More walks and Funchal.

The walk up to Pico Riviou yesterday went well it was 6C and misty when we started but the sun soon burned the mist off and by the time we reached the summit at 6100 feet the jacket was in the rucksack, lunch was a magical bowl of local soup and a beer in a village cafe, a great end to a walk.
The last two evenings dining experiences have been a complete contrast to the tourist restaurant I tried on the first night. One was a non-chain pizzaria which was crammed with locals, the food was good and half the price and last nights slightly upmarket place was again busy, the highly professional but friendly staff made the whole thing a pleasure and the bill was an unbelievably reasonable €15 for steak, chips, salad and beer.
Today I caught the shuttle into Funchal to see the things I missed on Thursday and more importantly to make sure they will be showing next weeks rugby matches at the Irish pub I had earmarked.
I am glad that I have slowed down and do not try to do everything in one day. I seem to be getting the hang of this travelling lark.
The Madeira Marathon is being run tomorrow so I am heading for the hills on a road trip.

The hotel.

I am staying at the Regency Cliff hotel and it exceeds my expectations. The hotel is built into the cliff with the reception, dining room, bar and terrace at street level and all the rooms below, I am on the floor below reception with a sea view and small balcony and I can watch both the sunrise and sunset from the balcony. The location is a short bus ride or half hour walk from the centre of Funchal so I only need the hire car for exploring the island and getting to walking sites. As on the last occasion I hired a car I have been stung, I am limited to a daily mileage of only 35 kilometres a day then it costs 30 cents per kilometre. The good news is I got the car for peanuts and I won't be doing huge mileage because the island is so small but it has taught me to read the small print/terms and conditions in future you know the ones you normally just tick yes to as I did.
Yesterday was spent exploring Funchal, the highlights were the Blandys Wine Lodge tour with Madeira wine tasting afterwards, lunch at a cafe in the fruit and vegetable market and banter with all the waiters trying to get you in to their establishments in the old town. It was a pleasant day out but the undulating terrain of Madeira is hard work on the legs and I propose walking up to the highest point on the island today at Pico Ruivo, madness.

Levadas and such.

The plan was to get away from the cold and rain in sunny Madeira and even though it is winter here the temperatures are around 18C, the second part of the plan was to walk the levadas which are irrigation channels up in the hills but yesterday I undertook a walk to the peninsula at the far west of the island as recommended by the Saga rep, the views were stunning and the weather perfect if a little windy, to be honest after the marathon walk put on by Aled last Saturday I could have done with something a little less strenuous but fortunately my hotel room has a bath to soak the aching body. I have met a few of the Saga guests and they seem a nice bunch but all couples, however Anne one of the 4 amigos from the Santorini trip is here so I at least have someone to interact and walk with. Today I am taking the day off to explore the capital Funchal but as everything in Madeira seems to include a glass of Madeira wine or the local rum punch I will leave the car behind and stroll in to town.

What's going on.

My car was iced up this morning and my 400+ mile journey today was mostly in freezing fog, I am not amused. Besides the change in weather conditions the contrast in accommodation was something as well, I left a four star apartment in Gran Canaria and stayed in a tiny room in Pamploma University student accommodation last night which is affiliated to the youth hostel association of which I am now a member, better late than never.
Last night I was stuck in the middle of the university campus so I settled for a machine meal that cost less than two euros (seriously subsidised, it would have been ten times that at the airport) I am spoiled for choice now being surrounded by restaurants so it looks like it is steak tonight.

Maspalomas to Gwytherin

According to google maps I was 2600 miles from home this morning now in Pamplona I only have a little less than 1100 miles to go. I am going to miss Lidl which was just around the corner, for their croissants and  their Perlenbacher beer at 70p a litre and of course the advantage of being able to swan around in shorts and T shirt in December.

Tomorrow I leave Spain for an unhurried drive through France stopping at Tours and Calais and the plan then is to catch an early ferry to Dover on Tuesday 20th so that will give me plenty of time to get home that afternoon.

