Getting about a bit

Antigua. You can not emigrate until you immigrate

2012-02-05T11:53:00.001Z

It all started here.

At the start of this cruise, the plan was that I join the Marco Polo at Lisbon on 8th January, and leave it at Barbados on 3rd February. But the ships itinerary changed (a fact I didn't find out until I received a text from Peter on the train to Luton Airport), and we were to visit Antigua on 3rd Feb and Barbados on 5th Feb.
I couldn't stay any longer than already arranged, so my plan changed. I decided to leave from Antigua on Friday 3rd February, not Barbados. Flights hadn't been booked so there wasn't a problem. Was there?
Reception
Peter and I went to reception to check off the ship and get my passport. The lass there was quite happy, once the bill was paid, (which still showed that I was due to disembark at Barbados in two days time), confirming there was nothing left for us to do so we then went down deck five to take the walkway off the ship.
Security
The security guy was happy to swipe me off, and I thought I better let them know I wasn't coming back, (so they could keep their passenger count in order and not wait for me). This caused confusion. I wasn't on list to leave the ship. He said I had to go back up reception. We said we'd already been to reception. He rang reception, and then told us we had to go back to reception. Peter got cross. We went back up to reception. There, a different receptionist was putting down the phone on a call that confirmed everything was done and I could leave the ship. We went back down to the walkway on deck five and this time the security guy let me leave.
The airport
A quick goodbye to Peter, and then I was in the taxi to the airport. The traffic was really jammed and slow and I think it must have taken us half an hour to get there. Not a problem, as I had plenty of time. I went straight to the Virgin Atlantic desk where the girls checked my online booking and gave me my boarding pass. No luggage, so everything is dead simple.
Emigration
My next stop was to go through a door marked "Emigration"? Everyone was going through it, including all the holiday makers, so it must be right. I sort of half noticed some signs about filling in an emigration form and emigration tax. I waited in line until it was my turn to speak to the guys in the booths and give them my passport. I was asked for an emigration form. Huh? So I had to go find one. Stocks had run out so I had to go back to the Virgin desk and the girl there helped me fill it in. I had no idea what I was doing or why. So now it was back to the emigration desk.
Confusion
They were confused. I had not immigrated. Why had I not immigrated? I explained that I had arrived on a ship that morning. They called over the supervisor. She demanded to know why I had not immigrated - everybody immigrated, including people off ships. I explained I didn't understand and had arrived on a cruise ship that morning. She softened and became very helpful. Apparently, because I was leaving the ship permanently, I should have gone through immigration on the quayside. I could not go out through the emigration desk because I had not immigrated in. She tried to get my details pushed through airport immigration, but they were having none of it. They insisted I had to return to the quayside where the ship was docked and get the Port Agent to agree my immigration there.
A mad dash to immigrate
It was now about 4 o'clock. I went back to the Virgin desk, and explained to the staff that I had to get a taxi back to the quayside, get my immigration approved, and then come back to the airport and I might be running a bit late. Everybody looked at their watches, concerned. They took my mobile number so that they could ring me and check on progress, explaining that the last boarding call was at 4.45pm.
I think my stress levels were at their highest whilst waiting in the queue for a taxi (no, they wouldn't let me queue jump). Once in it, I texted Peter to meet me at the immigration office and that I needed money to pay the taxi fares. That confused him. On the phone I explained, so he found the immigration office, and popped in to check that they could deal with me right away. That was OK. The taxi driver did his best, but the Caribbean traffic is a nightmare, and the people are very relaxed, nobody hurries as they park, pedestrians don't rush as they cross the road. I remained calm, but underneath I was absolutely petrified it was all going to go wrong. Did I have enough money to pay for another flight? When would there be another flight? What about my train at the other end.? Would I have to go back to the ship? Would I have to stay overnight? Where would I stay? Was it safe?
We got to the quayside where Peter was waiting for me. The immigration desk staff were dead relaxed and not in a hurry. The Port Agent showed up and did whatever he had to do. I filled in a form, the immigration clerk stamped it, then she stamped my passport and then I was done.
Just in time.
Back in the taxi, the driver made a few nifty moves to get me back as fast as possible. At the airport I went straight to the Emigration desk. He remembered me, and told me I had plenty of time, but I could hear the tannoy system making the final calls for my flight. Through security, (again "This is the final call for Virgin Flight........."), straight to the departure gate, and there were the Virgin staff I'd seen earlier. They all remembered me and were pleased that I'd got there. I texted Peter as I walked to the plane. "Made it". What a relief!
England
You'd think that would be it wouldn't you. Nah. England had it's own tricks in store for me. For a start, it was absolutely freezing. -5 degrees C. I was very, very tired, having only managed a few cat naps during the flight. I had far too much time between my arrival at Gatwick and my train leaving, and it really was cold. Gatwick railway station was much colder than the airport, so I stayed in the airport until it was time to catch my train.
As I said, it was absolutely freezing and that was the problem. The signals and the points around Gatwick had all frozen putting the timetable into a state of confusion. I waited for my train, which displayed as "on time". But it didn't show. I ended up on a completely different one which actually worked in my favour. I ended up at London Bridge, not Victoria as I was supposed to, and got the tube from there. Good job as it turns out, the tube trains were in a muddle and the Victoria Line was closed.
Kings Cross Station
Kings Cross wasn't much better. They had a sort power cut which only effected those areas that I happened to need to use, namely the loos and all the display notices telling you which train is leaving from which platform. The girl on the information desk was doing a brilliant job, answering everyone's questions and shouting out which train was leaving from where. I got to my train with plenty of time, and collapsed into my seat. My daughter would be waiting for me at the other end, ready to take me to Richmond.
Welcome home.

St Johns, Antigua

2012-02-03T14:10:00.000Z

Awwwwwwww. Despite waking up to see the brightly coloured town of St John's before us, today was a sad day. My last one on the cruise. My flight is scheduled for 5.30pm from VC Bird airport. Peter and I planned a wander around St John's in the morning, then lunch back at the ship before I jumped into a taxi at about 3 o'clock. All good to go. At breakfast, we noticed a slightly larger ship moored beside us, so went out to have a look. I didn't know Thomson's had their own cruise ships? I checked, they have 5 and Thomson Dream parked next door is the largest.

Breakfast finished, we went ashore and took a wander into St John's. Cruising visitors beware! As soon as you walk off the pier, you are in the "We're gonna get your cash" zone, and they are very good at it. It is a brilliant little mall of duty free, gift and craft shops, bars with wi-fi, designer clothes, jewellery and liquour stores. Beyond that are loads of little market stalls full of little things you just have to buy. And I just had to buy. (Presents of course). Next we saw the local fruit and vegetable markets, and more tourist gift traps.

There, the roads and streets look more as we've come to expect in the Caribbean, a little down and tatty.
We bought a couple of banana's, (I never realised that there are eating bananas and cooking bananas), delicious Then it was a cold drink each in the bar before we were back on the ship. Lunch, last bits into my rucksack, because Peter is going to bring the suitcases back, go to reception to pay bills, get my passport and make sure there is nothing else to do, and then leave the ship.
Now the fun begins............

Mayreau in the Grenadines

2012-02-02T22:18:00.002Z

This one is a small private island amongst the Grenadines in the Caribbean sea between Grenada and St Vincent. It has a population of 300, one unnamed village, one road, and numerous, almost "shanty" bars. It has an almost desert like feel, including the cacti, and is very, very hot. According to one local, it only rains in August. The real beauty of this place is the green blue sea, the beaches and the surrounding islands.
The first problem for the crew was to get people from the ship to the local catamarans for the tours. The swell of the sea was so bad that the tenders were lifting a good few feet up and down against the ship's platform, making it difficult for even the sure footed to get on. The ship's staff decided it wasn't a good idea to continue, so as soon as they got the touring passengers off, they moved the ship to somewhere more sheltered and with less swell. This did mean that the rest of us had to wait a while before we were able to go over to the island.

Eventually we got across, and walked straight off the pier to a beautiful white sand beach. The water here was really, really clear, blue green and inviting. We'd decided to walk the single road, up to the top of the hill to see what there was to see before we went swimming. To be honest, there wasn't much. As I said, numerous bars and "boutiques" on the roadside, many of them closed. The houses are typical of the Caribbean, wooden and colourful. At the top of the hill is a delightful little church and a wonderful view of Tobago Cays.

Then we walked down again to take advantage of that glorious beach, spending ages in the cool, clear water. We were warned to watch out for sea urchins, but the only thing I saw were beautiful white fish in the shallows.
This place is paradise for those who like yachting and diving, sun, sand, sea and a Caribbean bar. For us, it was a chance to get sunburnt and enjoy a cold drink in the shade of a tree.

Our fellow passengers returned from their tours, and many of them joined us for a swim. One or two of them were not quite able to though. No breakfast and then underestimating the very potent rum punch handed out freely on the tours had a very detrimental effect. It was funny for onlookers, but maybe not for the wives as these guys were completely out of it, unable to move, speak or focus. "Chairlift" for me will now forever mean four men carrying a plastic garden chair containing a comatose over-indulger and scuttling as fast as they can towards the tender boats. Remember the swell problems? Oh my! Apparently the crew handled these passengers remarkably well, lifting them straight in and out of the tenders without mishap? Makes you wonder if they are used to that sort thing?
The ship left Mayreau at about 3 o'clock. Tomorrow is Antigua and homeward bound. I'm a little bit sad about it. Did someone say something about snow.........?

St Georges, Grenada

2012-02-01T22:49:00.001Z

The Grenadines...... Like the Caribbean but not it seems. The people are very chilled and relaxed. The sun is hot, the sky is blue, the sea is beautifully clear and the town of St Georges is a very pleasant place to be. I think the main difference for me in comparison to some of the Caribbean islands we've seen, is that St George's is cleaner, with much less rubbish and generally better maintained.

The day started with us not being able to fit into the new quayside due to it being occupied by a couple of larger cruise ships. Good news for us because we got to dock on the side of the old town, which, like all old towns, is very picturesque. It is also appreciated by the more affluent members of society too, judging by the very expensive looking yachts in the marina nearby.

We were soon ashore and had a wander around the quayside. I was fascinated by the clarity of the water and the colourful little fish I could see. It reminded me of the tropical fish tank my mother used to keep. We'd decided we wanted to first have a look around the town, and then go for a swim. So we walked from the quayside through the tunnel which joins the older side of the town to the newer one.

Grenada is known for it's spices, and if I hadn't read that information before I got off the ship, I was certainly made well aware of it during our walk. Everywhere, everyone was trying to sell us spices. In the nicest possible way, we were harassed with "You want to buy some spices, honey?". The market vendors and the street touts were very polite and didn't push when we said "No thank you", in fact, they were quite lovely, but the question was constant.
Over and over again we had to politely refuse. The colourful market sold mostly spices, which smelt gorgeous, and was surrounded by various craft and gift shops. We managed to find Peter some new sunglasses which proved to be a hilarious exercise. I really should have taken pictures of him wearing the various styles.

There is a fort which can be reached by walking a steep hill but it was far too hot to do that, after our spice dodging, we returned to the quayside, hoping to get a water taxi to our chosen beach, only it wasn't there......... Fortunately Peter managed to find a taxi driver to take us where we wanted to go for the same price as the water taxi, and then we were on the beach and in the water. We spent a wonderful hour and a half there. White sand, hot sun, beautiful scenery. Idyllic.

Our taxi driver collected us and took us back on ship. A quick rub down and dry clothes and we went back ashore, not wanting to stay on board when we didn't have to. We soon found a little bar with a balcony view of the quay. As usual, a fair number of the Marco Polo passengers had already taken up residence, and we joined them for a beer and a chat until we'd run out of money and it was time to go. A great end to a relaxed and enjoyable day.

St Georges Quayside and Marco Polo from our balcony view

Careful Cruising

2012-01-31T22:00:00.000Z

During our trip, we've seen several of our fellow passengers need the care of the doctor. We've heard of how a fit and healthy passenger felt a little peculiar. A trip to the doctor revealed she'd lost all the salts and inerals in her body due to the heat and humidity. Her treatment included being put on a drip.
We've seen and heard of passenger trips and falls resulting in quite nasty cuts and bruises. One poor lady was left behind after quite a serious incident in Santarem. Rumour has it that she suffered a collapsed lung.
A little while ago, Peter and I witnessed a gentleman trip on stairs at one of the ports. The blood on his leg and the distress on his wife's face made it obvious that this wasn't a little graze. A few days later, I asked the wife how he was. She was full of praise for the medical care he'd received from the ship's doctor. He'd need quite a bit of care, including loads of stitches on the day, followed by daily changes of his dressing. Today we saw the same couple at reception in a heated discussion about European Health Care Insurance, and guessed that they'd received the bill. EHCI cards cover health care in Europe, but not anywhere else, including the ship. Wherever possible, you look after yourself, bringing a supply of paracetamol, antiseptic creams and plasters, and stay away from the medical centre. But health insurance is must. A pre-existing medical condition may put the cost up, but I am sure it is nowhere near as expensive as paying the medical bills yourself. I wouldn't like to guess the cost of a doctor's consultation, or for antibiotics, or a drip.

On a different point, (where I am not brow beating or lecturing), here's a curious thing. The ship has been rolling about a bit over the last 24 hours. Enough for the sick bag fairy to have had to make her rounds up and down the stairwells and halls. After a while, you get used to the motion, and when concentrating on something, you forget about it entirely.
Therefore, if it's dark, and you are sitting on the rear deck and look up into the sky, you may be completely confused by a tiny light that appears to twinkle and move about in circles above you. No, it is not a UFO, nor a plane, or anything else flying in our atmosphere. It's a star!. What you've forgotten is that it is not that little twinkling light that is moving, but yourself and the ship. Quite bemusing. Especially when there is a sky full of stars, and a moon, and it all moves above you, like someone is pulling the blanket around,

Tomorrow we are in St Georges, Grenada. Peter's been here before, and it sounds lovely. I can't wait.

Iles Du Salut – “Salvation Islands”, also known as Devils Island

2012-01-30T22:11:00.019Z

Devils Island from /Royal Island

Salvation Islands were so named because a load of missionaries fled a yellow fever outbreak on the mainland and were subsequently saved. However they came to be used for the most notorious penal colony of French Guiana, used for a century until 1948

The three individual island names trnslate to Royal Island, St Joseph Island and Devils Island. The book and film Papillon tell of one inmate’s experiences and escape here. Royal Island was used by e main island community, prison wardens accommodation, asylum, hospital, church, etc were all here, as well as cells for the common law prisoners. St Joseph Island was were the most troublesome convicts were sent for hard labour, solitary confinement and inprisonment in cages. The smallest island is Devils island, which is virtually inaccessible by boat. A cable and pulley were used to transport wardens and supplies the 200 metres between Devils island and Royal Island. The sea surrounding the islands was full of sharks, enticed there by blood and gore from the slaughter house running straight into the water and the fact that convicts that died there were “buried at sea”. According to my calculations that would be about 1200-1300 a year.

