The slowboat from Mandalay

So here we are then.....I arrived into Mandalay airport exhausted after a flight from Bangkok ( full of chavs...mental note to avoid flights coinciding with full moon parties) and a connection into Mandalay. It didn't take long for me to get the feeling of being somewhere completely foreign. The taxi ride from the airport into the city is an hour in the glorious Burmese countryside. We drove past rivers, over bridges, past a herd of cows and past lots of lots of scoters. Asia it's very, very good to be back. I'd love to tell you lots about Mandalay but the truth is I had a mini sleep until Jodie arrived. Out hotel then had free drinks for us on the rooftop bar, and it was so nice up there with views of the sun setting over the river that 4 bottles of Mandalay and a couple of whisky sours later we were good for food and bed only. 

Which is probably how getting up at 5.30am to catch the 6.20am boat to Bagan felt like a struggle. Still we managed to make it, even navigating the shaky wooden footbridge without falling in. We secured the last two seats on the upper deck, put our jumpers on and settled in for 10 hours of Ayarwaddy river time. Our boat the Malikha 2 promised ( and I quote) attentive personal service; an impressive two story lobby and beautifully appointed public areas with single seating on the Sun deck, Expectations were high. To be fair it was a great trip and they delivered. The smiley, happy team brought us cushions, blankets and lunch of stir fried rice & omlette as if it was a joy being alive. The journey passed pretty quickly and we were treated to a great view of river life. We went past boats transporting timber, oil drums and fish; past hundreds of fishing boats and under some glorious bridges. We past several impressive temples and frequently heard the cries of hello from cute little kids in the riverside villages. When we arrived into Bagan early evening I was almost sad to leave the boat.But there are 4,000 temples to be explored on land....so it was time to get stuck in. 

My love of travel

Travel has saved me lots of times - aged 23 I decided to spend the £10k I had saved for a deposit on a garden flat in Clapham North on a year long trip around the world. On that trip I got back to myself - in fact an even better version of myself. A me that had found her passion in life - I was hooked. I had spent the last 5 years of Uni and work in the role of employee and girlfriend. Both had taken over me and I found myself losing my identity. Travelling gave it me back. I found I didn't need anyone else to make me happy - just a passport, a view and enough money for a coffee, lunch and a bed for the night. 

Over the last 15 years traveling has been my constant go to place to feel happy. When faced with redundancy 3 years ago a two month break to Central America got me both a fresh perspective and a job opportunity popped up into my inbox while on the beach in the corn islands Nicaragua. 

It's the feeling you see that travelling gives me, it makes you focus on today and at most tomorrow. It doesn't let you think about bad decisions you may have made in the past, or what problems face you when you return. It makes you live in the moment. As a natural optimist that matches my personality - excited about the future not stuck in the past. 

Nothing makes me feel happier than the moment I arrive at the airport and I'm having that first airside coffee. The only thing to think about now is where I'm going and how best to enjoy whichever fabulous country I'm lucky enough the be visiting. Everything else can wait 😀

Tanning in Turkey

I'd like to think I'm a pretty adventurous traveller. I've always had the urge to explore, find the best coffee, the most unusual angle to take a photo etc etc. Sometimes though you find yourself somewhere and realise how content you could be simply staying put. The jetty into the Mediterranean at the front of our hotel in Torba was such a place. Perfection with inviting white sunbeds, emerald green sea warm after months of sun and even lots of little fish to watch from the comfort of your sunbed. The chances of me fully exploring the bodrum peninsula dwindled with every single cafe frappe the tanned Turkish waiters produced at my side.

Easy days rolled by, waterside dinners of calamari and octopus were devoured ( if you haven't had a grilled octopus tentacle in Turkey - get on it) Bottles of Efes were guzzled. We simply were.

It was an email from the elder female fox telling me about Ephesus that kicked me back into action. I'm glad it/ she did. Bodrum has a lot more to offer than just sun, sea and sea bass. We started gently with a morning at Bodrum castle. Difficult to find ( look for the underwater archaeology museum entrance) but well worth the 25 Lire entrance. Dating back to 1437 it was very Game of Thrones ( a good look for any historical building right now) and the perfect place for me to a) get my 10,000 steps in b) appreciate the stunning views from each of the castle's towers. The English one is incredible. 

