Black sand

This was almost the weirdest thing I had ever seen - beaches of fine black sand !!

I always somehow associate 'blackness' with - wet peaty boggy areas, dirtiness, coal dust, soot, wet mud, mouldiness etc - u get the general drift here - all pretty gruesome things to me.

So to have beaches of the grimy looking sand was interesting to say the least. I tried walking on it to start with to see if my feet would be stained at all (not as it happens in the end) and it fell off clothing and towels like ordinary yellow sand.


There, not as bad as it looked at all, and even though you sort of expected it to leave a grey film of dust on your feet - nothing !! all nice and clean. Lovely.

In fact though, I actually preferred the volcanic lava rocks to the sand, much more exciting visually. Sort of more what you'd expect to see (tut tut, such conventional thinking !).


The drama was in the contrast of the white houses to the blackness of the rocks and the blueness of the seas and sky.


No mid-tones here, definitely a wow factor though.

Christmas Day 2012

Up at the crack of dawn (no, only joking!!) breakfast feast and off to catch the bus down the island to a lovely place called Garachico. A pretty hairy journey, lots of precipitous drops, hairpins bends and of course the manic speed freak who was our driver all made it fun ??!!

I did say a quiet prayer on the way into the bus I must admit. Please God.....

Garachico is a pretty sleepy fishing village, normally very quiet I'm sure but today there was what seemed to be a karaoke in full swing being broadcast round the streets. We figured out that in the end it was just a bar with speakers outside for the fiesta day. Oh and the firecrackers being let off at random by teenage boys..... menaces !!

I jumped each and every time of course.

We wandered up and down the steep streets, along the amazing walkways on the sea front - the paths were built onto the eroded lava (the whole island is one gigantic volcano and its lava flows) and eventually found the old fishing port itself and the rather odd modern sculptures.

We had a picnic lunch at the most wonderful old convent which is now an old people's home - it must have the best architecture and views in the world for the geriatric . I wouldn't mind ending up there I must say, just gazing out over the Atlantic ocean daily and basking in that warmth. Just what old bones need ?

Another hair raising journey back to the hotel, cocktails, well cava, and another feast. Happy Xmas indeed, and for us, a very unusual one as no shopping, no packing, no stress and no dramas of any sort, just a lovely lovely time !!

Christmas holidays

 
Thursday 20th December we pack the car, drive to London, pick up our daughter Isabel from her flat in Clapham and pronto get on to the Gatwick Express. One thing I absolutely hate in life is being under time pressure and so we left in good time to have a leisurely arrival and browse round the airport - or not, as it happened in the end, as the train (the Gatwich not-so-Express) was delayed by works on the line !! So we arrive amidst some very stressed out travellers ...... but we had ages still (!!!!) and so went for a coffee and then a book n puzzle magazine buying session at the newsagent.

The flight was easy and our views of Tenerife on arriving were brilliant. A good start. An hour in the minibus (why are spanish drivers so manic ?) to the hotel, dump our luggage in our enormous suite (this is a first) and head for the dining rooms. Lots of choice,well, too much really and we tuck in with gusto and down a couple of glasses of lovely rioja too. hmhmhm

This is the first time (outside germany) that we have encountered to so many germans en masse. I was told afterwards that this was probably why the hotel's standards were so high as they will not put up with anything else. Great for us ! Bathrooms, service, grounds , pool etc were immaculate and everything well tended; very teutonic but we actually like that especially when you're paying for it

We stay at so many scruffy, below standard campsites that this felt luxurious - clean towels every day ?! Beds freshly made and room n bathroom tidyed-up and cleaned daily - what's not to like ? I think I could very easily get used to this style of living !! Reckon when I'm an old lady I shall do just that....live in leisure and comfort.

