, and amazing to see that they had only discovered the whole things in 1980. We have been amazed at the amount of Roman ruins here is Spain, so much so that we are seriously considering studying it a little more, on the off chance that we ever get to go on Mastermind.

A couple of beach days and cycling thrown in for good measure, and it was then off to Zahora. We settled here because of the flat roads for cycling and the fact it was next to the beach, but unfortunately most of the roads are the beach and a little difficult to ride on (for me!). Zahora is also home to the Faro de Trafalgar and the famous battle of 1805. It was nice to read on the 200 year anniversary that relatives of those killed from France, Spain and Britain all got together to remember the event.

We’ve had a couple of afternoons by the pool as the temp has hit 34 degrees where I made a total show of myself. Dave had gone for a walk into the nature reserve behind the town and I was umming and ahhhing whether to go to the pool by myself as its very awkward if you are on your own.  I don’t like to draw attention to myself and shuffled in and found a bed at the back, in the corner where I could lie out of the way. 10 mins later Dave comes to see me and points to a snake that was just moving near my bag. I jumped up, screamed and ran out of the way by which time the whole pool had looked up and were rushing over to see what all the fuss was about. By this time the snake (about 18 inches long) had got itself caught in the corner and had 3 men trying to catch it and return it to the reserve. Last time I try and creep in anywhere…but imagine if Dave hadn’t come back, it had gone in my bag and I had opened it in Betsy….I would have been to take away!

The sunsets have been fabulous and we have rounded the week off with a trip inland to Vejer, a great white washed village. We have our final night tomorrow with the night of the candles – more next week.

We have just over 2 weeks left in Spain before we move on to France and Sardinia…how quickly time flies xxx

El Rocio pics

 

 

 

 

El Rocio…and El Scorchio..

El Rocio, what an amazing find and visited only because we met a couple from Liverpool in a bar who insisted we should go. If you didn’t know any better and had just been dropped in the middle of town you would believe that you were in a Disney theme park – the place is so unreal. The campsite was only a five-minute walk out of town, so we quickly parked up Betsy and made off. The minute you hit the town the roads stop and are replaced by sand…..everywhere! You quickly spot the posts to tie up horses and realise this is like nothing you have seen before in Europe.

We had read up on the way over and found that the 4^th June is due to be the annual pilgrimage to the town, by in excess of 1 million people. On the day we arrived there were no more than 200, and 150 of those were on bus trips. The town is full of Hermandads (Brotherhoods) from all over Southern Spain and the members of these make their way for a week’s pilgrimage by horse, cart or walking if they have to, donned out in full flamenco dress. When they arrive in town they go to their Hermandads, horses too and party like mad until it’s time to go home. There is the small subject of the religious festival too, with grappling over the Virgin of the Dew – would be a great sight to see if you could get anyway near.

The cathedral had a full mass ongoing when we arrived, but visitors just walk past the priest to get as close to the altar as possible and view the Virgin in the Dew – its amazing to watch….

The best part of all are the bars outside the main bar where riders could sit on their horse and have a drink without getting off.

A really great couple of days…and then off to Seville for three nights in a gorgeous city centre apartment whilst we get the van fixed…or was it.

Lost in Juan-slation                                                                                                                           Me by email: Hi, we have a problem with our campervan and the electrics and currently have no fridge or lighting – are you able to repair for us please                                          Juan – No problem, bring it along and book in and we will have a look

3 days later, after eventually finding the service area in the middle of the docks in Seville Me – Hi, do you speak English please                                                                                             Ugly, hairy man (Who doesn’t even look up) No                                                                        Me – Ok, I sent an email earlier in the week about my electrics (in Spanish using Google translate)                                                                                                                                         Ugly, hairy man (Who still doesn’t look up) Electric no – Mechanics yes                             Me – But the email said to bring along                                                                                       Lady from back office appears – show me the email                                                                 So I show her the email I sent and then the email Juan sent. She relays the tale to the others in the office who fall about laughing that a) Juan had even known how to use the computer and b) Juan even knew what the word electric was.

They were however very helpful in pointing out the nearest place that could possibly help were 30 miles outside Seville…as we walked away with the sound of their laughter and guffaws of ‘Juan’ ringing in our ears. So the only solution we could see at this point was…..to enjoy our 3 nights of luxury in Seville.