The following day while Becky was being pummelled in the local Hamam I got my rusty haggling skills out in the bazaar. Turns out Bodrum is pretty good for shopping - I'm currently waiting for a pair of earrings to be made by a little jeweller I found. Dangerous. Come Day 6 we were on a bus to Ephesus ....but man those lazy days were good...and the memory of that jetty should stay a while...

We stayed: a BA holidays deal at Torba Han in Torba about 5km from Bodrum - wonderful and around £350 in Sept flights & B&B

We got around: by Dolma minibus, a bargain at 3 lire a journey ( 70p)

We ate: lots of good place - Muusto on the main waterfront was excellent, as was Limani Kofteli on the water. Cafe Passion was just ok. In Torba go to Gonca Balik which is a bit of a walk but completely worth it - tables over the water and incredible meze - expect wine, pudding, calamari etc all for under £20

We shopped: all over!

September trip to Skye

I think it was watching Skyfall that inspired a trip to the Scottish Highlands. Bond in his trunks striding out of the Caribbean seems appropriate in spring, come Autumn I'm more into the idea of him greeting me with a tartan blanket and a whisky soaked hot chocolate.....

So here we are flying into Inverness airport in mid September for 4 days of the northwest of Scotland. I'd booked us a lovely little Scandi chic house on the island of Skye which is a few hours drive from Inverness. Philippa had flown in from NY the previous day and was knackered; I'd had 3 months in a new job full of 9pm finishes - rest was needed. Our drive was easy and beautiful - who knew Scotland was this goddam beautiful.the roads were surrounded by forests, mountains and heather. We drove onto Skye already happier. When we pulled into the drive of our home ' Skeabost Wood Cottage' we were very, very happy. The perfect house - cosy with stunning views from every window. Em got busy lighting the fire. Philippa got into her PJ's and I got the red wine open.........

Day 2 had us visiting Skye's castle ( Dunvegan) - run down but with lovely gardens. We then headed to the far west of Skye for a walk down to Neist point and lighthouse. 10.000 steps done we lunched at Skye's oldest bakery ( you can tell...and not in a good way.....) and made our way home before a Scottish dinner in the nearby pub. Lovely. 

Our third day had us driving up to the Totternish peninsula where we had stunning views of the Old Man of Storr - a 50m high pinnacle rock along with the gorgeous cliffs which go up this Coast. We lucked out by stopping at a cool little cafe called single track. It was started with crowd funded support last year and serves incredible drinks and homemade food, the views are awesome. We arrived at The Three Chimneys for our swanky lunch shortly after. A gorgeous little cottage restaurant - I had the seafood menu, Philippa and Em both had the set lunch. We feasted on local croft eggs, Scottish beef, marmalade pudding, cranachan and freshly caught scallops. Lovely. 

Our final day on Skye was full of blue skies - we started with an amazing drive on the road from lower breakish to kylerhea - easily the most beautiful road I've ever had the pleasure to drive on. I channeled my best rally driver mode and got us there safely. We did a walk to an otter hide which was gorgeous. After this we headed for lunch at the Oyster Shack just past the Talksker Distillery. I had 3 oysters ( (£1 each!) and a seafood platter and chips (£10) - it was all wonderful. We then waddled down the road to the distillery for a tour of the distillery, sipped a dram of talisker 10 year old and are definitely leaving Skye a lot more chilled out than we left London. Perfect. 

We stayed: Skeabost Wood Cottage, sleeps 4, £100/ night - a wonderful place

We ate: The Three Chimneys - Michellin starred but relaxed cosy room, £37.50 set lunch. Recommend.

The Oyster Shack - bargain seafood served from a shack just past the Talisker Distillery. BYO.

Single Track -amazing coffee shop on the Totternish peninsula, best hot chocolate the girls have ever had. My coffee was great and the homemade lunches looked awesome. You have to go.

Summer in Stockholm

In my twenties I did a round the world trip and had 6 weeks in New Zealand with three of the loveliest young men I've ever met. They were Swedish, and since then the good people of Sweden have pretty much been my favourite European nation outside of my native England. I've had many fun weekends in Sweden visiting them at their homes ( Gothenburg), their university town ( Lund) and in their first jobs in Stockholm. They have taught me little Swedish songs to accompany traditional crayfish dinners, forced me to drink lots of Schnapps and given me a basic vocabulary ( Skol being the main one). 

