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Bliss Ventures

Bliss Ventures

I am Bliss, descended from wolves, a 4000 year lineage of Siberian Huskies. I’m travelling the World in our self converted campervan Ivy with my Mum & Dad (Vikki & Darren). I love to be in nature seeking adventure. The spirit of my ancestors with me. Read more🇬🇧Isle of Wight
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    • Bliss VenturesTravelerIvy’s Maiden Voyage

      A bit closer but not quite

      June 20, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

      After the last couple of days of not having much solar power our leisure batteries are quite low so we need to recharge. Just before the road starts to go up to Andorra there’s an aire that has electric hook up so we head there. We managed to get hooked up to the electricity but it was going to take quite a while to recharge. The weather was looking rubbish so rather than go today we decided to postpone our trip through Andorra until tomorrow. I had plenty of cleaning to do inside Ivy and wasn’t keen to drive in the adverse weather conditions. Once the cleaning chores were done it was nice to relax, listen to the rain on Ivy’s roof and just watch some soaps.Read more

    • Bliss VenturesTravelerIvy’s Maiden Voyage
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      Thunderstorms in the woods

      June 19, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

      After a slow start we head off in the direction of Andorra 🇦🇩 our satnav always set to avoid motorways and tolls has been by far the best decision of the trip, because that’s how you see the real place and stumble across so many unexpected curiosities. Thoroughly enjoyed the drive even though there wasn’t anything in particular to tell you about. It’s so pretty and awe inspiring everywhere here.
      We find a lovely quiet spot sandwiched between a river and a train track, a grassy clearing surrounded by trees that will be home for the night. Darren went off for a walk and when he came back, on bended knee he presented me with a bunch of wild flowers 🌷 how romantic 🥰 ( The cynic in me thinking he’s either feeling guilty or after something obvs 😂) Turns out he was being genuinely soppy. Awww 🥰
      It started getting cold and began raining so we closed Ivy up and got comfortable, it wasn’t long before we started hearing thunder and seeing flashes of lightning. Being inside Ivy when the weather is dark and stormy is so very cozy and I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be.
      The forecast for tomorrow is not looking very promising so I’m not sure if we’ll go over into Andorra or not. It’s all well and good being in the mountains with all their epic views, but not if it’s all shrouded in mist and gloom. We’ll see… watch this space.      Read more

    • Bliss VenturesTravelerIvy’s Maiden Voyage
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      Lovely quiet restful day

      June 18, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

      Woke at the crack of dawn to the sound of birdsong and Darren poking me in the ribs saying “Let’s go see if the deer are out in the field where we saw them yesterday.” So I dragged myself out of bed to go see, but oh dear… there were no deer! Back to bed for another couple of hours I think. 🤔
      Shattered from the last few days of adventures I made the executive decision that we needed a rest day. Bliss seemed quite happy just chilling by the river so that’s what we did. The only thing that happened all day of note was when a middle aged couple turned up out of nowhere on pushbikes… and the lady proceeded to remove ALL her clothes right in front of us and go skinny dipping in the river! . Darren didn’t know where to look 👀 bless him. 😂 I just wanted to advise her that a bit of a trim might be an idea ✂️ 😜      Read more

    • Bliss VenturesTravelerIvy’s Maiden Voyage
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      The Longest Day 🥱