We have been before but this time we were located right outside the Cathedral and so took the opportunity to see all the places we hadn’t seen before – the Alhazar Palace, an authentic flamenco show, have a guided walk around Triana and a tapas night in Barrio Santa Cruz.

I cannot believe that we didn’t visit the palace last time we came, but the temp then was a whopping 42 degrees and we spent most afternoonsthe immersed in the pool. This time it was a balmy 40 degrees, so what better time to join all the Japanese tourists and their amazing cameras in the palace. It was amazing, such beautiful Islamic inspired decoration and the ceiling of a thousand stars and the baths underneath were so so gorgeous – well worth a trip.

I also took the chance to have a flamenco lesson and what a fabulous hour. I do have video evidence but would not like to confuse you with the real thing as my version was anything but – but real good fun

One little Daveism before I go. We took the chance to have an Italian meal and saw this sign on the wall.

Dave couldn’t understand why they had included Sale in Manchester amongst all the other Italian cities! (Or Italian ingredients for making bread!)

We have now given up on getting Betsy fixed and have instead bought a small fridge and some candles….so cold beers by candlelight it is for us.

Off now to El Puerto de Santa Maria on the way to Cadiz….xx

(Pics missing again this week due to temperamental internet 😦  Will try and put them in the next blog which may have to be every two weeks if no internet xx)

Flamenco and factor 30…

 

Onwards to Andalucía where we are intending to stay for a couple of weeks and into Cordoba. The northernmost city here. We didn’t really know what to except and took a chance on a city campsite – so very different from the nice countryside and beach ones we have been staying in. The camp Commandant was quite brusque and unfriendly but we were only a bus ride from the famous Mosque so couldn’t really complain. Our most expensive camping at €32 and least nice facilities but hey ho.

Cordoba old town is very different to the other cities we have visited, with a noticeable Moorish influence. The streets are more like alley ways and very twisty and turny. We were lucky enough to sit next to a famous Spanish comedian at dinner (only found out because everyone wanted to have their photos taken with him and had to ask a waiter!). We were planning to watch some flamenco in Cadiz but had the opportunity to have dinner on the second night with a free show thrown in. To be honest we were expecting two 70-year-old former prime dancers and a bit of background music but were so surprised. I do think the male dancer had probably seen better days, but was still good. However, the singer, guitarist and female dancer were amazing – they were all so into the music and clapping (was so much better than I am making this sound.) – can’t wait to see the real thing in Cadiz.

We had arrived too late to see the main attraction in Cordoba so set the alarm early to get a look in before we left, also had a visit at the Mezquita (Grand Mosque) which amazingly has a Catholic altar at the centre point. This together with the hundreds of arches supported by 850+ columns are such a sight. The mix between the two cultures blended seamlessly.

These were outstanding but I couldn’t get over the number of people posing for photos as if on an OK magazine shoot – lying on the floor infront of a sacred monument or pouting at the altar – had I missed something? The funniest thing was a 35-year-old woman asking a stranger (young lad in his 20s) to take a photo of her and a long row of columns and then coquettishly peeping out behind them – his face as he walked away was hilarious.

We’ve had a few city stops so then moved onto Isla Cristina, the most western point of Spain on the south coast for a bit of a beach break. Driving through Seville the temp hit 37 degrees and I was so pleased we had already visited previously and were not expecting to go on this trip – little did I know what was to come!

Stopped on the way for a reload of provisions: Lost in translation – Dave wandered off in the supermarket to get some toothpaste and came back saying he wasn’t paying €12 to brush his teeth and would just use my toothpaste (that I had paid £10 for?) I offered to go and have a look, but he pointed out he could read and I didn’t need to bother. While he was looking at something else I took a look at the toothpaste and found Colgate for €2.50 so couldn’t understand his problem. He went back to recheck thinking he was going mad – he was only looking at denture adhesive!