They have ' grown up' now though. jesper has a big job in Hong Kong and Klas in Gotenburg so this visit to Stockholm I would experience without my local guides. We booked a trip over our long weekend in August, so the weather should be on our side. Our base for the weekend was set to be a lovely seaside hotel called Hotel J - just outside the city centre but close enough by ferry or bus if we wanted to explore Stockholm. 

We arrived late at night, but the next morning after a mega smorgasbord breakfast we got tickets to the ferry into Stockholm from Nacka Strand. I love ferries - when I lived in Sydney I could entertain myself for days just travelling around on the ferries. I'm pleased to report that swedens public ferries are absolutely gorgeous. All polished wood inside and chic navy seats, with glorious views from the outdoor top deck. Em and I smiled and soaked up the sun. Now in the centre we walked around the island of Skeppsholmen passing over a lovely bridge, we looked at the modern art gallery and just generally chilled in the sunshine. We wandered over into Sodermalm and through the little streets of Gamla Stan. City life over we hopped on the ferry back to hotel j and settled into an evening of Meatballs at their waterside restaurant - Restaurant J, and enjoyed the balcony of the terrace. Em even managed to go for a run in the forest.

The next day we headed into the Swedish archipelago visiting the island of Vacholm and spent the day walking around the island, reading and drinking at the very cute Magasinet in the centre of the island. 

Last day involved shopping, drinking in the beautiful park of Djurgarden and more of those meatballs.

I didn't come home with a more enhanced vocabulary but I sure came home browner, more chilled and even more in love with Sweden. Skol to that. 

We stayed:http://www.hotelj.com/en/

We ate:http://www.hotelj.com/en/restaurang

Back to Italy...this time Bologna

I was trying to think of somewhere to go for a weekend with my New Zealand friend Nicky, we're both fairly well travelled and it gets to the point where you have covered most of the obvious candidates. We both love good food, and Bologna cropped up as an option. The flight options are good, Italy is never not good - decision made.

May rolls around quickly and we meet at Terminal 5 both having done no research but ready for a weekend of wandering around. First day arrives with a thick grey cloud to greet us - undeterred we headed into the old town. Didn't take long to love Bologna, within about 5 mins from our hotel we walked under a ' portico' - a covered gorgeous walkway. Bologna has a lot of porticoes ( we later found out it  38 kilometres of them, built over 1,000 years ago). The city has a world heritage status as a result. But for us not only were they beautiful - they solved our no umbrella problem. Brava Bologna!

We spent the morning discovering lovely little churches, laughing at the massive lean on the two most famous of the city's towers and admiring the fabulous Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio. For lunch we headed towards Piazza San Martino for a pizza at Nicola's Pizzeria. Meant to be one of the city's best....we can now vouch for that. Little tip - share one - they were huge. They also very sweetly bring you a creamy pudding afterwards - we looked horrified when they did - but managed to find room ( it was delicious) and then spent a good hour or two regretting it....

In the afternoon Nicky's colleague Luca met us and gave us a tour of the city. In one of the main squares - Piazza Maggiore he took us to opposite corners of an opening towards the centre told us to put our ears to the wall and talk to each other. It was amazing - we were 10 metres apart but it was clearer than a mobile. Very cool. He took us to a nice locals spot for prosecco and told us about the politics of the city. So good getting to meet someone to bring a place to life.

For dinner it had to be ragu - spaghetti bolognese was invented here and we weren't going to leave before we tried it. We went to the very pretty if a little formal Ristorante Pappagallo to have our ragu - I had mine in a lasagne and Nicky had hers with tagliatelle. Damn good. 

Sunday was sunny and was the day to walk up the leaning towers - two rich Italian families had a ' mine is bigger than yours' show of machismo and built what seem to be fairly pointless towers in the city. There are actually many ( and not just in Bologna). But the two famous ones are Torri Asinelli and Garisenda. Built in the 12th century - Asinelli is the biggest with 97m to climb up, the smaller Garisendsa is a 47m and has a lean of 3.2m - scary! We started to climb the 498 wooden steps just after 9am. Starting early and not wearing Birkenstocks would be my top tips. I spent a lot of time trying not to loose my shoe....the views are gorgeous from the top - terrocotta roof's, lovely plaza's and green countryside all around. Great start to the day. 

The afternoon had us visiting the modern art gallery ( so so - wouldn't recommend), and going back to Piazza San Martino this time to Molo3 for some incredible seafood.

We left Bologna fitter ( good city for walking), fuller and feeling like we may have found a great new weekend destination.