This morning, we looked out of the porthole to see the idyllic scene of the islands surrounding by beautiful blue green water. On the right, St Joseph’s island, Royal Island, where we were to be taken by tender, right in front of us.

When we got there and climbed out onto the pier, we looked around, amazed. Royal Island is a paradise. We had a quick look at someone else’s map and worked out we could walk all the way around the island (ship’s blurb said it would take about an hour), and then move into the centre of the island to see the buildings and remains later.

It is hard to believe this beautiful place could have been used for such a brutal, cruel system. Now the islands are covered in palm trees. (These had been removed in penal colony days, so that the convicts couldn’t use the wood to make boats). There are gorgeous flowers everywhere and we saw monkeys, palm rats (large guinea pigs) and birds. The coastline was as expected, very rocky, with loads of crashing waves and surf, which sounded fantastic. In some of the calmer areas we were able to stand and watch turtles surface for air. We often heard a curious high pitched, loud sawing noise, which would develop into a crescendo of sound before tailing off. We’re told it’s the local beetles, rubbing their wings together. Noisy creatures! As we walked around the shoreline, we could see across the lovely green water to Devils and St Joseph islands. It was all just stunning. (And no sharks in sight)

Then we got to the centre of the island, and the buildings of the penal colony. There was so much to see, and so little time. We did manage to get a look at the convicts quarters, and if the cells we saw were for the common prisoners, I would hate to see what they put the guys on St Joseph’s Island in. Everything we’d seen in the film Papillon, was there before us. We could see the rails and the metal rings used to chain the convicts at night.

The cells, five paces long, with only a hole in the ceiling for light. I think I even worked out where the guillotine was. Horrific! We wanted to see more, such as the church, the children’s cemetery, the asylum and the hospital, but we had run out of time and had to make our way back to the tender.

We really wished we’d had more time there, (and a map). The place was so beautifully idyllic, you could spend hours just looking out to sea, or turtle watching, or feeding the monkeys. And then there was all that history in the penal colony buildings. So much to see and just not enough time.

If we get the chance, we would definitely, definitely come back again. And so would every other passenger on this ship it seems, judging by what we’ve overheard.

Tomorrow is another sea day, and then we get to the Caribbean. Sun, sand, sea and Bob Marley. Class!

Leaving the Amazon

2012-01-29T22:08:00.001Z

We’ve had a couple of cruising days. The first day has been to travel downriver heading for the open sea. I can’t really explain how it feels to sit on deck watching the jungle, river boats and Amazon life go by, except that I feel privileged to be able to do so, and very sad that we are leaving. Maybe we’ll be back.

We are back in the normal sea day routine, and I’ve decided to use this post to update on little bits and pieces of interesting stuff – just because:

We learnt that one of the main exports from the Amazon area is soya. Massive cargo ships visit the cities to collect it about twice a month. In the meantime, the soya, which is produced about 60 miles away from the city, is stored in containers of the type we are used to seeing on trains and ships. These containers are kept on huge barges which are parked in the middle of the river (which is several miles wide, so why not?), and therefore save space on the dockside. Ingenious

Brazil is making a serious attempt at protecting it’s wildflife. If you suspected of killing a man, you can pay the bail and stay out of jail until the trial jury makes a decision. But, if you are suspected of killing one of their protected species, you go straight to jail, no bail options available.

In Manaus, at the end of St Sebastion Square, is St Sebastion church. It should have two small towers, one on each side of the main entrance, but it only has one. It seems that the church was built during the rubber boom and the bricks and design were imported from Europe. Unfortunately, the ship carrying the left hand tower sank leaving the church looking a little lopsided.

About 40 cruise ships a year visit the Amazon and stop at the big cities like Manaus and Santarem, but places like Alter De Chao and Almeirim very rarely see them. Us white folks where definitely a novelty.

Tomorrow we arrive at Iles Du Salut.. Brilliant

Santarem

2012-01-27T22:31:00.021Z

The ship had docked by the time we woke this morning, and over breakfast we could see the port we recognised from last year. We were going Piranha fishing this morning, so when called, we joined the rest of the passengers queuing to get onto the riverboats.

This tour took us out to Lake Maica, which was probably about an hour away (by riverboat) from the main port. On the way, we crossed over the meeting of the waters Santarem style. Here it is the Tapajos River meeting up with Amazon, and, for the same reasons as before, (acidity, speed and temperature) the two rivers don’t mix for some time.

From there were taken along a small quiet river towards Lake Maica, which it turns out, is only there in the wet season, and not quite deep enough yet for our riverboat, but that wasn’t an issue, because we went on further to river inlets to fish.

The riverboat ride there and back was lovely with so much to see. Cattle and buffalo farms, huge pigs, horses and goats (very rare here), great egrets, a blue heron, green parrots, a massive iguana, the plants and trees. It was a real pleasure just to sit and watch it all go by.

When the boat stopped we all had a go with our little bits of meat on a hook to see if the piranha would bite. Not the most successful of fishing trips, but our boat did manage to catch two. I think the plan was to cook what we caught on the barbecue, and share among everyone, but two small fish amongst 36 people didn’t work out very well, so they abandoned that idea and we got back to the ship for a late lunch.

We decided to go out in the afternoon for a walk around the city itself, but it was exceptionally hot, so we held off for an hour until the day started to cool down a little. Then we walked out of the port and along the riverside road of Santarem as before. At the start, before you get to the main city, it is very shabby, there are black vultures everywhere, and plenty of rubbish too.

But it gets better. If you have the time, you can wander around the fish market, which is only open in the mornings, looking at all the different and strange fish. If you are really lucky, there may be a boy at the back of the market, enticing pink dolphins to follow the bait so that you can photo them. We carried on past there and looking at all the shops which mostly seem like cash and carry, or selling provisions for boats.

Eventually we reached the market with all the hammocks, and the local cathedral before we ran out of time and turned to walk back. Santarem is colourful, and different, and interesting: we watched a man drag a very reluctant sheep from a river boat over to the road. There, another man (presumably the buyer), tied it’s legs together to stop it struggling and then loaded into the back of a very old and rickety looking VW Beetle!

We also met a couple of students from Santarem University who wanted to practice English on us, which was delightful. Lovely, lovely people.

So that’s it. The end of our visit to the Amazon. I’m quite sad about that, but it has been absolutely brilliant being here. We have loved every day and all our experiences, and Peter is wondering whether or not he can find a way of getting us here again.

We have a couple of sea days now, and then Isle De Salut......... Devil’s Island of Papillon fame. Peter can hardly contain his excitement!

Boca Do Valeria

2012-01-26T22:46:00.023Z

Before I go on to talking about the village, I just have to mention that in the morning, as we were travelling down river towards our next destination, I managed to see three toucans on the riverside. Very pleased with myself.

Boca Do Valeria is supposed to represent a true village on the Amazon. I think it probably does, in as much as the buildings are authentic, including the school, but I am sure that most villages are not full of kids with their hands out for whatever you will give.

To be honest, it’s the fault of the tourists. It’s become traditional to take gifts for the kids, and most people do. Passengers where climbing out of the tender with carrier bags full of crisps and sweets and pencils for the children. However, with so many children, who can be quite demanding, most bags full of goodies disappeared in minutes. We’ve been here before, we loved it the first time around, and we absolutely loved it all over again this time. For visitors who do not have bags full of sweets and gifts, the trick is to make sure the kids do not grab hold of your hands, otherwise you may find you have adopted them for the duration of your visit.

Like last year, we knew we wanted to ride out on the canoes again, but I was also determined to visit all the little stalls and buy one of the wood carvings produced by the villages. There were a couple of reasons behind this, the first being that I regretted not doing it last year, and secondly, because I personally believe that us buying their crafts is a better way of giving, other than to give in to the begging that is common. There are many wood carvings, an artist, little pots and dolls to buy, as well as people posing in feathers and with pets for photographs. They will accept any small donation for a picture, but the norm is a dollar. You can also easily donate to the church and to the school in the boxes provided. We bought a wood carving of a heron with a crab in its beak, one of the best ones at the village and admired by every passenger who has seen it. I’m dead chuffed with it.

We walked through the village, admiring the children in their feathers, the pet lizards, capibarra, caimen, monkeys and all the crafts available. Then it was time for our little canoe trip.

We were joined by a couple of ships lecturers, the Bonners, who had heard me talking about the fantastic time we’d had last year, and wanted to join us on this year’s ride. Once again, the man who took us in his canoe did not speak a word of English, but he was a perfect gentlemen. He took us on more or less the same route as last year, and once again we were awed by our surroundings,

We ended up at the wonderful little village, (whose name I have forgotten sadly), which is where our guide lived. We’ve been here before, and I was dead keen to see the school again. It was all locked up but they found the keys for us and we were able to see inside. As well as the classrooms, there was an IT room with a couple of rows of computers, a well stocked room of text books, and the room with the “artifacts” that had been dug up by an archaeologist who had previously visited the area. He’d given them to the school which used them as part of their educational program.

It is obvious that the people are proud of that school, and so they should be. The children were delightful, and took great pains to help Peter film a large iguana up in a tree that they pointed out for us. Sadly, in no time at all, we had to go back to Boca Do Valeria, but with very happy smiles.

Hot and thirsty, we headed for the tiny bar set up for us with refrigerated drinks. Bliss. From there, we noticed a path behind the bar, and like many others, and after a good lathering in insect repellent, we took a walk to see where it went. Now we really did get into the Amazon jungle. OK, we didn’t see any jaguars, or monkeys, or even birds for that matter, but the noise of the insects and those invisible birds, and the humidity, and all the little things that bit my feet made the experience as real as possible. Awesome.

Finally it was back to the little bar, which by now had sold out and only had bottled water, which we guzzled anyway, and then back onto the tender for our return to the ship. As before, towards the end of the day, there were canoes at the back of the ship, with occupants waiting for whatever donations came their way from the crew. They are such lovely people it is impossible not to want to give. But we resisted.

And now it’s the end of another wonderful day. Tomorrow is our last Amazon port, Santarem. We’re going Piranha fishing! Oooooer.

Manaus Day 2

2012-01-25T22:31:00.002Z

We were booked on the “River Cruise to the Meeting of the Waters” today. We knew this tour would be a shortened version of the one we did last time we visited Manaus, which we absolutely loved the first time round. We weren’t disappointed. First the riverboat took us to the point where The Black River and the Amazon meet and run side by side.

Once again it was all explained to us, that the black river was slower, more acidic and at a higher temperature than the Amazon and this was the reason the two didn’t mix and ran side by side for about 5 miles. Our guide also explained that the reason the Black River is black and acidic is because of the amount of plant material that has fallen into it. The Amazon flows from the Andes and is full of clay which explains its tea like colour.

We were then taken to the floating restaurant on Lake January where we climbed into smaller 10 man canoes, and were taken around the tributaries running into the lake. Wonderful.

The water was around 2-4 metres deep we were told. And growing through it and up beyond the surface was the local wild rice. We were shown the lily pads, which sadly are not in flower at this time of year, and then the driver of our little boat took us into a little inlet right into the edge of the jungle proper. Every one fell silent listening to the sounds. A wonderful experience.

We managed to many different birds including loads of Great Egrets, the local moorhen type bird, and an eagle or two. How cool is that?

From there we returned to our river boat and then back to the ship. Like last year, we passed the industrial part of Manuas, the ship building yards, the power plant, cargo docks and the wonderful floating petrol stations. Once again a thoroughly wonderful trip.

For anyone visiting Manaus on a cruise, on paper, the shorter tour seems as good as the longer one, (the *Amazonian Experience”), less a local meal. Our half day tour was excellent, but given the choice again, I would definitely opt for the all day excursion. It was better than excellent.

After that , it was back to the ship for a bit of lunch and then we went for another wander out into the city. Yesterday, during our visit to the Opera House, the young tour guide had found us a load of little information sheets of places to visit, and we decided to try a couple of art galleries and the Justice Palace, which are all very near to St Sebastion Square and the Opera House.

Manaus is an incredible place.. Just outside the terminal building, and in our path on the way to the St Sebastion Square, is the most lively and colourful market ever. The place is absolutely teeming with people. The stalls cover the market area and run up and down the streets. There are hundreds of them, and they seem to go off in all directions. The shops are full of clothes and shoes, the stalls full of lingerie, kids books, toys and mobile phones. Amazing!

We walked through this colourful, bustling, occasionally smelly, but fascinating place heading first for the Justice Palace. We weren’t very sure as to whether or not we wanter to go inside, but as we approached, the sky went black, the stall holders pulled plastic sheets over their stands and big heavy raindrops started to fall. Decision made then.

We stepped inside, unsure of costs, our right to be there, and whether or not we wanted to be. Then we gasped. This place is stunning!. The receptionist signalled us to come in, told it was free, and then indicated that we should go have a look round downstairs. There was a photographic art exhibition on, which was interesting. But for me, the building was even more interesting. We investigated all the rooms filled with pictures and a few few bronze sculptures then headed for the fantastic staircase leading from reception, but were stopped, being told to wait a couple of minutes and then someone would escort.

Someone was a delightful young Brazilian girl whose English was not brilliant, but was certainly better than our Portuguese. Full of smiles and enthusiasm, she showed us around the stunning rooms upstairs, explaining them as best she could. It turned out we were actually in a court house, which had been used for trials up until 2006. All the rooms, including the actual court room and the Judge’s chambers were stunning.

Apparently the same architect that designed the Opera House also designed the Palace of Justice. And it showed. Somewhere else I recommend to everyone visiting Manaus. (If only to get out of the rain).

Sadly, we couldn’t get into the art galleries after that as they were closed. So we made our way back through the hustle, bustle, sights and sounds of the market to the ship.

I think we are both really getting to like Manaus. You have to be careful, people do get jewellery, cameras and valuables stolen, but the city is absolutely alive, and we have been very lucky this visit to see the sights we have. We felt that we landed on our feet whichever way we turned. And so ends another fantastic day with so many new experiences. Wonderful.

Tomorrow is Boca Do Valeria. We loved it here last year, and I am so looking forward to seeing it all again.

