We’ve played tennis and have been out exploring the different beaches mainly in the south, where the waters are more welcoming. What’s interesting is noting the differences between touristy beaches and harbours with upmarket accommodation and swanky conveniences vs the hidden mainly local beaches, with a rundown bar tucked away, where people come to enjoy the beach and that’s it….we much prefer the later. On Saturday we decided that we were going to make a trip up into the mountains and hope that we’d chosen the right day. We left at just before 9:00am, to head to Artenara at 1269 Meters above sea level, it’s the highest town on the island located in the interior west part. To reach the top we climbed along the meandering narrow roads passing through a number of quaint little villages en route, with many of the dwellings carved into the mountainside. There were a few cyclists attempting what is apparently one of the toughest climbs in Spain (116km, with an average gradient of around 5%). We stopped along the way up to admire the stunning views and take a few pics (I should have taken more!) It took us about 2 hours to reach the highest point and I can safely say that I managed to get into 3rd gear about four, or five times! We stopped along a ridge in Artenara to perch on a rustic old wall and adnire the stunning views before us whilst eating our DIY breakfast to go, we continued to hunt our next vantage point across this incredible landscape. We decended down the North side of the mountain range which was about 5 degrees cooler and very cloudy. It’s funny because Rachel has always loved the mountains, whereas given the choice I take the beach any day, well thats what I said as we wwnt up, but having spent the day in the mountains, I’m now not too sure….the highlight of our trip here for sure.

We continue to have some really interesting rough seas, along our rugged north eastern coastline and aside from a few overcast days the sky’s have remained clear, with the temperature gauge stuck in the low 20’s….Perfect! We’ve gotten into a bit of a morning routine; Up at around 7:00am (Sunrise is around 7:30am), exercise for about 45 minutes, before heading out for a good walk along the coastline and if the seas are calm enough, a swim at La Goreta beach, which unfortunately hasn’t been as often as we’d of like. The wind blows predominantly from the north east, which means that the eastern side of the Island is the blowy side, with the western Atlantic side, protected from the wind (If it blows from the south, it brings with it the sand from the Sahara). We’ve discovered La Pardilla tennis club, where we’ve played a few times, which we’ve enjoyed. This week we’ve been exploring the south west of the island, which started with a visit to the sand dunes of Maspalomas (about 20 minutes southeast from where we’re based). The dunes were created at the end of the last ice age, some 6000 years ago, but unfortunately all our initial visit afforded us was a brief glimpse, as wind together with heaped mountains of sand, made for some inhospitable conditions, so instead we headed southwest to the port of Mogan. It’s a charming little fishing port with white washed buildings, decorated with sprawling bougainvillea and other colorful floral foliage. We had a delicious late lunch in a restaurant overlooking the many yachts (all sail!) in the harbor, before walking out to a rocky cliff edge to catch what was promised to be the perfect sunset (sunset is around 6:10pm), but just as the sun was about to slip into the water some low lying cloud denied us. The following day we decided to give the sand dunes another go, again it was like walking into a sand storm. However seeing as this was our only reason to visit Maspalomas we braved it and wind aside it was pretty incredible. Apparently the dunes move between 2-5 meters every year, and after walking through them for a couple of hours I don’t doubt it. Missing our swimming we decided to check out some recommended quiet swimming locations, that Rach had researched. First up was Las Maranuelas in Arguineguin, which is a really nice little port town away from the tourists, with a great place to swim and chill. We grabbed a very late lunch and caught a amazing sunset! Monday we decided to visit another local beach, the Medio Almud beach in Tauro, which was not only a lovely beach, but had a great area for swimming, we didn’t stay the whole day as we had a tennis court booked. A great week and we’re really enjoying the contrasting sides of the island.