Up hill, down dale

Christmas 2014 was for me a really magical one, in large part as it was in my new house and it was special to be able to host the family all at mine. I got very carried away with pine cones, stuffed reindeer's ( the inedible kind) and home made Christmas pudding vodka. The other big reason that made it special was us all opening an envelope from super brother Paul. In it we were told that our gift was a long weekend in Yorkshire in a gorgeous Eco lodge all together. What a present! 

So 4 months later, I find myself at Kings across station about to board the 8.03am destination Darlington. Less than 3 hours later i arrived, and the taxi service in the form of Dad reliably picked me up ( today is the day that the princess of Cambridge arrived - warning to Prince William, daughters don't stop asking for favours the minute they leave home....). We met up with the rest of the family in the market town of Richmond.

I'm very familiar with Surrey Richmond, but this Yorkshire Richmond was equally impressive. On Saturday's the central market square becomes a car free zone and lots of market stalls selling home made preserves, plants and fruit and veg take over. We stocked up on Yorkshire rhubarb, home made jams and bread for our weekend. When we arrived at our home for the weekend we were all full of smiles, Natural Retreats is a small complex of maybe 20 lodges all set in a stunning location in the Yorkshire Dales about a 20 minute walk from Richmond. It was right on the coast to coast path and our lodge was at the end surrounded by Forrest, rabbit warrens and open fields to the front. Inside it was all Scandinavian grey furnishings, fully opening sliding doors to let nature in and cosy bedrooms. Perfect. It was going to be difficult to leave.

We did leave from time to time, we walked into Richmond along the river most days, spotting kingfishers, failing to spot otters and smelling all of the wild garlic. Tina and I explored Richmond castle. One morning  Paul spotted a male deer about 20 metres ahead in the forest. We made it one evening over to a lovely local pub in Molton. But mostly we stayed in amongst the bunnies, the pheasants and the cheeky little squirrels in our little house. A proper piece of heaven - highly recommended for families young or old or groups of friends. 

A long weekend in Fez

I first visited Morocco around 10 years ago, to both Marakkesh and Essouria and loved the place. I've been wanting to return for years to visit Casablanca, Tangier, Fez and the cobalt blue Chefchaouen. Flights to Fez seemed like a good option so an Easter break in the worlds oldest Islamic medieval city was booked.

After an easy 3 and a bit hour flight from Stansted we arrived into Fez, and headed into our accomodation in the heart of the Medina ( Old City). Our newly renovated Riad, Dar Finn was a delight  and our charming host made fresh mint tea and biscuits for us and talked us through things to do in the city. The next morning after a local breakfast we ventured into the Medina fully expecting to get lost. I instantly loved it - Morocco is amazing in that in what feels like a modest flight from the UK you can be somewhere which totally feels like a different continent, and I've always had a thing for Africa. One of the first things we saw was a donkey pulling a load of copper pots. Little cheeky kids pushed past us hunting for sweets. We were possibly too early for people to be too bothered about us, as we seemed to just saunter through the souks getting no hassle whatsoever. I'd expected it to be a bit more overwhelming and have lots of sellers doing a hard sell, quite the opposite. 

Our main objective for the morning was to see the tanneries - where the leather is processed and dyed by hand ( or rather foot). It didn't take long to find, and we watched the process from the terrace of a leather merchant. To help our delicate noses the clever owners are on hand with fresh mint leaves. The clever owners are also on hand to sell you all sorts of goods; and despite saying I only wanted to buy a mirror in Morocco I now seem to be the proud owner of a black goat skin leather ottoman. Let's hope I love it as much when I get it home and stuff it full of newspaper........

For the next few hours we busy ourselves with admiring some of the architecture ( Medersa el-Attarine is particularly impressive), trying to get into a mosque ( unsuccessfully....the biggest mosque and it seems focal point of the town is for Muslims only), and stumbling across lovely little squares ( the henna souk and the copper souk are both delightful). I get carried away with the shopping and come away with leather slippers, an antique tile and several other bits and bobs. Emily finds a hand made Berber cushion. The whole place is absolutely fascinating, it's like going back in time hundreds of years . The whole of the medina is car free, and donkeys and horses along with bikes are the main method of transporting goods. We both loved it. After a rest on our hotel rooftop we headed towards the south of the medina, having a camel burger at the fabulous cafe clock. 