Arriving at the site we were told we could park anywhere, but may find x and x spots a little better. We heard the first part of the sentence but not the second and before too long Betsy was bumper deep in sand and spraying it across the camp. After the shame of having to be towed out we found another spot but also found that the electrics in the van had totally died on us – they had clearly took the gee with having the different currents every time we moved site! We tried a couple of garages the next day (one being a 90km round trip) to be told it was too big a job for them and so had to settle on a cool box for the next 4 months! Luckily we met someone else who advised there is a garage in Seville where you can leave your van for a couple of days and they also have a garage for repairs….so Seville and 37 degrees it is next week. In the meantime we have some psychedelic lights (the lights were white when not plugged in but all the colours of the rainbow when plugged in – very rave like!) and a cool box which keeps the contents 10 – 15 degrees cooler than the ambient temp – Dave is having to get used to 15 degree beer….but there’s always room for a tin mug G&T!

Isla Cristina is a 50/50 mix of Spanish and Portuguese people and bars, with a great beach and fabulous sunsets. On our first attempt to have something to eat out could only find one bar that served food after 4pm and on the second I had the ultimate disaster. The majority of the menu was fish / seafood, so I had a toss up between sirloin steak or pork. As the waiter was asking Dave what he wanted I was thinking sirloin? pork? Sirloin? pork? Sirloin? pork? He eventually asked me….and I said veal! Dave’s lovely swordfish was served and it appeared that I hadn’t asked for veal, but had asked for 6 very large young baby cow testicles…oh…and in gravy, and with chips like you do. I could only manage one! Have you ever tried hiding 5 testicles under some gravy and chips before the waiter took your plate away, puzzled! Answers on a postcard please….

We have seen quite a few animals that people bring away with them on their travels including dogs, rabbits, budgies and parrots but saw the ultimate this week – a cat on a lead. Its German owner was proudly walking it around the campsite as if on show at Crufts. The campsite also has a number of people who set up camp all year and come to stay at the weekends and they mark their territory in very unusual ways – we weren’t sure if these two were Sophie Giroux and her friend?

We keep a check on the weather and came across this. I mentioned to Dave to bring all the bits inside the van as it might be a bit windy. Understatement of the trip so far, as I thought at one point Betsy was going to blow over. I moved downstairs at 3.00am but still couldn’t sleep whilst, you’ve guessed already, sleeping beauty upstairs was snoring louder than the wind! As Betsy is up on blocks on this site (a bit like high heels for vans) and she was wobbling around like some lass down town on a Saturday night, looking for the safe bus!

A couple of days on the beach and by the pool and we’re all now rested and ready to move on to Seville and Cadiz with a stop at El Rocio – more next week xx (Keep your fingers crossed for the electrics)

..something old, something new…..

 

Pedraza, Pedraza, Pedraza – what an amazing place. Dave had cut a clip out of the paper about 4/5 years ago about Giles Coren’s favourite meal ever, thinking that one day he might even get there…so a definite stop to include on our travels. (I would like to add at this point that Dave has hundreds of bits of paper cuttings he has gathered over the years, a step up from collecting bus tickets where the numbers added up to 21. When I first met him I thought he had a slight deformity with a bulging right chest muscle – turns out it was just hundreds of bus tickets!? I’m sure a psychiatrist would have a field day there). But back to Pedraza.

The village dates back to the 12 Century in some places with the main gateway built in 1561. It is like time has totally stopped, with amazing old doors, balconies, shutters throughout the village. I had managed to find somewhere to stay in Plaza Mayor, where the El Soportal restaurant is also located. There are only 2 bars in the town, 2 hotels and a handful of restaurants. Our apartment was situated at the back of the property built in 1300, but with all mod cons squeezed in somehow.

We booked in for the meal on a Sunday lunchtime and seems we also picked the most popular time for others as the place was packed with families of all different sizes and ages coming for exactly the same thing. I won’t go into the detail of the meal here for fear of upsetting any vegetarian friends, but you can google Giles Coren’s favourite meal ever and read more….it was just as he described.

Once the day trippers had left for the day, the 2 village bars filled with the locals and probably best free tapas to accompany the one or two drinks we had, including a plate of chorizo to satisfy a family of 6 that we just had to ask to halve the quantity at least. A great, great place.

A little quiz for you now…pictured below A and b are the possible ways to get into the shower, in the bathroom measuring no more that 4ft x 6ft. What way would you get in the shower? A or B

A                                                       B

–

I’m sure you, like the other 99.9% of participants asked picked A and not B like ‘Snake hips O’Grady’ insisted on using – I would have paid good money to watch that one!

