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Retirement gap year
Retirement gap year

Retirement gap year

Retired from teaching 2016, Paul retired from being at the university of newcastle in 2017, we have started Flaire Consulting and travel round the world. Read more
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  • Retirement gap yearsri lankaTraveler

    Sri lanka

    November 2, 2017 in Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    First day here. Spent at Hundira villa. Lovely hotel owned by a Swedish motorcyclist called Rolf. Very beautifully designed villa with lovely views over the lagoon. Our planned boat trip was scuppered by a torrential thunderstorm. However this did not stop us enjoying the birds and curry for breakfast was a highlight.Read more

  • Retirement gap yearseattleTraveler

    Portugal 22 sept - 2 oct.

    October 1, 2017 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    We flew into and out of Lisbon, stayed in alcochete, coimbra and Lisbon.
    We had a lovely time in alcochete staying in an apartment owned by a guy called Riz. It was lovely weather and we went birding with a South African girl called Betty. Had some lovely days out along the estuary and some relaxing evenings around alcochete.
    Coimbra is a lovely hilly city in the north and has a huge university. It was freshers time and this meant that gangs of black tied and cloaked men and women wandered the streets night and day, chanting and singing. Paul was working so we were booked into a hotel just up near the university and walked up and down to get into the city. I did some exploring on my own and enjoyed the city, it felt very safe.
    Finally we spent three nights in an apartment in Lisbon. We absolutely love Lisbon and will come back in a heartbeat.    Read more

  • Retirement gap yearseattleTraveler

    Port townsend

    August 30, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We arrived at the ravenscroft bed and breakfast at around 3 and booked into our lovely room. We had lunch at Quench and then went for a walk around the nearby port. We were really excited to find a barred owl perched on a tree.
    We ate a disappointing meal in the Alchemy wine bar and bistro.
    The following day after the best breakfast,(Friday) we booked to go whale watching. Had a fantastic time on the puget sound express and saw a hump back and a pod of transient orcas also saw loads of birds. We had lunch in San Juan Island supper at silver water cafe.
    On Saturday we wandered round port Townsend and did some shopping. We had a quiet afternoon processing our pictures. Sunday we went to Dungeness spit for a walk out to the lighthouse there. It was just beautiful, about four miles each way and really quiet with lots of wild life to see.
    Monday we took the ferry to Whidney island and did some lovely walking in another Fort and saw pelicans.
    Tuesday we got up early and drove to Seattle airport having breakfast by a long lake on the way. We travelled back with an elvis convention.    Read more

  • Retirement gap yearseattleTraveler

    Seattle 19-29august.

    August 30, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We went to Seattle for five days, stayed at the vintage park hotel in a lovely quiet room on the tenth floor.we had fun exploring Seattle on the Sunday, tasting some hideous breakfast that got sent back at the space pinnacle, and wandering down to near pike market for a much better version of events at a little French place that did a fab brunch. Then supper at macmillans.
    On Monday paul was working and after watching the underwhelming eclipse he went to the conference and I met up with Carole's friend Patty, who took me to show me the Seattle skyline, the docks and her house plus a little Swedish dock area where I bought a board for cooking fish.
    On Tuesday we had a wander around again and paul had to work in the afternoon and I did a bit of light shopping.
    Wednesday we had a cruise around Seattle harbour and later ate in the Brooklyn.
    We had another wander round pike market and enjoyed a local brewery.
    On Thursday picked up our car and headed off to port Townsend.    Read more

