Category: 2016

The land of the midday moon

20 December 2016

Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe, is often dubbed the land of the midnight sun because, during the summer, the sun barely sets. In winter of course, it’s a different story. Sunlight is a rare and fleeting thing. Even after a slightly disconcerting shower in sulphurous water, a leisurely breakfast and a great deal of Google Map exploring, it was still as dark as midnight when we left the hotel just after eleven this morning and the moon was the brightest thing in the sky. Continue reading The land of the midday moon

The land of the ice and snow

19 December 2016

The day began with a foggy early morning journey to Heathrow and a late airside breakfast. For once we weren’t heading for the sun, but flying north into the unknown. Our cases were bulging with thick jumpers and thermals and, despite Commando’s insistence that I wouldn’t need them, I had my trusty Yaktrax in my hand luggage. It seemed to me the clue was in the name. Iceland was sure to be icy wasn’t it? Continue reading The land of the ice and snow

Tales from the photo archive – memories

A little peek into the black hole that is my deleted items folder
A little peek into the black hole that is my deleted items folder

There always seem to be lots of odd photos sitting in my photo archive that don’t make it into posts for one reason or another and I thought, why don’t I put them together? So I’m giving you a little peek into my archives to the photos that didn’t quite make it… Continue reading Tales from the photo archive – memories

Janesmoor Pond, fog, mud and Santas

11 December 2016

Lately life seems to have been nothing but one race after another. This morning we were up early yet again, heading for a race. This though, would be the last race of the year. In an epic piece of bad planning on the part of the people who plan races, there were actually three races going on this morning in different parts of Hampshire. Without a time machine though, we could only go to one and Commando chose the CC6 at Janesmoor Pond.  Continue reading Janesmoor Pond, fog, mud and Santas

A new ship in town and a birthday party

8 November 2016

With our Icelandic adventure imminent, It occurred to me I should probably be thinking about getting some Christmas presents this week. Frankly, I’m a little bah humbug about the whole Christmas thing. When the boys were little it was fun but, these days, it all seems too much like an excuse to spend money on things people probably don’t even want and eat too much. To my mind we should all buy one Christmas present for ourselves and leave it at that. Unfortunately, the rest of the world doesn’t agree with me though so this morning was mostly about buying presents.  Continue reading A new ship in town and a birthday party

A different sea

7 December 2016

After the blue skies and sun of Cyprus the UK took a bit of getting used to. It was cold. It was wet. It was grey. There was also a great deal of washing to be done and catching up with a week’s worth of chores, not to mention CJ’s birthday. This meant a week with very little walking unless you count trudging up the Big Hill for milk in the rain  kind of walking. Today though there was blue sky. Ok, so it was still well below freezing but I was missing the sky and the sea so much I decided to take a walk down to the shore. Continue reading A different sea

All good things come to an end

28 November 2016

With the end of the last race our little Cypriot adventure was drawing to a close. This has been a holiday like no other. Quite a lot of our holidays have a race in them, usually a marathon but this had four races in four days. Between them, Commando has, understandably, spent a lot of time snoozing beside the pool and I have spent a lot of time wandering about on my own. Of course, wandering about on my own is one of my favourite things and, with all the interesting race venues, I’ve seen some places I would otherwise not have even known about. Continue reading All good things come to an end

The last race, medals and beer

27 November 2016

Our long day didn’t quite end with the sunset in Paphos yesterday. Although Commando’s legs were weary after three back to back events and my temperamental Achilles tendon was grumbling at a week of almost non stop walking, we still had to eat. There was one last walk up the hill in the dark to the Coral King for a leisurely dinner. As we sipped our after dinner coffee I noticed we’d been sitting beneath a fresco of the Greek warrior Achilles.  It seemed quite an irony in the circumstances. Continue reading The last race, medals and beer

From the mountain to the beach

26 November 2016

After a slightly hair raising coach journey down the winding mountain road with its precipitous drops to certain death, we arrived at Toxeftra Beach. As the coach crept down the steep, bumpy slope onto the beach I looked through the window, open mouthed, at the fantastical rock formations we passed. This was the mouth of the Avakas gorge, created over thousands of years by the Avgas River flowing through the limestone eroding a narrow pathway with sides up to thirty metres high.  Continue reading From the mountain to the beach

Another day, another race, the Akamas Multiterrain Half Marathon

26 November 2016

Today we had an even earlier start. A coach picked us up from the hotel at 7:45, still struggling to digest our hasty breakfast. Sue seemed none the worse for her tumble yesterday and was as chirpy and giggly as ever. We were headed for the mountains again, this time for the Akamas Multiterrain Half Marathon. The journey was long but the views from the coach window kept boredom at bay. White painted cuboid houses with terracotta tiled roofs and shady balconies gave way to craggy rock formations dotted with stunted trees, contorted and bowed down by the weight of the relentlessly beating sun. Every inch of flat space was covered with bananas, pomegranates, oranges, cabbages or fruit bushes in rows. What I wouldn’t have given to walk the interesting looking trails we passed. Continue reading Another day, another race, the Akamas Multiterrain Half Marathon