Further ports and mosquitoes

2012-01-24T23:21:00.007Z

To everyone interested, there are three more updates again. Hurrah for free wi-fi. I hope you enjoy. We have another day here at Manaus, plus a visit to Santarem, and Boca Do Valeria before we leave the Amazon. Brilliant.
In answer to some questions, mosquitoes haven't really been a problem for us. The ship is air conditioned, and therefore once off the outside decks, you are quite safe. Mosquitoes are not normally out and about in daylight hours, which reduces the problem. On the jungle walks and trips on riverboats that will take us away from the main river, we use insect repellent, (despite the faces Peter pulls about it). We are also taking anti-malarial tablets. We know the risk here is quite low, but why take even that? Here in Manaus, apparently Il Negro, or the "Black River" is too acidic for insects, so there are very few mosquitoes. We've both had a couple of mosquito bites, but so far, nothing too bad. Watch this space for the update on the fantastic river boat ride we had today. Awesome.
PS Click on the Amazon and Caribbean Cruise 2011 and 2012 link in the black tab at the top fo the page to compare this years cruise with last, it may help those people planning to do similar trips themselves.

Manaus - Day 1

2012-01-24T23:20:00.001Z

Sadly the ship didn't arrive until 4pm. far too late for our Manaus city tour. It's been rescheduled for tomorrow, but because of the way the times work out, we won't be able to do that plus the Amazonian Experience tour in the morning, so we've had to cancel the city tour. Which was a shame.

Actually, it worked out rather well. Knowing that we wouldn't see the Opera House via the tour, and also, because we know where the Opera House is and how to get there, we decided to belt it into town and find out guided tour times, costs,opening hours etc.

I think we were dashing in the vague hope that we might get there in time for a tour. We walked in, asked, and it turned out that a) the was dirt cheap, about £5 each, and b), an English tour had just literally started, one guide and two Americans. We grabbed our tickets and dashed over to join them.

The young tour guide was lovely, not the best english speaker, but he got his point across, and the building is quite amazing. Inside the main theatre, he explained how the building was air conditioned in 1896 (when it was built) and now. He explained how the stage was motorised so that it could recede to provide spacing for a 60 piece orchestra, he explained the ceiling paintings and so much more. Everything we could see was beautiful and opulent.

He showed us the reception room upstairs where the wealthiest and most important gentry would collect at interval, or for functions. Marquetry floors, marble, opulent plaster and chandeliers with crystal glass shades from Italy.

An amazing place, with a lego model of itself inside. Turns out the model started in Denmark, was sent to the lego factory/shop in Manaus which then closed. Coca Cola took over the building, found the model in one of the rooms and donated it to the theatre. What a brilliant story.

So after our bonus visit, we made our way back to the ship and to find the wi-fi here in the terminal that we had been promised. Hey presto, here we are updating our blogs.

We stay in Manaus overnight, and have a tour in the morning. It's the same as the one we did last year, less lunch. We had such a brilliant time before, we had to do it again. I can't wait.

Parintins (eventually!)

2012-01-23T22:41:00.005Z

10.30 am As usual, I am awake dead early. I think my body clock is still on English time, so I woke at 5.30am (Brazilian time), which is actually 9.30 in England, and probably about right for me. I dozed for a while and got up about 7.30, just as the power went off! The loos are very very dark when there is no light in them! And the power has been off since. We’ve had several announcements advising of a “small electrical fault”, and rumours are flying, but so far no sign of electricity. This means that the ship has had to stop, and anchor here in the middle of the river.

I have to say that the crew have managed really well with us so far. Breakfast was served, although they couldn’t keep producing toast , but everyone has eatenl. Tea and coffee has only just run out, (me n Peter are sitting with the last two cups served), and the activities scheduled have been rearranged to suit.

We are supposed to be in Parintins right now, enjoying our Boi Bumba concert. I will be quite disappointed if we miss it to be honest, but unless they resolve the problem really soon, I think we have lost that one.

It makes you realise how much the ship relies on electricity. Obviously we have lost lighting, (I feel really sorry for the people in cabins without portholes,) but the loos won’t flush, the water is only just dribbling out of the taps and of the water dispensers in the lounges have had to stop. People are generally in good spirits, despite being forced inside by the persistent heavy downpour which was there when we got up, and hasn’t slowed for a minute.

10.40 am We’ve just had an announcement telling us they’ve worked out what the problem is, and they think it will be about an hour and a half before it is fixed, i.e. by 12-12.30ish. We’ve been told that they are negotiating with the locals to use a couple of large river boats to take us ashore, and hopefully get to our little festival show. The final part of the announcement also told us we can drink the bottled water in the cabins at no cost. That raised a cheer throughout the ship, the water costs £2.20 per bottle. Lunch will be salad n cold stuff, and it’s still raining!

18:45 pm Well what a day we’ve had. Shortly after the paragraph above, the Boi Bumba tour passengers were asked to meet in the main lounge for 11:15 ish. Everyone arrived, and we were told that a large riverboat had been organised to come and collect us and take us across to Parintins for the show. It turned out we were not even half a mile away from our destination! This made us wonder why the lifeboats hadn’t been used as tenders to take us there earlier? It turns out that the gangplank walkways need power to be lowered into position.

Se we all sat and waited in the lounge for the riverboat. We waited a very long time. I think it was around 12.30 pm by the time it arrived, (still no power by the way) and then getting us loaded, across the water and unloaded at the other side took forever. The show started immediately the last person was in, which was probably about 2pm

But the show was absolutely brilliant. I knew it was going to be good because of things I’d heard about it last year. But I didn’t know it was going to be that good! Spectacular. Amazing. Wonderful. All words that were being used by our fellow passengers to describe it. Peter filmed the whole thing. And extract some stills for this blog. It really was truly awesome, and something I would recommend to everyone.

It was 3.30 by the time the show had finished and we’d had a look at the craft stalls. We decided against it staying in Parintins a little bit longer, we’ve been here before, and although it is a delightful town, there isn’t a lot to capture our attention. So we joined the queue for the riverboat back to the ship. We found out while waiting in line that there was still no power on board, and that the latest update was that it should be back by 5.30pm. We were back about 4.30, and noticed just as we arrived that lights were beginning to show in cabins. Power...... Yippee! Unfortunately the problem is not completely resolved. We still don’t have full lighting in the cabin, but we can flush the loo. (Phew!) So we had a very late lunch, no coffee yet, but I will find some soon. As a minor compensation, we are to be given a complimentary glass of champagne at dinner tonight. As Peter says though, it all adds to the adventure.

Twilight zone It should be noted that weirdly, the Fred Olsen ship that we were on last year broke down in very nearly the same place. On that occasion, it happened just as we were leaving Parintins. Something went wrong with the steering and we ended up going round in circles. It took the Fred Olsen ship about 7 hours to fix the ship that time. Spooky or what? (Peter’s calling the place the Amazon Triangle).

We are due to arrive in Manuas tomorrow afternoon, about 1pm, (perhaps, we left Parintins about 4 hours later than scheduled, which might have a knock on effect). We are book ed on a city tour which should include the Opera House. Brilliant.

Afternote It turned out that the whole thing had been caused by the downpour I mentioned earlier. It was absolutely bucketing it down when I got up, and stayed that way till about 12 o’clock. Turns out water got through a ventilation duct and onto one of the main circuit boards. Most of the systems worked, (sort of), until we got Manaus. But in order to get the lights working properly and other systems back to rights, the whole electrical system has to be rebooted by switching it off and then back on again. Sounds familiar!

Alter De Chao

2012-01-22T22:31:00.010Z

A new day and a new place to explore. Each town we have visited has been so different from the last, and we could see from the ship, anchored in the middle of the river, that Alter de Chao is going to somewhere completely different again.

It is called the Caribbean of the Amazon, and we could see the white sand beaches, and the thatched roofs of the craft stalls and bars. The little town actually lies on the shore of the river Tapiojas, at a point where a sandbank known as the “Love Island” separates the river and the Lago Verde (Green Lagoon). The sun was out and weather was warm, so we donned our swimsuits and went to have a look.

Alter de Chao is where the Brazilians go when they want a day at the seaside. It really is lovely. Full of craft shops and stalls, bars on the beach, with tables and parasols right on the riverside, where, unlike a lot of places where you have to hire the lounger or buy a beer, anyone could sit without obligation to pay for anything.

We took some time so that I could explore the shops and Peter could film our surroundings.

The crafts there were extensive and quite wonderful, and naturally took me a long time to investigate. (Peter is very patient). We spotted a couple of beautiful, brightly coloured birds: an Oriole Blackbird, which is actually yellow, a kiskudee (not sure how it's spelt and a Red Crested Cardinal. We found free wi-fi, and spent a lot of time updating blogs and catching up on email. The chips were expensive, but the beer was cheap, and the cafe provided good cover from a downpour just after lunch. We bought a couple of items from the craft shops and then took a wander across the beach to the river.

Now it was time for a swim. We’d seen all the locals splashing about enjoying the water, so we had to try. We picked exactly the right time to be honest, because at that moment the sun came out and started burning down on us, but the water was lovely and cool. Apparently the water here is the clearest of the all rivers running into the Amazon. What that actually means is that you can see through the first 12 inches or so, and it’s a dark peaty green colour generally. The Amazon river itself looks like milky tea and opaque.

We sat on the beach for 30 minutes to dry off, supposedly in the shade, but as usual, I managed to burn a little more, and then we took the tender back to the ship. We’d had a wonderful day, and not had the chance to see everything there, apparently Fordland, (the remnants of Henry Ford’s project to create rubber plantations) is nearby, there were tours around the lagoon on offer, and I am sure plenty of guided walks into the jungle. I kept saying, if anyone was to have a holiday in the Brazilian Amazon, here would be the place to stay.

So tomorrow we have Parintins, and the Boi Bumba show. I am looking foward to it.

Almeirim

2012-01-21T16:08:00.003Z

Again, we had no idea what to expect today. Almeirim is a town with a population of about 31,500, and without a quay big enough for the ship. The Marco Polo anchored in the middle of the river and everyone took the tenders across to the town.

And what a lovely town it turned out to be. Very friendly, colourful, and interesting. It also had plenty of bars, which is where most of the passengers ended up. There are no tours here, and like everyone else, we just went for a walk.

It sort of reminded me of an old town of the wild west, Brazilian style. Lots of little businesses in wooden houses along the streets. Motorbikes are the favourite form of transport, and speed limits do not apply. The townspeople were as interested in us as we were in them, taking photographs of us, and even asking us to pose with them. They all have mobile phones and huge satellite dishes were in abundance, but when we asked for wi-fi, nobody was able to help. But no matter,it was a lovely, lovely place.

Back on board, we haven’t done much, except watch the Amazon go by. We’ve also been adding to the collection of photographs of weird and wonderful bugs and moths on board. The most amazing so far has to be the giant cockroach thing which was huge and ugly and no way do I want to be in its path when it flies. It was also absolutely fascinating.
Tomorrow is Alter de Chao. Also known as the Amazon Caribbean. Swimming costumes I think. Awesome!

Santana and Macapa

2012-01-20T16:00:00.020Z

We had no idea what to expect today, expect that the ship was to moor in Santana, and that people could visit nearby Macapa, (a large, relatively modern city), by paying for the transfer bus. Santana itself is described as an industrial town. We decided we did not want to pay the £29 per head for the bus, and instead, thought we would go for a walk in Santana.
The boat docked in what was obviously an industrial dock, not designed with cruises and large numbers of passengers in mind.

There was a large wood chipping plant nearby, which provided a very pleasant scent. Interesting, although not the prettiest port we visited.
After spending some time on deck photographing moths and bugs, and watching the dolphins alongside for a while, we disembarked with the idea we would go for a walk and see what there was to see. As soon as we exited the plant/port gates, there were row of taxis waiting for us.

We teamed up with another couple, and haggled a taxi down to the equivalent of £20 to take us into Macapa, drive us about for a couple of hours and then bring us back to port. And we had a brilliant time.
First we went to see the Marco Zero monument which marks the equator. Here you can stand with a foot in each of the hemispheres. It was also pointed out that at the start of each solstice, each side of the line is moving into opposite seasons. When the North starts summer, the South is just moving into winter. Curious.

From there we went to the Macapa Fortress of Sao Jose built around 1780. We really enjoyed our wander around the fort, and then inside. We wandered along through the barrack rooms and accommodation which are interconnected by a line of arched doorways. The visual impact is striking. Then we visited a large craft hall, I do love the crafts here, and would like to take them all home. Sadly there is a cost involved, and Peter is always more cautious about buying momento’s. We did choose a lovely little black pot though. We managed a short wander around the town, with a few purchases from the local shops. A completely new sight for us were the “Moto Taxi’s” or taxi motorbikes. The driver or rider has a spare helmet, and the passenger just hops on the back and gets taken wherever he wants to go. Wacky! Finally, we got our driver to take us back to port. A bargain of a day and the driver really was great. Despite not speaking a word of English, we were well taken care of.
Our afternoon in Santana was spent in the most unlikely of spots: on a couple of benches outside the port authority offices, (or maybe it was the office block for the wood chipping plant). There we sat and indulged in free wi-fi they were quite happy to share with us. Unfortunately, it couldn’t cope with some things, such as loading photo’s on my blog, (that’s why they have been lacking). But it did mean we could catch up on email and the news about the Costa cruise ship. (The Marco Polo news team have not advertised the fact that a cruise ship has sunk. Their daily news pages haven’t mentioned it at all? Hmmmmmm............)
We got rained on a couple of times. The rain sometimes came down heavy, but it’s warm and it doesn’t last for long and so it didn’t bother us. All in all, it’s been another brilliant day. Tomorrow we will be at Almeirim which is another new place for us. Class!

Cruising

2012-01-19T15:55:00.005Z

Yesterday the Marco Polo left Belem and headed out to sea. Once there it turned North(ish) and cruised slowly for most of today before turning west and sailing up northernmost branch of the Amazon ‘s delta exits towards Macapa. This meant that we crossed the equator again and sailed for some time in the northern hemisphere.
It also meant that we back out in the gently rolling waves of the sea, which is green near the mouth of the Amazon. There is a point though, where the water from the Amazon, which is a milky tea colour meets the sea. The two types of water don’t mix, and a line is formed where the water is brown on one side and green on the other, this line stretching to the horizon on both sides out across the sea. A bit like the wedding of the waters on the Amazon itself, but bigger, and with more impact. We watched as our ship crossed the line and moved from the green water to the brown.
Once into the Amazon river, the ship headed south again towards Macapa, sailing on in the dark. It was here we were joined by hundreds of birds. We have not been able to identify them, but they seemed to be a type of duck, which made a lot of noise and flew round and about the ship, the noise and the birds continued for hours, and we spent a long time watching and listening. We are loving all these new encounters with wildlife.
Tomorrow is Santana. (Don’t say it out loud, every time he hears it, Peter starts singing “Black Magic Woman”). We’ve not been here before, and we are really looking forward to it.