  • Retirement gap yearvienna austria and sloveniaTraveler

    14:06:17- 16:06:17

    June 16, 2017 in Slovenia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    At five on 15 th June we went looking for bears. We were well wrapped up as Marcus had suggested and clutching cameras and binoculars we journeyed deep to the forest. Marcus explained that his family had owned the farm they run with the Na megi accommodation through several generations and the last four generations had all been born a different nationality. His grandfather was Austrian, his father Italian, he is YUgoslavian and his son is Slovenian. He showed us a disappearing lake which had bomb blasts in it as the area is military training country. Eventually we talked to the huntsmen. The bears are at the top of the food chain so they need to be culled, the meat is used and the skin, the same huntsmen also help find the bears for people such as ourselves who just want to see them in the wild. It is a job for them with many salaries so helps them subsist. They shoot for the government, sell the meat for themselves and find the bears for the tourists.
    We sat for two hours in an open hide, which was stilts of wood hammered together at a height of about fifteen feet, with a rough hewn bench and just enough room to put your feet. It swayed rather alarmingly in the wind and that and the fact that we were here to see real wild animals that can do humans damage was the subject of a few nervous thoughts as we teetered above the feeding station. The feeding station is actually for the wild boar who without encouragement to feed in the forest would do so down on the nearby farms. However, the bears have also discovered its food benefits especially the young bears and cubs.
    Two hours came and went with no sign of our bears and dusk was descending when the second hunter returned to say that at another open hide was a mother and two cubs. We climbed down and bombed through the forest and crept as silently as possible to the hide. This one was a good 25 feet above the floor and was much more sturdily made than the last. The mother and cubs were still there so we slowly climbed the ladder and sure enough the mother was in plain sight. Very moving for me as I promptly burst into tears, she was huge and very busy feeding. There was no sign of the cubs but later we spotted them playing on the periphery of the feeding area and she went to get them to feed themselves so we had wonderful views.
    On the way back it was dark and those in the front of the vehicle saw a fox cub and a badger.
    The next morning we drove to some wetlands near to Ljubljana and did some birding some of it off road which was very amusing and then drove on into the city and checked into the hotel. Typical conference hotel, quiet and well run but features less. We then wandered into the city and had a look round, it has been through many incarnations since roman times so is an eclectic mix of young and old architecture..after an evening at a restaurant called most (bridge) we went back to the hotel. Paul was then working in the morning so I went back into the town and did some light shopping, we met for lunch and after lunch was a great cloud breaking thunderstorm. It stotted down and we huddled under a market stall to get dry. Tonight we are due to eat at a restaurant called Manna. Hopefully tomorrow will go smoothly and we will be back home by the end of it, traffic and British airways permitting.    Read more

  • Retirement gap yearvienna austria and sloveniaTraveler

    14:06:17

    June 14, 2017 in Slovenia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Today we went to the skocjan caves park.
    It was just amazing. It deserves a really great big mention with lots of descriptions of its vast scale but really nothing would do it justice. Only photographs.
    However it is worth mentioning the immense task the early explorers had, cutting out their steps from sheer rock and their paths looked most precarious.
    Their cafe too is worth a mention as they did fantastic and reasonably priced gnocchi.    Read more

  • Retirement gap yearvienna austria and sloveniaTraveler

    13:06:17

    June 13, 2017 in Slovenia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We set off after breakfast to the next part of the adventure. Slovenia..it was hard to say goodbye to Willi and Marie and Angela and her family as we felt that they had made us so welcome we had become friends by the end of the four days.
    We knew it was going to be a long drive to Trnje which is where we are now. We had planned to stop somewhere for lunch and a journey break e traffic was awful with many bits of road under reconstruction. We came off to find somewhere to eat but ended up in a not so bad service station and shared a sandwich. having set off again we put Trnje into the Apple car play sat nav. Basically maps. We skirted round Lubjana and arrived at what was supposed to be Trnje only to find it wasn't and the real place was still one hour away. By this time we had been driving for five hours and were pretty fed up with the situation. However, there was nothing for it and we continued on our way.
    Worth the drive when we got here Na Meji as it surpassed our expectations. We had stopped for some provisions. Got the meal on to marinade and then had a lovely walk along the lanes before supper.
    After supper we partook of the home made brandies with our cherries. Not a great idea!    Read more

  • Retirement gap yearvienna austria and sloveniaTraveler

    12:06:17

    June 12, 2017 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    We went off after breakfast to see if we could find some hoopoes. We went down some lanes near the town and eventually found where we thought they might be. We parked up and were scanning the area when we were hailed by a park ranger who was quick to point out that we were not allowed to be in the park at that point as it was just for cyclists.. there was a fine of five hundred euros. We quickly turned round and headed out and instead went to look for bee eaters which were on the way to a place called wallern (spelled from memory).
    This was much more successful as we not only found their nesting cliffs but they shared them with some jackdaws who were most entertaining to watch. We took lots of pictures and then set off to go to Hungary along the iron curtain trail. We got a bit lost but eventually took a cycle path (no wardens around, nor cyclists) to the river separating the two at a bridge. We saw some cuckoos. It was so peaceful there. After that we went back to civilisation for lunch and had deep fried breadcrumbed cheese! It was particularly unpleasant and gave us indigestion. It was made even worse as it was masquerading as salad on the menu and it was mainly hefty calories.    Read more