That evening the guard from our hotel walked us to a nearby restaurant El Hatim for a charming meal in a local family's riad - highly recommended - the ceiling of the riad was incredible. The restaurant also escorted us back to our Riad. I've read that the medina isn't entirely safe - it's certainly very dark and quiet late at night so I'd say not to walk on your own at dark maybe isn't a bad idea. 

Day 2 and another gorgeous freshly made breakfast at Dar Finn we were off to do a cookery course at Cafe Clock. For 600 Dirham ( £35) the class also included buying from the local souk - so sounded fun.  We got the warmest welcome at cafe clock, and had a truly memorable time with our chef Souad. We got to choose our menu - and we went for Taktouka ( green pepper salad), lentil soup, vegetable tagine with lamb and finally some macaroons. No one had booked so it was a private class for Em and I. I was handed a shopping basket and out into the souk we went. Souad seemed to know everyone in the souk so we spent an hour learning about the different foods, buying vegetables and bread for with our tagine and watching Souad gossip, giggle and catch up with all the stallholders. At the butchers we saw a cow's head being skinned ( unpleasant), the biggest queue was at the camel stall and we learned that the big tubs of lard with black bits in was actually preserved meat. 

Back in the cafe clock kitchen we started on our meal. Parsley was chopped, garlic crushed, peppers grilled and sweated to allow their skins to be removed. Recipes in the following blog. Souad has a lovely style of cooking - far less exact - much more just throw a bit of this and a bit of that. The highlight was talking to her about her life, her family and life in Fez. A very special woman and we both were lucky to have spent the day with her. The fact that she cooks a mean tagine an added bonus. 

Stuffed from cooking our afternoon was spent leaving the Medina walls and going into the gorgeous Jnan Sbil gardens. On our way home we bought a huge bag of strawberries for 10 Dirhams (70p). Fez was going to get a lot of recommendations from me, and we haven't even visited the local Hammam yet.

London Loop Section 3

So Section 2 was full of drama ( and poor Philippa did sprain her ankle. On our watch. Eek), so it was back to Becky and I, and we had some ground to pick up.

We headed back to Chislehurst and walked back down towards the entrance of Petts Wood. It's clearly a lovely little town - we past some beautiful old cottages, but then headed away from civilisation into the National trust land. This part of the loop is gorgeous - blue skies, beautiful trees and those green parakeets were back. All was well. The mud was pretty intense still but we escaped into Jubilee Park muddy but no injuries. The walk then tracks around the edge of Jubille country park - and at this point we have completed Section 2. Just Section 3 to crack on with...we start with a bit of a residential walk until we reach Bromley and head into the lovely ( muddy) Sparrow Wood. This then leads us into Farnborough and we reach the beautiful High elms country park. For anyone else doing the walk this is your lunch spot. The country park is a now council run venue with an incredible cafe ( sarnie and a cream tea £5.50 - result!). The stately home which used to be here burned down but some parts still remain including the first Eton Fives Court. It makes for a lovely place to explore. Rest over though we continue initially onto a golf course, and then into very open countryside with views of a glorious house on the top of a hill ( Holwood House). We admired the remains of the Wilberforce Oak - the very spot that William Pitt and William Wilberforce agreed a parliamentary bill to abolish slavery. Next up was the very pretty village of Keston before we started on he homeward stretch of Baston Manor and west wickham common.

After 20km, and a huge 34,000 steps we were happy to see the station to whisk us back to warm baths and roast dinners.

What a gorgeous walk.....I would massively recommend Section 3 to anyone. 

London Loop Section 2

So after a great if a little fresh first walk, I joined Section 2 slightly better prepared thanks to some warm winter running tights. All the gear and all that...

Walk 2 picks up from Bexley again, which gave me a good opportunity to try and track down my copy of the Loop book which mysteriously disappeared somewhere on Week 1. No luck in Bexley so we carried on with the walk, me clutching a brand new copy.....We were joined by my friend Philippa this time, who has good walking Pedigree. She walked the Oxfam trailwalker, a crazy sounding 100km walk that you do over a 24 hour time period. I had confidence that she'd be able to handle the 8 miles route covering Bexley to Jubille Park. The walk started well , some lovely open fields through Bexley and we found ourselves walking next to a much prettier stretch of the river cray. We were thankful for another cold day, it made the mud a bit easier to walk on. After a few miles we reach the outskirts of Sidcup and join the lovely Scadbury Park. The mud here is especially intense, which is why our Guest walker slipped and twisted ankle. Which is how Walk 2 ended up being cut a little short and we ended up at Chislehurst station heading back to a London A&E pronto....