Icoaraci and Belem

2012-01-18T18:19:00.020Z

Belem Skyline from the Amazon River

We woke around 6 this morning, full of anticipation for the day ahead. Out of the porthole we could see the shores and boats of the Amazon. Keen to see more and be ready for our tour meet time of 8.15, we went up for a “hearty breakfast”, (it’s gonna be a long time till lunch), and a look outside. We knew from last year that a few moths may have landed on the ship overnight. When we looked we found four. We expect more in Macapa!
The Amazon splits out into many branches as it approaches the sea. Today we’ve been anchored more or less in the middle of one of those river branches, just outside Icoaraci. Our tour was to visit the Guama river and take a short walk through the jungle. It went as follows:

We started in the Marco Lounge at the time detailed in the daily blurb. We’d been allocated a tender number, and when it was called, duly followed our escort to the gangway to climb into our transport to the shore. The tenders are actually the ships lifeboats. They all have motors and are pressed into service when there isn’t a dock big enough for the ship. Getting on and off isn’t too difficult, because the a lot of effort goes into making sure the gangway is safe. The tender took us from the ship to the pier in Icoaraci.

There, as is the norm apparently, we had to climb off our tender through a river boat that was already moored, to get up onto the pier. Bizarre!
A bus took us from Icoaraci, through Belem to the river boat that would take us along the Guama River. The trip took about 45 mins, through the various sections of the city.

We saw the muck and squalor of the poorest estates, the many fenced off military areas, and the posh estates surrounded by metal railings, obviously designed to keep the dirty poor out. Belem itself is full of modern sky scrapers and wide avenues, but still manages to look poor. Graffiti was everywhere.
We got to our River Boat which was tied up in a very nice, touristy designed area. Once on board, we sat and enjoyed watching Belem, then the jungle and the river go by.

As I said, Belem is full of skyscrapers, and the skyline from the river could easily be that somewhere like Manhatten.
As we sailed along the river, the tour guide gave loads information about Brazil, the Amazon, de-forestation, etc. We didn’t hear most of it though, because of the noise of the engine. No matter, we were thoroughly enjoying the scenery.
At the point where our walk was to start we disembarked onto a pier on stilts, which meant we had to go upstairs to the top deck of our river boat to get off.

Our guide then took us on a short walk through jungle, showing us all the fruits and plants available to eat. It was amazing to realise we were surrounded by food. It really was everywhere. I can’t remember the names of everything he talked about, but bananas, mangos and cocoa were in abundance as well as everything else. No-one starves in this jungle. As usual, we were all looking for wildlife. The jackpot today were the cricket things we spotted, Ugly as sin, but really interesting.

The walk culminated in a fruit tasting session, and the showing off of a pet tarantula type spider owned by a young Amazonian lass. No, we didn’t eat the fruit (it was covered in flies!), and no we didn’t handle the spider! We then returned Icoarici by river boat and coach as per the way we came.

The tour had overrun by 1 ½ hours. It was now 3.30 pm and we had about an hour before getting one of the last tenders back to the ship. We used that hour to get a quick look at the shops and craft stores before heading back.

By the time we were back in our cabin, it was 5 O’clock, and we were absolutely starving. We’d not eaten since breakfast. We headed first for the tea station, and then sat on deck until the Bistro opened at 6. We were two of the first in there.

All in all, it’s been a thoroughly enjoyable day. We are adding to our knowledge of this area all the time. It’s amazing the differences between the culture, lifestyles, terrain and wildlife here and our own. Tomorrow is another cruising day, and after that, many more Amazon ports. As Peter says, “bring it on”.

Four relaxing sea days

2012-01-17T23:00:00.010Z

The weather has been getting warmer and warmer, culminating in the 32°C we have experienced today. The sea has been quite flat mostly, with a gentle roll some days, but nothing to really notice. The sky has been mostly overcast and we only really saw the sun on Saturday. Despite this, most passengers are various shades of red and brown, something to do with the sun’s strength and reflection off the water. I sat out for about an hour today, under cloudy skies that occasionally spotted blissfully cool rain on us. After the hour I had to start coating myself in factor 30 sunscreen, as my exposed skin had turned a brilliant shade of crimson, and I mean crimson. Peter of course is fine, browning off nicely, just cos that’s what he does. (Humph!)

So what have we been doing for the last four days? Well, Peter has been running his three classes a day for the first three, but got the afternoon off today because of Neptunes visit (more later). Because I am chief bottlewasher between classes, I’ve been hanging around nearby whilst he is teaching, mostly reading and chatting to passengers. Peter’s classes run through lunch, so unfortunately, he doesn’t get any (although that doesn’t make me feel guilty when I am eating mine), so usually, as soon as he’s finished, we drop in to the Bistro to partake of “afternoon tea” where Peter stocks up on sandwiches and I eat cake. After that we generally spend a lot of time on the deck at the front of the ship, looking out to sea, enjoying the limited breeze, and generally chilling. Eventually it’s time to go downstairs to get ready for dinner followed by the evening’s entertainment.

On Saturday, (sea day one), after breakfast we went up on deck to see if there were any of the flying fish that we remembered from our last cruise. It didn’t take long before we saw the first one, brown and silver as it launched itself up and out of the waves away from the ship. It was followed by another, then a group of three and then so on. Peter and I then spent a long time watching them before it was time for his classes. I went back whilst he was teaching and after spending some time looking over the railings, I realised that the other passengers on the deck hadn’t seen the flying fish. They were looking out to sea, not down beside the ship. I told the man next to me about them. Once he’d seen his first one, he told the guy next to him and the one beyond that, and before you know it, everyone was looking out for the little darting bodies.

Like last year, there were different types. There were larger, single, brown fish, and smaller blue fish that appeared in groups of 3 or 4. Then there would be the almost magical moment when a shoal of very small ones, not much bigger than dragonflies, all left the water at once and flew in a small cloud over the waves, flashing blue and silver. This would be accompanied by a collective “Oooooooh” from the people watching. The fish can travel quite a distance, I would say easily 50 ft. Remarkable! Peter and I spent a lot of time watching them after his classes. Peter also spent a lot of time trying to get a picture of them. The ones I have added to the blog don’t do justice to the little critters, but they are so fast, and never quite close enough for the camera to get a decent shot. Entertaining though.

Rear deck at night

We’ve had a “formal night” on board, so I had the chance to get dressed up. I felt dead posh n proper in my dress and wrap, feeling particularly proud of the electric blue shoes I’d found to match. Thing is, it’s not easy to walk far in 4 inch heels when the ship is gently rolling from side to side, especially if you are that good at walking in the blasted things in the first place. Peter found my wobbling quite amusing, but was good enough to hold me up when required. Bless him. He looked good in his tux too.

A bonus has been that we’ve managed to find some thermos mugs. After all that time tramping around Funchal looking for them, it turned out that we could buy them from the ship shop! So now we can sit in the cabin, reading, watching tv or messing around on the computers, supping tea and coffee out of our new mugs. Bliss.

Everyone on the rear decks to watch the ceremony

We don’t spend that much time in the cabin though. There is loads of entertainment on board. We’ve listened to the Asst Cruise Director, Cait Stevens, sing (very good), and watched the show company do a medley of songs from the musicals. We’ve sat in on a few quizzes such as “Name That Tune” and “Muddled Melodies”, (good fun) and watched the comedian Andy Ford (very, very funny). We’ve listened to a couple of lectures regarding the Amazon and the rubber trade, and finally, this afternoon sat out on deck to watch the crossing the equator ceremony . In the style of “I’m a celebrity.....” the entertainments staff had to complete tasks to become the ships champion. That champion could then represent the ship to ask Neptune’s permission to cross the equator. It was an entertaining and enjoyable afternoon, especially since the afternoon watercolour classes were cancelled so that everyone, including Peter, could watch.

All in all it’s been a good four days, the only negative being the fact that we have been made incommunicado. Peter has managed to get a few messages and a blog post out, but for the last day or so especially, our phones don’t have a signal, and we’ve been unable to use any wi-fi at all. This eventually resolved itself about 7 o’clock this evening thankfully. Peter is like a bear with a sore head when he can’t access his email.

The ship crossed the equator at about 10.30 tonight, so there’s been a party on deck. (We didn’t attend to be honest preferring to stay in the cabin where it’s cool). Tomorrow we visit our first Brazilian Amazon city, Belem. Peter and I have booked ourselves on the “Guama River Tour”. The tour will take most of the morning, but should give us a little time to look around when it’s finished. I’m really looking forward to it.

Mindelo, Cape Verde Islands

2012-01-13T12:22:00.001Z

I'm posting this from the cheap wi-fi point we've discovered in Mindelo. It's actually the Marina wi-fi , so we've snuck into the Marina bar to tap away. (Don't tell 'em that we haven't got a yacht! Something a little bigger actually).

To be honest, we've haven't seen much of Mindelo so far, we came here first, so that Peter could work and I can mess around as I need.

Therefore I'm only posting a few photo's of what we've seen up till now, which is basically the port. Port Grande - where we've docked, is actually a sea filled volcano crater and actually quite lovely, or it would be if it wasn't for all the ships. Then again, they add interest I suppose. Anyway just a few pictures for now. If the ship gets its internet sorted, I should be able to update properly later today.

Continued
.

The battery on the netbook ran out, so I did have to stop there, and it started to rain. . So we went back to the ship to recharge the batteries and get a bit of lunch. Then it was back out again. Unfortunately, like the last time we visited, Mindelo is closed. Apparently it's a bank holiday in Cape Verde today. Typical. No matter, we still enjoyed a slow meander to see if anything we had seen last year had changed. I can tell you it is warm, but overcast here at the moment, so it's been nice to meander up and down the streets.

I think, although I couldn't swear on it, the place is looking a tiny bit better than it did. I took a picture of a run down building last year, and took another this year to compare. It's been worked on and looks better, and the hole in the road just in front of it has gone too.

I don't know why, despite the begging, and the loose animals, and the general scruffyness of this place, I like Mindelo. It can be intimidating not being able to speak the language, and there being so many young men just wandering the streets, but we've not really been bothered, in fact the lady with the basket on her head, and other locals grinned at us taking pictures of us, one guy even egged us on.

From the little I know, tourism is being encouraged here, therefore the begging is being discouraged, which is why I think we are being treated with respect, and maybe a little curiousity. We'll be back off to the ship now, hopefully they'll have sorted out the internet, otherwise it will be a while before I can put another post on.

A couple of easy Sea Days (for me anyway)

2012-01-12T11:38:00.001Z

Peter posing

We’ve not had any internet for the last couple of days, therefore no blog updates. To be honest, not a lot has happened although Peter is now doing 3 water classes a day. There’s been quite a palaver about it all because not everyone could fit into two classes. But now, with passengers having allocated places, and a third class for those who haven’t managed to squeeze in before, the whole issue should be sorted. We did think the third class would be very small and could maybe be combined with the other two. But no. 16 people in the first class and 19 in each of the 2^nd and 3^rd. Hard work for Peter, I just clean up after him and bring cups of tea.

The weather has been lovely, and the sea nice and calm, so both days we’ve spent a fair amount of time out on deck enjoying the sun and wave spotting (meaning trying to see something other than waves). Nothing really so far, except the splashes made by dolphins a little way away, but we’ll keep trying. We’ve also been out on deck to enjoy the stars. Really luurrrrrrrvvly.

The last little bit of news I have is that I have caught Peter’s cold. He’s Just about better and I’m sniffing n sneezing like a good un.

The third downer of this ship actually has it’s advantages. Most of the cabins do not have double beds, and the twin beds can’t be pushed together, so couples are either snug in one bed or waving across the gap in two. With us both having been under the weather, the separate beds have actually meant the other one got some sleep through the snuffing in snorting. So as I said, a little bit of a silver lining.

Tomorrow we arrive at Mindelo. We liked it last time we visited, and we remember a place where we can get plenty of wi-fi time dead cheap. There is also a shop with loads of lovely craft keepsake type stuff I want to visit. I will upload this blog from Mindelo, and hopefully the ship will sort out it’s crew wi-fi problems. If not it’s another five days until Brazil!

Funchal, Madeira

2012-01-10T22:12:00.002Z

We woke up this morning to see Funchal under a lovely blue sky through the portholes of our cabin. Not only that, Peter is starting feel and sound better. The ship was only scheduled to spend the morning in Madeira, and since we’ve been here before, we decided we would take a stroll, pick up a couple of things like soft drinks for the cabin and soft face tissues, and enjoy the free wi-fi.

Our first job was to find the items on our shopping list, and I remembered a supermarket that was able to provide just about everything except thermos mugs. We wanted these so that we could take tea and coffee back to the cabin. We didn’t find them, which was hardly surprising. I mean, who needs thermos mugs in Madeira?
But we enjoyed our meander. Funchal really is a beautiful city and we took several photo’s to add to our previous collection.

The city is also noted for its New Year Fireworks, where loads of cruise ships arrive purely for the occasion, vying for the best positions just offshore. Obviously we missed all that, but during our walk we noticed that the Christmas decorations and nativity were only just being dismantled, althoough I managed to get a photo of the snowmen before they were taken away, they were just so cute.

Then we indulged at a cafe on free wi-fi, tea, coffee and a sickeningly gorgeous cake for me in the lovely warm sunshine. We updated a few bits n pieces on the internet, and I was able to use the wi-fi to say hi to me Mum and Dad on Skype before we made our way back to the ship. The ship sailed at 2 this afternoon, passing a couple of smaller ships - the Saga Pearl II and the Saga Ruby on its way out of port. I had a good look as we went past. I wonder what a Saga ship looks like alongside one of the Royal Caribbean “Oasis” ships? A lifeboat probably!

We’ve had a really lazy afternoon and evening, (another nap), and enjoyed a pleasant meal in the Marco Bistro. I remember that on my last cruise, I commented that I was fed up of having to dress for dinner. On this ship however, they do have a “Casual” dress code, which they seem to use for those evenings when we’ve been in port. We can go to dinner in jeans. Yipppeeeeee.

Now I will go on to the second real downer of the Marco Polo – no launderette. Something we didn’t pick up when we read all the reviews. On a two week cruise I would imagine you could cope without washing anything, but for the people who got on in Tilbury, this cruise is 45 days long! You can put your clothes in for the laundry service, but I am not paying a £1.00 a pair to get me knickers washed and “ironed”. (According to the price chart you can’t just have them washed.)

So when we were out today, we bought soap powder. There are little washing lines in the bathroom, so it looks like I am going to have to get me rubber gloves on and get scrubbing. (Feel sorry for me......... I have to wash Peter’s socks!) Tomorrow is a sea day. More relaxing methinks.

My first Sea Day on the Marco Polo.

2012-01-09T23:01:00.001Z

Our cabin

It seemed that the last 48hrs have been a little bit of a blur. So today, I am just getting used to being on board the Marco Polo, and catching up on meself.