  • Retirement gap yearvienna austria and sloveniaTraveler

    11.06.17

    June 11, 2017 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    We got up early despite the vastly indulgent evening and set off to do some birdwatching around the marina and the area nearby. We parked our car and wandered about. It was lovely and quiet and we had some good sightings of the usual suspects round a lake. There were many birds a long way away, and some nice sightings of ducks and ducklings and geese and goslings. We then went to St martins spa to meet up with the seewinkel guide to be given a private bird watching tour. We had a very acceptable lunch and relaxed until two when our tour began. Our guide was called Ronald and he took us in a brand new discovery jeep to various points to see the birds. Highlights were a male great bustard still with breeding plumage strutting his stuff around a meadow whilst the female played hard to get, both to him and our binoculars.
    We saw grey partridge and pheasants.
    The Pygmy cormorant was a first for us as well
    The inevitable stork and western marsh harriers were in evidence everywhere. Also buzzards and kestrel were plentiful. We spotted a pied avocet on the wing and many northern lapwing.
    There were Eurasian curlew in the field where the bustards were and we also saw the common cuckoo.
    Another highlight was the long eared owl chick.
    The Eurasian sky lark was everywhere and we more unusual western yellow wagtail as well as the common white wagtail. We saw some other common birds, stonechat, great reed warbler, common chiffchaff, red backed shrike, carrion crow, Eurasian tree sparrow,common chaffinch, corn bunting, yellow hammer, and icterine warbler.
    We had supper at the summer kitchen and then joined the dinner guests having the special meal at the hotel. It ended with a discussion about politics.    Read more

  • Retirement gap yearvienna austria and sloveniaTraveler

    10.06.17

    June 10, 2017 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    We went for a long walk looking for birds. We found a rare red footed falcon and saw lots of red backed shrikes. It was hot and sunny and we walked for miles along the paths near to where we were staying, eventually returning to the hotel. We saw some fantastic white donkeys that resembled unicorns as they were so pure in colour.
    on our return we had a tour of the vineyard and learned lots of useful hints on how to look after our vine. Such as only allowing one out of the three bunches on each stem to grow to be grapes and that the vines benefit from being properly trained along the wires, a metre of vine in depth gives you the best yield. They are susceptible to frost so need protecting during the flowering period.
    We had drinks in the vineyard as the sun was setting and canapés delivered by Marie who is Angela's mum. Willi the wine maker has made wine for prince Charles and for his grandchildren Prince George and princess
    Charlotte. He was very proud and deservedly so.
    We retuned to the hotel and went down into the cellar, there were two other couples with us and we had a fantastic meal. This was cooked by Iain and it was his birthday. Every course (and there were many) was accompanied by a suitable wine. We had three deserts and three desert wines and then schnapps. We were so full and so mellow by the end of the evening. Iain is an extremely talented chef and his father in law is an extremely talented wine maker.    Read more

  • Retirement gap yearvienna austria and sloveniaTraveler

    090617

    June 10, 2017 in Austria ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Had a bit of a todo picking up the car at 7:30. Although we had a voucher the car hire in vienna (Europcar) did not find the money we had already paid. Eventually they did and then we had a frantic dash back to the hotel to pick up the bags and then onward to the vet school. Paul ran his workshop all day while I purchased lots of blister plasters and then went for lunch and a sit by the beach. At 4 we drove here wein and land haus Willi Opitz for the next few days we are chilling here. It is run by a young family, Iain and Angela Ashcroft and their two children Sophie and Daniel. They have a lovely black cat called Nelson. We were on our own here last night and had another Austrian speciality rump steak and onions in a little place called bartholomews in the square.Read more