      June 17, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

      After the excitement and exercise of yesterday we slept well and woke knowing we had lots to do today. We were out of water, food too and needed to get some washing done today, so we left fairly early. It was a beautiful clear blue sky as we took to the road back down the mountain, but before we knew it we were climbing back up another. On the way up we stopped to watch a helicopter 🚁 flying overhead with a large load hanging beneath it by a long rope. It was delivering something to one of the high peaks nearby. Amazing to watch, the skill of the pilot was obvious. The precision involved in picking up and dropping off his cargo was incredible as the wind was pretty strong. We carried on up until we reached the top of the pass and then parked up to have a look around. It was cold and windy at the pass through the high mountain but actually quite a hot day down in the valleys, so we decided to drive as far as possible today as Bliss doesn’t like the heat. We found a place on Park4night that has washing machines and headed for that as it was also at a supermarket so we could stock up the fridge too at the same time. It was quite a distance and meant going over three more mountain passes (called “cols” here) but needs must.
      We came to a sign saying road closed which was the road we really wanted to take else it would mean a massive detour! After sitting for a while and seeing several other vehicles including a large A class motorhome go through and not come back we decided to ignore the road closed sign and do it anyway. We got up the road quite a way before we saw road workers. There was traffic coming from the other direction and the workers didn’t stop us (or them) so we squeezed through and carried on uphill. They had just laid fresh hot smelly tarmac! When we reached the top we pulled over and took a look at our wheels, we had a good half inch thick layer of tarmac stuck to them. Oops! 😬. Ivy’s bad ass tire tread left like an incriminating fingerprint at the scene of a crime!
      There was another great view to look at and lots of cows chilling amongst us and the masochistic cyclists, motorcycles, campers, cars that also pulled over to savour the sights. Where there’s cows, there’s flies too of course so we soon decided to get going. I can hardly express how seriously annoying they can be, like they deliberately try to wind you up and know exactly how to do it.
      A long day of driving and we eventually found the supermarket and the washing machines and as a bonus also a jet wash to give Ivy a good clean. Chores all done in a couple of hours and we still had to find somewhere to stay for the night. We tried one place that had water but no space for us to stay, so topped up and continued hunting. It was getting quite late now and the light was fading. The wildlife evening shift was coming out. On the way to the place that we ended up staying we saw the oh so cutest little baby fox 🦊 and then we saw some young deer who were startled in our headlights.
      After the longest day we found a lovely quiet retreat by a small river, collapsed into bed and slept like the dead.      Read more

    • Bliss VenturesTravelerIvy’s Maiden Voyage
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      Our most epic day (Part Two)

      June 16, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

      Chapter Two: Unspeakable beauty.
      Finally we reached the hotel and the point where we could go no further, but the view opened up in all its glory. Still 2km away from the waterfall base but because of its size it seemed so close. The snow capped mountains rose high above feeding the waterfall higher than we could actually see. The upper ridge forms the Spanish-French border.
      Darren took lots of pictures but honestly they just don’t capture the reality of this place. You have to be there to get a real perspective of the size, and even then it’s hard to take it all in. We stayed there for a couple of hours just looking at the natural wonders all around us.
      Darren decided to phone home to show them how awesome it all is but nobody was answering. Then I reminded him that it was still early on a Sunday morning and nobody was going to be impressed with him calling them at this time!! He wasn’t going to give up though because he really wanted to share this moment with everyone. He was manically high on the whole experience. But he waited a little while before trying again. After speaking to a few bleary eyed people and sharing this magical place with them it started to get busier with tourists arriving and it was starting to get quite hot too which was strange because we were so close to the snow up here. We reluctantly agreed that it was time to leave, get down to somewhere Bliss could cool off in the water. We walked a short way down to a little side path that led to a fast running stream and a grassy rock covered bank where we had the picnic I had prepared the night before. Surrounded by the most beautiful scenery imaginable. With a bit of energy giving food in our bellies and Bliss cooled off in the stream we continued our way back down the mountain. There were lots of people on their way up so we were pleased that we had made the decision to go early in the morning before everyone else. I felt sorry for them as it was hot going down so going up in the heat would have been an unpleasant experience. We found a path on the other side of the river via a wooden bridge that took us away from the crowds of people on their way up and took it. It was a bit more difficult going but less busy. We were almost back to the area where the shops were when we saw two people walking along with backpacks and as we drew closer we realised that they each had a cat inside them! The cat’s didn’t look like they were having much fun to be honest. I’m sure they were lovely people who loved their cats but...really!!
      We reached Ivy, tired, sore feet, hot and sweaty but so happy to have had the opportunity to see such a wonderful place together. We decided we would stay here the night and leave in the morning. Bliss had her dinner and took her place underneath Ivy in the shade. We didn’t hear a thing from her until we brought her in at bedtime. One tired happy husky. 😴
      If ever you get the chance to come here, don’t hesitate for a moment!      Read more

    • Bliss VenturesTravelerIvy’s Maiden Voyage

      Our most epic day (Part one)