Walk 2 to be continued.....

Looping the London Loop: Section 1

So I think it's fair to say 2014 was a year of highs and lows ( post the glory carefree years of childhood I think I'd struggle to find a year that wasn't). My major high was moving into a house that I adore, and that came with the added bonus of spending lots of wonderful time with my parents while I got them to help me personalise it ( ie put up shelves, paint walls, landscape gardens). The major low was that I did pretty much zero exercise and am not exactly in peak physical form.

So......a plan was needed for 2015 and that plan has come in the form of walking a route around the outskirts of London called the London Loop. The idea for the loop was started in 1990 by a group of walking enthusiasts / local authority representatives. The idea being to encourage urban living Londoners to discover the green spaces on their doorstop, and ideally to leave the car behind for the day. 

The route starts south east in Old Erith, and returns to Purfleet 150 miles later. The route is split into day walks of around 10 miles each, so 15 sections, but each walk gives options to end earlier. They all start and end at train stations within zone 6. Have Oyster card, will travel.

My friend Becky was up for it, and we decided walking through the seasons would be good, so January 15th was our first walk. The day before the met office issued a yellow weather warning so we were kind of expecting Walk 1 to be weathered off....but the weather gods were kind to us and delivered close to zero temperatures but no rain or sleet.

So Sunday 8am I found myself packing my waterproofs, loading the thermos up and layering up to head to our first destination - Old Erith. The train journey itself was an adventure - at the risk of being a geek - I got to take a train from our new, and pretty gorgeous Blackfriars station, where the trains leave from a bridge over the thames with glorious views of the river. Becky joined me along the route. We both looked like Michelin men ( did I mention it was close to zero degrees?) so it was lucky that the London borough of Bexley didn't seem to be the most stylish of places. It is however a great place to trade scrap metal, dump rubbish or own a mangy dog. Despite Old Erith's lack of immediate charms we had a great day and the 9 miles flew by. It's not meant to be the most attractive of the walks, but it does take you to a fascinating country estate along the way, Hall Place. The house is now owned by the council, but was originally built in 1540 by an ex Mayor of London. The building was then unsympathetically extended by its then owner Sir Robert Austen - giving a fabulous architectural mismatch. We particular loved the crazy topiary figures in the gardens. Oh and top marks for the cafe - quite possibly the best Jacket Potato and baked beans I've ever eaten.

Bring on Section 2....

Swimming with Turtles

Continuing the theme of moving more, we wanted to spend more time in the water. All of my friends ( popular island....) who have visited previously recommended a boat trip. On our trip into Bridgetown we saw some really gorgeous boats - lots of sexy, sleek Catamaran's ( Cool Runnings stands out with their classy Navy and White gorgeous boats). But while they are absolutely my kind of thing to sail around, if we were wanting to swim or snorkel experience tells me the fewer people the better. I've had too many experiences with many completely clueless swimmers knocking my mask off with their fins to know that the bigger the boat, the worse the swimmers.

So a bit more research found me a fisherman's boat with max capacity 6 people which is a run by an Islander called Charles Bisante who runs Cliff Sharker ( http://www.cliffsharker.com/en/mobile). Charles specialises in turtle trips and teaching people to free dive. It took a few days for him to be running the trip we wanted but a couple of days before we returned home it was go, go, go. 

The boat was cool, I didn't get  good photo of the front but it had a cool painting of an ample chested mermaid. Charles was a delight - friendly, patient and generous with his rum servings. There were 5 of us on the trip, and after we waded into the water and into the boat we travelled up the west coast towards Carlisle Bay. The trip left at 7am so we were nice and early to see the turtles. Barbados has the second largest population of the endangered Hawksbill Turtles in the Caribbean, along with a large number of Green turtles. I've seen Turtles before when diving - such cool looking animals - Disney got it dead right with their portrayal of the chilled out family in Finding Nemo. 

Before we got into the water ( and I was desperate to get in, I'd already seen a green turtle swimming close to our boat and the water was crystal clear) Charles gave us some do's and dont's to protect both the turtles and our forearms when we fed them. He also explained to some others in the group how to snorkel properly ( which was actually really interesting, I've snorkelled a lot as a result of diving I guess, but to have it properly taught was good for me too). 