I’ve spent most of the week researching and planning our next move, which ordinarily, without the festive holiday break and Covid restrictions, probably wouldn’t have been as challenging as it was, but finally on Friday evening we booked our next stay and the means to get there, so unfortunately I didn’t get around to booking the car, or a haircut. We did manage to get out for plenty of walks and a swim on most days. We also discovered El Bufadero, which is a natural blowhole created by a cavernous chamber beneath the volcanic rock face. On Saturday we decided to spend the day visiting the capital Las Palmas, which by bus is over an hour away, or if you can’t read the bus timetable properly, you can get there in about 15 minutes by taxi. We pulled up at the Plaza de Santa Ana, in Vegueta quarter, in front of the imposing twin towered “Las Palmas Cathedral”, which was commissioned around 1500, but took around 400 years to complete, hence the interesting blend of Gothic, Renaissance and Neoclassical architecture. If you climb to the top you get some great views over the city. The square itself is overshadowed on each side by grand colonial buildings. Terrifying pirates attacks were a real problem back in the day and if you look closely at some of the buildings, you will notice that what look like cannons below the roofline, are gutters designed to deter would be attackers….Fantastic! Las Palmas has a museum dedicated to Christopher Columbus, which we enjoyed walking around taking in the many antiquities and the charts and information surrounding his 4 main voyages of exploration. There is also “Casa de Colon” (Columbus House), with its incredible facade, where it’s rumored that Columbus stayed in 1492, whilst one of his ships was being repaired. We spent the rest of the day walking around the old city, stopping for an early dinner. No swim Sunday, but a good walk and we got to marvel at the ferocity of the Atlantic, made even more dramatic set against the black background.

We’ve arrived and are settled in our new home for the next month. Gran Canaria is certainly very different from sophisticated Croatia, but as Rachel keeps telling me, don’t judge, just enjoy! The apartment doesn’t have the incredible harbour view, but it does have a nice chilled vibe going on, our host has decorated the place with Buddhist statues, carving and photos, together with other interesting nic-naks scattered around the place. The sun rises at around 7:30am & sets just after 6pm, interestingly there’s no nonsense around changing the clock, so the days seem longer. We were pretty tired from the flights, so although we’ve taken a few walks along the dramatic coastline, with the combination of the dark volcanic rock set against unpredictable Atlantic, really do make for some very compelling viewing. We went for a swim earlier, which will definitely be a challenge going forward, but a good one. This coming week I’ll be sorting out a car, heading into town to the organic shop and I might even get a haircut….then again I might not.😉

Rachel and I left Cavtat today on a damp dark morning on the 18th November. A taxi that our fantastic hosts had arranged for us (thank you Anita & Asja) picked us up at 05:45 and we raced to Dubrovnik airport, ultimately bound for Las Palmas. After 7 weeks in Croatia, the time had come to move on and as a parting gift a couple of days before leaving, Rachel and I were greeted by a pair of dolphins, whilst we were out swimming so we were leaving on a high. There is no direct way to get to the Canaries from Dubrovnik so the quickest route I found, leaving on a Thursday, was 9hrs. Itinerary: Dubrovnik-Zagreb Zagreb-Vienna Vienna-Las Palmas We had good seats right the way through, so it wasn’t too arduous. We are spending the first night here in a Hotel near Las Palmas, before heading to our new home for the next Month. The hotel wasn’t quite what we expected, as I seemed to have booked a hotel right in the middle of the industrial district oops! Ah well, it’s all part of the experience. On the plus side the rooms are nice though and we found a good place to eat and an organic food store.

We spent most of last week in at the “deep-end”. The last time I experienced wind & rain like this, I’d just arrived to take up residence in the Caribbean, with the promise of clear skies and glorious sunshine, only to be greeted with the same wet weather, for a whole month straight…Oh well! Fortunately though, early morning before the deluge arrived, Rach & I had an hour and a half with a great tennis coach, which we really enjoyed. So other than sneaking out for a few swims during the week, (but only when the lightening & whitecaps relented enough for me to venture in), we only left the apartment armed with our wet weather gear, well raincoats, shorts and flip-flops, to pick up food from the market and then quickly scurrying back to the apartment and rolling the rock across. So with our wings clipped somewhat, I thought I’d give you a quick look at the surrounding gardens which are filled with fruit trees and furry friends, and one in particular that comes to greet us rain, or shine every morning. I didn’t grow up around animals, so have always felt a little uncomfortable around them, but I have really taken to this friendly little fellow. There are quite a lot of stray cats in Croatia, but I’m happy to report that I haven’t seen any being treated badly, in fact quite the opposite, there’s quite a few cat feeding and shelter stations and you can buy single sachets of cat food in the small supermarket, which I’m also taking as a good sign….I’ve also taken to carrying a few sachets around in my backpack, when we’re out and about.