Marco’s Bistro was very busy at breakfast this morning, it is obviously preferred over the restuarant. We could only find tables outside, so we sat on the rear deck near the pool, where we met the history lecturer and his wife. Apparently, they were on the Marco Polo when it did this cruise last year.

Marco Bistro

They must have really liked it because they’d come back for another go.

Peter has developed quite a disgustingly snotty cold, so I insisted we find him something to help dry it out. Not as simple as you would first think. We went to the shop first, which, it turned out, doesn’t even sell paracetamol. Staff there directed us to the medical centre, where we would be able to “buy” something. When we got there it was quickly established that Peter was “crew”, so he was sent away to get a form from the Cruise Director.

The form was to save him the extortionate medical cost that passengers would be subjected to, because he had to see the doctor before they would allow him to be issued a box of Day Nurse. What a faff on. Necessary I suppose, but honestly! Next time I will pack the stuff.

We also sat and worked out what tours we wanted to take part in when we get to Brazil. The tours can seem expensive, but our last visit proved that some of them are well worth the money, and really are one of the best ways of being introduced to the port you are visiting, with lots of information about the place and the people. We quite like them, and I am really, really looking forward to things such as the Bumbai festival, Manaus Opera House and Piranha fishing.

As for the rest of the day: Peter’s classes today were very organised, (cos I was helping of course). He insisted on a max of 20 per class, which funnily enough, is exactly what he got. While he was working, I had a very nice lunch of pasta with cheese sauce and salad. It was so nice I went back for seconds and then I had a little wander around the ship. It has been lovely outside, quite sunny but not too hot. We’ve had a nap this afternoon and spent some time in the “Palm Garden” so that Peter can catch up with his emails and stuff.

Not being able to have tea and coffee in the room has been one of the only downers. There are no kettles in the cabins. We assume this is something to do with power and the Marco Polo is an old ship. All coffee and tea has to be served from Marco’s Bistro which is just a bit tedious really. We may buy a couple of thermos mugs in Madeira tomorrow if we see them. I think a crate of cold drinks may also be in order.

Tonight’s dress code for dinner was informal, so this time I wasn’t overdressed, and Peter’s red nose is perfectly in keeping with the shiny and glittery stuff everyone else was wearing. Dinner was borscht soup and beef stroganoff, not fancy but very nice. Afterwards we went to watch the show, and when that finished, we sat and listened to the very pleasant duet of violin and piano in the Captains Club. I’m all nice and relaxed now and looking forward to Funchal, (with shopping list), tomorrow.

Lisbon

2012-01-09T13:05:00.001Z

The front entrance to the beautiful Church of St Engracia

It’s been a long 24hrs. It started yesterday at about 2.45 pm when I waved goodbye to my grown up children, (together to celebrate the 18^th birthday of my youngest), to be driven by the newly adult g child to Darlington Station. My journey of trains, planes and automobiles went so smoothly it was amazing. I can tell you that St Pancras Station is awesome and the Holiday Inn Express at Luton is really nice and comfortable, although the food wasn’t the best.

Altar inside Ch. St. Engracia, from upper level

Due to worry about missing the flight, I didn’t get much sleep though, about 3-4 hours. Luton airport is extremely efficient, and Easyjet managed to get us to Lisbon 25 mins early. I’m never really comfortable on an aeroplane, the slightest flicker of turbulence makes me uneasy, but today’s flight was made so much better by the little boy somewhere behind me asking questions of his mum: When the plane banked, he asked “is it going to go upside down?”, when the captain talked about descent, he wanted to know if we were going to land in the sea.

One of the many examples of run down buildings in Lisbon

And finally, when the plane suddenly smoothed and quietened approaching Lisbon airport and we were still a couple of thousand feet in the air, and he asked “Has it stopped?”

The taxi seemed a little expensive, but at least the driver spoke English, and bothered to ask a colleague about the location of the ship. I’d already checked with Peter, and the Marco Polo was supposed to be at the the “Apolonia Pier”. And it was,with Peter sat outside on the dock, waiting for me. Awwwwwww.

So, I finally boarded the Marco Polo on a beautifully sunny day in Portugal.

Lisbon Cathedral main entrance

No trouble getting booked on, a quick coffee and a little bit of lunch and we went back out to explore Lisbon. Admittedly, we have only seen that part of the city which is within walking distance of the ship, but our last visit here didn’t leave a very good impression. And today’s walk confirmed that Lisbon is still tatty and run down. Some areas were downright awful. But when we got away from the graffiti and the most decrepid of the buildings, Lisbon started to grow a little on me.

The main altar, Lisbon Cathedral

The only word I have been able to conjure up is Bohemian - Juliet balconies, carved wooden doors, tiled walls and pavements, antique little trams and glorious architecture. Sadly the paint has blistered, the tiles are falling off, the pavements are full of holes and the plaster and carvings are crumbled and damaged. But the place has still grown on me a little.

Our walk today included the The Church of Saint Engracia, which is national monument, not a working church and also a “National Pantheon” which means it is a place dedicated to housing the remains of important figures from Portugals history. It’s other claim to fame is the inordinately long time it took to build it, 1682 until 1966! It is a wonderful, beautiful building where we were allowed travel up to the higher levels and admire the views of the altar and chapels from on high.

We also had a quick look at the Church of St Vicente, and the Cathedral. I don’t understand all the nuances of the catholic religion, or why there are so many chapels in the cathedrals.

Central monument and gateway, Praca do Commercio, Lisbon

But I do appreciate the beauty of the buildings and the craftmanship involved. This cathedral was built about 1150 I think. Amazing what they did without cranes and power tools.Back on board ship, our evening meal was very nice, but marred ever so slightly by the fact that our copy of the Daily Blurb detailing activities and evening dress code was in dutch! Our guess of “informal” on a casual night meant that I felt overdressed. Dinner was good, not a lot of choice,but well cooked and presented, and we finished just in time to go up on deck and watch the lights of Lisbon slide past as the ship left port. A thoroughly lovely day. Tomorrow is a sea day, and a chance for me to better explore the ship. I’m looking forward to it.

Stage Two, getting me to Lisbon and the ship........... Oooooooer

2012-01-07T12:45:00.000Z

Well, I'm posting this just before I leave for Lisbon. If it doesn't get updated, then I didn't make it! (Boy! That sounds a bit dramatic doesn't it?)

As it happens, I've got it all in hand: Train tickets...... Check. Overnight hotel booking...... Check. Flight tickets, euros, and instructions in Portuguese for a taxi from the airport to the ship......... Check, check, check. Passport, EHCI card, yellow fever certificate...... Check, check, check. How organised am I?

What's the betting something goes wrong?

I admit to jumping out of bed last night to check I'd got the dates right, and I know I won't be sleep in the hotel because I will be scared that I won't wake in time for the flight. This then becomes a self fulfilling prophecy because I will eventually fall asleep at about 3 in the morning and and subsequently find it extremely hard to wake up when the alarm goes off!

I can't wait to get there though, and then onwards to Madeira, Cape Verde and the Amazon. Awesome.

Oh well, here we go.........

Stage One Complete. Peter has detached from the Home location and connected to the Ship

2012-01-03T20:22:00.000Z

And left me all me on me own.......... Absolutely shattered, I might add, because his poor night's sleep had a direct affect on mine. At one point he sat up, called out "TIE!" switched the light on and headed into the wardrobe, a couple of noisy rummaging minutes later he got back into bed satisfied that he had found his ties to add to the suitcases in the morning. Not condusive to a good night's sleep!

Frequent updates all day today meant that I was able to warn him that the Queen Elizabeth Bridge was closed (which he knew), but it was alright, because I could see his route on a map and knew he'd get off the M25 before he reached the bridge. (Which he didn't know).

Then he rang to tell me he was in the cabin. Yippeeeeeee! And that it was a nice big cabin. (Picture on his blog) Yippeeeeeeeee! And everything was going swimmingly well. Yippeeeeeee!

Then he rang to tell me it was not going quite as swimmingly well as first thought, because Cruise and Maritime had never had a watercolour artist on board the Marco Polo before, and were not really sure what to expect. A bit like Peter not knowing what to expect from Cruise and Maritime I suppose. This is going to be interesting...............................

Stage two involves getting me to Lisbon, I start my journey on Saturday, and should be able to run into Peter's arms, (like something off the movies), about midday Sunday. Watch this space.

Going Cruising Again Yippeeeeeee

2011-12-27T22:57:00.001Z

Time to switch the blog over slightly, now it becomes my cruising blog. We're going to the Amazon in January. Peter leaves before me, he sets off from Tilbury on Tues 3rd Jan just after the bank holiday. I'll follow and join him and and the ship at Lisbon on Sunday 8th Jan.
We've found a brilliant TV article about the ship Travel Channel Cruise Today - Marco Polo, The actual cruise we are going on is here: Our Cruise. Now I'm starting to really think about packing and stuff. Peter will be taking my things with him, so I need it all to be ready when he leaves. It's getting close now..........

The Amazon River taken from Santarem last time we visited.

Whernside

2011-11-28T22:01:00.000Z

Whernside from Bleamoor Sidings

Force Gill Aqueduct

Force Gill Aqueduct. Ingleborough in the distance

It wasn’t supposed to be cold, wet and windy. The forecast was for sun and a bit of a breeze. As we drove from Richmond, through Redmire and Hawes, the weather was lovely. But as we left Hawes and approached the Ribblehead Viaduct, the weather turned. The blue sky went black, the sun hid, the wind made the car feel like it had dropped a gear and the rain hammered the windowscreen. All I could think was “That’s mean!”

We parked near the viaduct and went to the back of the car to get our boots. OH MY GOD! (Except I’m not religious.) How cold was that wind? The extra clothes we didn't need but dropped into the boot anyway, were suddenly very, very necessary. I ended up in 5 layers and 3 hats. Waterproof trousers and ski gloves were donned. It was so cold.

Nameless tarn on the slopes of Whernside

A view from ridge up to Whernside Trig Point

The Ribblehead Viaduct from Whernside

Ribblehead Viaduct from Bruntscar

Darkness Descending on Ribblehead Viaduct

Commemorative plaque, from the Geograph Website.
© Copyright Steve Partridge and licensed for
reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Once dressed for the weather we started walking. The rain came at us sideways - ice needles against the face. After 100 yards I looked at Peter and asked. “Are we really gonna do this?” “Yep,” he sez “we’re here now”. So, head down, off we went.

Now I have to be honest, I was looking forward to this walk. Not because going up Whernside would mean I’d completed all three peaks, but because of the Ribblehead Viaduct. I have always been fascinated by it, and wanted to get up close. So now, here we were, walking alongside it, but the weather was so bad I couldn’t lift my head to look. Very disappointing. Peter pointed out that we would pass it on the way back, but remembered it would be dark. I was quite disheartened.

Then, as suddenly as it started, the wind and rain stopped and the sun appeared. It was just lovely. We weren’t far into the walk, only at Blea Moor station house, and now we could get the cameras out. Unzipping coats and removing gloves, the walk became a pleasant experience.

From the station house, we went on to the Aqueduct, which I wanted to see and found interesting, and then the start of the climb to the top of Whernside. Lots of lovely things to see, such as Force Gill waterfall, in full flow due to all the recent rain, a tarn with no name and the fantastic views from the walk along the top.

And as for the weather? It was like a teenage girl getting ready for her first date. It couldn’t settle on anything. The sun came out, and then disappeared. The sky was clear, then full of black clouds. The rain disappeared over the horizon and then came back suddenly, all cold and hard.

And the wind.........? Well the wind was usually trying to blow us over, and almost succeeding sometimes. But then, just to be contrary, it disappeared entirely? Trying to walk up hill with the wind against you makes an easy slope hard work. Taking our gloves off meant that our hands started to feel frozen within minutes. Every so often you felt a gust nearly knock you over. It was exhilarating. And cold!

So we got to the top of Whernside, ate a cold Cornish pasty with gloved hands, enjoyed the glorious views and then made the descent. We knew we would have to get a move on, because it would be dark by four o’clock.

We kept getting closer and closer to the viaduct, and I kept taking more pictures. Finally we were there, and it wasn’t raining, or blowing a gale and I could have a good, but hurried look, because it was really getting dark. An amazing piece of architecture I reckon, and I especially like the commemorative plaque beneath. Eloquent.

Our route

Despite the weather, it was a good walk and an interesting day. I think I might like to do that one again sometime. But perhaps in better weather

Roseberry Topping. On the edge of the Moors.

2011-11-13T17:45:00.002Z

Roseberry Topping from the South

Capt Cook's monument on Easby Moor

Under bright blue skies and glorious sunshine we set of for Great Ayton to start a lovely afternoon 7 mile walk. We parked in the little town and once booted up, and with GPS switched on (still learning), off we went. The weather was absolutely wonderful for November; we were soon warm enough to strip down to T-shirts. Leaving Great Ayton and heading for Roseberry Topping, the fields were beautifully green in the sun. We could see the Cook Monument up on Easby Moor to our right, and were lucky enough to catch sight of a couple of deer in a field to our left.

Woods in the November sun

Then, across the railway line and up the hill through the lovely little Cliff Ridge wood. The trees and autumn leaves were quite wonderful.

The walk up to Roseberry Topping

Next we walked along the top of the hill towards Roseberry Topping. Info from Wikipedia. As we approached we saw an interesting little folly, which seemed to make most visitors stop and wonder about it. I checked it out when we got back, and according to the Wiki it is actually an old hunting lodge.

Then it was up Roseberry Topping, with its distinctive shape. It’s not overly high and obviously the place to visit on a sunny day in November. There were loads of people there, families and groups, large and small. The wind was visiting too, sharp and cold.

View north east from Roseberry Topping

We didn’t stop for long, too many people about. The edge of that cliff is scary but the views around you are extensive. You’ve got the sea to the north east, the moors east and south, flatness to the west and the industry and urban terrain of Middlesborough to the North.

From there we went west heading for Newton Moor then south to walk down the on the edge of Slacks Wood. On our left glorious, extensive, bleak heather moorland complete with noisy grouse.

James Cook Monument

On our right the pine trees and decimation of a commercial wood. We came across a group or riders out on a hunt. There weren’t any hounds, so I am not sure what they were “hunting”. Horses and riders looking all spruce and brushed up was very lovely to see.

As the sky started to cloud over we moved on and aimed for our next point to visit, Captain Cook’s monument. It turns out that the man who discovered Australia used to climb Roseberry Topping to get away from it all. Wikipedia James Cook Early Life

Now which way?

The last part of the walk was to follow the path in a big zig zag down the bank to Easby Wood. Not successful, because near the wood, the way through the bracken just disappeared……We'd seen little yellow way marks...... but the path just stopped? At this point, because we knew it was going to get dark soon, we opted to change our route and follow the tracks and roads back to the car. So we headed directly for Southbrook Farm and from there took the lane back to Great Ayton, arriving just as the sun disappeared.