From Pedraza to Segovia, en route to Madrid. We only had the opportunity to pop into the town for a quick breakfast and view of the amazing Roman aquaduct. This was built in 1AD and without a drop of cement or the like. Someone lost their bottle a little when a couple of the top arches had collapsed in 1086 and added a top layer of wall with some cement…and voila…2017 and still standing. I’m not sure we are going to see anything older than this on our trip.

 

Now onto Madrid, and the new in our blog this week. Well not strictly true as the area we stayed in, Malasana, was quite old but had become very rundown and unused… until the trendy crew moved in, like Shoreditch and claimed it as the hip place to be – you can imagine we blended in seamlessly. The one thing we couldn’t believe though is the amount of graffiti – its everywhere and so accepted. We had a brand new apartment (like one of those perfect apartments in an IKEA shop) and the best bed ever.

Malasana is very central and close to Gran Via where we jumped a hop on / hop off bus to see all the sights.  We loved El Rastro (very like Brooklyn, NY) and Lavaipies, although I was a little intimidated by the huge Senegalese lads, as they are all so tall, it was a melting pot of all the non-Spanish cultures.

We even managed a gig – John Smith, a singer songwriter from Devon. He went down really well with the Spanish audience and had the best lyric I’d heard in a song…’..oh my heart wears a fancy dress, burst at the seams…’. He ended the gig with a track called Winter – check it out on YouTube. Will definitely have to come back sometime with the kids – so many different bars and places to eat.

Not lost in translation – As our confidence with our Spanish is continuing, imagine Dave’s complete happiness when he ordered ‘Uno casa de halos por favour’ (a house of halos please) and the waiter brought him a glass full of ice, just as he asked for.

We also managed to squeeze in the 2^nd leg of Champions League – Real vs Atletico in a bar with the Spanish who were probably a little more Atletico than Real.  We ended the few days with a trip to the Bernabeu. It was full of little kids taking the tour but we managed a coffee in the club restaurant which gave a full view of the pitch. Even Betsy got in on the action.

Then off to our final stop of the week – Horcajo de Los Montes. This is well and truly rural to the point where we drove for about 80km without seeing a single shop. We have Betsy in a fab spot with mountain views and hope that the little bit of rain we had today stops so we can get a little hike in tomorrow. The electrics have been playing up in some sites and this is one of those sites…..so annoying.   Unfortunately the rain continued for most of Friday and scuppered out plans for a walk but we did manage to use the pool – well Dave did, I thought it was a bit cold!  Sun eventually came out and a chance to get out amongst the thousands and thousands of olive trees.

One day van bound in 35 isn’t too bad going.  Off to Andalucía tomorrow and some lovely sun.  Speak soon xx

 

Shhhh….Secret Spain (and Portugal)….

 

Finally added photos to last weeks blog…the internet is really intermittent in these campsites so am going to write up as I go along now to stop my frustration, but more importantly Dave’s when I’m a little bit cross.

Big thanks to Christina, Javier and their gorgeous girls Sophia and Carmen who we met in Noja and stayed in touch with. Thanks for suggesting the towns we visited this week – Muchas Gracias x

After posting last blog (eventually) I thought I had this camping life well and truly sorted, even down to having to tune into Radio 5 to listen to the Anthony Joshua fight…when the rain started. We have been really lucky up to now and have only had one day of rain when we were driving, but this more than made up for it. We were camped about 200m from the beach and under trees, and I honestly thought our end was coming. Every branch that hit the van roof sounded as if it was going to come through and I did have a horrible vision of the roof slamming shut and us being wedged between the two roofs and no one ever finding us again…..until I thought practically about how big we are and the fact that Dave’s tummy is actually keeping the roof open (and not the hinges on the side). I did end up making up the bed downstairs (them stairs again!) at 1.30 in the morning while Dave lay like a starfish snoring away and not even realising I had gone.

Set off again in the morning (after finally getting up at 9.50 with the sun having the audacity to shine!) Headed off to Aveiro, where Christina and Javier were married. It’s very like the Venice of Portugal with lovely canals and bars. We had a nice boat trip but even nicer ice-cream – really can’t believe I am keeping this no chocolate / one ice cream a week thing up. I’m not sure if it’s really having the desired effect as I’m drinking my body weight in red wine each day. They had also mentioned Costa Nova which we took a drive through but didn’t get a chance to stop at – what a fabulous looking town with all lovely brightly coloured houses – somewhere to definitely revisit at some time. Ended up at Figueria de Foz, with our first 1000 miles under our belt!