We had our own patio area and once hubby had found out about the 'happy' cocktail hour enjoyed many a glass of bubbly in the warmth of the evenings before heading over to dine. Isabel and I dressed for every evening meal - a chance for us to wear some finery (and I love everything glittery - sequins, beads etc..whatever.) The camping life can be quite grungy - shorts and tee shirts mainly - so a real dressing and glamming up time. Loved it !

The hotel had a beautiful pool, very deep and clear water - probably warmer than I'm used to in the leisure centres in the UK in fact so swimming was a treat. Plenty of loungers and umbarellas tho we didn't use these as we just soaked up all that fantastic sunshine - slathered in factor 30 and 50 so well protected. Two years ago I burnt badly and now am ultra ultra carefull tho 40 years ago if you didn't come back from the beach slightly scorched you felt hard done by ! Times have changed.

 My son, who lives in Australia, has had a whole body skin map of all his moles and markings done and his doctor will monitor them regularly. Skin cancer is a major problem there and as his main hobby is surfing he needs to be careful. Funnily enough he wears a wet suit not to keep him warm, as he used to do in britain, but to protect his skin from the sun's rays!

 We thoroughly enjoyed our two weeks in Tenerife and especially coming from a grim winter here in the UK to an almost tropical environment was heaven.

I could very easily do this every year. Enough said.

Botannical Gardens

Just another warm n sunny day in paradise - or at least that's how it felt to me after the gloom of an english winter. Today we had decided to head towards the Botannical Gardens in Puerto de la Cruz where we were staying and so start off by takeing a leisurely stroll along the sea front and up the cliff top for a view of both the seas and the town at our feet.

A reviving coffee for Isabel and I and an obligatory cake (apfel strudel would you believe ?!) for dad and we head off again. The cafe was owned by a German couple which exlains the strudel in Tenerife of all places!!

The gardens themselves are quite compact but are jam packed with the most amazing plantlife. The paths are well maintained and all the trees, flowers and cactii are in wonderful condition. The general ambience was of a luxuriance that was tropical in its lushness. All the plants were enormous and the blossoms quite incredible, both in terms of colours, size and intricacy of shape. Not like wiltshire at all !!

 All 3 of us could hardly put our cameras down as there was so much we wanted to remember - goodness knows how many snaps we took that day.

We spent a happy few hours there and then decided we'd hunt out lunch. As it happens there was a cafe opposite the entrance to the garden and it was full of spanish enjoying their meals so we joined them.

  The food was very interesting and not at all like what we were getting at the hotel (very german style) so we tucked into to a selection of delicious and interesting tapas with gusto.


Back at the hotel there was a bit of a festival feel - unlike the british, most people on the continent celebrate on Xmas eve, so we joined in. Cava on the terrace anyone ?

Giganticusses !!

Well, I just had to write about these most magnificent plant specimens. Tenerife was awash with cactii and succulents - in fact I'm not quite sure what the difference is. Whatever.... they were very abundant and incredibly lush and large !!! Beautiful.

I have had a few of these as pet houseplants over the years and mostly managed to keep them going - mainly by neglect it seemed. My oldest succulent (a money plant) would by now be in it's mid thirties !! and was about a metre square.

 When we left our last house it was so enormous and unwieldy that we asked the incomers if they would like to keep it as they were going to build a huge wrap-around conservatory. The perfect environment for it. I hope it found a happy home with them and is still cruising along...


So, I've put a few pictures of these amazing plants on here for you simply to admire and be astonished by...

Kitsch

On my wandering around n about various towns I have noticed the continental love of garden ornamentation..... especially garden gnomes and anything vaguely cuteish !! I'm sure I read soemwhere that garden gnomes originated in Germany? Something to do with Grimm's fairy tales ?

What we would consider rather vulgar in Britain is adored by many on the continent and they seem to think the more the merrier too.

It's actually quite fun just peeping over garden hedges or through gates and seeing what turns up ! It amazes me how much effort people put into decorating their garden with these treasured objects ?! First they have to organise their garden, then they have to acquire these ornaments somehow and then they have to arrange their placement in the garden. All that effort.