A really lovely afternoon walk, made so much better by the beautiful blue sky and warm sunshine. Now I can finally say I’ve been to Roseberry Topping.

A walk in the North Pennine moorland from Stanhope

2011-11-01T21:33:00.000Z

View from Wolsingham Park Moor

Shittlehope Burn and what looks like a sort of tunnel.

This was a test walk. Neither I nor Yvonne (Cheviot Stroller) had been out this way before. So I sort of cobbled together a route of what looked like interesting features and met Yvonne in the little town of Stanhope. We parked at the Durham Dales Centre and quickly set off, aiming for the cave(s) on the wonderfully named Shittlehope Burn. (Map at end as usual)

Looking down on Ravensfield

I was slightly disappointed in that we couldn’t really see any caves, just a hint of rocks where they might be. There looked to be an interesting tunnel though, but because everywhere was wet, muddy and slippery we decided not to explore.

From there we muddled our way across the fields to the tumbledown farmhouse which would have been Ravensfield, and then up the steep side of Shittlehope Edge.

Roundhill Quarry

The paths here are not marked or very clear, and it was basically guesswork that got us to the Pit House. We did unintentionally visit Roundhill Quarry on the way, which had its own charm.

The Pit House and Pit Mine

We got to the Pit House from where we were supposed to follow the right of way south, down the hill and then come back up again on Intake Lane. We decided to try and take a short cut straight across to the tantalisingly close satellite mast. This meant walking across the disused mine workings, (curious ups, downs and gulleys in the field), and over a damaged stone wall to rejoin our path, but it did save us another uphill climb, (shortcut not recommended).

From the satellite mast, we walked north on a clearly defined and waterlogged track on the edge of Wolsingham Park Moor. The moor is bleak with nothing but heather for miles, as well as loads of very noisy grouse. Apparently the gentry don’t shoot on Sundays, which is probably why we didn't see another soul up there. Despite overcast skies, the views were fantastic and we could see right across Weardale to the west and to the wind farm on the other side of Tow Law to the east. Awesome.

More views across the moors

We passed Fatherley Hill, which is charming, and the mast at Collier Law to reach The Sandpit. An odd place. Obviously a disused sandstone quarry, it has its own alien landscape.

From there we headed for Weatherhill Engine, an old railway station described here: Disused Stations Stanhope, but any evidence of it is long since gone. We crossed the road here, and found the finger post pointing to the public footpath that would take us down the bank to a gully and then on to the disused drift mine. Finger post…… Yes. Path….. No. So we headed in the right general direction across the heather until we met up with our next path.

Disused Drift Mine

Then it was down to the disused drift mine, which I think might have closed in 2002. The buildings are relatively modern. I liked it here, shades of Jurassic Park 3, and surrounded by autumn trees. Lurrrrvvly.

Reahope Burn

Onwards to meet up with Reahope Burn. We followed it until Stanhope Burn which we walked alongside until we got to Stanhope. The sun was out in full force now, showing up the glorious colours of the woods we were walking through. This was a really delightful stretch of the walk, thoroughly enjoyed by us both in the low afternoon sun.

The woods next to Stanhope Burn

Then we were back in Stanhope and at our cars. We’d walked just under 10 miles and explored an area new to us both. Definitely some highlights on the walk, not least the views and the bleakness on the edge of Wolsingham Park Moor, as well as walking along the burns back into Stanhope. Wonderful. Thank you to Yvonne for keeping me company and steering both me and my GPS right as we walked round.

Our planned route of 10.2 miles. Except we didn't follow it entirely.

Sutton Bank and Gormire Lake

2011-10-31T20:44:00.000Z

A while ago I invited my mate Angela to join me on an exhausting trek up steep cliffs and across gruelling terrain. I explained that the expedition would be arduous and only the fittest survive…….

Not quite true, but if you see her other half, that’s what you have to tell him!

Hood Hill from Sutton Bank

In reality, Angela joined me for this walk around Sutton Bank and Gormire Lake, (map at the end). I was testing out my new GPS, which of course meant we went the wrong way, and Angela was testing out whether or not she should walk with me again, which of course meant we went the wrong way.

Yorkshire Gliding Club

Starting at the visitors centre we followed the Cleveland Way South along the edge of the cliff. By 'eck it was cold up there!

We passed the Gliding Club on the left, and we watched a “tug” pull a glider into the air. Depending on conditions and wind direction, it’s possible to watch "winch launches" of gliders straight over the edge of the cliff. In summer, the sky is full of silent aircraft which you watch, mesmerized, for hours.

White Horse less head

Walking on, we passed just over the top of the White Horse then turned directly right to go down the bank where out of the wind it was much warmer. I took a picture of the White Horse at the car park on the way down, but the White Horse is designed to be seen from a distance and trying to take photo’s close up just doesn’t work. Hence my headless version.

Sutton Bank from Hood Hill Plantation

We walked on through the woods, so busy chatting we missed the turn off towards Hood Grange. My GPS told me we were going the wrong way, but I still haven’t worked all the buttons out, and couldn’t get the screen to tell me the right way. Luckily a woman on a horse that wasn’t headless provided directions and we were off again.

Gormire Lake

Angela, whilst fit, active and very used to climbing, abseiling, quad biking, dry stone wall building and wood clearing, is not used to walking across farmers fields. She reminded me of the first time I went out and the finger posts pointed straight through a field of wheat or potatoes. It felt like I was walking in someone’s back garden. I still feel like this, and take care not to damage the farmers property.

A tree from the Lord of the Rings on the Gormire lake side

The landowner at Hood Grange obviously knows how to look after walkers though, he’d worked his field to leave a raised unploughed path straight through the middle for us to walk on, and there is work going to improve the right of way (I think) around the buildings. It will make it feel less like we are walking through his back garden in future.

So on, across the A170, through the fields, (where we stopped for a quick bite) and on to Gormire Lake.

Bullrushes on Gormire Lake

Our plan was to walk along the west side of the lake and then on to Southwood Lodge, but we were talking again, and didn’t check the map, or the GPS...... Once we’d completed the full circle of the lake, (which was lovely, I like bullrushes), we turned back on ourselves and headed towards Southwood Lodge. There are loads of paths here, and we never actually found the right one, but we did finally reach the intended route to the top of the bank.

Gormire Lake and Hood Hill from Sutton Bank

I had warned my friend that it would be steep, and that we would huff and puff all the way up. And it was, and we did.

But it's worth it. One for the sense of achievement, and secondly the views from the top of the Whitestone Cliff are awesome. It’s a shame the weather wasn’t a little better, but we got some great pictures of the autumn colours around Gormire Lake.

Angela on Whitestone Cliff.
The Fairies Parlour (Cave) is here somewhere

In no time at all we were back at the visitors centre, which I would recommend to anyone. There’s educational stuff for kids and adults alike, a little tourist gift ship, and best of all, a brilliant coffee shop with goooooorgeous cakes. (Sorry, no beer folks).

An enjoyable day at the end of which, I’ve learnt a new walking route and how not to use my GPS. The last question is, will Angela do it again……….?

Our intended route, around 6½ miles, although we actually walked over 7

Low Force, High Force and Holwick Scars

2011-10-20T22:11:00.000+01:00

After a fantastic day in Swaledale on Saturday, I was expecting Sunday’s weather to be as glorious, and I was determined not to waste it. Yvonne, (AKA Cheviot Stroller) was bulldozed into finding a route, (not strictly true, she was as keen to get out as I), and found one of about 8 miles, starting with Low Force on the River Tees (map at the end). So we met up at Bowlees car park, and took the path through the tiny village towards Low Force and Winch Bridge,

Low Force is quiet stunning. There are four separate falls all in, and each of them quite mesmerizing. The might of all that water! I personally loved the surrounding rockscape, created because the water is cutting through a layer of “igneous rock “ which was created by a lava flow millions of years ago. When it cooled, the lava settled into all sorts of interesting pillars and crystalline type shapes.

We crossed the disturbingly bouncy Winch Bridge to follow the Pennine way alongside the Tees towards High Force.

The river itself has its own rugged appeal. The rocks and boulders are rough and craggy, refusing to be smoothed out by the flow of the river. Quite beguiling.

High Force is compelling viewing. You just have to watch the water as it forces and gouges its way through the rock.

I tried to capture how perilous the falls were and the awesome power of the water in photos, but the pictures are a mere shadow of the real thing.

After spending some time at High Force, we carried on up river to a charming little waterfall, Bleabeck Force.

Very pretty.

We carried on upriver. On our right, across the Tees is Dine Holm Scar, which is also made of the cooled lava or igneous rock, and which was being quarried. Ahead and left are the steep Green Hill and Cronkley Scars. Lovely.

Green Hill Scar and Cronkley Scar

We turned south (ish), and away from the river at the point it turns north(ish), across some damp and squidgy grassland until we reached the wall with Fell Dike Sike on the other side. Only a little beck, but it did require careful placement of the feet to remain dry. Or in Yvonne’s case, walking sticks.

We walked a little further before turning east to start the way back. The damp and squidgy turned into wet and boggy. So we were careful and picky to stop wet and soggy, (boots and feet that is).

However, half way across this short stretch of boggy moor was Blea Beck, with its little stepping stone ford. I have distinct memories of a very wet behind from a beck a lot shallower than this one and with bigger stepping stones ……..

For anyone undecided about walking sticks…….. Buy them! If only for keeping your balance across half flooded, uneven stepping stones. Because Yvonne is better organised than I, we were able to cross the beck using her sticks. Of course, we wouldn’t have fallen in but the sticks gave us the confidence to cross

After that little adventure we reached the dirt track which would take us the rest of the way, through an awesome stile.

And then on through a tiny but impressive little gorge past Holwick Scar.
The very last part of the walk turns north through fields and back to the Winch Bridge, Low Force and our cars.
The weather hadn’t been quite as bright as it had the previous day, but it was another wonderful day in pleasant company.

Lurrrrvly

Swaledale and Swinner Gill in the October sun

2011-10-18T01:03:00.000+01:00

Start of the walk, Black Hill on the right, Kisdon on the left

Saturday 15^th October was a fantastic autumn day. It felt like spring, and I’m sure mother nature was getting very confused. Butterflies flitted, caterpillars crawled and flowers blossomed next to mushrooms. Blue blue sky and bright autumn sun. Absolutely wonderful.

Near Ramp Holme foot bridge

Peter was exhibiting, so a few new found friends from the Walking forum and I met up in Muker, and set off to explore Swaledale, Swinnergill and the glorious Yorkshire Moors. As usual, the map of the route is at the end, which is better than I achieved on the walk, because then, the map stayed hidden in a drawer at home! However, my walking friends proved much more sensible and organised than I, in that they had maps and knew the area.

Heading towards Fair Yew End and Crackpot Hall

This blog entry also has a large number of photo’s, because it would be a sin not to show the world how lovely a day it was.

Fair Yew End

As I said, we started at Muker and made our way across the fields towards Ramps Holme footbridge. Immediately the cameras were clicking away, it was just so fantastic to be out.

Then over the bridge, we turned left to walk alongside the Swale heading towards Crackpot Hall until we got to Fair Yew End.

Fair Yew End ruins

Here we came to a little bridge, our first waterfalls and the ruins of an industry long since died away. A lovely place to sit and wonder about the people who worked here and the beauty of the dales around you.

Veiw just past Crackpot Hall

From there it’s up the hill to Crackpot Hall,”the ruin of a farmhouse dating from the mid 18th century. The building may also have been used as mine offices, as intensive lead mining was carried out in the area, and there were violent disputes over mine boundaries in the 18th century. The current building was abandoned in the 1950s because of subsidence. Crackpot Hall has been saved from further decay by Gunnerside Estate with the aid of grants from various trusts.” (Info from Wikipedia). Our cameras are still clicking like mad trying to capture the glory of the views around us.

Steep sides of Swinner Gill

We moved on to walk along the steep side of Swinnergill under Buzzard Scar.

Looking down into the gill

There is a higher, less risky path, but Swinner Gill looks so much better whilst perched on a 12 inch wide track. Joking aside, the little valley, waterfalls and stream looked brilliant from where we were, even if it was a little precarious. Again, we couldn’t stop taking pictures.

East Grain beck meets Swinner Gill

Then up to the head of Swinner Gill and turn right up alongside East Grain Beck.

Climbing up East Grain Beck

Once again, there is a higher, easier path which we chose to ignore, instead we climbed (using hands and feet) up the side of the stream with all its little waterfalls.

Head of East Grain beck. Moors above us

Finally we got to the top, which in a way was a shame, because it had been so nice following the stream and beck.

Looking across to Friarfold moor

But now we up on the moors, beautiful great expanses of heather and bracken. Here, even on such a beautiful day, the wind is keen and the views are bleak. I love it.

It wasn’t long until we were on a wide dirt track skirting the moor down to Botcher Gill waterfall and along “Jingle Pot Edge” (what a lovely name). I’m still loving the moors views.

River Swale in October afternoon sun

The track eventually comes round to the little hamlet of Ivelet, and it’s haunted bridge?. Here we met up with the Swale which we followed back to Ramps Holme Footbridge, and then on back across the fields to Muker itself.

Unbelievably, we had taken around 6 hours to cover just under 10 miles. We all agreed to blame the weather. We’d spent so long enjoying the views, taking pictures and delighting in the sun, time had wandered away. Thank you to Yvonne, Rich, Donna and Frankie for making sure a wonderful day stayed perfect. Hopefully we will do it again sometime.

Circular walk from Muker around Black Hill

Goathland or “How to pack a lot into a short walk”.

2011-10-11T00:36:00.000+01:00

West Beck

The Goathland Waterfalls Walk is on the Walking Englishman's site, and after watching a couple of the video’s, Peter said we should go see. I thought “it’s a long drive for a 6 mile walk…?” Peter wanted to go, so off we went.

If comparing, please note - Mike B started at the Mallyan Spout Hotel, (we should've done that too), we started past the cattle grid at the bridge over West Beck. Mike went clockwise around the route. We went anti-clockwise.

West Beck

So we started at the bridge, and immediately the walk became wonderful. West Beck is a fantastic rugged little stream. We walked alongside until Mallyan Spout and loved every minute of it.

It’s not easy. We spent a lot of time finding footing where we wouldn’t slip off a rock or sink deep into mud. As well as a fair amount of clambering around some of the bigger stones. But West Beck is enchanting. Bubbling and chuckling around the moss covered rocks. Rushing and gushing over this bit, slowing and widening into smooth, pools at that bit. I couldn’t stop taking photographs.

Mallyan Spout

Then we came to Mallyan Spout. How lovely is that little waterfall? As delightful as the beck I think. Peter has managed to capture it on film, so much better than my photographs. I will link his video into this blog as soon as it’s ready.