Apparently Figueria is one of the top ten places to surf in Portugal and Dave has been kicking himself all day about not finding room in Betsy for his board. So we had to suffice with a walk in the mad dunes and along the beach – what a sight. The waves seemed a good 20ft high in some places, it was great to watch. This is the first time I have felt totally relaxed in the past 2.5 years – very peaceful. I mentioned this to Dave who said “…in the words of Florence + the machine – The dark days are over…”. I didn’t know if it was an appropriate time to tell him that the song is actually called The dog days are over. After all, we have so got used to him singing the Arctic Monkey lyrics…’Do the right thing, take off your wedding ring’ as ‘To the buffet, take off your wedding dress’ Better to leave alone I think. We popped into a bar for lunch and I just couldn’t believe the choice….the dish I had been waiting all this time for was on the menu….Paca-pau!

Imagine my huge disappointment when I discovered that they only had one portion available and someone had ordered it just before us – so we had to settle with sharing a ham and cheese toastie and chips (…oh and a bottle of wine €6). Had a stroll in the evening and came across this secret club or something…..lots of single men in cars kept pulling up, walking into the woods for a little while and then coming back to their cars and driving off. Couldn’t see the club at all but Dave is going to go back when it’s a bit darker to see if he can get in. I think it must be a bit like the masons as Dave just didn’t want to talk about it in the morning!

On the move again to the lovely Nazare, where the world record for highest surf was set. It was a little more subdued when we were in town but still a good 12 ft, and it’s the speed of the water that’s so amazing. It would totally knock you off your feet if were brave enough to go in, so it was sunbathing for us. A couple of nice meals but another taxi issue. This time we didn’t find any nice bar staff to help us out (although Dave was offered a lift while I was round the corner looking for a taxi, but when he asked if he could pick me up on the way out of town, suddenly the other man was too busy…probably a mason from Figueria too! We had no option but to walk the 2km uphill back to the campsite…

Next stop Salamanca (tip from Christina!) Found our best site so far just outside of town…a little bit of Holland in Spain, although we did meet an English couple who we had seen on another site…how small this camping world is!

Salamanca – wow! Such a find and not somewhere we would probably have thought of. As you travel out of Portugal (after getting stopped at the border crossing for speeding and getting shouted at to slow down!) the road just rises and rises until you find Salamanca at 2500ft. The university here was built in 1100 and is amazing, together with the magnificent library built around the same time.

Off on the road again and driving across the plains towards Pedraza, with plans to stop off at Avila and Segovia along the way but Avila is so huge that Segovia will have to wait until next week. We drive up over a hilltop and stumble across this amazing sight.

Christina – I think the Spanish are keeping this a secret – I cannot believe I have never heard about Avila before – thanks for the suggestion.

We drive up to 3900ft and the views are amazing but the clouds are out of this world…listening to Paul Weller and Turin Brakes songs ‘Above the clouds’ top off a great week. More on Pedraza next xx

 

Pilgrims, peixe and Porto…

What a great week this has been.  We started in Cudillero, a great little fishing village on the North Coast but an absolute bugger of a hike down and up (well would have been if we hadn’t been lucky enough to get a taxi back!)  The owner of the campsite suggested a short cut, but forgot to add it was 2km further and involved walking down in excess of 400 steps – my legs could hardly move by the bottom.  The village had a very Italian feel to it but was very Spanish indeed.  We decided to pop along on our final night for one last meal to be met with a total ghost town – we were the only ones who had not received the ‘Cudillero is shut’ email.  We did find a single bar open and managed to find something to eat off the menu but just imagine the horror when we went to get a taxi back and found that the last one left at 8pm.  It was 9.30 by this stage and I could feel the tears about to drop.  However, the owner of another bar who was just locking up and saw our predicament and kindly phoned his friend to come and get us – I’m not sure that would have happened in Bournemouth.

