so back to the main blog folks...
i will put pics up and let you know when ...
Wednesday 13 January 2010
Tuesday 12 January 2010
hurricane
is what we are in the middle of at the moment! will be glad to be home....will even be glad to be in the channel, where it should be a lot calmer, apparently.
Monday 11 January 2010
force 7
but we survived the force 9! somewhere off northern spain at the moment, and looking forward to getting home ... if it weren't for the windchill it would be 50 degrees F at the moment, but as it is feels a good bit colder...
Saturday 9 January 2010
free wi fi! couple of pics
in the azores, hurray, and allison went on a trip on her own ( i was going to do a different one, but we decided i could do that myself, since all it was was walking round town, which is mostly closed!)
so i'm sitting outside a cafe at the cruise terminal
there was a chap with a carriage with two lusos in teh shafts doing carriage rides, so i took advantage of that - only 10 euros, which was good value, and meant i got my horse fix for teh week!
then found the only open museum, the military museum, only 1 euro, and it turned out quite interesting - in the old fort, and there was a good view from up on the battlements.
here's a pic of allison riding in the sea in Antigua, i'll upload the rest probably to facebook when i get back...
and looking forward to getting home... and hope the drive north isn't too bad, the weather sounds truly horrendous, gaynor has had to use hot water to defrost al the locks and blots and it is all a bit of a nightmare. and has had to get more haylage than we'd planned as they've had to be in more than we thought.
so i'm sitting outside a cafe at the cruise terminal
there was a chap with a carriage with two lusos in teh shafts doing carriage rides, so i took advantage of that - only 10 euros, which was good value, and meant i got my horse fix for teh week!
then found the only open museum, the military museum, only 1 euro, and it turned out quite interesting - in the old fort, and there was a good view from up on the battlements.
here's a pic of allison riding in the sea in Antigua, i'll upload the rest probably to facebook when i get back...
and looking forward to getting home... and hope the drive north isn't too bad, the weather sounds truly horrendous, gaynor has had to use hot water to defrost al the locks and blots and it is all a bit of a nightmare. and has had to get more haylage than we'd planned as they've had to be in more than we thought.
Wednesday 6 January 2010
the weather
my mother was moved to ring me this morning to tell me how bad the weather is at home! i ijust feel guilty that i've left Gay nor to do all this extra hard work re, Mollyeven though she says that's fine, you know how that goes...i still feel guilty ...
as we are still warm, although i was moved to put trousers on this morning, rather than shorts!
as we are still warm, although i was moved to put trousers on this morning, rather than shorts!
Tuesday 5 January 2010
and i forgot to say
we sailed by monserrat and saw the volcano smoking away - in the morning it was clear as anything as we sailed into Antigua, if a shade distant, and when we left that evening the captain said we'd go right to and past it (unanticipated) as we had time; unfortunatlely by that time it also had a large raincloud sitting on top of it so we couldn't really see anything of it at all.
and today? logged in to check emails etc on home PC (remote log in) and it appears to be down... hope there hasn't been a power cut!
next stop the Azores...
and today? logged in to check emails etc on home PC (remote log in) and it appears to be down... hope there hasn't been a power cut!
next stop the Azores...
Monday 4 January 2010
St Maarten and antigua
bad me ddin't write ysterrday - very busy weekend!
St Maarten on Saturday - we were driven t the very top of what they said was a high hill, for a walk back down again through an old sugar plantataion and rainforest. it was quite amuzing, as the guide was full of warnings about how steep it was etc etc, but all of thoses on the walk are used to the Lakes and Derbyshire's Peak District, so found it a shade on the tame side. the warnings are, of course, addressed more to the US market (sorry Jean!) where they tend to get peope who aren't used to walking and have to be told that there will be no medical facilites on route etc...
great views!
it's a very odd island in some ways - very small, partly dutch and partly french, with two separate governments etc and if you are in the french part, you are french (and thus in the EU!)