This trip has given me lots of time to think and also to refer back to my comments over the past three years. I agree with what I said after my last Iberian journey (why didn't I listen) solo extended touring is not all it is cracked up to be and no I will definitely not be buying a property abroad unless something outrageously cheap becomes available in Cyprus. I was thinking of doing a round the world trip to take in the British Lions tour to New Zealand next summer but it was getting silly if I had included everything that came to mind I would have been away for four months and I know I would not have enjoyed that at all. So if I do go to see the boys play it will probably be for only four to five weeks and I will call in to see Gill (my sister) and visit the parts of Australia still on my bucket list. The other parts of the RTW trip can become separate holidays or mini tours and if Saga can do them cheaply enough then that would be a bonus.

Well that's it I will be home for nearly five weeks so that should give me time to lose the paunch and get fit again, then maybe I can put a few walks on in February and March.

Lidl- Canaries

Jan and I came here in 1997 and although Playa Del Ingles was a bit Costaish the rest of Gran Canaria was a sleepy but developing location, I knew that it was being built up but until today I did not realise how much. My journey down the coast road to Puerto Mogan was an eye-opener, there are now package resorts all along the coast, it is not pleasant. I appreciate that the resort/marina at Puerto Mogan was built at as tourist destination but then it was one hotel and the cute traditionally styled port by the marina, now it is overbuilt and swarming with overweight pink people. I am glad I said yesterday that I would not be returning here. The Canarian people have got it right most of the population live in the northeast of the island so they don't have to see the abomination that is happening in the south.

I sound like I am turning into a grumpy old man. Too late I was there already.

Now definitely looking forward to getting home.

People.

I think I am beginning to agree with my girls, I don't like people. Don't get me wrong friends are a different thing, they can be in mobs and noisy as they like. I know I have become city adverse over the past few years and I thought that I disliked airports because of the baffling security measures but Saturday morning's check in took 20 minutes from arriving at the airport to looking for breakfast the other side of security but I was still unhappy and then it came to me it was the hordes of strangers with bad personal hygiene getting in my way, invading my personal space, talking too loud and generally making me feel claustrophobic. OK that cleared the air now the good and bad news.
I booked airport parking and my hire car with TRIB at Ryanair, the parking was good but the price I paid for the hire car which looked fine at the time turned out to be a deposit only and the final cost was over double including the mandatory full cover insurance. I thought I was worldly wise to these scams but obviously not. All I can say is beware of any deals Ryanair offer and steer clear of CarTrawler.
The good news happened today. The reason for the jaunt to Gran Canaria was to offload my timeshare, I had been quoted fees of up to £6,000 by timeshare resolution companies but after half an hour of straight talking we have agreed that my contract will be put forward for resolution and in the meantime my week will be rented out to cover my maintenance fees  and believe it or not there will be a small cash some due after Spanish taxes, this is a far better rsult than i had ever hoped for.
Coming back to Gran Canaria without Jan has been very strange, especially as i am staying in our timeshare apartment where we spent our last Christmas together but it is other things like our favourite locals restaurant where they still remembered us or the cafe on the beach in Playa del Ingles where she bollocked the waiter for being rude or Puerto Mogan where we had strawberries and ice cream overlooking the marina. The memories are wonderful and more meaningful because I will probably not return here again.
The best thing about the Canaries is the weather, i have been enjoying temperatures in the mid twenties which is just right for me so it is shorts, T shirt and flipflops all day, which is a lovely change after all the rain.
There has been a big change in the four years since we were last here, then the Brits were in the majority followed by the Germans now it is all three of the Scandanavian countries followed by us Brits and Germans in joint fourth place, you only have to look at the restaurant menus to see this in fact in some places the menus are only in Norwegian, Swedish and Danish. From my memories of the sixties, Swedish and Scandanavian girls always had the reputation of being beautiful but from what I have seen here British girls beat them hands down I can't wait to get home.