      June 16, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

      Chapter one: Humbled by nature
      We were up at the crack of dawn and on our way up the mountain road. We parked Ivy when we arrived and got together all the things we needed for a hike up the mountain. We were going to see the biggest waterfall in France ( one of the biggest in Europe) and because it is quite a tourist attraction and a Sunday we came early to experience it without too many people around us.
      As with our dawn hike to Mont St Michel it was to pay off as we were completely alone for the first few hours due to our head start.
      We started off through the first area where civilisation still reigned, there were shops cafes, hotels and restaurants, all still closed of course at this hour of the day. Then we met some lovely donkeys which were used for children to get a ride up to the waterfall. We passed a field of very pretty sheep and horses and then we were on a path that followed a fast flowing river with ice blue waters, water that had come all the way down from the glaciers feeding the waterfalls. We could already see the waterfalls in the distance but they were still several km’s away. But already it was impressive beyond belief. Like something your imagination might conjure up whist reading a Tolkien book.
      Unfortunately we were not going to be able to get all the way up to the waterfalls and the snow still laying in its shadow because dogs aren’t allowed past the hotel that is located perhaps some 80% of the way there. I presume that is because of the wildlife that lives there, marmots for sure inhabit the place, but we didn’t see them and neither did Bliss.
      The walk up starts fairly easy, but the last hour of walking is very steep so I’m so glad we came early before it got hot. Bliss was able to cool off in the river quite a few times on the journey so she was happy.
      The closer we got the more spectacular it became as it revealed more and more smaller waterfalls all across the impenetrable mountain wall, and dozens of smaller ones on the way up the trail. But the one big one was simply immense even though it was still so far away from us. I was mesmerised by the way the water fell in a slow motion effect brought about by its sheer enormity.
      The arduous climb seemed to go on and on and the track deteriorated as we got higher. I couldn’t believe that there was an actual hotel up here and kept saying to Darren are you sure that there’s really a hotel? How on earth do they get stuff up here? Then a small four wheel drive jeep with oversized chunky wheels came bouncing around up the rocky pathway… so that explained that mystery.      Read more

    • Bliss VenturesTravelerIvy’s Maiden Voyage

      Oh my Lourde(s) Why did we come here?!

      June 15, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

      We decided against our best instincts to go to Lourdes to see the sanctuary. We arrived in a city that was chaotically busy, people and traffic everywhere. Trying to find our way through the madness to find somewhere to park was a nightmare but after going through the busy high street full of people on foot in the middle of the road who seemed oblivious of the fact that a van was right behind them we eventually found a place behind a shabby hotel where we could leave Ivy. It seemed safer than the pay to park areas ( which were extortionately priced anyway) so we locked her up, put her alarms on and walked towards the sanctuary. As we neared the river way there was the overpowering noise of hundreds of motorcycles revving their engines and beeping their horns as they rode through the town. On and on it went as they kept coming, the noise and the smell of burning fuel and rubber in the air. There must have been some kind of motorcycle event going on. Bliss didn’t seem to be bothered by it ( we were though) so we carried on through the town towards the sanctuary. There were lots of nuns and monks walking around the town, and the shops were full of Virgin Mary ornaments Christ on the cross and bottles for holy water and all kinds of other souvenirs. Honestly… “What a load of old tat!”
      We pushed on through the crowds to get to the sanctuary and finally arrived at some large open gates into a garden area. As we tried to walk through the gates we were called back by a security man who said we could not take a dog in so that was that! Enough was enough.
      We walked back to Ivy as fast as we could and got the hell out of there! How could somewhere that was supposed to be heavenly be so much like hell?!!
      The lack of photos on this post is the result of us really not enjoying the experience.
      We know we don’t like cities and busy peopley places so we should have known better. Lesson learnt...again!… yet again.🙄
      We drove the rest of the afternoon through some pretty epic mountain roads to get to a basic car park behind a hotel that would be home for tonight. We need to get up nice and early in the morning for the adventure we had planned for tomorrow. To make sure the experience was a nice quiet one without hordes of people a dawn start is the plan.      Read more

