Postscript

“You go all around the world with no problems and you come back to England…..”

This is my dad’s observation on my return to the UK and I think he’s right….


1. Two days after I book a campsite in Yorkshire, the area is deluged with floods.


2. It continues to rain while Kirsty and I are there, although our tent stalwartly endures the storm with only a few tiny drops of rain getting in. Although under the ground sheet is sodden and squishy.


3. On the way out on a day trip with the dog, Kirsty asks if I spotted the white smoke come from the exhaust. Five minutes after this the car loses power and we come to a halt by the roadside.

From this moment on we discover the kindness of strangers in the area: the two men who push the car off the road, the man with the dog who phones the local garage, a man in a car asking if he can do anything to help, the girl at the pub giving the dog some water.

Later, after the RAC man has said that we shouldn’t drive it far but it’ll get us to the campsite. We book a tow back to Cambridge, pick up some groceries and then break down one mile from the campsite. We discover more kindness. The guy who runs the site comes down with his biker friends. They push the car into a field and off the road. A few moments later his wife picks us up in her car and takes us back up the road. The next day Mark drives back with Kirsty to get the car. The couple both offer to take us and pick us up from the nearest town the next day so we can do some more exploring. We manage a couple more nights in the tent before another night of rain, wind and thunderstorms makes us hysterical and we decide to spend the last night more comfortably in a lovely room at the local pub. 
The next day we are towed all the way back to Cambridge while the poor dog has to stay on the back seat of the car while it is tied onto the pick up truck ramp.


4. We get back to Cambridge to find that someone has stolen 200 m of copper cables meaning that all landlines and Wifi in the area are down.

I’m not saying that travelling around the world was easy but it does seem to feel like I’ve encountered more problems being back in the UK.

We’ll have to see what my new adventures have in store for me….

Faroe Islands

So this is the Faroe Islands: complete fog so that you cannot see a thing, a drizzling rain that soaks you in five minutes and the gradual cold that seeps in through your coat, or… on the rarer occasion, the sun light in patches on the mountains brightening the grass.

I’ve seen the fog mostly but it is still a beautiful place.

Rough turf roofs, panels of wood coated red or black, windows set in against the wind. These are the original parliament buildings of Torshan the capital of the Faroe Islands. Coloured warehouse buildings surround the harbour containing all sizes of fishing boats, a few passenger ferries and the on off cruise ships.

I spend a good couple of hours exploring the town and even enjoy a brief interlude of sunshine.

I book three day tours around the island with the same company, MMTours.

Day 1

Golden Circle

We explore some little villages and turf topped churches; all shrouded in fog. There are beautiful waterfalls and gorges.

Day 2

Mykines “Puffin Island” – Whole Day Tour

A bumpy boat ride, more fog, plenty of rain, slippery mud, fish soup and some puffins. Although I enjoyed the trip, the weather and the state of the paths meant we didn’t go up to the lighthouse or see the puffin colony; we had to be content with the few puffins that we did see.

Having said that, of course, the puffins were still fabulous.

Day 3

Highlights of the North – Six Islands In One Day

Among the islands of the Faroes, there are several single track tunnels. There are a few lights but it is incredibly dark in here. The headlights from an oncoming vehicle flash in the distance and Magnus, our driver pulls over into a passing place. He does this several times. I’m glad I’m not driving; I think I would panic. In one of the passing places we stop and get out, using our iphone torches to illuminate the ground in front of our feet. We cross over the road and walk into a small tunnel set at 90 degrees to the road. Careful to avoid stepping in the puddles, we shuffle towards the light at the end. We come out on a ledge above a small valley, overlooking the sea. Magnus says that the tunnel was built to enable the farmer to move his sheep more easily; without the tunnel he would have to go by boat.

The rest of the day is spent exploring the outermost islands by minibus and ferry.

And this is where I want to go when I go back and the weather is better….

©Regina Koh

Hiking with Heidi (Part 2)

The new group

Darcy, Alex, Brian, Tricia, Ada, Mickey, me, Nick, Heidi

Skopje, Macedonia

There are statues everywhere. Huge lions, men on horses, figures from history. Everywhere. Pomp and Circumstance on a grand scale.