Wheelbarrows, painted concrete animals, windmills, just about anything, really, can be tarted up and used to good and startling effect. See what you think ....tho personally I prefer to let nature do the startling. Give me a beautiful shrub anyday but then each to his own.

Allotments

I feel that this word 'allotment' is hardly sufficient a word to cover what these tiny amazing garden spaces were in Germany. I love checking out allotments wherever we happen to pass by them, mainly in UK I admit, but I did an absolute double start when I saw these.

I had been happily rambling through lanes and forest on my way back to the campsite on the outskirts of Bad Hapsburg and as it had started raining (again!) thought I'd take a short cut and take the most direct route back so as to avoid a total drenching...and that involved passing by these green and beautifully organised garden 'spaces'.


Allotments in Britain tend to be very functional and rather haphazard - mainly vegetables with a few flowers it seems simply to fend off pests or as edgeing to rows of runner beans and so forth. Rarely do you see one which is simply beautiful.

I suppose there are two (at least) schools of thought regarding what an allotment should be. Originally they were for growing vegetables but these days one sees ponds, fruit cages, mini polytunnels, cloches and all sorts of home-made contraptions for growing seedling or encourageing rapid growth of seedlings. Also a vast array of shed-like constructions - most of which have a very humble appearance which is all good and ecological but not always aesthetically pleasing.


When my father-in-law was at the nursing home in Trowbridge, we took him out and about a few times and there I noticed there a whole allotment almost all given over to vines and well-tended and trimmed they were too. We never got to see them in full fruit so to speak, sadly.

Anyway, take a peek at the photos and see what teutonic organisation is capable of even on a micro scale. Minature works of art ? All incredibly well tended, loved and cared for and also very productive, but notice that each plot was very well fenced and padlocked.


I think the main difference is that in Germany these plots are bought and sold and so are fairly valuable ; they are not rented from the council ! and as always happens, if you own a patch u look after it better and are prepared to put in the time and effort to maintain and improve your little 'allotment'. They were a delight both to the casual passerby and also to the owners who obviously derived a gread deal of pleasure from their little patches of eden.

A fun walk !

While we were staying at the campsite at Bad Hapsburg I often used to walk down to the quite amazing swimming pool complex. It was about half a mile each way, a pleasant walk downhill to get there and later a slog uphill to get back for a much needed cup of tea at the caravan !! Wet towels and costumes seem to weigh a ton with time ! 

I had noticed that on one section of the lane with led from a small housing estate towards the school in the main part of the town that many of the manhole covers had been artuflly decorated !! The paint had faded over time but it was still possible to make out that they were cartoon animals.

I guessed they were to entertain the children on the daily school walk - quite a fun idea as most toddlers are loath to walk any distance without some sort of encouragement and I'm sure these cute little animals would have appealed.

Well one day as I trotted once again down to the pool (while my other half went cycling halfway round Germany!!) I saw a lady with a boxfull of paints and brushes refreshing these pictures. She was basically painting over what was on the tarmac already but just making them all a lot more vivid and colourful. Great fun and a clever idea in the first place.

A bit kitsch but children just love that don't they.... and the next one is just down the road ....a little bit further on .....and what do you think we'll see next ..... ?

Musings...

The land around Bad Harzberg is very beautiful and well farmed, lots of meadows,  (which are noticeably absent in France) and of course behind the campsite the evergreen mostly coniferous forest starts. We are camped on quite a slope and unfortunately for me the walk into town is either up or down depending on which direction I am going! Still all good excercise. Lots of huffing n puffing on the return journey though.