    • Bliss VenturesTravelerIvy’s Maiden Voyage

      Lizards and bunting

      June 14, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

      We were woken by a coach load of elderly hikers all excitedly getting ready for their adventures, some were carrying big rucksacks. They made us feel very lazy and unfit but inspired that we could improve our health and actually be stronger as we get older too if we make the effort to exercise more. Maybe we’ll start tomorrow though 😂
      After one last wander around the pretty little picnic area and a couple of coffees we set off.
      The border crossing was preceded by not one, but three fuel stations one after another, reminding us that cheap fuel was a Spanish luxury we’d have to forego for now.
      After a short while we were in France, hoping to find a Boulangerie and patisserie, nobody makes bread and cakes like the French. We drove through beautiful French villages in lush green countryside within the foothills of mountains, with forests that gave some relief from the heat of the day. The buildings all retained their enforced colour schemes across borders. There are lots of cyclists on all the roads right now that are probably in training for the Tour de France which is very soon. The level of fitness that they have to attain is staggering because these mountains are brutal, it’s surprising just how many extraordinarily fit people there are.
      We finally reach a remote mountain village where we plan to stay, parking just in front of a large pergola that has a book exchange inside, as well as a toilet, albeit a crouch style one. Suffice to say we didn’t choose to use it as Ivy is equipped with a far more luxurious throne.
      I think the village knew in advance of Bliss’s arrival as they’d got out the bunting. Bliss was happy to have a nice cool tiled floor to lie on inside the pergola and access to a river that was supplied by ice cold mountain water with that glacial blue tint to it. Unfortunately there was a lot of flies here which were irritating but in this heat they are everywhere, especially when there’s any kind of livestock. We could see from our home for the night sheep, horses and llama. On the walls of the pergola there were many small lizards who scurried away at high speed if you went anywhere near them, but there was one little guy that was very brave and actually seemed a little intrigued by us. It kept coming back and looking at us and even stayed long enough to get a photo of him. He became our pet lizard ( I named him Eddie) whilst we were there as he really seemed to quite like us and was very very cute🦎      Read more

    • Bliss VenturesTravelerIvy’s Maiden Voyage
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      Making our way back into France

      June 13, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

      We planned to cross the border today back into France so are expecting a long interesting drive to get there. Not disappointed, the drive was again, as we’re learning to expect absolutely exhilarating. It’s becoming more difficult to imagine not being surrounded by huge mountains so we have to remind ourselves to make the most of each spectacular view as this is not forever, we do have to leave in a few weeks.
      There was a notable change in the villages and farms passed along the way, whereby all of them were painted in exactly the same whitewashed walls with burgundy doors and shutters theme. Obviously there must be some strict planning codes in this region ensuring the areas traditions remain. It looks great as a visitor, it really does stand out, but tbh I’m really unsure how I feel about the state controlling people’s freedom of expression to such a degree.
      We made it almost to the border of Spain into France, just 10km to go. When we randomly came across a picnic aire that looked really nice, so decided to take a look. It was perfect for a night and after a long day driving we decided to stay. There were lovely big picnic benches and tables made of huge pieces of stone beneath some tall trees. I found a tiny birds nest on the ground beneath the trees, it was fascinating to look at how intricate the building of it was. Lots of different layers of different materials were all woven skilfully together, dry grasses, moss, lichen, feathers and animal hair all created a perfectly comfortable nest for her eggs. I get so much pleasure from seeing things like this. 😍
      Bliss was in need of a stretch and some fresh air so we went for a walk that took us up a very steep hill within a field. Much steeper than we had anticipated. Bliss skipped and hopped up it while Darren and I huffed and puffed our way up behind her. Stopping regularly to catch our breath. We got to the top eventually and were rewarded for our efforts by a magnificent view and a herd of wild horses, some with foals. From our vantage point we could see the Atlantic ocean and the Bay of Biscay in the far west, the foothills of the Pyrenees rising gradually to our position atop this juvenile little mountain, and behind to the East more ever increasing layers of higher still mountains fading into the far distance.
      Going back down the hill was quite treacherous because it was so steep but we made it down without injury. We came upon the scattered bones of what I believe must have been a horse. Bliss wanting to take home one of its ribs as her trophy 🏆
      We were alone in the picnic area as we went to sleep enjoying the sounds of the nighttime forest.      Read more

    • Bliss VenturesTravelerIvy’s Maiden Voyage
      For some reason Darren thinks this photo is hilarious??So clear, and a lot bigger than it looks in the photosYou can see left the road down

      Wot no crocs? 🫢

      June 12, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

      Woke up refreshed and excited to go to another place that was reportedly a must see hidden gem. Bliss was chilling outside the side door as is the norm in the morning after her breakfast, when a stray dog came to say hello. She was very happy to see him and tried to engage him in a play session but he stuck his nose in the air and strolled off uninterested, much to her disappointment.