Sunday was riding in Antigua. alongside and on a very white beach (with the option of riding in the water, but the latter, on a lead!) western saddles, mostly in note very good nick, and the bridles/halters an agglomeration of bits and pieces cannibalised from other stuff. reins were cut down lunge lines or draw reins....the horse i was on waws a bit gobsmcked to have a rider on who know about seat and leg aids without kicking! and the leader left me to lead on occasions when he had to go sort out one of the others!
set off back across the atlantic Sunday teatime....doubt i'll have anything more to say until Saturday (azores)
St Maarten on Saturday - we were driven t the very top of what they said was a high hill, for a walk back down again through an old sugar plantataion and rainforest. it was quite amuzing, as the guide was full of warnings about how steep it was etc etc, but all of thoses on the walk are used to the Lakes and Derbyshire's Peak District, so found it a shade on the tame side. the warnings are, of course, addressed more to the US market (sorry Jean!) where they tend to get peope who aren't used to walking and have to be told that there will be no medical facilites on route etc...
great views!
it's a very odd island in some ways - very small, partly dutch and partly french, with two separate governments etc and if you are in the french part, you are french (and thus in the EU!)
Sunday was riding in Antigua. alongside and on a very white beach (with the option of riding in the water, but the latter, on a lead!) western saddles, mostly in note very good nick, and the bridles/halters an agglomeration of bits and pieces cannibalised from other stuff. reins were cut down lunge lines or draw reins....the horse i was on waws a bit gobsmcked to have a rider on who know about seat and leg aids without kicking! and the leader left me to lead on occasions when he had to go sort out one of the others!
set off back across the atlantic Sunday teatime....doubt i'll have anything more to say until Saturday (azores)
Saturday 2 January 2010
tortola on new years day
tortola is essentially a mountain; out tour involved a "jitney" ride up the mounntain (the hairpin bends would give switzerland a run for it's money) and a drive along the ridge at the top with stops to see the fantastic views down to the sea either side - atlantic one side, caribbean the other - and then after a 1/2 hour stop off at a cove, a sea ride out to some of the islands and back to the ship - the whole thing taking a bout 4 hours. this was pirate territory back in the day. we had a great time, the only shame was there was quite enough time to look at any shops at the stop (i willl regret not buyin gthe presentation bottle of pusser's rum) and the stalls near the ship had all closed time we got back. but it was a great day, and we were exhausted by all the sea air and were asleep by 9!
Friday 1 January 2010
St Lucia - New Year's Eve
St Lucia is the one where the Soufriere volcano is - they say it is the only 2drive in" volcano in the world"! Not that we did that.
We had booked a toour to Mamika gardens, a landscaped garden on the other side of the islan from the main port & capital, Castries. That involved a drive up huge moutains and down the other side, with some fantastic views. The gardens themselves were interesting , more orchids of course, and other stuff, including a herb garden.
The guide was so knowledgeable he could write a book - told us how to grow each individual orchid, what food it would need if any and so on - a shame, as none of us will be able to grow orchids at all where we live! a very clever and erudite man on his subject, but it was, TBH, a shade too much for a guided tour! I've discovered i like banana cake though - that was the half time refrechment, banana cake and lemonade, lovely.
The ship put on a posh dinner , and organised a midnight barbie on deck - at which time everyone back home had been into 2010 for 4 hours!
Email from Gaynor tells me that it is stil below freezing at the stables, she's had to get in more haylage than we planned, the horses have hardly been able to go out at all but at least have been able to go out more than all the others on the land, and she's having to carry water from her house to the yard. thank goodness it's only across her garden! nightmare. this is why i don't normally do winter holidays, too much work for the person left in charge.
We had booked a toour to Mamika gardens, a landscaped garden on the other side of the islan from the main port & capital, Castries. That involved a drive up huge moutains and down the other side, with some fantastic views. The gardens themselves were interesting , more orchids of course, and other stuff, including a herb garden.
The guide was so knowledgeable he could write a book - told us how to grow each individual orchid, what food it would need if any and so on - a shame, as none of us will be able to grow orchids at all where we live! a very clever and erudite man on his subject, but it was, TBH, a shade too much for a guided tour! I've discovered i like banana cake though - that was the half time refrechment, banana cake and lemonade, lovely.
The ship put on a posh dinner , and organised a midnight barbie on deck - at which time everyone back home had been into 2010 for 4 hours!
Email from Gaynor tells me that it is stil below freezing at the stables, she's had to get in more haylage than we planned, the horses have hardly been able to go out at all but at least have been able to go out more than all the others on the land, and she's having to carry water from her house to the yard. thank goodness it's only across her garden! nightmare. this is why i don't normally do winter holidays, too much work for the person left in charge.
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