The weeks seem to be flying by, but I am pleased to say that it’s been a week filled with highs! I did some tests earlier in the week that came back clean, which is great. The weather has been beautiful during the day, making the early morning walk around the peninsular, use of the outdoor gym and swim even more appealing, although the sea is cooling off a little…The nights are definitely getting a little chilly though.

The last time that we were in Dubrovnik we noted the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra were playing their autumn finale in a Franciscan monastery on the 29th October, so I went online and grabbed a pair of tickets. Friday we took the #10 “bendy bus” into Dubrovnik for an early dinner at “Nishta”, a highly rated organic restaurant, that we’d been wanting to try and it was very good indeed. We then made our way down one of the impressive stone staircases towards to the placa stradum and the Rectors Palace, the venue for the evenings spectacle (I received an earlier email, notifying me of the venue change). We arrived at the Rectors Palace, which is yet another one of those jaw dropping buildings hidden within the old city walls. It’s a stunning 13th century building, that’s a mix of renaissance, gothic & more recently a baroque centerpiece staircase running through the open aired atrium, up to the mezzanine level, which was added in the 15 century. The usher, who handed me the tickets explained that they’d not updated the website, to reflect the new locale and by way of an apology they’d given us the best seats in the house, smack bang in the middle of the gallery, between a pair of intricately carved columns. We were then treated to an hour and a half of absorbing live music, performed underneath the night sky . Wow! Another incredible evening. The rest of the weekend we spent lounging around in a spot that we’ve taken to, with Saturday lunch at the “Bugenvila” restaurant before it closes next week.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Our youngests and blondest Christien arrived with his best friend Brad, for a 5-day visit, which was really nice! They’re not really beach bums, so they mixed things up. We had a couple of days in Dubrovnik, well we did the days with them and they did the nights! They walked the walls, as getting above the city, really is the only way to do justice to the views surrounding this magical place. We also took the opportunity to visit Fort Lovrijenac (The Red Keep in G.O.T) that sits to the west of the old city. It’s a wonderful vantage point to appreciate the massive undertaking that went into creating this spectacle. From the Adriatic the walls look as though they have literally emerged from the rock face. Saturday afternoon was the only unusable bit of weather for the lads, but even that was fun, watching an old movie and playing card games. Sunday we decided to take on a hike into Mocici (a small hamlet), where after a fairly challenging 2+hr trek, along a rugged, snaking, roman coastal path, our prize was a 1800 year old barely visable “Mithraic” stone carving, that to be honest if it wasn’t for a small group of American tourists, we probably would never have found, as it was hidden away in what I’m sure was someone’s backyard!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

I thought that I’d l give a little bit more of an insight into Cavtat (pronounced “Tsavtat”), where we have now decided to extended our stay to around the 20th November. The village, well more specifically for us the harbour, is crescent shaped and bordered by the Adriatic on either side. It houses some beautiful architecture, wonderful restaurants and a pleasant pine lined walkway, that sweeps around the cliff tops from one side to the other, with occasional steps descending to several small, stoney beaches. There’s also a 15th Century church “Our lady of the snows” attached to a Franciscan monastery, each modelled in a interesting gothic style, It’s also one of our favorite swim spots. We’ve taken to doing a once around the peninsula early morning, which takes just under an hour to complete. We then stop to pick up some fresh fruit, veg and fish from the market before clmbing the hundred steps back up to our apartment.

Rachel and I are both partial to live music, so whilst we were in Dubrovnik over the weekend we discovered a 15th century church that had leant itself to a classical recital. Arriving on Monday evening, with tickets in hand, we ventured inside this magical building and were greeted with an intimate (28 people) setting, with a high vaulted ceiling and a small area in front of an ornate mural, which was dedicated to the performers. The quartet (2 strings, wind & pianist) arrived to feint murmur, but left to rapturous applause, they really were fantastic and the entire experience was mesmerising! I took a short video, which is something that I wouldn’t normally have done, but it was a request. So to that end its filmed in spy like fashion, so close your eyes and allow your ears to feast on a small slice of Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro”. Great evening.