Just over a mile away is the lovely Silberborn schwimbad - a favourite haunt so a favourite walk. An indoor 25m pool and 2 further 25m outdoor pools so plenty of choice for distance swimming. Lots of jacuzzi areas and the usual flumes for the youngsters, also an indoor and outdoor sauna area. Amazing facilities for a small town really. Best of all is the stack of loungers and umbarellas, so, after a swim - get the book out and have a good read, maybe even a snooze. Who says this isn't a holiday? This can be done indoors or outdoors ! Loads of space about so even if it's raining I can be lounging inside with a good book. Heavenly.

It amazes me how every small town in Germany and Austria has all these wonderful facilities whereas poor old France is still stuck in the fifties (at least in rural areas). Still France has more charm in reality - all that fascinating decrepitude is almost non-existent here. All very groomed and gemutlich. The French are much more maverick and seems to spend more of their life just enjoying themselves n not fretting about the garden, house, appearances etc.....vive la difference!

On one of my walks back from town I came accross a wildlife park - with red deer, sikka deer and moufflon sheep (an ancient and almost extinct breed). The sheep you were asked not to feed (colic) but the deer would happily eat out of your hand almost!! I watched a young girl and her father lob a carrierbag full of apples into the compund and the red deer all came trotting along - obviously well used to humans as a food source. There was a sign telling you what they should and should not be fed - very useful. Apples, carrots etc ...... nothing with eggs in at all !!

When in Salisbury we often watched people feed the ducks and swans and was horrified to see them chuck mouldy old cheap white sliced bread to these lovely birds ..... I wouldn't feed that stuff to anyone least of all a beautiful wild animal. What were they thinking ? Local shopkeepers were missing out on a trick here - selling suitable feeds would have been worthwhile I'm sure and less toxic for the birds.

While walking along the river meadows one day I got chatting to a chap who was caring for the swans and he said the main problem for the birds is toxicity from the mould in the bread. See....no-one should be eating that plastic stuff!! The swans are not designed to eat the stuff and neither are we !?

Campsite Supreme !

First mention here is of the amazing shower/toilet block - best we have ever seen, ever !! immaculate, very high tech, no-touch tap operation, plenty of hooks, music, automatic lights in all cubicles.....you get the idea. Only downside is that you have to pay per shower - 50c, about 40p and for this you get 3 minutes of hot water. It's plenty really, even if you wash your hair, but it did mean you had to be organised and have change ready and remember to take it with you !! After a couple of forgetful trips we sooned learned to remember !!

Another slight downside is that the electricity is metred - a first for us - will be interesting to see how much we've clocked up after a fortnight's use. Normally it is included in the price for the pitch.

Also here we have been incredulous at the amount of equipment they have at their disposal for the maintenance of the grounds etc - in terms of machines I mean. Normal sites have a couple of mowers but here there are various tractors, jcbs, really heavy duty rollers, various sized trailers - half the stuff I wouldn't know what they use for !! Have seen quite a few men eyeing up the gear with lust in their eyes - big boys toys!!! and lots of them !

One thing we have noticed is the bulk of the campers are either Danish or Russian and that there is a very high turnover of overnighters. Obviously this site is enroute to the south or west....from choice I don't think I would choose to come here for my annual holiday as the weather is incredibly changeable - even worse that in the UK believe it or not !

I gather it is something to do with the mountainous range just behind us and the flatlands before us - the 'precipitation' rate is very high all year round. We have had untold short sharp storms, lots of thunder and lightning and just masses of quick showers - tricky when walking. I carry an umbarella when walking if a dark cloud is even lurking nearby, pays to be prepared. I found one which has a carrying strap (adjustable) so I can sling over my shoulder to have hands free for my walking poles.

Another interesting item I've noticed here is a fridge with individual numbered and lockered compartments for use by tent campers. We have only had a fridge the last two years of our travels and before that were restricted to a coolbox and occasionally the use of the site freezer to chill down our icepacks. The campsite in Hungary even had one of these which was amazing, but thinking back wasn't sure if it was chilled or simply storage. Anyway, a jolly useful addition to any site, especially in the height of summer when camping.