  • Retirement gap yearvienna austria and sloveniaTraveler

    090617

    June 9, 2017 in Austria ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Election result day. It's a hung parliament. All very interesting as to how things will proceed. But definitely the hard brexit will be difficult to make happen.
    We collected our hire car, would have been ok in the time frame but it was complicated by the fact that it was a bit hectic due to the lack of any understanding that the prepaid voucher meant that we had paid for the car in advance.Read more

  • Retirement gap yearvienna austria and sloveniaTraveler

    080617

    June 9, 2017 in Austria ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Well it's Election Day at home, and here it was shopping day for me. I learned how to use the U1 line as I was searching for a particular shop. Unfortunely the shop only sold huge sizes so I was disappointed but did walk 11 miles round Vienna. Seeing some brilliant sights.
    Met up with Paul and Yves and the work shop youngsters for a fascinating tour of the josephenium, the Kaiser who collect wax models for anatomy purposes was Kaiser Joseph, he traveled widely as he had a sister in France (Marie Antoinette) and a brother in Italy. The wax models were very beautiful as they were imported from Italy and had their flair for statues as a basis for the models. One was laid out like a Michael Angelo statue showing the lymph nodes. We then were shown the rise and fall of the automatic heart. We sat outside in a little bar called Ambulanz and enjoyed some more typical Austrian food and beer and wine. Got a taxi home.    Read more

  • Retirement gap yearvienna austria and sloveniaTraveler

    060617 continued

    June 7, 2017 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We were taken by yves to the area where he lives. First we stopped at a Heurige overlooking the vineyards in a touristy village and had a glass of wine. Paul and I drank the mixed wine( Yves pointed out that this is not strictly speaking blended wine but was a blend of usually three types of grape grown next to each other in the vineyard, this means it is different every year). He told us that since the anti freeze in the wine scandal, Austria has much tighter laws about what can be put into wine and nowadays Austrian wine is some of the purest in the world. As it was now raining we jumped back into the car and drove to a quiet rural spot.
    We all emerged from the car looking dubiously at the clouds, but the rain had stopped and we followed Yves along a tiny country road where he stopped at a small double door in what looked like a tiny house. He ran up to the roof of the building via some stairs and rummaged in a secret spot for the key to the door. The giant key led into what looked like a hobbit hole. It was a primitive cellar for wine which had been dug out with simple farming tools centuries ago and had been used by one family to store their wine. Yves had bought the cellar when it became empty and now stored some Belgian beer in it and used the patioed roof area for summer picnics and barbecues. The cellar was cold and still had the slightly musty winy smell of oak barrels although there were none to be seen.
    Having admired his cellar, we continued to walk up the lane and there were many many more, some in a good state of repair and many deserted and abandoned. After this we drove to what at first appeared to be an abandoned village in the middle of fields of vineyards, this was an entirely different Kellergasse as the cellars appeared to be much larger even though the cobbled street looked barely wide enough for a horse and cart to drive along and there was almost a lawn occupying its centre ground.
    We walked up the first of the three tiny streets, stopping to marvel at the doors and glimpses of wine presses through the abandoned, often open, portals.
    After a few of these we encountered one that appeared to be fully operational and whilst marvelling at its contents we became aware that it was indeed used and the owner was just below us in the gloom of the far cellar. Yves greeted him and apologised for our nebby behaviour, but the man was not in the least perturbed and called us down to taste his wine.
    After introductions had been made, we all watched in fascination as he sucked a quantity of wine out of the barrel with a special long glass tube with a spherical top which held the wine to be tasted. He dished out glasses and we all tasted. The wine was the 2016 blend but he was somewhat vague as to its grape heritage. It was White wine and very cold without a hint of any yeasts and had a pleasant flavour. We of course, had to sample another glass and we were becoming quite jovial as all this wine was on a very empty stomach.
    We then said our goodbyes and made our way back to the village where Yves lives with his wife and dog. We enjoyed a very convivial evening and ate some traditional Austrian food.
    We took the train back to the hotel.    Read more