From Mallyan spout there is a little climb up steps, a walk alongside the wood and steps down again heading for Beck Hole. A big thank you to all volunteers who repair and remake paths, such as the guys working there that day.

We really appreciate it.

Peter says Beck Hole always reminds him of Postman Pat. I can sort of see why. No chance of making a phone call from the telephone booth though, it’s permanently engaged.

Steam Engine from trackside

From Beck Hole we were supposed to make our way west and very briefly alongside the railway track. Peter mentioned that we might be lucky enough to see one of the steam trains. To increase our chances we decided to take a short break and eat, and guess what? We heard it coming and, once again, Peter has some awesome video. Wonderful.

Now onwards and westward. At this point:

We’ve worked out that we have to walk for a short period alongside the railway track.

Mike B, in one of his videos talks about a “scary path” which we knew was here somewhere. Mike was walking in the opposite direction.

Peter had it in mind that we should see Thomoson Foss, which was very close by.

All these things came together at the fork in the path yards away from where we saw the train.

Eller Beck

The “path” on the left side was really poor, in fact there was a large hole directly in front of us, it didn’t look passable, and we weren’t even sure it was a path. The path on the right went down towards the river, and therefore the waterfall. So we went right.

We followed Eller Beck which is almost as charming as West Beck. Again we had to avoid mud and slippery rocks, but we were joined by a heron which flew just ahead of us to the Foss until he was perched on rock to the side of the waterfall. He stayed there some time posing for us. I took loads of photos whilst Peter filmed. Lovely.

Thomason Foss

At Thomason Foss we realised we could not go onwards. There was no way past the waterfall, so we turned back the way we came and tried to puzzle out how to get to the other (north) side of the railway line. That left fork was obviously the “scary path”, and we decided we shouldn’t use it. So we went back to cross at the road bridge. From there we walked a little way along the north side of the railway until we got to the point where the track crosses a meander in Eller Beck.

Waterfall above Thomason Foss

We had a good look around and worked out this is where Mike went under the railway to Thomason Foss. Peter and I agree that the “scary path” in Mike B’s video is now a “positively dangerous path” and would advise others to avoid it.

On the plus side though, there’s another waterfall on the north side of the railway line. We didn’t get close, although there is a path, because we had spent so long exploring we were beginning to run out of time.

Goathland Station

We walked on following the railway line almost, to Goathland Railway Station. Lovely views of the moors until we reached the station. This time we managed to time it to see the both steam engines roll in. Just wonderful.

More steam engine stuff

We spent quite a while watching trains, so now we needed to hurry back to the car. We decided to cut the last part of the walk short, and scurry along the road through Goathland.

Someone's back garden. What a way to commute to work.

The few words I have to say about this village are:

How pretty?

I have never known another village where the houses are so far apart.

The sheep grazing all through the village are cool.

Helicopter?

We got back to the car about 5

hours after we started out. We walked just less than 6 miles, but what a fantastic afternoon. I feel like we packed a massive amount in that day. Thinking back to the start of the day - “It’s a long drive for a 6 mile walk…?” Never!

This is a long blog entry. We packed a lot into a little six mile walk.

Peter's very excellent short video.

Our route

Ingleborough

2011-10-05T21:37:00.000+01:00

Clapham Beck

I’ve been looking forward to this, because it’s been ages since Peter and I have been out walking. The weather has been brilliant all week, but the forecast wasn’t good, (I told Peter it said it would rain). Nevertheless, we were still hoping for a warm dry day up a hill.

As we were driving to Clapham we hit a heavy downpour. Not good! I said we could walk next weekend. Peter said it would blow over. It stopped. So we parked outside Clapham hall, donned our boots and rucksacks and started off.

It was a good start. We followed the top path to Clapdale Farm (rather than pay the 60p each to walk along the privately owned Clapdale Drive lower down). From there we dropped down the hill and walked along the track to Ingleborough Cave.

Clapham Beck Head

Just past it is the head of Clapham Beck in the form of a spring that pours forth from a cave. Nice.

Trow Gill

Approaching Trow Gill

We continued along the track to Trow Gill. On the photo’s, it looks more than it is. It’s a pleasant place with cliff sides, a cave and the Gill itself which is easy to walk up.

The Ingleboroughs. Little Ingleborough on the left

Up through Trow Gill and on through a deep sided gulley to an open expanse of moorland and view of The Ingleboroughs. Sadly, it started to rain at this point, that persistent type that isn’t a downpour, but gets you wet anyway.

Gaping Gill

We walked on to have a look at Gaping Gill, a very large hole in the ground into which falls Fell Beck. As you can tell from the link, there are two occasions where common or garden non pot-holing folk can see inside. I think I might do that next year.

From our vantage point we couldn’t really see down the hole, despite our best efforts, so we took the photographs we could and returned to our planned walk by crossing Fell Beck.

“Watch out! It’s slippy!” yelled Peter as he nearly went over. “OK” I said, and moved to cross at a different point. Uh oh!

The Slippery Fell Beck

It was very slippery, and I landed very firmly on my bottom. Peter came to rescue me. He landed very firmly on his bottom too. As we both sat there, bruised and confused in the beck, we burst out laughing. But we realised that the longer we stayed, the wetter we’d get, so we very quickly got out!

So now I’m wet through to my knickers and all the way down the back of my legs. Water is trickling into my boots. Peter has a wet behind and it’s raining. Do we go on? Do we go home? We were midway between the car and Ingleborough. Based on the principle that if we kept moving, we’d keep warm and probably steam dry, we carried on.

Ingleborough Summit Cairn

The rain continued and got heavier. As we started up the slope of little Ingleborough we discussed going back, but onward and upward, up to the top of Little Ingleborough we went. The path then levels out for a bit before you start climbing to the top of Ingleborough Peak itself. The cloud base was sinking and the rain kept coming, but eventually we got there. We walked across the very flat top to the weather shelter where I managed to get a photo of the summit cairn. We couldn’t see far but we did make out some of the surrounding hills as we paused for a well earned steak slice.

Now to go back. Due to the now soaking wet nature of our attire we made the decision to curtail our original route, and leggit back as fast as possible. We belted off the top, down the side, and made short work of the route back to Gaping Gill across the moor. And still it rained. We walked past Fell Beck and continued back the way we’d come through Trow Gill. Carefully this time, because it was wet and slippery. On past Ingleborough Cave and then we chose the private track along Clapdale Drive, because there was no-one to collect the toll and it was quicker. The rain continued.

The private path comes out at Clapham next to a very pretty waterfall, which I think is manmade. We’ve been here before and I have sunny day pictures. We didn’t stop to admire this time though, it was still raining.

Finally we got back to the car. Totally, totally, soaking wet but satisfied with our effort. Driving home past Ingleborough, we noticed the cloud base had sunk to cover the summit and we felt pleased we’d got up there earlier.

When we got home, Richmond was dry. Now, three days later, we know that we must have found the wettest, rainiest patch in the whole of England to walk. If we’d gone anywhere else, we’d have stayed dry. I suppose it’s all down to experience. (And I did tell him it would rain).

The route we planned.

The route we took

Little Pond, Black Swans.

2011-10-01T21:59:00.000+01:00

Alright, it's not a cruise, and it's not a walk, (unless you count the 30 yards across the grass from the Uni Buildings), but it was such a lovely day and this is "Getting about a bit". Today I got to York University so that my daughter could attend the Open Day. Whilst I was there, I was totally taken in by a family of black swans. At least I think they were, it seemed like two adults and two youngsters.

Weird birds, they don't seem to be able to lift their heads and their necks seem to be arched all the time, they are smaller than white swans and they make a very sweet sort of hooting horn noise. The ones at the Uni pond, along with all the water birds there, were very tame and came up to me looking for food. I thought they were lovely.

A little wander in Wensleydale - Ayesgarth, West Burton and the River Ure

2011-09-25T03:00:00.000+01:00

Ayesgarth High Falls

I discovered the Walking Forum a little while ago, and through it, ended up making arrangements with Cheviot Stroller, AKA Rambling Nana (see blog links), to meet up for a walk. We decided on Ayesgarth, and I worked out a route of about 8½ miles.

We both arrived in the NT carpark, smiled hello at each other, and set out to view the delights of Ayesgarth and beyond. The route can be seen on the map at the end.

Cauldron Falls

After a quick look at the Upper Falls, the first half of the walk took us through the fields to West Burton, where we saw the village waterfall, also known as the Cauldron Falls.

Then we climbed gently along grassy tracks to a point where we were overlooking the dale. Not very high, but high enough to get some delightful t views. Along the route we spotted a squirrel dash away from us along the wall. The fact that it chose not to run up a tree made us look again, and we quickly realised that it was a stoat. Cool!

Look back on the Morepeth track

Eventually, we turned left to make the gentle descent towards Swinithwaite. Enjoying the views, we were also amused by the antics of several rams in the field next to us. I swear it looked like only one of them was brave enough to investigate whatever it was in the hedge that caught his eye. His five or so “mates” were all bunched up about 10ft behind him. We could almost hear them egging him on as the whole group crept towards the hedge. Curiosity could have killed the ram?

Looking across to Nossil Bank

Just below Lower Falls

Through Swinithwaite, across a few more fields and then we spent the second half of the walk alongside the River Ure heading back to our starting point. The river itself is fascinating, with the loads of waterfalls, and rocky stretches. With the variety of birds and flowers around, there is always something that catches your eye.

Looking up at Lower Falls

I personally prefer being on the south side of the Ure as you approach Ayesgarth. I think you get to see so much more of the river and all its nuances.

Lower Falls again

But we did cross over and take a look at lower and middle falls using the NT walk on the north side. These touristy viewing points allow you good views of the falls, especially if you go to the very end and climb down to get an excellent view of the lower falls.

Middle Falls

A bonus for me was that I got to see the grey heron that spends a lot of time at middle falls. I even took a blurry picture.
Another lovely day in very pleasant and quietly tuneful company. Now……….. Where next?

Another day out from Richmond

2011-09-18T06:00:00.000+01:00

The view from High Moor over the Applegarths, Swaledale

After chickening out of two routes from Reeth, I thought I’d walk from Richmond and find a path that I've always missed before. (Because I’d never had a map and didn’t know it was there!) I included a couple of slopes and 8½ miles walking in my route, (map at end), and I looked forward to getting out.

This time I learnt::
1. Keep your camera battery charged.

2. "Light Showers” means torrential downpours.

3. My boots aren’t waterproof

4. Always take a wetproof, even when you're sure you won’t need one.

5. Follow your map, not your nose.

Willance's Leap memorial stones

Starting at Richmond, I headed up to Willance’s Leap with stunning views over Swaledale. An added bonus is you get to look down on the Coast to Coasters. I didn’t take any pictures because my camera battery failed, (Lesson No1) but I’ve included photographs taken on earlier walks.

From there, I walked along the top of Whitcliffe Scar to Deepdale Tree. Here I got my first “shower”. (Lesson No 2) Don’t ask about the tree, I didn’t see it. I couldn’t see through my glasses or the rain. It stopped fairly quickly, but not until I was dripping wet. (Lessons 3 & 4)

Musk thistle on 24 July. Still there on 18 September, and still lovely

There’s a road down the centre of the steepsided Deepdale that you follow to Low Applegarth Farm. Here I suffered my usual inability to find the path. Ringing water out of my sleeves, I “remembered” the route when I saw someone else go that way. The farmer has realised that I can't navigate his fields. He’s put up hulking great poles covered in yellow plastic tied with black masking tape stripes. You really can’t miss them. I like this part of the walk. The sun came out.

Dripping on, I got to Swale and followed the path alongside to Whitcliffe Wood where there is a memorial from dogs to their dead owner. Curious.

Hudswell Woods

After Whitecliffe Wood, it’s past Lownethwaite Farm, down a track with loads of Himalayan Balsam in the verges, over Reeth road and the Swale and into Hudswell Woods.

I turned right and followed a very muddy, slippy path close to the river. At the end are a set of steps, (376 of ‘em, I counted!....... (But that could be 326?)). The steps climb 200ft up Hudswell Bank. As I got to the top, the rain came down. Luckily, fate provided me with a couple of dense trees over a stile perfect to sit on. I stayed damp this time. (I didn’t get any wetter.)

The Swale from Hudswell Woods

I headed east next, following the path through woods and fields. I’d always gone downhill before and this time wanted to stay at the top of the bank. Just above Round Howe, between the trees, you get lovely views of Richmond across the river. I continued my route across the fields. At the point I was looking slightly confused and trying to spot my next stile, a nice old lady told me that I should follow my nose and go right to the far corner of the field. Actually, she should have said “Not that corner! The other corner!” (Lesson No 5). Wrong again, but I was close to home. And I had very nicely just about dried out.

Then, as sure as eggs is eggs and toast always falls butter side down, the heavens opened. Just enough to make sure I was properly soaking wet by the time I got back to the house.

I walked 9 miles and only found half the path I was looking for. (Sounds like a song title?). But I really enjoyed the walk, even the wet bits. You can see from the photo's how nice it is.

Another lovely day.

A Walk to Work

2011-09-15T23:19:00.000+01:00

The Friary ruins in Richmond

I live just over three miles from work, and for the few months, I've had this idea in my head that I might walk to work. Only in the nice weather like, definitely not when it's cold and raining. When I saw the weather forecast last night, I decided today would be the day.
I nearly didn’t do it. I was running late, and then had to turn back after 5 minutes to get a map of the path I’d not used before. It would have been so easy to get in the car and drive. But the sky was so so blue, the sun so bright, and the air so clear and fresh, I couldn’t miss the chance. And boy am I glad I didn’t. I start by going through Richmond past the Friary.

The Station

Then it's down the hill across the Swale, to "The Station", which is a listed building that has been revamped and now houses a two screen cinema, a restaurant, a brewery, cheesemaker, baker and delux sweetie shop. Anyone within a mile vicinity should make it a priority to get an ice cream from the shop at the end of the building. It's made in one of the dale's and it is absolutely gorgeously wonderful.

From The Station, I followed the old railway track, a favourite walk of us locals, as this path ultimately leads to Easby Abbey.

On the way to Hagg Farm

Then a right turn past the sewage works following the Coast to Coast as far as Hagg Farm, (which isn't there). On route were a load of soldiers training, running up and down the hill as per orders shouted at them by guys in bright yellow hi vis vests. The hill had been previously grazed by cows and was subsequently very mucky slippy. Uuuuuurrrrrrgh! I am so glad I never joined the army.

Himalayan Balsam

Since June, many of the paths around Richmond have been lined with Himalayan Balsam. It is really quite pretty, but apparently it is a nasty foreign invader, driving out our own native plants. If it drives out a few nettles, I would be happy. And I still think it's pretty.