Anywhere from the campsite was downhill so I tried desperately to think of things to do while Dave had us up and down the hills like the bully in Officer and a  Gentleman!  Whilst we were there we noticed a large number of pilgrims who are walking the Camino de Santiago.  I had never heard of it before now and couldn’t believe that the ones on our path were walking 800km in 36 days – that really put my 200 miles on the Coast to Coast to shame.

We then moved on for another couple of days in a hotel as I am finding it so hard to sleep in the van and just need to get a good nights sleep to catch up.  First stop in Lugo for a walk around the city walls and lunch, and then onto the most amazing town – Santiago de Compestella.  We are in the attic of an old building wihin the old city walls and the place just has so much of a buzz about it.  There are so may Caminos (paths) that end up here

What can I say about Santiago de Compostella – we love, love, loved it and can’t believe that we had never really heard about it before. The cathedral contains the remains of St. James who brought Christianity to Spain and thousands of people each year take part in a pilgrimage to honour the site. These start from various places in Europe, but the most popular walk we observed was the Northern Spanish route from St. Jean in France – nearly 800km walked in 36 days. The pilgrims’ spend the last night just outside the city walls and then make the final stage into the square in front of the cathedral, where there is so much relief and happiness – really great to see. A mass is then held in the cathedral at 12.00 each day to honour the pilgrims’ with the hymns sung by a single nun with the most beautiful voice. Dave bumped into a couple of lads (one English living in Hong Kong and one Australian) who had both done it on their own and thought it was the best thing they had ever done in their lives….now if that isn’t inspiring enough. Dave’s up for doing it in April / May 2018 when we have finished all this malarkey….so if you fancy joining him and can spare 40 days away from home….

Lost in translation 4 – popped into this lovely restaurant in the main foodie street in Santiago – Dave happily ploughs on and orders the local dish – cod in tomato sauce and I ordered what I thought was fillet of beef. Imagine my horror when neck of lamb and chips turns up, with the neck being almost raw. I mustered up the courage to ask if they could please cook for a little longer and they happily took it away and did as I had asked……only I had been pointing to the chips and not the lamb so ended up with chips that were one step below totally charred and..you guessed, a raw neck of lamb!

Just as our first drop of rain since we arrived appeared we were on the road again – on route to Portugal.  Who knew Portugal is 1 hour behind Spain?  We have never been before and have heard mixed reviews..so into the unknown. We stopped over for a couple of hours at two little places – Vigo in Spain – beautiful white sands and islands out to sea. The building on the island in the picture below is the local University – what a spot!. We then moved in Portugal and stopped at Valenca (as recommended by Rick from the Quiz). What a lovely place – it’s a town built into a castle with fabulous gateways that are barely the width of a car, but get through they do. Had my first little accident as I fell off a pavement, not recognising the depth. This wouldn’t be so bad but the drop was about 1 inch and I fell as though I had been pushed from behind by a rhino – graceful was nowhere to be seen.

Lost in Translation 5 – First day in Portugal staying in Lavra.  The language is so difficult to speak and understand – there is an almost Eastern European sound to it. When we were out on a bike ride we come across some fishermen mending their nets (how made up does this sound!…but true) and realised that the fish they had just caught were going straight into a couple of sea front bars and straight on the bbq. Luckily for me there was a cheese omelette on the menu but Dave thought he would have sardines – €3.00 each. With the help of Google Translate(!) he asked for 4 sardines. The lad looked really puzzled and explained they were small but 4? Dave queried if he should have more. Again the lad looked puzzled and explained they were small, again. Turns out they weren’t that small and each €3 got you 10 sardines. I only wish he had stuck to his original order – it would have been hilarious to see these 40 sardines rock up on a place.

 

And then finally for this week, a trip into Porto. We caught the bus from the campsite and I have to say that early signs didn’t appear too good. The ride into town didn’t seem to have the prettiness of Spain, but then we hopped on the obligatory Hop on / Hop off bus and things quickly changed. Although not as old as the towns we have visited in Spain there is still an awful lot of history and great views. A visit to Porto wouldn’t be complete without a trip to a port cave. These are where the crushed vines from northern Portugal are brought to finalise the port process – we picked the Crofts cave. This is reported to be the oldest in Porto and started around 1550. The tour included tasting and walking through the 100,000 litre vats. We jumped the cable car and then walked back over the river, on the highest bridge imaginable.