  • Retirement gap yearvienna austria and sloveniaTraveler

    070617

    June 7, 2017 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We spent the morning walking off last nights hangover after all the wine. We walked along the north edge of the old Danube and then crossed to walk the southern edge, we walked 6 miles and enjoyed a melange coffee at the end of it. We then walked along to the vet school for lunch.Read more

  • Retirement gap yearvienna austria and sloveniaTraveler

    Vienna 060617

    June 6, 2017 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    After a bumpy flight on take off and some slight delays we were met by Yves who took us via various bits of Vienna and a dodgy sat nav to our hotel the strand which is modern but apart from no air con is comfortable. We set off early this morning to have a coffee crawl round the various coffee cafes Vienna is famous for. First stop the cafecentral where we sat where sigmund Freud once sat and later we went to a pavement cafe. We got the metro in, very efficient, and then walked and metroed back. The parliament building was needing refurbishment and we noted that during this three year process there were to be portacabins for the parliamentary workers and both of us remarked that this would not be the case if it was the Houses of Parliament in the U.K. We walked across the old Danube and the new Danube and then to the veterinary school. Once I had walked back I had done 8.5 miles.Read more

  • Retirement gap yearmadrid and extramaduraTraveler

    Wednesday extramadura

    May 24, 2017 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Got up super early and headed off towards Guadeloupe where we were expecting to find greater bustards, rollers and other delights. We had asked Martin the birding guru who owns the hotel and he showed us on the map where to go. It was already heating up as we arrived at the area, and our first bird encounter was a little owl. There were many raptors gliding over the fields and we spent hours searching every blade of grass for a hidden great bustard. Eventually our hard work was rewarded but as we went to get back in the car, Paul caught his fingers in the car door. A blackened finger nail and a lot of loud swearing later we managed to relocate the buzzards closer to the road and got some great photographs. Happy that we had found them we journeyed to the end of the road and saw our first roller of the day on the wires next to its nesting box.
    We drove to a small town nearby for a coffee and then went looking for rollers again. We found more and took pictures and then made our way to the rice fields. We were mega exciting to find pratincoles and chicks.
    After the rice fields had been transversed looking for more excitement we called it a day and headed back to the village for lunch in the bar.
    An afternoon spent by the pool and a swim completed the day.    Read more

  • Retirement gap yearmadrid and extramaduraTraveler

    Tuesday extramadura

    May 23, 2017 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We journeyed to the monfrague national park arriving just before they opened. This park is native Mediterranean species of vegetation and is home to typical Mediterranean birds of the area and is particularly famous for its raptor rock which we passed on the way in. Being early morning there were no raptors to be seen, so we decided to check it out on the way back.
    The visitors centre eventually opened and we went in. Hoping to get advice on which path to walk down to see the birds we were interested in finding. Both the young women at there computers studiously avoided eye contact when we approached their desk and so we beat a retreat and went to regroup over a coffee
    We had a lovely coffee and decided to walk to the north of the car park where a wide path descended. The bushes were full of warblers and other small birds and we happily walked, talked and took photos of them as we went. After a while the path ran alongside a river offering yet more varieties of birds and a cooling breeze. We walked to the end of this and at this point our path swung left and as we had no map we decided to head back the way we came. This proved interesting as we noticed things on the way back we had not seen on the way. One of these was a dung beetle clasping a piece of dung the size of itself and then fighting off another beetle intent on its prize. We were photographing this when two people we had met at the hotel came by, we exchanged a few pleasantries and then continued back. The coffee shop did us another coffee and we headed out of the park to an area recommended by a man we did get information from who was offering a lodge with drinking hides in an area north of extramadura. After a few miles we realised this was a mistake and we turned back, this time in time for lunch at the bar.
    After lunch we took ourselves off to raptor rock and happily took photos of the many raptors going in and out of the rocks with food for their chicks.
    We found a different route back through the dehesas looking for great bustards, and instead finding a fantastic river complete with flying frogs, a montagues harrier and some storks feeding their chicks.
    On our return we dined in the casa rural el recuerdo and then drank wine with a couple from Rotterdam who are delightful. We sat by the pool and eventually the birds morphed into bats and later we saw some red necked nightjars come through the garden.
    This day was marred by a terrible terrorist act in Manchester arena that was aimed at killing and maiming children and adolescents..    Read more