      We drove quite a short distance to the “secret oasis” we were going to see. When we arrived Darren asked me to get him his bathing stuff together while he waited with Bliss, so I gathered together what we needed and we headed off.
      A short 10 minute walk took us up a narrow path meandering beside a fast flowing stream of crystal clear ice blue water. The path was lined by swathes of honeysuckle and wild mint. The unexpected aromatherapy was so calming… lovely.
      We reached a clearing that opened up to a large pool of crystal clear water, which was our destination. A spring emanating from an underground cave at the bottom of a limestone cliff. It must have been emerging from the ground at quite a rate to enable such a fast flowing stream that we’d followed up here.
      Bliss wasted no time in leaping into the cool waters, as is her usual reaction to water. Darren was quite keen to get in for a swim and freshen up too, especially in such an idyllic location. So he started to get ready… but when he searched his rucksack for the crocs he needed to wear because the floor of the pool was covered with sharp rocks they weren’t there. He turned to me and said “Where’s my crocs? I’m sure when I asked you to pack them you said you had?”. “Well,” I replied all stroppy and indignant like. “I don’t remember you saying that! I’m sure you didn’t mention anything about crocs. I’m not your mum”. 😂 I really had no recollection whatsoever of that conversation!! And I wasn’t going to be gaslighted into believing I had!
      So Darren didn’t get his dip in the ice water, and tbh I was probably as disappointed as he was, as I was quite keen to see him screaming like a girl as he took the plunge because it really was very cold water. 😜

      We still enjoyed the beauty and scent of the place though and decided it wasn’t worth falling out over, even though we both believed with 100% conviction that we were right.

      When we got back to Ivy we continued on our way, after a while of Darren being busy on his phone he looked up and announced “Ah!!! I knew it!” 🧐
      He’d been investigating the onboard camera footage and had video evidence that he had specifically asked for his crocs and I had even answered him “crocs? yes” I’ll get them”

      So I definitely think dementia has started to set in and I had to apologise for my earlier strop. 😱. Something I just hate having to do because it induces high levels of smugness from Darren that’ll last for hours while he teases me about it. 🫣

      We continued driving and after a few hours we came to a place that had a sign suggesting a natural wonder to visit, so intrigued to find out what it was we went to investigate. Driving through some big gates and over a cattle grill we discovered horses with foals roaming around a vast open area. It reminded us a lot of the New Forest national park at home. We continued on along the very potholey dirt track through some woods at a snails pace until we reached a car park. Time for a bit of a hike because Bliss and indeed us need more exercise than we’ve been managing to date.
      Following a route through the forest we walked up and up and up on our quest to see the ‘natural wonder’ that we were now so invested in reaching. Still no idea what it would be. At the point of almost giving up as we were pooped we came upon an immense rocky escarpment with a look out point. The views from it were vast and the cliff was so high (I couldn’t tell you how high) but it was a sheer drop and so long, it just went on for miles. We hadn’t a clue that the new foresty area we’d been in for hours was actually atop an enormous plateau. Here we saw a huge eagle, the biggest one we’ve seen so far. We’ve seen quite a lot since being here because we’ve spent so much of our time hanging around the mountains, which is of course where they like to be.

      On returning to Ivy we had to decide where to stay tonight, here doesn’t feel right somehow. So we decided to move a bit down the road. This second place was ok but then we discovered there was no phone signal. So after studying the route for the morning drive it appears that we have no option but to go down the only road taking us to the bottom of the escarpment, with many switchbacks to navigate. Rather than endure the worry and not sleep well tonight thinking about it I decided I would rather get it out of the way tonight and find somewhere in the lowlands below. It seemed the best option so we did it, it was predictably scary and I didn’t like it, but we survived the switchbacks and we slept safe and calm in a not so picturesque parking lot on the edge of a small village. 😴      Read more

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