Back to camp and packed up ready to move on tomorrow to Aveiro, Figueira da Foz, Nazare and onto Salamanca later in the week xx

Real problem attaching pics this week….will try and sort for next week x

Mountains, mosquitoes and Map-reading…

 

 

Its been a very busy week and I can’t believe that we have been away for two weeks now… still no chocolate and only ice-cream on a Sunday.  Imagine my disappointment last week when all I could get my hands on was a strawberry cornetto and not the Wimpy sized knickerbockerglory I had been wishing for all week.  But don’t worry, I more than intend to make up for it tomorrow!

We had a great couple of days in the mountains at Picos de Europa and Parque Natural Ponga.  We did have the option to go higher in a cable car but Dave and heights are not a good mix (only last year we had to close the windows every time we drove over a viaduct in the Italian Riviera incase we were blown off(!!)).  We did go up the funicular railway though and it was well worth the trip.  You can trek a little higher to a village for lunch…or even higher for fitness if you have the inclination.  I chose lunch, Dave chose fitness.

We also stumbled on the beautiful village of Cangas de Onis and the beautiful Romanesque bridge – well worth a visit if you are in the area – spot Dave!

 

Lost in Translation 3 – between Nic and Dave                                                                                  Nic – ..coming up now on the map is a curly wurly bit…..ooh and look, there’s snow!          Dave – …NIC!  Stop describing a road as curly wurly when it hardly even shows up on map, is only 1 car width wide with no passing points, is clinging to the side of a mountain and has a 500m drop on the drivers side!  Snow!!  My eyes haven’t left the tarmac for the past 40 minutes…  I have removed any expletives for publishing purposes, but please feel free to add your own.

However, on the plus side, as Betsy doesn’t have any of this new fangled parking and video technology its just as well that my whooping and hollering every time I see danger is keeping us safe.

The slight downside of camping in the mountains has been the shower rooms being slightly open to the elements.  I managed to meet a family of mosquitoes who had taken up residence over the winter and left with 20+ bites – ouch!  Dave’s bites = ZERO!

We then moved onto the beautiful town of Oviedo for a night in a hotel and luxurious bath for me.  This very quickly turned into two nights!  We had our culture fix at the cathedral which was fabulous – especially the altar and cloisters built in 1500.

The Spanish people are so proud of their particular region and in Oviedo, Asturias with their local customs – the drinking of cider.  This could only be done in El Bulevar de la Sidra – Cider Boulevard. It was so different we thought we should observe (and google the protocol) before partaking.  It goes something like this:

• Only the server can pour the drink
• A one inch measure is poured from a great height, without the server looking at the bottle or glass
• You must drink this down in a oner, leaving a tiny bit at the bottom
• You attract the server when you want some more – they then toss the bit you left on the floor and it all starts again
• 6 drinks for €2.80!  (Thanks Philip for the € sign)
• Great fun had by all

..and then off to another bar for more drinks and the most fabulous folk group.  15 – 20 men playing Spanish guitars, ukuleles and mandolins with the most amazing harmonies.

One thing I had noticed about the Spanish women in Oviedo was the distinct lack of bottoms.  It was lucky I was being so observant as Dave hadn’t noticed this fact at all.  Imagine my delight when I finally found one bigger than mine.  Dave thought it only right that we had a picture taken together!

We have now moved on to the small fishing village of Cudillero and have Betsy set up in her own little space with enough room for a couple of chairs and a kettle.  It wasn’t long before a campervan the size of Beyoncé’s tour bus pulled up alongside and two people jumped out.  It had a satellite the size of Jodrell Bank on the top and I suspect that it is them that have been able to make connection with bodies on other planets.  We are still struggling to watch EastEnders on my dad’s Sky go, with the aid of dodgy VPN app and still have no idea if Phil is even back in the Square.  Just to add insult to injury they then opened their boot which housed 3 bikes (for 2 of them!), a full sized gas barbeque and the cast of Riverdance.  Poor Betsy’s back doors are struggling to keep our undies out of sight!

I’m not finding it easy to put any bits of film on here so am going to post on my Instagram if you fancy having a peek – nicanddavesmagicalmysterytour.  (Dad – ask Niall or Caitlin how to get this.)

Speak soon xx