  • Retirement gap yearmadrid and extramaduraTraveler

    Monday

    May 22, 2017 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We spent the evening yesterday getting to know our fellow birders and finding out where they had been. We felt veritable light weights having never been to Africa, Costa Rica, Alaska etc..
    After breakfast today we headed out for a beautiful 5 mile walk around the lanes. The area is abundant with meadow and wild flowers at their peak in mid May. My camera was put to good use, but unfortunately I had knocked the exposure off (the front wheel, which is the shutter button) must have been slid into the minus position. Without a good app for restoring the mistake I would have had no pictures.
    After our walk we had a coffee at the little bar down the road and came back to sit by the pool. It has been a very warm day. As it was now lunch time we got into the hire car and drove to Trujillo, well known for its castle which has appeared on game of thrones. We plan to go back to explore the castle but lunch was more pressing. We had a lovely plate of mixed cheese and some patron peppers and then lost ourselves in a maze of twisty streets all the same. Every building in the square was enhanced by several storks nests and the wheeling cry of the swifts drowned out the noise of a small town thronged with people.
    We returned and had a further few hours reading and resting by the pool. Gorgeous day, not a cloud in the sky.    Read more

  • Retirement gap yearmadrid and extramaduraTraveler

    Journey to extra madura

    May 21, 2017 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    So we got packed up and took a taxi to the airport and after about half an hour were in the hire car. It's not a bad car but with an annoying sat navy display that keeps popping up when you least expect it. We journeyed off using the iPhone sat nav which paul had reliably programmed but later accused me of setting it wrong. 🤔
    We stopped off at a reservoir en route. The arrocampo reservoir where we were supposed to see purple swamp hen, penduline tit ( I can never see that birds name without snickering) lots of herons and some reed warblers etc. What we really saw was shed loads of marsh harriers and cattle egrets, some reed birds and a strange unknown bird which later turned out to be an azure winged magpie. We stopped for lunch in a service station beforehand which was a hilarious experience as we had the ten euro menu del did which was soup and then a huge plate of carne and chips. Followed by coffee while we were drinking the coffee a huge party of oaps arrived and the noise became deafening.
    We then made the journey to casa rural el recuerdo where we were shown to our lovely room. (Room 4).
    After unpacking we took our technology around the lanes and we now know where the azure winged magpies hang out. We wandered down the road to the little bar and had a beer. Now we are showered and ready to go and eat.    Read more

  • Retirement gap yearmadrid and extramaduraTraveler

    Madrid 20th May

    May 20, 2017 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Conference day, so after breakfast Paul was tied up with being at and talking for the conference so I decided to go to the nearby Botanical gardens. They didn't open til 10, so I took my time and left the hotel at about 10. It was already warm and gradually as the morning progressed it got up to 26 degrees C. It was a straightforward walk to the gardens and I arrived shortly after 10:15. This was a great time as the gardens were quiet in terms of people and noisy as they were full of birds, particularly parakeets, also there seemed to be live music coming from somewhere in the middle.
    The gardens are laid out in a formal squared pattern with different areas for plants, from medicinal to bonsai and included many mature trees as the original garden dated from the 18th century.
    The greenhouse area had three distinct zones, representing succulents from the Canary Islands, cacti and bromeliads and orchids. My favourite part was the ornamental and medicinal plants which were arranged around central fountains in square beds. The fountains were frequented by various birds, mainly sparrows and blackbirds. The fountains weren't up to much.
    I traced the source of the live music to an area beside a duck pond (cute ducklings). The orchestra was clearly a youth band which was being put through their paces before a performance. They were very good to listen to as they had a wide range of pieces to play, some of which got your toes tapping and some of which were very Spanish. At around 12 I left the gardens and time the queue to get in was horrendous.
    I overdid my walk back as I was pretty much in a world of my own and continued for about half a mile past the hotel before I realised my mistake, so I was very thirsty by the time I got back. I spent a quiet couple of hours rehydrating in the garden and reading. Paul joined me for lunch in the hotel, lovely grilled vegetables with goats cheese.    Read more