It looks even more spectacular at night, when the fountains are lit

  • © Heidi Deflorin

Matkar Canyon, Macedonia

Lake Ohrid, Macedonia

This is such a peaceful and relaxing place to spend a couple of days.

Apparently the photos on the menu are printed from Google and bear absolutely no resemblance at all to what they bring you from the kitchen.

Tirana, Albania

Kotor, Montenegro

I gaze up at the church and fortress high up on the hillside. Heidi says there are over 1000 steps. Gulp!

We leave the hotel at 6am in the hope that we will miss the heat and be back for breakfast. Hmmm!

The steps are actually not too bad as they zig zag up the slope and there are landings to catch our breath. The views as we go up are spectacular.

Reaching the top feels like a great achievement; although Heidi says we can continue walking for an hour and a half upwards to the viewpoint at the very top of the mountain!

Heidi leads us through the window of the fortress and we climb or rather slide down the slope to a little ruined church and some friendly goats. Oddly,we walk up hill for a little while before coming across a house. Here we have a drink and celebrate Darcy’s birthday with cake and proseco that Heidi has carried all the way up the mountain. A great birthday spot.

After, we slither down the path, switchbacking at each corner. This is actually more tricky than going up; I nearly slip over a few times.

And yes we do make it back for breakfast. Just!

The rest of the day is spent boat riding and exploring the old town.

  • © Kinza Schmidt-Paborn

Dubrovnik

End of the tour photo

Hiking with Heidi (Part 1)

Tour Phrase

“It’s only 15 minutes walk back to the hotel – and it always seems quicker going back up hill!”

That’s Heidi, our super fit, mountain walking, cheese making guide from Switzerland (yes that’s right!). For every time allocation that Heidi gives us, I have to double it for the less fit of us.

We are on a tour of The Balkans – 7 countries in two weeks.

Mostar, Bosnia

  • Heidi, Me, Alex
  • Kinza, Darcy, Nick

“Jump! Jump!”

We wait on the bridge for the guy in speedos to jump. He works the crowd – pouring water on himself, flexing his limbs, leaning over the parapet, almost going….but then retreats. There’s not enough money in the collection tin yet to make taking the plunge worth while.

We do see a few ‘brave’ or maybe silly men dive into the river. Rather them than me.

Sarajevo

Roughly 90% of the buildings in Sarajevo still have bullet holes in them. It is quite sobering to see; that a war nearly 30 years ago still leaves its marks physically and mentally. I remember seeing the siege of Sarajevo on the news but not really understanding the reasons behind it. I’m still not sure that I do; the Balkans have a really complicated history that is still being lived in the present.

Belgrade

An action packed day featuring a visit to a castle, an informative walking tour, a stunning golden crypt, some fun with chocolate fountains, rounded off by afternoon tea at a posh hotel. Oh yes and a hail storm the day before!

Sofia

“Not my problem!” The angry guide tells the irate Italian women in the queue in front of us. We have been waiting nearly an hour. The Italian ladies have absorbed us into their group after we discover that they only let ten people at a time, for 10 minutes, and a massive tour group has just arrived to go in before us. The angry guide has also prebooked a tour at 10:15am. The old man behind the gate reluctantly lets us in at just before 10am. We bunch together at the cash desk sucking a Japanese man into our group too. The angry guide tries pushing in front; the Italian ladies don’t take any of that!

Now we wait outside the chapel, the Unesco rated, Boyana church. The big tour group is running late inside. Creaking, the tiny door opens, and the last few remaining people come out. The angry tour guide is there, pushing in. We ‘shove’ our tickets towards the lady, who lets us in plus two other ladies. Once inside we can admire the wonderful paintings adorning the walls and ceilings. Our time overuns too. I think I hear the bell ring once – the guide impatiently waiting outside.

We take our victory photo in the garden.

On the way out I notice the sign. “Pre-booked groups take priority.” Ooops!

We take a taxi back to the town centre and enjoy exploring the churches and fountains.