Geared up, in I went. It's so refreshing not having an Oxygen tank on your back that snorkelling can be a delight sometimes compared to diving. Within minutes two Green turtles arrive, followed by a baby turtle. Slowly a Hawksbill turns up - an old guy who was much less sociable/ interested in is than the people pleasing Green's. We were with them, just us 5 for over an hour. At one point we had 6 turtles with us. Just swimming around and they swam with us. It was without question the best animal experience of my life. I've been lucky enough to have some great experiences - swimming with whale sharks in Westerm Australia, seen a lion hunt down and kill a Zebra in the Serengeti and many others but this was so intimate. I got knocked on the tummy by the baby. I had several big long swim's eye to eye with the young Green's. They made me laugh just with their old funny looking faces, but wow they are graceful swimmers. Charles let us feed them, and apart from the first bit of fish he gave me going right down my bikini top ( not where I want a turtle nibbling for food) it was awesome. They got so close to us. Breathtaking. 

The rest of the trip was great, we visited 3 wrecks - one of which was a Colombian drugs boat caught in 1990 and sunk not even 10 metres off shore. I was actually impressed how much you could see even if you didn't free dive down closer to the boat. Lots of fish and coral starting to form. 

We then cruised into Bridgetown with the obligatory Bob Marley pumped up, we drank Rum Punch and we sped down to our beach back down South laughing and smiling all the way.

Busy doing nothing

So I wanted to write something on Saturday, and again on Sunday but in truth there was little to say. Our days involve 7am walks along the beach in search of coffee ( leading us to Surfers Cafe in Oistins, amazing views, average food), mid morning swims, 2 for 1 bottles of Carib and deciding whether to have the flying fish with rice and peas or macaroni pie. Tricky. 

Everything in barbados is just too easy. The sun, though strong, is accompanied by a cool breeze; Our hotel ( butterfly beach, highly recommend) has plenty of beautifully located shady sun loungers meaning no risk of sunburn, the bus stop is directly outside the hotel. So there really is nothing to get at all bothered about - not even a mosquito. So we go with it, we read, we sleep, we enjoy the calm. 

Sunday night though over dinner at Cafe Luna in Miami Beach ( gorgeous food but reserve ahead) we decided we needed to do something. We had to move more. So Monday morning 8am we boarded the locals bus to Speightstown ( 2 Barbadian $ = 70p) along with all of the commuters off to their various jobs around the island. The locals are all immaculately turned out wearing primary colours and big lovely smiles. There's a lot more hand shaking and back slapping than you see on the 8.01 Northern Line from Totteridge & Whetstone. About an hour into the journey we are back on the coast road , and we exit at a place called Holetown in search of breakfast. Small, cute but full of American style mall's we find a spot for food, but then start a walk in search of a private bay to swim in. We didn't have to walk far before the perfect spot presented itself, and we spent a happy 30 minutes floating near a man made reef looking for signs of turtles. The Ocean here is a lot kinder than the much more aggressive Indian Ocean, I'm still bearing the scar from when the Indian spat me out in Sri Lanka a mere 9 months ago.

We then make a foolish decision to walk to Speightstown on the basis that it doesn't look that far on the map....7 miles later it's fair to say we have fully explored the North West coastline. We saw many fancy resorts ( the Fairmont appears to be exclusively for rich US pensioners - avoid!), some incredible looking villas ( my favourite had pineapple railings to prevent people like me from getting in) and lots of lots of truly magnificent beaches. I still can't get over how quiet they all were - and this is peak season. 

As a consequence of our mammoth trek, we arrived into Speightstown looking a lot less refreshed than we'd have liked. Fortunately we were heading to a relaxed laid back place I'd heard about called The Fisherman's Pub, which served Bajan specialities down by the water. We arrived to the warmest welcome and settled into a shady spot overlooking the sea. Fish cakes, macaroni pie and salad were ordered , along with a bottle of Banks beer all for the bargain price of £4. Our host came over to chat and to welcome us to Barbados and to thank us for coming to his place. Clement was a delight, I told him that I was going to write about him so he posed for me and told us how business had been for the last few years. Tough he told us, especially while the UK had been struggling. So he said he decided to smarten himself up and put on a bow tie to make himself feel better. Things have been picking up ever since. So far he's my highlight of barbados, a beautiful soul.