  • Retirement gap yearmadrid and extramaduraTraveler

    Madrid 19 may

    May 19, 2017 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    After a pretty uneventful journey (apart from Iberia running out of sandwiches and an immensity long taxi queue, we finally arrived at our hotel where we are based for the conference. Our room is great, on the fourth floor overlooking the garden area, so is very quiet.
    We got ourselves unpacked and went and rehydrated in the garden area. Lovely jasmine scented shady area with comfy seats and a few sparrows eyeing up the food that is being carried out to an outdoor eating area.
    Later we met up with the conference people to sort out the inevitable screen and PowerPoint issues which with present technology seem ridiculous. We walked to a nearby restaurant come tapas bar which did really nice food and was very reasonably priced. We were accompanied by Eric and Natalie both of whom are now from the USA, but Eric had been brought up in Germany. They were delightful company. As often happens in Spain, supper was relaxed and time consuming so bed time was later than we had intended.    Read more

  • Retirement gap yearBrazilTraveler

    24th April Tuesday Regua

    May 15, 2017 in Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    A very hot six mile hike up to see an amazing waterfall. We were guided but the forest was very thick and the birds were tiny.
    This is what I have learned about Regua so far:
    The series of lakes making up the wetlands are dammed rivers.
    The three cooks are different sizes, this means the rum punch drink we get in the evenings is stronger when the fattest sister makes it. This is because the measurements for the rum is done in fingers. Here is the recipe:
    11 limes
    A jug full of ice
    3 large spoons of sugar
    7 fingers of rum
    So on the days the plumpest sister makes the punch there is more rum as she has wider fingers!
    The young man who is front of house is Nicholas (the owner) son and is 28.
    He had a row with his girlfriend last night, she was taking him somewhere he didn't want to go so he jumped out of the car whilst it was still moving.
    In hospital with a sore shoulder he finished with her even though they had been together for two and a half years.
    His grandpa is British (from Kew). Thomas' grandpa married his grandma (half dutch and half italian) when they were both very young and his grandpa inherited the farm (now the regua reserve). The marriage didn't last but they are still friends and his grandpa comes over every year for a month. Grandpa is now married to a lady in charge of kew gardens and Thomas has some step relatives, one of whom now has a baby.
    Grandpa is due to visit this Friday.
    Our guides family live in rio. His son is 3 and is called Martin and goes to nursery at 6:30am and gets home by 7 pm.
    Our guides father died suddenly of a heart attack when our guide was 28. Our guide was run over by a bus which flayed the skin from his foot.
    There is a tapir introduction program in place, but it has come to a halt because the bureaucracy allowed two tapirs, one male and one female to be introduced, and because of the time constraints of the bureaucracy the female has now had a baby, This has led to further bureaucracy but it is now nearly done.
    The politician in charge of agriculture in the areas has a huge soya production plant.
    school teachers get paid £600 a month.    Read more

  • Retirement gap yearBrazilTraveler

    23 April Regua

    May 15, 2017 in Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We got up early and breakfasted and set off on an early morning guided walk with the bird guide. We saw loads and took lots of pictures. It last 5 hours but felt like no time at all. The weather had chirped up and the sun was shining. Clouds are lowering over the mountains. In Porto Alegre it had been spring so the birds behaviour was all frantic springtime nest building and mating, whereas here there is no breeding season as such and we did see some mating and nesting behaviour but also a lot of birds were just hanging about.
    I can't believe we have the place to ourselves for the next few days. It is so peaceful except for the cooks (three sisters, alike and unalike) who sing constantly.
    After supper we had a night guided walk for two hours. It was incredibly dark. Up above us the night sky was incredible. Different constellations from ours at home winked down on us with no light pollution to mar its splendour. My neck got constant exercise as I kinked it back to gaze in wonder at all those other suns, onward and further into the depths of the darkness.
    We walked down the road to where there was a reliable burrowing owl on a post. Paul took a photo of it as the torch lit it up. We walked back round the lake where the torch picked out many eyes staring back at us from the water surface, these were all caymans and there were a fair few out there! On the way back to the lodge we saw two armadillos crossing the path in front of us and were given glimpses of glow worms or fire flies twinkling in the gloom of the forest.    Read more

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