At Hagg Farm, I turned south to walk across the fields towards Hipswell. Really lovely views, although I got wet feet in the morning dew.

Finally into Hipswell village and sadly back onto road and the smell of exhaust, but I was only about a third of a mile away from work, so not far now.

When I got to work, my colleagues thought I was ever so slightly mad. They couldn't understand why I would walk three miles plus to work by choice. I was offered a lift home............ twice. I very happily turned it downed and went back the way I'd come.

They don't know what they're missing.

A little meander from Marske.

2011-09-11T00:12:00.000+01:00

I’ve wanted to do this for a couple of weeks. Peter is off working again this weekend, and, after a frustrating wait to make sure the wet weather and mist cleared I managed to get out this afternoon. It is only a little walk of 5 miles+, nothing too strenuous but in an area new to me. I’d included a little waterfall in my route, and I was looking forward to exploring.

Lessons learnt:

When driving to and from walk, always plan to change boots after completion of said exercise.

There are such things as bright yellow and purple mushrooms. (No - not together in stripes or anything. I mean separate mushrooms).

Sheep can be scary

I can take the wrong path more times than you have fingers. (Boasting now.)

I’ve added a little map of the intended route for interested walking types (see bottom). The walk goes northwest along the north side of Marske Beck, dallies around a bit, and then comes back on the south side. There aren’t any steep hills, the Yorkshire countryside is always lovely, and pleasant sights include the becks, horses, brightly coloured fungi, Orgate Force and an old water wheel. I parked the car at a little layby next to the bridge over Marske Beck and started my walk from there. The walk goes like this.

Start at layby
Trek through the village (backtrack and check three different roads to be sure of the right one).
Follow track through a couple of fields into the woods. Whilst walking through woods, checkout three different paths to be sure of right one. Notice buzzing noise. Notice buzzing noise is very loud. Notice you are surrounded by hovering, buzzing, humming yellow and black insects. Look up. No nest, phew! Move very swiftly out of area. Buzzing diminishes.

Orgate Force

Aaaaahhh. There it is.

Walk on to Orgate Farm. Miss intended path. Take another instead down to Orgate force. Take loads of pictures, enjoy surroundings.
Back up to Orgate Farm, head on towards Telfit Farm. Wonder about little bridge? Look over edge……. Ahhhhh there it is.

Is this is a Bright Yellow Russula?

Go past Telfit farm, take pictures and enjoy the scenery, get curious stares from horses and discover yellow mushrooms. Go uphill towards fields with cattle and sheep.
Walk past unnervingly docile cow into field full of hyped up and very noisy sheep. Establish that sheep believe you have something they want when complete flock masses behind you baaing loudly. Complete flock quite menacingly follows you (stopping only when you stop) and baaing very loudly for length of field.

Climb gate, (because really have got fed up with sheep, and ended up at wrong one). Subsequently end up on wrong path along Telfit Bank. Do not spot this mistake until you come to wall that doesn’t have a stile.
Go downhill to road/track, follow this to the first wooden “Public Footpath” sign you have seen on the walk and cross fields to Pillimire Bridge. Discover purple mushrooms and waterwheel.

Blackish-Purple Russula

Cross bridge, turn right and walk alongside river. In the last 30 yards of the walk, find the thickest, deepest mud possible to cake your boots in. Finish walk with boots twice the size and weight that you started.
End walk at layby

Another lovely afternoon. I will add in my defence that several of the paths and gates had no markers, whether they be right or wrong. And anyone can make a mistake when being hounded by 40-50 sheep.

From Glennridding, up Striding Edge, on to Helvellyn and down Swirral Edge

2011-08-26T01:10:00.000+01:00

You’d think I’d learn wouldn’t you? Once again I was tired through lack of sleep, but, not content with my last attempt to completely wear out every muscle in my body, we decided to have another go. This time, the planned walk was to go up Striding Edge.

Glenridding Beck

I’ve heard about this one and I’ve seen the pictures. But Peter assured me that it isn’t as bad as it looks. Not only that, my boss tells me she’s been up there. (She’s not a wuss, but she’s not stupid either, so it can’t be that bad.)
After rain all day Wednesday, I was dead chuffed to wake up to a gloriously clear day. So we packed up camp, (our last day in Langdale), and drove to Glennridding.

From the car park, we started our walk by following Glenridding Beck, because it’s always nice to walk alongside the water, and I love the sound. Then we turned left just past Gillside and started the climb.
To our right, and just behind us were the wonderful colours of Sheffield Pike and the Glenridding Screes,

Glenridding Screes

The path we followed is easy, in as much as it’s clear with plenty of stepping stones to prevent erosion, but it was steep, and tiring and I needed plenty of rest stops. But it was such a lovely day, Peter’s camera couldn’t stop taking photo’s. As always, the further you climb, the better the views. With the air as clear as it was, we couldn’t go wrong. We just kept following the path up through the Little Cove to Birkhouse Moor. Behind us, more and more of Ullswater came into view. It was all picture postcard and breathtaking. (Actually, the steep path up the hill had already done a good job of taking my breathe away, but those views………. just glorious.)

Ullswater from just above Little Cove

Up on the moor, we continued on to the Hole in the Wall, Bleaberry Crag, Low Spying Howe and High Spying Howe. A fantastic place to be in fantastic weather. Striding Edge, Hellvellyn and Swirral Edge spread out before us, sort of like a giant seat. We were to walk along one arm, up the shoulder, across the back and then down the other side.

Left is Striding Edge, right is Swirral Edge, Helvellyn in the middle is the third highest peak in England

Striding Edge towards Helvellyn

The path levels out a bit, and walking on the Red Tarn comes into view on the right. Finally, we get to the reason for all the excitement and trepidation…… Striding Edge.

It looks pretty awesome, and difficult, but as you move along it, you realise it isn’t. Many younger and more adventurous walkers were delighting in finding the trickiest path they could. Peter and I chose to walk along the easier bits of rock. Not on the “safe” path lower down alongside, but not scrambling over whatever was topmost either. And it was actually quite fun, invigorating and bringing out the child in everyone, (including the children, who were doing what kids do naturally, climbing all over everything and no doubt frightening the life out of their parents). All the way, the Red Tarn is on your right, looking surprisingly blue and good enough to dive into.

In no time at all, we were at the other end. At this point there is a bit of a drop if you haven’t taken the path that runs alongside! Me being me made it difficult for myself, but I got down eventually. I did have to move aside for a couple of mountain goats disguised as lads. How do they do that? They must have crossed the edge in a couple of minutes, and were probably up on Hellvellyn before I’d even got to the foot of the climb.

Now, as I said, I knew about Striding Edge and I’ve seen the pictures. But the next bit caught me off guard, i.e. the “scramble” up the shoulder of Hellvellyn. The first part of the climb that presented itself to me looked far too steep, I couldn’t see how I was going to get up. For a moment I was quite worried - until Peter pointed out a different route which looked easier. Hey Ho, onwards and upwards.

Striding Edge from Helvellyn

Finally we got to the top, and what a very flat top it is. Flat enough to land a plane apparently, as some guy proved in 1926. After all that uphill walking and scrambling, the top of Helvellyn is so wonderfully, pleasantly flat. The sun shone, the air was clear and we could see for miles. I was back on top of the world again! Time for a well earned bite to eat, a bit of a rest, and to take loads of photo’s.

From the top of Helvellyn. We can see forever.......

Now I should mention at this point that the place was like Waterloo Station. There were so many people including a group of kids out on some kind of church trip. There were girls were wearing skirts and pumps and clambering up Helvellyn like it’s playtime in the local park, families, the occasional older man or woman, and hundreds of younger people, sort of early 20’s and 30’s, absolutely relishing the opportunity to climb everything. Amazing! Especially when you think that Striding Edge claims regular victims. Peter made a short video, Striding Edge walkers are about a minute in, and you have to scroll through photo's to get to video at the end: Striding Edge Walk

Swirral Edge from Helvellyn

And then it was down again. I personally found the Helvellyn shoulder down to Swirral Edge much easier to deal with than the other side. True, there was a lot of scree, and you had to be careful where you put your feet, but it seemed to shorter, and in no time at all we were on a nice easy path.

Our way home

Sadly, my camera battery ran out as we started to come down and I didn’t manage to get any pictures of the pretty stream or the old mine workings as we followed the route alongside Red Tarn and Glenridding Becks back to the town. Shame, because the sun was beginning to lower, and the light was lovely.
And then there was our car ready to take us home. Another challenging and tiring walk, but once again, looking back, I'm glad we've done it. I think I might even want to do it again.

Info from Peter: Route & directions and Peter's journal entry

Pike O’Blisco and Crinkle Crags.

2011-08-25T05:46:00.000+01:00

We arrived at Langdale Camp Site Monday, and after a very poor night’s sleep on my part, we started the first of our three planned walks on Tuesday. Initially, it looked like it would rain any minute, so I put my heavy waterproof on. Peter on the other hand thought the weather would improve and didn’t bother. Turns out he was right and within 10 minutes we started stripping off. It did stay cloudy, but it was warm, and no rain.

Looking up at Pike Of Blisco

We started by walking up towards Side Pike. I was tired and finding it difficult to get into my stride and this is quite a steep hill but it was nice to be out. At the Cattle Grid, we turned away from Side Pike and made our way up to Wrynose fell. (More steep hills!) With all thoughts of an easy day now beaten out of my mind, we walked from Wrynose Fell to the top of the Pike of Blisco.

According to our map we’d climbed just short of 2000ft, or 600 mtrs by now and we’d taken aaaaaaages over it. I blame it only my normal slowness added to the fact I was very tired. Luckily, the views were handsome and Peter had plenty of opportunity to take pictures whilst he waited for me. The birds up there were either very large crows or ravens. I think they were ravens because they sounded different. Rather than CAWing, they were CROWing, and at one point they were HAH HAH HAHing (at me perhaps?)

Looking back at the Pike of Blisco from Crinkle Crags

From Pike O’Blisco, we walked down to Browney Gill which is fed by Red Tarn (work that one out). At the bottom, we came across an interesting couple wild camping. Interesting because they were not a young couple - easily in their 50s or more- and obviously much hardier animals than I. We were on the level for all of three minutes (my legs had forgotten what that felt like), then started back up towards the Crinkle Crags. I had finally managed to wake up, but at cross purposes - now my head was awake and enthusiastic, the body was starting to slow down. Now though, the sun was breaking through the clouds to encourage us on.

Peter Climbing "The Bad Step"

The five Crinkle Crags are sort of fun, you have to get up and over each one (and other smaller outcrops) as you move towards the Three Tarns and Bow Fell. This includes climbing over the “Bad Step” to reach the peak of the highest Crag - Long Top. It wasn’t until we got there that I remembered I’d seen a video on U Tube Climbing down the Bad Step I also remember thinking I didn’t want to do that!

But we were here now, so, after watching Peter climb up and deciding that the other options and “scrambles” weren’t really for me, I followed him. I’m not a climber, or a scrambler and at one point I had a mini panic because I wasn’t sure my leg could lift me the distance required, but I did it. (I awarded myself a chocolate bar for that)

Looking down from The Crinkle Crags to Oxendale and Langdale
Gunson Knott on the left

Although they are fun, the Crags are also hard work, and as we got further and further on, we were beginning to wonder when they would end. We finally we got past the last one, (quite a lump) and reached the Three Tarns.

At this point, with sore feet, we decided to take an easier route down than planned, and followed the path down The Band which is relatively gentle, with a lot of stones set into steps to stop erosion. Walking on, and on, and on, and further down the hill made me wonder how far we had gone up to be taking so long to get down…….. 2800ish ft apparently.

Our route home, the Band on the left,
Langdale Fell and Langdale Pikes on the right

After a very long and hard walk (for me anyway), we finally got back to the campsite, and after the quickest wash and freshen up possible, we were on our way to the Sticklebarn for a hot meal, fresh coffee for me and Guinness for Peter. Looking back I think we underestimated how tiring this walk can be, but I am glad we did it. I feel a better, fitter walker each time I am pushed like this.

Today (Wednesday’s) weather forecast was for rain, rain, rain. (An excellent excuse for a day to recover). We decided to miss our second days walking to amble around Ambleside and check out the many, many walking shops in the town. We also had lunch at Bilbo’s Café. I recommend!
Info from Peter: Route & directions. and Peter's journal entry

3 Days Camping in the Lake District

2011-08-25T02:37:00.000+01:00

Before anything, I should explain that Peter is an experienced walker and camper. He spent much of his earlier years wandering the countryside with a tent on his back, pitching it wherever he’d got to by the end of the day. I have no such background.

This camping trip was a trial run for our C2C next year. We bought an extremely lightweight tent, perfect for two, some extremely lightweight self inflating ground mats and couple of other items that needed replacing. If you read my last post, you’ll know I wasn’t sure about this trip. Previous experience of sleeping on the ground tells me I am not good at it. Peter was dead enthusiastic though, and really pleased with our purchases. So we turned up at the Great Langdale campsite, got our pitch number and found our allocated patch of grass.

But as for the camping experience………… Well.

Not Good:

· The mats we’d bought were very very good, even I recognised that. But they were not good enough for a couple of mature, less practiced folk. Ooooh…. Stiff joints!

· Langdale doesn’t allow you park your car next to the tent, which had been part of our plan. We ended up storing more in our little tent than originally intended.

Our little tent, tiny in comparison.

· Rain.

OK:

· The tent is so lightweight it’s perfect to carry on the C2C. But it’s small, and there isn’t room to do much but sleep in it.

Curious:

· Why is it OK for grown women to walk to the shower block in their pyjamas? People seem to lower their privacy settings. Is it just me that finds this weird?

Funny:

· Listening to the woman in the tent nearby tell off her husband and kids, reminded us of the Howler Mrs Weasley sent Ron in The Chamber of Secrets. This woman was much scarier tho’.

Good

· I have no experience of other campsites. I can only tell you that this one had everything: little shop with weather forecast and milk, loos and showers clean enough to use, laundry room, even the kitchen sinks!

· Our little camp stove and the £2.50 lamp we bought.

Brilliant

· Waking up in the morning to sunshine and drinking the morning coffee with those views.

Would I do it again? Only with comfier sleeping arrangements. But we’re working on that.

A short break

2011-08-18T19:17:00.000+01:00

I don't quite know how I ended up agreeing, but we are going camping next week. Just three days in the Lake District, but I am sure that will be plenty. We'll have three days walking too, if my legs survive the climbs.

The questions going through my head are "Will it be comfy enough on that roll mat thing to sleep? Will I last three days? How long would it take to pack up and come home in the middle of the night? Will Peter abandon me at the top a hill somewhere cos I'm tired n crabby? And why does everyone keep talking about rain?"
.
I'll know by this time next week!